I will admit right off the hop that I am not a huge fishing fan. I just don’t have the commitment or patience to go out and sit in a boat, or on the shore, while I wait for some little marine animal to bite down a fishing hook. Sure, getting outside is great, and enjoying the fresh air is even better, but patience is not my virtue so fishing is not my sport. Having said that, I was somewhat intrigued when Xseed Games sent us a copy of Fishing Resort to review. It’s a budget priced title that has been developed by Prope. Who is Prope you ask? Well, Yuji Naka, the man responsible for creating Sega’s iconic Sonic the Hedgehog and Shenmue series, heads this relatively small development team. So to say that I was curious about this virtual fishing game was an understatement, given the man at the helm of creating it.
Fishing resort offers more then just a fishing experience. You arrive on an island resort where, although you are indeed focused on fishing, there are many other things to do to enhance your experience.  The game is somewhat open ended as each virtual day that goes by allows you to do other things such as mini games, tasks, quests, and of course fishing.  You will also interact with other guests at the resort.
As I mentioned, you’ll find yourself completing various quests throughout the game. Although these are a great way to add to the gameplay, there is reasoning behind the madness as many of these quests allow you to earn in-game points. These points are Fishing Resort’s currency that allows you to buy various items, such as new rods, reels, and even a boat. You will complete many of these quests from an activity board. I have to say that some of them are strange in such that you are handsomely rewarded for simple things. For example, you’ll end up spending 20 points to rent a bike, but then you are rewarded with 1,000 points for doing so. Most of these quests are not too challenging, especially in the early going. Also worth noting is that some of these quests can chain together, so as you are completing one quest you may be tasked to do something else within that quest, making it a 2 for 1 so to speak.
I for one somewhat enjoyed the fact that there was the inclusion of these quests, and it gives the game a very light RPG feel to it. These quests take away from the mundane feeling of just having to fish all game, and they add a slight bit of spice to the overall experience. Of course all of the extracurricular activities do have rewards, and these rewards are crucial in your Fishing Resort experience given that you do need to buy new equipment as you progress through the game.
Fishing Resort starts you off with the most basic of fishing gear, which allows you to catch the smaller fish in the water. Being able to catch the bigger and more lucrative fish takes much more expensive gear and better bait. I found that upgrading my gear took sometime, and I had to be very cognizant of where I was fishing, what gear I was using, and what bait I was trying to get the fish to bite. Some may find it a bit of a grind to get the better gear, given that you do have to earn the points to purchase it, and it can indeed be such, but in the end it is somewhat rewarding to get that certain number of points to buy that new rod, reel, lure or line.
Even though Fishing Resort has some RPG elements to it (e.g. quests, items, talking to NPC’s, etc.), it is a fishing game at heart, and the fishing mechanics employed are pretty darn good. Even with my lack of interest for fishing in the real world, I was able to appreciate what the game offered. It actually gave me a bit of insight into the basics/differences of bait and lure fishing, including what type of rods I could and could not use. In terms of how the Wii’s control works, the Wii Remote is your rod, and the Nunchuk is your reel. You can use them as you would when holding them in your hands, or you can purchase Fishing Resort with a special controller that turns the Wii Remote and Nunchuk setup into that of a fishing rod (check out the last picture in the screenshots below for what this looks like). Regardless of what you choose, the controls are pretty intuitive. There are even on-screen prompts that assist in your efforts to bring the big one in.
Although I am not a huge fishing fan, I have spent a day or two down by our local river fishing in the past, and I spent a lot of time as a youth hanging out with my father fishing, as he didn’t mind it at all. So I have enough insight to understand what needs to be done to reel a fish in, and after playing Fishing Resort, I have to say that the motion controls do a fairly good job of affecting how you reel your fish in. When your virtual fish puts up a fight, you actually have to angle the Wii Remote in order to try to counter the actions of the fish. Most of this has you lining up the Wii Remote in a specific direction, which is displayed on the screen. Should you miscalculate, or just do something wrong, your fish may have that chance to break the line, or get off the hook, causing your potential reward to swim away. When you finally do catch your fish they are rated from E, which is the lowest rating, to S, which is the highest rating you can get. Of course the higher the rating the more points you are rewarded.
There is also a bit of multiplayer added should you want to play with a friend. Â It’s not ground breaking, just a chance for you to compete in some mini-games designed in the world of Fishing Resort. Â I nice treat indeed.
One of the biggest issues I had with Fishing Resort is the same issue I have with fishing in real life; it is the waiting for the fish to bite. Sure, it is not as long in-game as it is in real life, but given the instant gratification I want in videogames, I had issues waiting in Fishing Resort. Now, maybe it is the ADHD in me, but I just hate waiting period. Regardless, I think that this may turn off other people as well, given that having to wait for that one fish to bite may prove to let one’s attention wane. With this in mind however, the title on the game box is Fishing Resort, and fishing is the main stable here, so I guess in many ways that this is to be expected, but my fear is that those periods of waiting may just turn some people off.
Visually, Fishing Resort is a pretty good looking game. I have to say that the visuals really matched the game’s overall feel. Sure, the developers were hampered by the limitations of the Wii hardware, but overall you’ll find lots to enjoy. From the various fishing locations to the resort where you call home, there is a lot more variety here than I had expected. What really caught my eye were the various fishing areas, from dense jungles or forests, to open lakes and beachside shores, there are a lot of nice looking areas to throw in your line and hope for a bite. The water effects were pretty cool with reflections of the surrounding landscapes, sun, or clouds in the sky. Characters take a very cartoonish look to them, and match what you would expect for a Wii game. As for the fish, they look pretty good too, especially after you have pulled them up and display them proudly on screen when you get them out of the water.  Overall the visuals do a good job and are more then I hoped for given this is such an affordable game.
In regards to the sound, like the visuals, I was pleasantly surprised. The game has a lot of music to help set the tone. You’ll find different tunes for when you are walking around, sitting in your boat or on the shore waiting for a fish to bite, to when you are trying to reel in the big one. Each tone varies for each particular scene. The music is much calmer when you are waiting for that elusive fish and then when you do get that bite the music ramps up and becomes more exciting as you try to reel the fish in. There is no voice work in Fishing Resort, so be prepared to read a lot given any interactions with other people are text based. Finally, the rest of the sound effects are serviceable, from the sound of your boat to the sound of your rod’s reel as it spins away, it all helps to communicate the on-screen action.
At the end of the day I really don’t have a problem recommending Fishing Resort for you to buy, especially for the budget price, it is just that you have to be fully aware of what you are purchasing. This game is a fishing game first and foremost, so expectations must be kept as such. That being said, Fishing Resort adds some nice RPG elements to the game to make it more than just sitting and trying to catch a fish all game. Add to the mix some decent graphics and sound, and you have one surprising fishing title that definitely has it’s moments.
