As a kid, I saw a lot of Pop Up Pirate adverts on TV. I never got one but they always looked fun and I enjoyed the pirate voice over. But did you know that there was a Pop Up Pirate golf game on the Game Boy Advance?
Entitled Kurohige no Golf Shiyōyo, the Japanese-exclusive was released in 2002 and featured our friendly neighbourhood Pop Up Pirate (called Kurohige Kiki Ippatsu in Japan) and a group of players from the wider Golf Shiyōyo series. Inti Creates developed the game with Tomy publishing it.
Other games from the series included:
- Golf Shiyōyo/Tee Off (in the West) (released in 1999 for the Dreamcast)
- Golf Shiyōyo: Course Data Shū – Adventure Hen (released in 2000 for the Dreamcast)
- Golf Shiyōyo 2: Aratanaru Chōsen (released in 2001 for the Dreamcast)
It’s a pretty standard golf game with a banger soundtrack and beautiful arcade-style visuals (which should come as no surprise as Inti Creates was created by a group of former Capcom employees). There isn’t a language barrier as the important information is all in English so if you can find a copy, I recommend you give it a go.
A big thanks to Sean Seanson for sharing this info on Bluesky and sending me down a golf-sized rabbit hole.
