Series Review: Sega Bass Fishing

Game: Sega Bass Fishing
Console: Sega Dreamcast
Developer: Sims/Sega AM1
Release Date: 30th September 1999

Sega Bass Fishing (or Get Bass as it was titled in Japan) falls into a special category of games, which I particularly enjoy; home console conversions of Sega Model 3 and Sega NAOMI arcade games. Other games in this select group include Crazy Taxi, The House of the Dead 2, Virtua Tennis, 18 Wheeler Pro Trucker and Power Stone. I only recently picked up Sega Bass Fishing despite my local game shop owner's numerous attempts to sell the game to me from around 2003 to 2005.

As you might imagine the aim of the game is to catch fish, which are ranked by weight. There are four size classes (Small One, Average, Big One, and Huge), which contribute towards clearing levels in arcade mode and towards winning competitions in original mode. Since the gameplay is taken from an arcade game, the controls are simple and catching fish is achieved through a sort sequence of steps. First, players choose their lure and where to cast their rod, then they try to get a fish to bite, before reeling in the caught fish to be weighed and starting over again. Fish are fairly abundant wherever the player decides to cast their rod, and can sometimes be seen just below the water, as an indication of where is best to cast.

(In the PAL version, they used sensible measurements like Celsius and Grams) 

The left and right triggers on the Dreamcast controller and used for reeling in the fishing line, while the analog stick controls the angle at which the fish is being pulled. Too much continuous strain on the fishing line and it will break, releasing the fish back into the water. While this might seem very simple, each fish that bites seems to handle a little differently when reeled in. There's no exact science to the angles and speed of catching the fish, and this keeps the game a little fresher than if it was easy (I think it's an intentional choice).

In Arcade Mode players work their way through 3 stages, attempting to catch a certain weight worth of fish within the time limit, to move onto the next stage. There's also a final bonus stage in which players are tasked with catching a super bass. Original Mode enters players into a competition with 5 individual tournaments, with 3 sessions of fishing each. Players are awarded points based on where they finish in the ranking tables for total weight of fish. While this mode is almost like an extended arcade mode, it's good for a longer gaming session, and has parts where players must consider what type of lure/strategy they use.

Graphically Sega Bass Fishing shows off the impressive potential of the Dreamcast as a system. Considering the game was released in 1999, there weren't many games on the market back then that looked this good. Both the underwater life and scenery look good and pretty realistic in a similar way to other Dreamcast games. Musically there's a decent selection of rock music to accompany play, especially reeling in the fish where heavier music than normal plays. The voice acting is a little suspect, but it's not a major aspect of the game.

Overall whether you're into fishing or not, Sega Bass Fishing makes for a fun arcade experience which doesn't confine itself to the norms of modern gaming. I'm aware that some people may find the game repetitive or even unappealing, but personally I'm a big fan of games such as this and Crazy Taxi where you're thrown into an unfamiliar gaming situation and expected to perform like a pro. It certainly makes a change from being asked how well you can shoot things.

Rating: 74/100
Grade: B

Game: Sega Bass Fishing Duel
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Wow Entertainment
Release Date: 23rd September 2003

Although Sega Bass Fishing 2 and Sega Marine Fishing were released in the USA and Japan, the only sequel to Sega Bass Fishing that PAL regions received was Sega Bass Fishing Duel, which advertised itself as having highly intelligent fish AI, improved opponent AI, a two player game mode and ecosystems with weather changing and seasonal effects. At first glance this all seems very impressive and as if it might add a little more complexity to the arcade formula of the original.

As soon as players dive into the game however, it's clear that the sequel is much more of a serious fishing game than its predecessor. At first I wasn't quite sure what I was doing wrong; I'd cast my lure and reel it back in slowly, just as I did in the first game, but there were no fish around. So I'd move, and try again somewhere else, but once again there'd be no fish. It turns out that this was basically intentional; the fish only hang out in certain places at certain times of the day, and respond to certain lures, making catching them far harder.

After a little time playing, I thought it'd be best to enter a tournament and see how that went, but not only was the lack of fish once again frustrating, some of the fish that I did catch looked a decent size underwater, but were apparently "Crappie" (a real type of fish) which weren't even counted towards the total fish I'd caught due to being too small. There was never really any sign of larger fish and even with the suggested lure and what seemed to be the best location, I only caught 2 small fish, which placed me 33rd in the competition.

The controls have been updated since the original game and not only is finding options such as changing the lure or going in/out of casting mode difficult, but catching fish has also become more complicated. Once a fish bites, players must quickly press L1, then begin reeling the fish in with R1 whilst keeping the meter at the side in the yellow section (the line will break in the red section and the fish will escape in the green). Once the fish is near enough to the player's boat, a new meter appears on screen which players have to stop in the right sector to complete a successful catch.

Graphically Sega Bass Fishing Duel seems to be a little worse than the Dreamcast game in places, though the water texture and some other features are quite nice. There's a similar style of music in both games, which is fairly enjoyable and adds to the mood of the gameplay. Unlike Sega Bass Fishing on the Dreamcast, Duel uses pounds and ounces to measure the size of fish that are caught, which for a PAL region game is odd. It wasn't too much of a problem though, as the big fish aren't at all easy to catch.

Overall as a sequel, the game complicates the arcade formula of the original and comes across as too complex, in depth and unappealing unless you're into actual fishing (in which case you'd go and do it). Perhaps fans of simulator games might enjoy this, but I can't think of many other reasons why you'd want to pick Sega Bass Fishing Duel up.

Rating: 48/100
Grade: D