The RPG is to the Nintendo Switch what butter is to bread: a tasty combination that just makes sense. So it’s no surprise that Australian studio Sidebar Games has tossed its hat in the ring for the second time in five years withSports Story, a decidedly more sports-inclusive follow-up to its debut release,Golf Story.
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To expand on its predecessor, Sports Story injects the top-down RPG format with a shot of goal-scoring, racket-swinging excitement, challenging players to take what they learned from all that golfing to perfect their tennis serve, soccer dribble, and more. But whether you’re a Golf Story veteran or new to the franchise, you’ll want to cover a few bases before working up a sweat in this new adventure.
10Golf Is Still The Driving Force
Despite the name, Sports Story has youplaying a lot of golf. You’ll be whipping out your wedge to pop balloons and putting your way to holes-in-one from the very start, so you’ll get to know the game’s golfing mechanics pretty well by the time you’re finished.
Completing challenges as you progress through the story will add punches to your punch card, which in turn will enable you to upgrade your sports license. Getting a higher license grade will unlock opportunities to acquire new gear and play new sports.
9Improve Your Abilities By Completing Challenges
In addition to it being crucial to the story and helping you unlock higher license grades, completing challenges also levels up your character’s athletic ability. You’ll see this happening in the form of a progress bar that increases every time you successfully complete a challenge.
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While improving your abilities doesn’t necessarily have a huge impact on gameplay early on, you’ll still want to find every NPC with an “X” above their head and walk into every blue dashed circle you find, since these actions are required to continue through the narrative.
8You Can’t Speed Up Or Skip NPC Dialogue
Some games offer players varying options to change the speed of in-game dialogue to match their reading speeds and play styles, and other games enable you to back out of conversations with NPCS—especially if there’s nothing new to discuss.
In Sports Story, none of this is possible, so you’ll be stuck with the game’s one-and-only dialogue speed. To be sure,paying attention to NPCsis important for progressing in the game, but for those of us with restless fingers it’s something to keep in mind, as its can be easy to accidentally get stuck chatting with the same person for the second, third or fourth time if you tap too quickly.
7Collect Golf Balls To Make Challenges Easier
As you progress through Sports Story, you’ll acquire a collection of golf balls with diverse qualities. And depending on the challenge you’re facing, you might just have a ball for the job. For example, the Vector Ball redirects toward the hole on the first bounce, making long shots easier to ace.
But be mindful, after you use a special ball its gone forever. If you run out, you can find dirty golf balls hiding throughout the world and wash them at ball washing stations. If you’re lucky, the ball you washed will be just the one you need for your next challenge.
6Use A Controller Layout You’re Familiar With
While the golfing mechanics in Sports Story are relatively straightforward, other sports (we’re looking at you, volleyball) are a bit more complex and fast-moving. If you’re playing with a controller layout that you’re not familiar with, you might run into a steeper learning curve than if you’re already comfortable with where all your buttons are at.
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It’s also nice to hook your Switch up to a larger screen, so you can plan out those long-range drives on bigger real estate, but don’t sweat it if you’re playing directly on your device—that’s what this game was built for and what it still works well on.
5You Don’t Have To Know Golf Story
Sequels come in all shapes and sizes, and while Sports Story is the official follow-up to Golf Story, you don’t necessarily have to be familiar with the popular predecessor in order to have a good time and enjoy what Sports Story has to offer.
Reminiscent of Game Boy RPGs and dungeon crawlers of yore, the Sports Story narrative takes place in a new location and its quests will have you busy completing a whole new list of tasks, facing a whole new host of challenges, and learning a whole new set of skills.
4Money (Almost) Grows On Trees
You’re going to need money for lots of things in Sports Story. From buying coach a Sandy to getting your sports license, cash plays a real role in the game, and if you’re anything like us and took a few too many rides on the unicorn inflatables, you’ll be in need of a few coins.
Luckily, approaching objects like plant pots and scarecrows will occasionally provide you with the option to scrounge around in them. Most of the time you’ll find some cash, and sometimes you’ll come across other useful items.
3It Also Floats In Big Balloons
If your wallet is still feeling a bit light after digging through the bushes, look around for the large, rainbow-colored floating balloons. They’re hanging out all over the map, and popping them with a direct hit from your golf club or just a well-aimed toss of a golf ball will credit you with some spare cash.
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Popping balloons is also a good way to practice your aim, as it can be deceivingly difficult to line up an accurate shot. Try to create some distance before you set your ball down, or else you might chip it over the top of the balloon.
2The Mall Is Your Second Home
After completing the introductory quest on the beach, you’ll enter the Sports Story world by checking in to the PureStrike Hotel. Rest up for the night and head out for the first day of your adventure.
One of the primary locations you’ll be returning to throughout your journey is the PureStrike Mall, where, among other things, you’ll buy and upgrade your sports license, discover daily events and acquire equipment for the game’s different sports. Think of it as your home base, and try checking back there if you start to feel lost.
1Sports Story Is Not A Sim Game
Players familiar with Golf Story won’t have any illusions about what to expect from the structure of Sports Story’s gameplay, but if you’re new to the franchise, at face value it might resemble an open-ended sim RPG likeStardew Valley.
But, as the name suggests, this is a narrative-driven game with a limited amount of open-world interactivity. While it’s true that you’ll be completing quests and challenges in an environment that feels open and can be interacted with up to a point, there’s not much by the way of simulation mechanics built in.
