I must admit that the sports fan in me loves the serious-yet-addictively fun golf game of the Tiger Woods PGA Tour variety but there’s even a bigger part of me that simply adores the arcade-styled fantasy golf in games like Hot Shots Golf for the PSP. Therefore, it came as a pleasant surprise that TOMY brings us PANGYA: Fantasy Golf for my favorite handheld. It’s time to grab your favorite club and living shopping bag (I’ll explain later) and hit the virtual green once again.

 
Zoo Keeper: “Whoa, Bob was right! Strange things do happen at the zoo after closing time!”

If you’re an anime nerd like me, you’ll find PANGYA’s style appropriately cute and colorful to the point that just about everyone you meet stands out and every golf course offer unique challenges you normally wouldn’t find in Tiger Woods’ familiar stomping grounds. Even if anime isn’t your thing, the game’s charming gameplay and plentiful game modes should give you enough reason to check this game out.

The game includes a number of game modes that allow you to play a single free round, participate in different tournaments and even an objective-based License mode. The game even has an RPG-styled Story mode complete with different characters with their own individual storyline. You do begin the Story mode as Scout, a young boy who is invited to the dream-like other dimensional world of Pangya Island to compete in the yearly golf (the sport is called Pangya in this world) tournaments held in honor of the defeat of the Dark Lord by Scout’s father. Now Scout vows to become a Pangya Master like his father as he enters the tournament.

On the other hand, you can play as Hana, a close childhood friend of Scout who is invited to Pangya Island by a boy named Quma. Worried sick about her friend, she discovers that Scout is competing in the tournament so - as a golf player - she enters the Cover Club Tournament in hopes of meeting up with Scout later. Along the way, you play against a group of characters that include people from Earth such as a grumpy cop named Uncle Bob, a flight attendant and even a cute female pirate named Kooh. When you finish each episode for both characters, you unlock the ability to play as other characters like Kooh and get a story revolving around them.

 
Bad Game Idea #221: “Mall Cop Fashion Makeover Fun” for the PSP.

While the story in Story mode isn’t particularly deep or fascinating, the game mode offers plenty of fun challenges and lengthy tournaments to participate in while you earn money (called Pang) and level up your character’s skills. The money you earn not only allows you to purchase new clubs but also a number of clothing options and even items that offer a power-up boost to your swing and shot. One power-up potion can even curve the ball around hazards such as tall trees. You can even redecorate your caddy, which takes the form of a living shopping bag called Papel that trails behind you or the ball.

Story mode is also filled with challenging opponents you must take on to advance to the next stages of each tournament. The best part is that each character brings their own fun style to a round. For example, Uncle Bob doesn’t use a club but rather uses a wooden baseball bat and it’s always a treat to watch him have a tantrum after you’ve beaten him.

There are nine courses in the game and all of them just as unique as the other. Blue Lagoon, for instance, has a number of water hazards in its tropical setting while White Wiz is a winter wonderland course. While you’ll be playing with normal hazards in mind, there are also some interesting hazards as well such as a few towers that get in the way or steep hills that make the ball roll out of course.

The good news is that the controls are the pick-up-and-play variety that makes it easy for even the more casual golf fan to pick up and start playing. In fact, this is the perfect game for those gamers that always wanted to try a golf title but was overwhelmed by the more serious ones already available. Sure, you still have to watch out for wind direction and using the right clubs makes a big difference but it’s not necessary. Just about anyone can make heads or tails of the meter and once you get the hang of it, you’ll hit Pangya shots each time. Even putting has been simplified.

Here’s the bad news … the camera can be a pain. Yes, you can make your character transparent but that doesn’t help much if the camera angle obstructs a few details that makes a difference between sinking the ball at 9 meters or 11 meters. My biggest gripe is with the Ad Hoc multiplayer mode. While it’s great that you can play up to eight friends wirelessly, there’s framerate stutter that becomes annoying.

 
Golf television ratings have gone up since Becky joined the PGA Tour … I wonder why?

Visually, PANGYA looks great with sharp visuals and a delightfully colorful anime look. The characters are handled beautifully enough during non-animated cut scenes and during play as well. Even the courses are impressive, although some of them stand out more than others. White Wiz, for instance, just doesn’t look as amazing as Blue Moon or Sepia Wind. The game’s sound, however, just doesn’t impress as well as the graphics. There’s a cute soundtrack to go with the cute visuals but you’ll be hearing it over and over again. This is really too bad seeing as the game doesn’t feature any voice acting and the sound effects are minimal.

A wonderfully enjoyable and utterly charming fantasy sports game, PANGYA: Fantasy Golf for the PSP is a fun game that is a Must Have for anyone looking for a lighthearted alternative to the serious golf games available. What few flaws the game has are easily overlooked thanks to its fun pick-up-and-play controls, diverse courses and plenty of replay value. In other words, PANGYA is just the right ticket for those who want to give their copy of Hot Shots Golf a rest.

Gameplay: 8.5
The controls are very user-friendly so even the more casual golf fan can start swinging on the green with the best of them. There’s not much of a story in Story mode but there are enough characters to make you want to keep playing and loads of items that give the game its own style.

Graphics: 8.0
The game’s visuals are actually quite decent enough with some super cute anime-styled character models, colorful backgrounds and flashy visual effects. I just wish you didn’t have to wrestle with the awkward camera angles.

Sound: 7.5
The soundtrack is also just as cute as the characters but it’s unfortunate that the game didn’t add voice acting that goes well beyond the adorable voice that shouts “Pangya!” There’s not much in terms of sound effects either.

Difficulty: Medium
Your opponents starts on the amateur side and slowly get smarter but it’s good to see that even the Pangya legends of the sport can make mistakes during a round. 

Concept: 8.5
There are a few characters to play as in Story mode and they each have their own branching story and unique caddy. The stores are filled with more than enough clothing options, equipment and other interesting items to spice things up as you play again. There’s multiplayer but no online play.

Multiplayer: 7.5
Up to eight players can play a number of rounds or participate in a tournament via Ad Hoc but the game seems to suffer framerate issues playing one-on-one. Still, the stutter doesn’t make the multiplayer unplayable.

Overall: 8.5
It’s good to see another arcade-styled handheld golf game that’s actually loads of fun and PANGYA: Fantasy Golf definitely deserves to be among your PSP collection. Sure, it can overload the senses with cuteness but in the end it will win you over with its enchanting style and satisfying gameplay.