Bass Masters Classic THQ (Natsume) Reviewed by Mew Barrymore bitedabullet@yahoo.com Size: 8MB Save: Passwords Released: 1999 Works with: All Gameboys **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: Outside of Japan, video game fishing simulations have always had something of a "fishy" reputation: as if the thrills and spills of angling don't convert well to the land of button pushing and joypad waggling. Personally, I was converted to the genre after playing the fantastic "Legend Of The River King" a fishing RPG with a slight emphasis on Pokémon's "gotta catch 'em all" mentality. This game succeeded because it blended Zelda style adventuring with fighting and fishing. Although the game forced you to employ complex fishing strategies, just catching fish was never the "sole" (hee-hee) object of the game. A focus on "just fishing" is the main problem with Bass masters classic... **************************************************************************** Gameplay Description: Bass masters classic is endorsed by the BASS (Bass Anglers Sports Society) association of America. This is meant to ensure a good degree of realism into the game. Essentially this game is a tournament fishing game. The rules of tournament fishing are explained both on screen and in the complex instruction booklet. The overall aim of the game is to become the "bass master" this status is achieved by winning all of the competitions which you participate in. Depending on how you "plaice" (there I go again) in each tourney limits how quickly you progress through the game. To win a competition you must land the biggest bass and ensure that your livewell contains the biggest collective weight of bass after three days fishing. A typical day's fishing goes like this: first you choose a place on the competition lake where you would like to fish (a green bass mark tells you where the best spots are.)Now the view switches to the first person fishing mode. Depending on the depth and temperature of the water you select a suitable lure (from a selection of about thirty) and cast into the lake. Now you wait and wait and wait and wait until finally you get a splash screen showing a big mutha bass in the area of your lure: now the action begins. You press down on the D-pad to set the hook in the fishes mouth and begin reeling the slimy fella in. This is where the real strategy begins. You have two meters on the screen, one for line and one for tension. As you reel the "line" back in the "tension" meter increases as the fish struggles to escape. You have to bide your time and gradually pull the line as the fish starts to pull your way. Eventually you will pull the bass to the surface of the lake and then try to land it. You have three chances to get your hands on your piscine prize. Wait for the best opportunity then press A to grab the fish and pull him on board your boat. You are then told how much the fish ways and you put him in your live well to be weighed later. After collecting the requisite number of fish you go to the weigh-in and see how well you did. If you placed you will be given a password and will start the next competition. This is really all this game ever amounts to. Although there are three types of lake and variable weather conditions you can't get over the fact that there is only ONE type of fish. Boredom soon sets in especially when you realize that you can't permanently save your biggest fish to the pak. The password system is a very inadequate method of saving your progress in this game. In my opinion there's no real incentive to learn the strategies of the many lures since they all seem to have similar effects and the bass all behave in predictable fashions. Real fishing phreaks may get a kick out of this game but most casual anglers will get bored very quickly.. Liked: Some strategy in catching the bass Hated: No save feature, gets boring too quickly. **************************************************************************** Graphics Description: On the Gameboy color this game really shines visually. the colours are all pretty vibrant and everything has a quality feel. The mock-3D fishing lake also looks very good. What is also effective is the animations of the many different lures although all the fish (whether big or small) look the same! On the normal GB this game is less impressive but monochrome gamers can still enjoy the excellent animations. Liked: Quality graphics Hated: Same fish, different weight! **************************************************************************** Sound/Music Description: The main fishing song gets irritating after awhile and can luckily be turned off from the options screen. Otherwise the music is fairly standard for GB games. Sound FX are also the standard GB stuff. Liked: Music OFF option Hated: No digitized speech!! **************************************************************************** Play Control/Game Design: The actual casting of the fishing line is handled very well in this game and the controls feel responsive and precise. Navigating the menus is also a fairly simple task. A major flaw of the game design is the awful password system. Apart from the problem of not being able to save your biggest fish/tournament performance to memory, the password itself is hideously designed. The digits of the code are interspersed with little graphical representations of fishing lures: telling one from the other is a difficult and frustrating task. You have to be a fishing expert to tell a Texas rig from a Kansas dipper and a 1/2 oz. willow leaf from a baited spinner! Liked: Good Control Hated: Terrible password system **************************************************************************** Improve: Include battery back-up, make fish look more distinct. RIYL: Legend Of The River King, Bass Angler 64 etc. **************************************************************************** Final Words: In reviewing this game I'm conscious of the fact that I'm not really a great fan of tournament fishing and that some gamers might find this simulation interesting. As a GB simulation of a complex sport this title succeeds admirably, yet as GB "game" this title falls miserably short. One for true fishing fanatics only... **************************************************************************** Score Gameplay: ** Graphics: **** Sound/Music: ** Play Control/Game Design: ** Personal Opinion: ** Total: 12 Final Score: 48% **************************************************************************** Currently Known Cods (dear me): Make sure you leave the "hint mark" on at the options screen as this tells you where the best bass are lurking.