Does Fishing Resort Stand Out in a World of Shovelware?
This is Michelle. She likes this game. A lot.
Before I get criticized for leading with such a provocative title, THE ANSWER IS OMG, YES. Good, glad we got that out of the way. Now on to the important part. Why.
The first part of this answer is found by asking what makes shovelware so hated. Lack of content? Yes. Poor coding/design? That too. Bad controls? Sometimes. A focus on putting out anything with a cute picture on it and a gimmick to sell to an uninformed mass market? UGH. And so we form our (often valid) opinions, and judge everything we see on the shelf that looks like shovelware by them. And if you aren’t knowledgeable or aren’t looking carefully, you may mistake this game for more of the same. But hear me out, because looks can be deceiving. At first glance you say “Fishing game. Wii. Cute characters. Gimmicky controller. Low selling point.” and assume this is every other low budget Wii game.
You’re wrong. I’m not ashamed to say it out like that, either. First and foremost, a quick look into this game through reviews, videos, or even the back of the box shows that there’s a lot more to this game than just fishing. In fact, it was the initial trailer that got me interested. I thought “Ok, this looks cute. I like cute.” It should be noted that I have liked the idea of fishing games since I played Black Bass on the NES as a kid. Few fishing games in recent years have caught my eye, so when I saw fishing I thought “Hmm, this may be interesting.” But then I saw the exploration and all the different environments. “Exploring?” I thought, ” I LOVE exploration.” And then I saw the costumes. “WAIT, I CAN DRESS UP TOO?” Suddenly this game was looking like something special. A minute had passed. I was hooked.
When I actually got the game, I put it in and prepared to be excited. I spent an hour at the character selection screen trying to decide if I wanted slightly bigger boobs (adult character) or freckles (teenage character). In the end I went with the freckles because they were just so cute. And that’s most of this game, really. The whole thing is SO CUTE. Seriously, the only way this game could have been cuter is if the Hidamari Sketch artist had worked on it. The only thing that isn’t cute are the fish; instead they are photo-realistic and honestly look very detailed and smooth for the Wii. The first day was spent catching fish, learning the area, exploring, renting a bike, looking at the clothes shop, and getting a few rewards. That’s a lot for the first day. And here we reach the first argument. There is A LOT of content in this game. Unlike most shovelware in which you just barely get your money’s worth out of it, Fishing Resort gives you your money’s worth and then some. There are so many places to explore and so many things to do that it could almost be overwhelming if they hadn’t been smart enough to give it to you in increments. It isn’t Skyrim, obviously, but there’s still a lot to do here.
So what about the controls? I’ve seen a few minor complaints about the controls, and honestly, I don’t really see it. I’ve been playing the game using the fishing rod attachment and a Wii Motion Plus controller, and I think it controls well and is incredibly realistic. I particularly like the way you have to lean your rod left and right as the fish changes it’s angle in the water to break your line. If you’ve ever been fishing in real life, you know that fishing is about patience and endurance, as both you and the fish will try to tire each other out. Fishing Resort actually simulates this, including forcing you to reel slowly at first and give the fish slack to tire itself out. If there is any complaint to be made with the controls, it may be in that the casting seems a little wonky. You’d think the harder you through your rod, the further the line will go. But then, that’s not really true in real fishing, either. It’s more the angle and timing of when you let go of the line that determines how far you’re going to cast.
So far the quality of this production has been top notch, something which I think has to do with the series creator, Yuji Naka. In recent years, him and his team had been criticized so much for his inability to make a “good” Sonic game anymore, and because of it he shifted his focus away to more personal projects. Fishing Resort is one of those, and it shows. A lot of work was put into the polish of this game, and if you’re paying attention, the game really shines. The fish look amazingly realistic, the water and sky effects are vibrant and clean, there’s tons of fun clothing options for people who enjoy dressing up, and the Aquarium not only looks great but gives players the added level of micromanagement that players enjoy from Pokemon and or Harvest Moon. In many ways, Fishing Resort IS Pokemon, except with fishing instead of monster battling. It’s also very cute, has varied environments (including an ice fishing area), different modes of transport, quests, even an online ranking system.
In conclusion, I would be a bad reviewer if I didn’t go ahead and state the obvious. If you can’t stand fishing or find it tediously boring, this might not be your game. If, however, you don’t mind fishing and you’re a fan of games like Harvest Moon, I would highly recommend this little gem. If you’re willing to put in the time, this game will easily last you well beyond the amount of gameplay you’d expect from a $20/$30 game on the Wii with cute graphics.
ateliermichi 