Fisherman's Bait

The hit fishing game of the late 90's by Konami (Arcade/PS1).

Ahh, Fisherman's Bait. This game had been at my Putt-Putt (the real thing).
This game is lost and has been gone from most arcades. You can get the console version online and the arcade version from eBay, but this game is long gone. I loved playing this game, my mom remembers me getting addicted to it at Putt-Putt, and how that I had to ask mom for more tokens to play this game. Before Chuck E. Cheese's opened once again opened a location in my area, I played mostly video games at the arcade. This game was so good, I rented it on my Playstation. Now this is no ordinary Bass fishing game sponsored by a hunting or fishing store like Bass Pro Shops, or a fishing league. This game is nearly a classic, because it said on the cover/booklet of the PSone version something about being a coin-op hit.

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You would hear the opening spirtual like theme. Then you would go to the menu and pick Tournament or two-player mode. Then shown here you would select the lure.

Then you would sort-of randomly pick the lengnth of the cast. If you got a fish you can see the fish in danger wating to be caught.

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But if the tension got dark-red then the line breaks and/or you lose the fish.

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You would either get a Largemouth Bass or the wrong and not game fish. It measures the weight of your fish instantly, makes you want to "lure" away from real fishing.

When time runs out, you would countine if you insert more coins at the arcade or if you pressed Start on your Playstation.

The greatest games don't need extreme violence. Fishing is an old-time sport, and there is a limit to fishing. Also, fun games like Simpsons Bowling and Namco classics like Pac-Man prove arcades don't need fake guns or fighting. They just need a good memory. And good, laid-back music.

Comments

Hmmm, something fishy about this article. Heh. Seriously though, I for one am pleased to see this article on here. In Japan I hear there are games where you can actually drive the trains that take people two and from work--oh how we celebrate the mundane. I just wish more detail could have been given on this article. Perhaps it could have been expanded to include other games like Deer Hunter? Although that would have interfered with your no gun thing.

This article gives me a sense of how the game operated, but it would have been nice to know more about the creators, what they were thinking when they made the game, etc. Fish for thought. Heh. Nice first run though.

I found the following info on IGN:

There's a deep, dark secret in this industry. A secret world that lies beneath all the fighting games, sports games, and that cute little music game you bought last year. That world is the world of fishing games.

People have been making fishing games for a long, long time. One of the earliest examples of a fishing game is Fishing Derby for the Atari 2600. Fisherman's Bait, while significantly more complex than Fishing Derby, also takes a stripped-down approach to the world of fishing. But what this arcade port loses in realism, it makes up for in entertainment.

There are a few different modes to choose from in Fisherman's Bait. The beginner mode teaches you how to use the game's controls in an easy, well-stocked lake. Training mode lets you pick one of the game's three main lakes and simply fish. Versus mode allows you and a friend to have a fish-off to see who can get the most bass. Tournament mode is the game's main mode. Here, you play through all three of the lakes. Each lake has a qualifying run and an actual tournament. To qualify for the tournament, you must catch a fish that is heavier than the qualification weight. The tournament itself is a ten-minute event. You must catch the three heaviest bass you can find. To catch fish, you've got several lures and several different lake locations to choose from. Knowing which lure to use, how to use it, and where to use it is the key to getting fish to bite, but keeping them on the hook is entirely up to you. Once they're hooked, you've got to reel them in. Usually, there isn't much of a fight, but the huge fish can be really hard to land. As you reel, you've got to watch the tension gauge. If it gets too high, your line will snap and the fish will escape. So as it gets up there, you've got to release the tension and let them run a little bit. After you've tired the fish out, they aren't too hard to land.

Since it's an arcade port, you've also got to contend with a separate timer. Each fish you catch gives you a little more time on your game timer. If it runs out, you'll have to use a credit to continue. The options screen lets you set it up for infinite credits, though, so this isn't really a large worry.

While Fisherman's Bait is a reasonably fun game, it really isn't worth more than a rental to most. There is, after all, a reason why fishing games have remained a deep, dark secret. However, if you latched onto the arcade version, or if fishing games are just your bag, then by all means, pick it up.

eh!