Fishing Fighters is a Switch exclusive fishing game with an emphasis on story and multiplayer.  In the main Story Mode, you play as Kaito, a young aspiring fisherman who gets a letter in the mail from his long lost dad.  Inside the letter is a ticket to a fishing tournament, so now he’s off to compete and be the best angler ever.  He’ll meet anime inspired characters like a busty professor lady that teaches him the ropes, as well as a host of other friends and rivals.

To cast, you can either use button and joystick controls or motion movements with the JoyCon.  No method is better than the other.  Once a fish is interested in your bait, you’ll see a meter icon you’ll want to try and fill.  Sometimes you must leave your rod still, other times you can move it around to entice the fish.  It just depends on what you’re trying to catch.  Once the meter is full, you must wait for the rod to bend, then pull up on the controller to hook the fish.  Then you press the ZR button to reel the fish in.  But make sure to point the rod in the direction they tell you to, and watch the meter so it doesn’t get too full on either side.  If it does, you’ll lose the bait and fish and must start again.  When you catch a fish, you can earn points you can use to buy better bait, rods, and more in the shop.

The main problem I had with this game is that the fishing controls are just not good.  It’s way too easy to lose your bait because you didn’t move left or right in time.  You only get like a split second to react.  Even worse, depending on how you cast, the icon that tells you how interested a fish is in your bait may block your view of your rod.  And since you need to watch your rod bend to hook the fish, it makes it hard to tell when you need to do that.  There are other modes in this game, like Free Play, a Shop, and a Collection, but I really couldn’t tell you about those modes since you have to unlock them by playing the Story Mode.  And I couldn’t get very far in that since the controls are so awful.  I really hate giving this game a bad review, because the publishers of this title, Aksys Games, have been supportive of me since they’ve been around.  Luckily about a year and a half ago, they published another fishing game on the Switch called Fishing Star: World Tour.  And that one was WAY better than this entry, so if you want a fishing game on the Switch, I’d say get that one instead.

Kid Factor:

Nothing violent or objectionable here.  Reading skill is a must for the text, and younger gamers may find the controls too difficult.  Fishing Fighters is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews