Naturally, at some point, fishing seeped into videogames. Most gamers love a good fishing minigame. The thrill of what fish you can get is usually a big enough incentive for gamers to spend hours throwing lines. What fishing brings you in each game varies greatly, but for the most part expect fish and trash. As such, in this article I will show some fishing minigames that I have experienced first hand, how the minigame works and what it gives you (aside from fish, of course!). Please note that I will NOT be talking about games focused entirely on fishing (such as SEGA Bass Pro Fishing), only about side games with minor relevance.
PERSONA 4
Rescuing people is nice, but personally I only care about le big fishe.
While Persona 4’s fishing isn’t my first foray into the sport, it’s the one I think the most about when talking about fishing. Persona 5 also has fishing, but it feels irrelevant and tacked on, simply because Persona 4 has it. You can go fishing at any point in the game after doing a certain side quest, as long as the protagonist is not feeling too tired after the events of the story; at the river bank. To fish, you need bait (which you can cook at your home) and also Diligence. By this, I mean the stat: the more Diligence you have, the more attempts at catching you can make. The fish you catch can be used to restore your health and SP. However, there’s one additional use of fishing: catching The Guardian. This legendary fish is the objective of a particular quest. Catching The Guardian after obtaining said quest and you’ll be able to obtain the best weapon for the protagonist in the whole game.
The minigame itself is very simple: after the hook sinks, press Circle and then mash it. Sometimes you’ll have to press another button, as a QTE. I believe in Golden the minigame itself is different. I recommend you turn the vibration of your controller on, because depending on how it vibrates, you can catch a different type of fish. In fact, vibration is the key for catching The Guardian.
YAKUZA 5
In between killing people with rocks, we relax with some fishing.
The Yakuza series probably has the most complex fishing of the games in this list. That doesn’t mean that you need a PhD to understand it, but it goes far beyond simply mashing. Starting from Yakuza 2, you can fish at specific spots in any of the cities. At first you only had sea fishing, but at some point, they introduced river fishing as well.
I have the most experience with Yakuza 5’s fishing (which I think is the most refined and “fun”), since I platinumed the game twice. River fishing is easy: pick a bait, wait until the hook sinks until the red line and mash the button. Sea fishing, on the other hand, it’s more complicated. After choosing you bait, you throw your line at the exact distance you want. This is harder than it sounds, because you have to time the throw so that I lands where in the area where the fish are. When a fish bites, you have to press certain buttons depending on how the fish moves, and slowly reel it into the shore.
Your reward is usually fish, but you can also get some items such as medicine and plates that you can sell for money. Fish themselves only serve to earn money by selling them, but you also have to capture each and every one of them if you want to obtain 100% completion.
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: LINK’S AWAKENING
Not my childhood, but close enough!
This is not the only game in the series with fishing, but it’s the only one I care about. If I recall correctly, it’s also present in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess, but it might appear in other entries.
In this game, fishing is completely and utterly irrelevant. You only need to do it once, and it’s absolutely optional (even within the realm of fishing). You throw your line and try to catch fish. For each fish you catch, you get some rupees. However, please try to catch big fish because it costs rupees to fish. But, for once, we are not here to catch fish. At the bottom of the lake lies a Heart Piece, and it’s your duty to get it! It’s hard because fish are in the way and you only have so many attempts, but it’s worth it. After getting that Heart Piece, there’s no real reason to go back to fishing, because there are much more efficient and easier ways of getting money. I believe in the remake fishing is more rewarding, but I haven’t played so I wouldn’t know.
And that’s how I got into fishing in videogames. How cute!
THE LEGEND OF HEROES: TRAILS IN THE SKY SC
Why are you here?
Ah, Trails in the Sky Second Chapter, my beloved. Such a great story that it’s a shame that you have to go over almost 100 hours of content to experience it… Anyways, for some reason, Trails in the Sky SC features a fishing minigame as well. In the first entry there was also a fishing minigame, but it was a mandatory part of the story, and after you’re done with it you can never do it again. The developers probably thought that it was a pity that their marvelous fishing mechanics were to be unused forever, so they brought it back!
Just kidding, fishing in Trails SC is completely and utterly unnecessary. It’s so useless that I even forget why you do that outside of getting an achievement. The good news is that the minigame itself is easy and getting every fish isn’t hard outside of lacking knowledge on the location of fish.
MONSTER HUNTER SERIES
Lavasioth.
Why, yes, of course I’m talking about Monster Hunter again! It’s my current obsession, more or less.
I’m pretty sure that fishing has existed in the franchise since forever, but I’m not very sure. Anyways, fishing in Monster Hunter is in a weird limbo between “completely forgettable” and “mandatory necessity”. The minigame itself is very straightforward: when the hook sinks, just mash the button and you’re good to go. You’ll get a different fish depending on the area and the bait used. Most fish are used for meals (some can even be eaten raw, recovering some health). On the other hand, other fish are used as materials in some recipes, and even in some weapons and pieces of armor. So, yeah, how useful fishing is in these games depends on why and when you need them.
Of note is the Leviathan called Nibelsnarf. This monster appears in certain games, with the most recent appearance being Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate. This monster is kind of a brickwall for new players, because of its unorthodox style of attack and because it requires, at least, green sharpening in your weapon to be able to attack in any part of his body except the mouth. However, there's one cool trick you can do against him to make him more manageable. Place a big barrel bomb on the ground and bait Nibelsnarf to do its lunging attack towards it. If successful, it will eat the barrel, which will explode inside him and causing him to get stunned. When this happens, sheathe your weapon and approach him quickly. You will get a prompt for fishing. Mash the corresponding button and, if quick, you will pull him out of the sand, allowing you to attack him for a few seconds without retaliation. A cool little trick that makes this casual filter into a piece of cake!
POKÉMON SERIES
Me posting inflamatory content on the internet.
Everyone knows fishing in Pokémon, so I’ll keep it simple. You throw the line and when your character does “!”, you press A and a random Pokémon appears. It’s simple and it goes straight to the point, while also being the most rewarding form of fishing. Some Pokémon can only be obtained through fishing (such as the infamous Feebas), and you can fish in almost any mass of water with three progressively stronger rods of choice.
ANIMAL CROSSING SERIES
Not the most elaborate, but the most rewarding in my opinion.
We finish the article with something I haven’t indulged in for quite a while: Animal Crossing! Animal Crossing takes a unique approach to fishing. Several factors are taken into account when throwing the line: the size of the shadow, the weather and the season. Catching each and every single fish is an arduous task because some fish are absurdly rare and the minigame itself has a weird timing, so if you mess up, you can kiss that rare Coelacanth goodbye. ALSO, you need to purchase a fishing rod, which breaks with use unless you have the rare golden rod which is permanent.
This doesn’t sound too different from Yakuza, right? So, how’s Animal Crossing different? In what you do with the fish, that’s how. For starters, you can sell it get easy bells. Unlike other games, fish is a very good way of earning money, especially the rarest ones which gives unsurmountable amounts of bells. But… you could also donate them to the museum. Wouldn’t it be nice to complete the collection? The museum feels so empty without the fish… Last, but not least (and this is something I like about Animal Crossing very much), you can put them for exposition. No, not in the museum, but in your house! You can create your own personalized aquarium if you so desire; and in New Horizons you can even put them outside! Honestly quite incredible. There are also fishing contests, both solo (from time to time) and in multiplayer, which makes this inoquous activity more fun.
