We’re back for Part 2 of the ranking of fishing games. There are three more to talk about so let’s get started.
If you need to see how I’ve ranked the following games, then check back to my first post and see how each category is reviewed.
Ghostbusters (2009)
I know what you’re thinking: The Ghostbusters video game had fishing in it?? Yes and no. You could argue that capturing the ghosts in your little proton pack is like fishing, and I’d agree with you, but this post is about fish, and there are actually ghost fish inside the game, so we’re ranking that instead of catching boring regular ghosts.
VARIETY OF FISH: 1
According to the in-game database, the fish in the game are all bundled into one fish possessed by a minor ghost, calling this fish a “Dead Fish Flier.” There appear to be multiple types of fish in the bundle, but they’re categorized as one in the game.
FISHING LOCATIONS: 1
The only time these fish are found is near the end of the very first level. There are not fish in any other part of the game unfortunately.
FISHING CONTROLS: 5
All you really need to to to take care of these fish is use your proton pack, and to do that is just holding a single button. I was playing on my Xbox, so it was a single press of the trigger.
KNOWLEDGE: 3
You can clearly see that they’re fish, and you are able to scan the fish to get even more information from them, like background, and what they’re weak against, but if you catch the fish you cannot scan them.
RELAXATION: 1
The fish attack you and they’re spooky ghosts. There is nothing relaxing about this fishing.
EDIBILITY: NOPE NO NO NO
These are ghost fish. You can’t eat a spirit, they’d just go right through you. They’re also trying to kill you.
OVERALL SCORE: 11/25
Halo: Reach (2010)
Similar to Ghostbusters, there’s not actual fishing rods you can use in the game, but there are fish.
VARIETY OF FISH: 2
There’s definitely more than one type of fish in the game, but it’s not clear on how many, and I do not believe that there’s a lot.
FISHING LOCATIONS: 2
A small number of the multiplayer maps have fish swimming in the water. It’s very hard to tell how many because there’s a lot of maps and the fish are hard to spot sometimes.
FISHING CONTROLS: 5
The only way to “catch” the fish in the game is to shoot them, or throw a grenade at them and you’ll probably get them too, but I would consider the fish caught at that point.
KNOWLEDGE: 2
The game doesn’t tell you exactly what type of fish there is, but they’re visible in the water, and sometimes you get lucky by finding a spot labeled “Koi Pond,” which clearly means the fish there are koi.
RELAXATION: 2
Because the fish are all located on multiplayer maps, and the fact that this is a shooting game, it’s hard to feel relaxed fishing when there’s a lot of other players trying to kill you.
EDIBILITY: NONE
After you shoot the fish they just float a bit on the water. You can’t collect them to eat for health or anything.
OVERALL SCORE: 13/25
Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
(Original-1993, Remastered-2019)
VARIETY OF FISH: 2
As you can see in the picture above, there’s only a small number of fish at varying sizes.
FISHING LOCATIONS: 1
You can only fish in the small pond in Mabe’s Village.
FISHING CONTROLS: 4
The fishing isn’t too complicated in this game. You press one button to cast out, and the same to reel in. The only slightly difficult part is you may miss all the fish so you need to reel in and try again.
KNOWLEDGE: 4
You don’t know what type of fish you caught until the fisherman tells you afterwards, and there is no type of catalog showing what you had. You can see the fish in the water, however, and attempt to collect a specific type of fish.
RELAXATION: 2
It’s very frustrating when you cast out and miss all the fish, and when you actually get one on your line, very fast music starts playing, so it becomes stressful.
EDIBILITY: NONE
All you can do with your fish is sell them to the owner of the dock.
OVERALL SCORE: 13/25
Be sure to check back for Part 3 of fishing! The upcoming part have games with actual fishing controls in them unlike Ghostbusters and Halo: Reach.
Kristopher K. Online 