Amazon Maximum Age: 20 years Amazon Minimum Age: 60 months Binding: Video Game Brand: Natsume, Inc. EAN: 0719593100065 ESRB Age Rating: Everyone Label: Natsume, Inc. Manufacturer: Natsume, Inc. Platform: Nintendo DS Publisher: Natsume, Inc. Release Date: April 22, 2008 Sales Rank: 4528 Studio: Natsume, Inc.
Features:
Search for the River King to help your younger sister wake up in this fun adventure
Journey to rivers, swamps, ponds, and hidden fishing spots; collect bait, lures, rods, and more
Make friends with magical creatures and unlock their special abilities to help you
Innovative fishing engine using the Touch Screen; variety of mini-games
Have a fishing tournament with your friends via Nintendo Wi-Fi connection
Rating: - Good use of the DS hardware, still same basic game
Just like the rest of the River King games, you're sent on a quest to catch the River King to solve some problem with a family member (this time your sister refuses to wake up). It's just like the preceding games: catch fish, buy more bait, catch more fish, buy more bait, upgrade rods, etc. There are a few new twists, though. This time you get points for each fish you catch, you don't sell them, and trade these points for equipment. Also, you collect a certain number of fish, plants or bugs and you can get trading cards that can also be exchanged for points. Your combat with outside animals is also different in the fact that you now have a monster pet. As you feed it fish and talk to it, it grows and becomes more powerful as it follows you around.
The DS controls add a new depth to your fishing experience, and it's a pretty good one. Rather than just cast, hook, fight and reel in, now you can control the casting direction and fighting directionals better. Your top screen shows a top-down view of your player and how far away the fish is in relation to your pole, while the bottom shows the interactive underwater screen. Pulling to the left or right edge will drag the fish in closer, while spinning the stylus on the middle of the touch screen will reel it in. Watching the two screens is important, because if you reel when the fish is too far away, line tension increases and you can lose your catch.
There's a good amount of new content to keep the game different from the previous installments, and the DS controls are a good addition, but it's still really just the same game. Still, it was worth it in my opinion, being an avid Natsume fan.
