Do you know the difference between float fishing and lure fishing? Do you know what a tackle is? Do you know the difference between a black bass and a smallmouth bass? If you said no to any or all of those questions then you’re in luck as you don’t need prior fishing knowledge to play Wii Fishing Resort.
I was told this was a smallmouth bass. I nodded sagely pretending to know what the heck they were talking about.
My fishing knowledge is pretty crappy. Fishing to me is putting a worm on a hook and chucking it away from you via a rod and line, hoping like hell you don’t get snagged in the tree branch hanging above your head. After that’s done, you sit. Then after that, you sit some more. You get up, you walk around a bit, you sit back down, and you crack open a beer alongside your “How to sit comfortably on tree roots” book. Wii Fishing Resort has taught me quite a bit about fishing all without having me to leave the comfort of my own home.
I also learned that fishing doesn’t always mean you’ll catch a fish.
The game starts you off small. You’re given a tutorial on how to go float fishing which involves a plastic white and red bobber that gives you a clear indication of when you snagged a fish. You can zoom in on said bobber for those long distance casts. You are introduced to your hotel where there is a regular day and night cycle. Time is sped up so that days usually last about fifteen to twenty minutes real-time. At the end of the day you’ll go back to your hotel room, turn in fish that you’ve caught for points, and go to bed. Points are used as currency for upgrading equipment, buying clothes, paying the hotel fees for spending the night, and upgrading your aquarium.
You can also rent bikes, kayaks, and boats to get you from point A to point B.
Yes, aquarium. A few days in you’ll receive a quest to catch ten fish and after completing it you’ll get your very own aquarium. The fish you turn in at the front desk are the fish that show up in your aquarium (you still get the points for turning those fish in). You can upgrade tanks to make them look better and unlock more tanks as you catch more fish types. You also receive points at the end of the day based on your profits of said aquarium. The more people who you can get to visit the more profit / points you’ll make. If you’re not savvy on business sim games not to worry, you won’t have to manage prices or anything like that, the game does it all for you.
Your hotel has a bulletin board which allows you to pick a catch of the day (catching this fish gives you double points), receive training, go on a fishing cruise, go on a submarine ride, participate in a kayak race, and more. You’re also given a journal and a fish index that allows you to keep track of which fish you caught in what areas and how many you still need to find.
After completing quests and catching more fish types in your starting area, you’ll be given the opportunity to buy a license which lets you check into other hotels which feature different fishing spots filled with new fish to catch. Advancing to the next area will require you to learn about lure fishing which the game has a tutorial for as well. The fishing shop will have a wide variety of lures to choose from for those of you master bai…fishermen.
We’re not in Kansas anymore.
The controls are pretty straight forward. You pick a spot, put the Wii remote over your head and swing it back down as you would a normal fishing rod to cast. When you get a bite your Wii remote will vibrate and if you are float fishing you’ll see your bobber go underwater and splash around. A nunchuk is required to play and acts as your reel. You’ll be given direction on which way to turn the Wii remote (rod) based on which direction the fish is pulling and at the same time be making “reeling in” motions with your nunchuk. Yes, you’ll look silly doing it, but you already knew this having bought a Wii in the first place. The nunchuk isn’t picky on the user making exact reeling motions, I was able to reel in a fish just by making jerking motions with my wrist. Take that however you want. There is a stress meter you’ll have to manage while reeling in the fish; if the line is too stressed lay off the reeling until the stress level goes down. Eventually the fish will tire out and after a brief game of “tug of war” you’ll have your fish. On occasion, you’ll get a stick or seaweed, which you still get a small amount of points for.
Wii Fishing Resort is a great family game and very user-friendly. I do have one or two complaints but they are minor. For one, there are only three profiles. I have yet to figure out if you can get more, those that know how feel free to leave a comment below. This forces a family of five to share profiles and those that have children know how well THAT works out sometimes. At the end of the day the game teleports you back to the hotel which may annoy some people. The same music plays every time you catch a fish and in the starting area it’s one hundred percent hee-haw music. Imagine if “Cotton Eyed Joe” blared from your imaginary boom box that was strapped to your shoulder every time you blinked your eyes. After a while you’d find that annoying.
Don’t let the above gripes turn you away from this game. You’ll get a ton of mileage out of this game and there’s plenty of content to keep you busy. It’s been on in my house almost twenty-four / seven for the last week; everyone loves it. I admit, twenty minutes of those twenty-four hours may have been me (twenty minutes is code for three hours) and I may or may not have had to put back a Wii remote to charge it and switch to the second remote to continue playing.
“Not to burst your bubble hun, but I already caught that one, and mine was bigger.”
If you like fishing or enjoy a game where you can sit back and relax while drinking a cold one, be it beer or chocolate milk, then I’d highly recommend giving this game a look.
Final Verdict: 8/10
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