- Joined
- Aug 25, 2012
- Location
- Indiana, USA
Each of the currently four Zelda games to involve fishing offered different takes on the mini-game. Link's Awakening was more of a quick and simple diversion to earn a Piece of Heart. Ocarina of Time expanded it to include fish with differing weights, rewards, and favorite spots to fish in. You could even throw on the Iron Boots and see them up close if you wanted. I'm not familiar with Phantom Hourglass's version, so I can't comment on it, but Twilight Princess further expanded the fishing concept and allowed you to fish in any body of water in addition to renting a canoe at Hena's shop and partaking in the actual mini-game.
So which Zelda game had the best implementation of fishing? Some other questions to think about:
- Do you prefer fish being rated by weight or size?
- Do you prefer having multiple kinds of fish to catch or just one kind (Hylian Loaches aside)?
- Do you want the ability to fish outside the pond to continue, or should it be limited to one mini-game location?
- Should fish slip off the hook at all, whether by complete luck or sloppy handling?
I suppose choosing between weight and size doesn't matter that much, but I probably prefer weight because it puts the emphasis on how completely large they are rather than simply how much room they can take up from left to right. I always get excited when I see a huge fish in Ocarina of Time, but it's hard to tell how big a fish is in Twilight Princess until you've caught it.
I prefer having multiple kinds of fish to catch, as it presents more replay value and more bang for your buck.
The ability to fish outside the official (o-fish-al?) pond should probably continue, but perhaps with a bit more emphasis on its practical use (i.e. fish can be cooked and eaten, catalogued in a bestiary, and even kept as pets). Again, more bang for your buck.
Fish should not slip off the hook by sheer chance. That's unnecessarily frustrating. If that feature was to return at all, it should be because fishing has become more interactive and requires more input than simply holding a button and cranking back on the control stick. That might actually be a good idea to implement.
So which Zelda game had the best implementation of fishing? Some other questions to think about:
- Do you prefer fish being rated by weight or size?
- Do you prefer having multiple kinds of fish to catch or just one kind (Hylian Loaches aside)?
- Do you want the ability to fish outside the pond to continue, or should it be limited to one mini-game location?
- Should fish slip off the hook at all, whether by complete luck or sloppy handling?
I suppose choosing between weight and size doesn't matter that much, but I probably prefer weight because it puts the emphasis on how completely large they are rather than simply how much room they can take up from left to right. I always get excited when I see a huge fish in Ocarina of Time, but it's hard to tell how big a fish is in Twilight Princess until you've caught it.
I prefer having multiple kinds of fish to catch, as it presents more replay value and more bang for your buck.
The ability to fish outside the official (o-fish-al?) pond should probably continue, but perhaps with a bit more emphasis on its practical use (i.e. fish can be cooked and eaten, catalogued in a bestiary, and even kept as pets). Again, more bang for your buck.
Fish should not slip off the hook by sheer chance. That's unnecessarily frustrating. If that feature was to return at all, it should be because fishing has become more interactive and requires more input than simply holding a button and cranking back on the control stick. That might actually be a good idea to implement.