Family Fishing (Nintendo 3DS) Review

Family Fishing almost feels like an over the top fighter. The line is cast out into the water, aiming for fish; various rods and baits can be used, and the goal is to accumulate points, with each fish being worth different points. However, every time a fish grabs the lure, the player begins a struggle involving trading blows on the fishing wire. This continues until the fish is inevitably caught, a certain amount of points is rewarded based on its size, with the objective being gaining more points than the opponent in the span of five minutes.

A lot of this is based on the equipment going into any struggle, which is largely the base equipment one start with for a while. The struggle on the fishing line seems largely arbitrary, and again comes down to the base stats (which are not displayed) of the fishing rod. It's simple enough to catch a lot of the smaller fish, but catching the bigger ones is going to require upgrading rods and baits. Even after doing this, everything feels rather random. A lot of the time, throwing the bait, regardless of its stats, is just a luck game. It's a nice touch of realism, but removes the majority of the skill required to catch each fish.

Prowess is never really a factor, and the opponents always feel a bit less competent than you. It's easy to play for the full five minutes of each match, and only see the rival fisherman succeed a handful of times. Never once does the game feels like it could overtake the player, which is kind of nice considering the random nature of success. With the opponent being almost consistently inferior, it's easy to get through multiple "matches" without really trying too hard, regardless of rod and bait.

While it may sound like it has lots of negatives, Family Fishing is a guilty pleasure kind of experience. While it can be argued that it often just hands the wins, the luck factor turns it into more of an overpowered sports title; it's easy to pick it up, bolster self-confidence, and move on. This also features some nice graphics, even if they are atypical Miis, and the 3D effects are astounding, and pop right off the screen. In conclusion, while there's no real skill that the player will grow, there is a sense of achievement the game doles out pretty consistently, even if it's often hollow.