Nerdicus NES Review #87 : The Black Bass

Title : The Black Bass

Publisher : Hot B

Genre : Fishing Simulator

Players : 1 Player

Release Date : 1989

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $4-$5

How appropriate that I make my way back from one of the seafood capitals of the US and I review a fishing game. Frankly, the only thing I like about fishing is the aftermath. Eating the fish! It's kind of funny that I was recently talking to my friend Kent up in Boston about how every time we went fishing we had never caught a fish. And I mean never.

We must have gone fishing a half a dozen times and the only thing we caught were crab eating our bait. Hell, I caught more seagulls after I cast my line out than I did fish. Am I absolutely horrible at fishing? Probably. Do I enjoy it. Why yes, yes I do. There is something cathartic about sitting on a pier or the edge of a boat, with a beer in one hand and a rod in the other. Hours pass, and nothing may happen, but you're still having a damn good time.

Can't really say much about playing a video game about fishing....I mean Zelda fishing is fun, but a regular fishing simulator? 

Meh. Let's see how this goes.

So this game is actually the second BLACK BASS fishing game, but the US never got the first one, so we just called this one BLACK BASS instead of BLACK BASS 2. If you're familiar with how games are imported, you'll know this happens a lot. Heck, just look at the Final Fantasy series. 

Anyway, the object of the game as the title suggests is to catch as many black bass as possible on the given map from sunrise to sunset. And how do you catch black bass you might ask? Easy - choose your lure and cast that line out there. The bass are out there somewhere, and it's up to you to catch those slippery fish.

The trick is to cast your line, and slowly reel your lure back toward your boat. By tugging on your lure, you'll attract the attention of fish and eventually they'll charge toward your line. BUT if you really want to increase your chances of successfully reeling that fish in, be sure to snag it closer to your boat.

In order to reel the fish in, you have to alternate between reeling and letting the fish get loose on the line. This depletes the fish's HP and allows you to catch it easier. It's all about successfully alternating with bursts of the B button.

You have to be careful though. Reeling in too hard can snap your line, and you can also lose the attention of the fish if you reel in too fast before it gets hooked.

Honestly, the game is pretty addicting and you'll find yourself playing over and over again on different maps just to see if you can beat your previous record of catching the largest bass. I believe the largest bass I caught was almost 20 lbs. It seriously reminds me why I had such a fun time playing those fishing mini games for Zelda.

The graphics are the only thing that aren't anything spectacular with this game. It's not bad for 1989, but everything looks a bit too blocky and flat for my taste. And who would have thought a fishing game would have such epic music? Too bad you don't hear these sort of tunes when you actually go fishing, ha!

Final Score (out of 5) :

Until next time. Keep on gaming!