Black Bass Lure Fishing Game by Majesco Reviewed by The Avardancer (Philip Wesley) Size: 8 megabits Save: Passwords Released: 1999 Works with: Every version of Game Boy **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: I hate fishing. I generally dislike fishing games as well. Why? Because they are boring to me. Although, I loved the fishing mini games in Legend of Zelda 4 and 5. This is a fishing game. I automatically have low expectations for it. Although, I heard this one was pretty cool. **************************************************************************** Gameplay Descripion: What can I say, I can reuse lures and I'm in some type pf tourney. Is this game fun? It's addictive. I'll playfor no real reason. And sometimes I actually like fishing. The way you catch the fish is very dependant on the weather conditions, and the type of bait you use and the color of the bait. A logical deal. I like reuseing a lure I caught a fish with. Although, like all fishing games I have played on Game Boy, it is as dull as dishwater. It puts me to sleep. This thing is a drug. Not as many fish as some games. Mostly tournament fish. CAsting and reeling is easy to pick up and do. So, it's a little more fun because it is easy. Although, the passwords are long, the game gets tediously boring to me, and the plot is nothing. Still, I can go in, catch a fish, and be happy in less than five minutes. Liked: Reusing lures. Catching fish is logical. Hated: No amazing fights with the fish.. and a "plot" that does.. NOTHING. **************************************************************************** Graphics Description: Nice graphics over-all. Not too bad. The cartoony "Fish Meter" is nice. The sketchy "3-D" underwater view is silly. Minimalist Super Game Boy goods. The color of your lure is relevant to the game. Very little animation. The fish generally look the same though. Nice color choices. Very little animation. Liked: The fish meter, the colors, that sketchy 3-D view. Hated: "Minnow" sized animation. Fish don't look different enough. No way to tell their weight from their looks. **************************************************************************** Sound/Music Description: The sound is minimal and does nothing for the game. The music though.. is severely odd. When you move your boat a tune from the Nutcracker plays. The Nutcracker Suite Op. 71A, "Waltz of the Flowers" to be precise. It is just WRONG. But it sounds accurate and nice. A HYMN plays when you catch a fish. I forgot the name but I remember the words. "Sing the something hymns before us, the song something something fill us with immortal gladness bind us now something something." I know it plays in the background of the Commodore 64 game: "Lazerian". Although.. forgive for griping; but as nice as the eclectic Christian music is.. I would rather hear something from Handel's Messiah. You know.. that chorus? That's how I feel when I catch a fish. There are other nicely done classical music midi re-enditions. All of them are great. I think I like the music in this game a lot. And I think it would be nice to see an RPG; where you could. I dunno, stick some money in a jukebox and chill out to some Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky. Liked: That music is great! Hated: But oddly out of place. I want to hear.. nature sounds. You know, rushing water, chirping birds, that was one of the things I liked about that Legend of the River King game. I would also like certain sounds. For example, I want to be able to doze off while playing the game only to be startled awake by a ringing noise telling me something likes my lure. Some of the music is not very long and can get VERY annoying. **************************************************************************** Play Control/Game Design: Easy to pick up and play. But it gets.. dull. It's an odd game. The music makes it worth a look. The game feels like it is not completely there; like it was copy/pasted from something; but not all the parts got pasted. Over all, it bores me to death; but entertains me at the same time. Liked: Like Alleyway, this game is easy to pick up and play, hard to put down, and lethally addictive. Hated: And I hate it; but I like it at the same time. Just like that son of Pong game Alleyway. **************************************************************************** Improve: I want an "arcade style" fishing game. Where I struggle with the fish, I want it to rumble and have no music other than Nature Sounds. I also want the strength to resist these fishing games.. OOH! Bass Masters Classic! It's a fishing game! I hate fishing.. I'll buy it! No! That's just wrong and I should stay away; but I can't. I can't. If you dangled a new Zelda game in front of me, I would buy it. Even if I knew it was dumb or something. I buy a new album from Plumb, Sixpence, None the Richer, and The Smashing Pumpkins without ever hearing a song off of that album. Fishing games do this to me; and I wish they didn't. OOH! Another fishing game! I gotta try that! Pray for me, seriously. I need to resist temptation. RIYL: Fishing. **************************************************************************** Final Words: Oh, no.. I need to stop playing Fishing games; but at least this one is I dunno.. addictive. All of those *bad word* fishing games are like this. I can't stand it! I just can't stand it! Good Grief. Anyways, you like Fishing? You might like this. It's a bit too coma-inducing for me; but if you actually LOVE fishing, you'll dig it. I think I like how it allows me to say stuff like: "I'm gonna get some BASS tonight!", or how the game pak says "Big Black Bass". So, I can say, "I'm here to sell my Big Black Bass." Or "Take your hands off my Big Black Bass!" **************************************************************************** Score Gameplay: *** Graphics: **** Sound/Music: **** Play Control/Game Design: *** Personal Opinion: * Total: 15 out of 25 Final Score: 60% **************************************************************************** Currently Known Codes: None yet!