In Which Game Did You Enjoy Fishing the Most?

[The Wanderer]

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.

 

[Curmudgeon]

Link's Awakening. I only had to do it once... though I begrudgingly accept it as part of the game at this point.

 

[OcarinaBoy]

I liked TP's fishing the best. It felt the most like actual fishing to me. Now, for your questions:

-Weight and size are irrelevant to me. I do not care one way or another, but if I had to choose, I would say size. I can actually see the difference in size, but I can't tell the difference between weights (as I cannot actually pick up the fish with my own hands).

-I prefer multiple kinds of fish. If there was only one kind, I would have no reason to fish at all after the first go.

-I think the ability to fish whenever and wherever you want should return. I don't know about any of you, but I sometimes just get random urges to do a specific thing in games. Fishing is one of those things, and I don't want to have to pay to do it.

-Fish should only slip off of the hook if you truly can't fish. I should lose a fish and know it was my fault, not just because the game decided that I wouldn't get that one.

 

[Not Take Mirror]

I don't like fishing that much but I'd vote for TP because the area surrounding the fishing pond was beautiful.

 

[Random Person]

Twilight Princess easily. The first moments of fishing weren't that stimulating, but once I found Hena's fishing hole, I would literally turn on TP just to fish. OoT also had a very relaxing fishing environment, but TP's beautiful scenery, of equal or better quality music, and overall atmosphere was simply at the peak of relaxing and enjoyable.

 

[JuicieJ]

Never enjoyed the fishing period, but I guess I'd have to say Twilight Princess, given that it was the most fleshed-out of them.

 

[Zorth]

Twilight Princess, is it even a contest?
I mean it had by far the best designed and most depth added out of all the games, it has really stunning scenery and a nice variety of fish. Although I think TWW would've been the most enjoyable had they actually added some fishing side quest, I mean we would've had the entire giant sea to fish in.

 

[Ventus]

Fishing in real life is a game of patience, but at the same time you can do numerous other things such as skip rocks, make sand castles, enjoy the scenery...OH, yes! One of the most important parts of fishing in Zelda is enjoying the scenery, and I'll tell you why with a little story of me fishing not two summers ago.

My dad took my little brother and I out to Lake Arlington...or something like that. At first, I thought it was gonna be entirely too boring; I'm not a patient person by birth and I really hate waiting on ONE MEASLY fish. But, since we were going to be there for like five hours, why not make the best of it? My little bro and I were skipping rocks in some remote part of the lake thing so as to not disturb where the main fishies were at. Every once in a while I would stare out into the blue, then compare it to the brownish sand. What did I notice? Beauty, of course.

For that reason, Twilight Princess is my favorite fishing game. There's a lot of beauty to behold, even if it's a drab kind of beauty.

 

[Spirit]

Ocarina of Time every time for me, i didnt mind it in TP GC but then i played TP wii and i wasted a good 20minutes trying to get the damn thing to work and i'll always remember the annoyance, so OoT <3

 

[CynicalSquid]

None of them. Fishing is so boring in any game.

 

[ZeldaFan11235]

I think TP was the best because I really liked lure fishing, but normal fishing wasn't all that great. I also did like OoT fishing but not as much as TP lure fishing.

 

[MsNerrrrd]

TP. The Fishing Bond was so beautiful and peaceful! Although fishing in general was appealing as well c:

 

[Blue Star]

Objectively, TP had the best fishing mini game in the Zeldas I've played, but I had a lot of frustrations with it too. The motion controls got on my nerves and I got annoyed of having to row around the entire lake to search for the few fish that were in it. There was something else that annoyed me about it, but I don't remember what it was.
In short: I would've voted TP if not for the frustrations I had. So I voted OoT instead.

Other thoughts:
I like fishing for multiple fish; it gets boring if there's only one type.

Fishing in more locations would be cool; they could add different fishes for different regions/bodies of water. Certain fishes would hang out in lakes, other would hang out in rivers, etc.

And...

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.

^This, man. This. I know crap happens when you fish in real life, but it's still really frustrating to catch a great fish just to have it slip away. -_-

 

[theoathtoorder]

I chose Ocarina of Time, because taking off the owner's hat is hilarious (albeit it sucks he takes so many rupees away afterwards)

 

[Heroine of Time]

This is a really interesting thread! I always hate to go with the crowd, but I really do have to say TP here. Even so, I must say I'm surprised Phantom Hourglass isn't getting more love. I played more fishing in that game than OoT and LA combined, and it was pretty fun.

However, even though I've chosen Twilight Princess, it's ONLY lure fishing in the Fishing Hole. BECAUSE I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE NORMAL FISHING WITH A PASSION. It takes me a stupid HOUR to catch that dumb fish for that dumb cat at the beginning. Same with the Reekfish. LITERALLY an hour. My sister went to tennis, which took an hour, and when she came back, I was still fishing, then she took it and caught it on the first try. GODS I hate normal fishing.

...But lure fishing is fun and relaxing and, best of all, makes sense. I've spent long periods of time just floating around out there and fishing for no apparent reason. And it entertains my friends that don't even like Zelda games too, so bonus.

OoT's fishing has always been really difficult for me. I still have no idea what I'm doing on there. As a result, it's one of two Heart Pieces that I'm missing to get 100% in Master Quest. I'm just really bad at it, and I always DREAD going there to get the Golden Scale. It's so frustrating.

Link's Awakening fishing wasn't even memorable at all. It was easy and simple and kind of boring. But fortunately you're done with it in less than two minutes, so it doesn't bother me like OoT's.

As I already said, I enjoyed PH's. I remember bringing my DS to church, and while I was waiting for my dad, I'd get it out and just start fishing. Seriously. I have no idea why it was so entertaining to me, but I loved it. Even after getting the Heart Container for catching that big fish (I totally forgot what it's called; it's been a while since playing PH) I still did it. Just because I could.

As for your questions:

- Do you prefer fish being rated by weight or size?
Well, I never really pay attention to that. The only time that ever mattered was that Heart Piece in OoT, and I already explained how much that annoyed me, so I don't really care. (In fact, I'm wondering if there actually are any people out there who actually take the time to fill out their fish journals and struggle to get the biggest fish... you people should show yourselves if you exist, because that concept just sounds so strange to me!)

- Do you prefer having multiple kinds of fish to catch or just one kind (Hylian Loaches aside)?
Multiple kinds is sort of nice, but it can be a bit bothersome when you're trying to catch one specific type and you keep getting a different one. But I think it's an interesting implementation.

- Do you want the ability to fish outside the pond to continue, or should it be limited to one mini-game location?
I have no problem with fishing being available outside of a Fishing Pond, but for the love of Nayru, don't FORCE us to do it for some stupid quest required to COMPLETE THE GAME.

- Should fish slip off the hook at all, whether by complete luck or sloppy handling?
Of course they should! But as others have pointed out, it shouldn't be mere luck or chance that causes them to slip. That's annoying. It should have something to do with the way you're handling the fish.