The Black Bass
System: NES
Release Date: September 1989
Developer: Another
Publisher: Hot-B
Genre: Sports
I was looking forward to playing the Black Bass. It was my first fishing game, after all. I started up, named my character, and then I got into my boat to catch a lunker. Unfortunately, I lost out on the last part of my plans.
You can move your boat around the map of the lake. Most spots have little bass available for you, but occasionally you can come across a spot with nice bass present. There are a number of lures available in three different colors, but you’re only granted access to a few to start. The different colors are for different weather patterns, but I’m not sure which is best. The manual isn’t very helpful, either, with some terrible translation.
After casting your line, you reel in with the A Button, but more often than not are going to be more successful pressing left and right in a sweeping motion. Sooner or later, a fish will come on screen and if you’re lucky, they won’t get the “fish goes away” message and the fight will be on!
You reel the fish in with the A Button, but you can’t just hold it down. This will create tension on the line and cause it to snap if you’re unlucky. You need to tire the fish out by pulling it left and right. If you need to take a quick break, hold the B Button to thumb the line. As the fish fatigues, you’ll see the fish icon become bones, which tells you to pull that sucker in. Be careful, because they can jump in an attempt to get away.
You only benefit from catching bass, but there are also trout and pike that want to waste your time. You need to keep an eye on the time, because there are only so many hours in the day to do your fishing. You need to get in the top five to rank up and move to the next lake. In one round, I moved from 200th rank to 172nd. I decided to call it quits after a day.
Graphics: 1.0
Nothing looks particularly pleasant, instead very blobby.
Sound: 1.0
I remember the music, but it turns out my brain made it sound better.
Gameplay: 1.0
There’s very little depth to the fishing mechanics.
Difficulty: 2.0
Reeling in a fish isn’t too hard, but getting the big ones to show up and hook on the line takes patience.
Fun Factor: 1.0
I didn’t really have enough fun to want to keep playing, unfortunately.
Overall Grade: 1.2
The Black Bass earns a D+. I’m really disappointed that the game isn’t as fun as I remembered. Only 1100 more games until the superior Super Black Bass…