Source: GamePro – Issue Number 109 – August 1998
I have a confession to make. I have never been interested in fishing simulations. Not even a little bit. Reel Fishing (Fish Eyes in Japan) is fairly typical of such games. Gameplay is relatively simplistic: hook the fish and reel it in. I may be simplifying somewhat but not by too much.
Reel Fishing was released in Japan in 1996 and in the U.S. in 1998. It was the first in a series of games. The most recent was Reel Fishing: Master’s Challenge released in 2015 for the PlayStation Vita. As far as fishing sims go, Reel Fishing is a decent game and as a series it certainly has a long history. There are a surprisingly large number of fishing games and I don’t know if this one particularly stands out but it definitely got good reviews. It was popular enough to be re-released on the PlayStation Network and to reach Greatest Hits status. The only other particular item of interest is that the original game was released with a fishing controller that was also compatible with some of the sequels. For added realism I suppose.
Like I said, I’m not a fan of the genre but plenty of people are. This seems like one of the more popular series so its work checking out if you are into fishing sims or think you might be. You might be better off skipping a couple of generations and going for the PS2 or Dreamcast release or if you have a Wii there is an even later release on that system. There are also releases on mobile systems including the 3DS, Vita and iOS. But if you want to check out the game that started it all, just plain old ‘Reel Fishing’ on the PlayStation is the place to start.
