To be fair, there are not many companies that can calm down and make fishing mobile games these days. I was browsing the forum two days ago and saw the game "National Fishing", and I immediately recognized it as a product from Kafong Cooper. I played their "Fishing Master" all the way from Saipan, so when I saw this game online, I felt a little bit like reunited with old friends.
Let's first talk about the advantages compared with similar products. Nowadays, fishing games on the market are either purely numerically idle, or they have a bunch of fancy pop-ups for cash. "Fishing for All" rarely retains some of the meaning of "serious fishing". What surprised me the most was its fish species illustration, which was said to be hundreds of species, but actually pulled it down without adding water. From the small yellow croaker in the offshore to the giant grouper in the deep sea, even the fin patterns were distinguished. It is much better than some products that are called "3D masterpieces" and the fish are just changed textures. The 9 maps are not just using the sea surface to fool people. The changes in water color of the lagoon in the Maldives and the cold blue of the Norwegian fjords all look like that.
In terms of gameplay, it takes a rather clever route - integrating fishing rod cultivation, fish species collection, and aquarium viewing. To be honest, I originally thought it was another kind of "one-button fishing" fake handle, but it turns out that the force feedback of throwing the rod, biting the hook, and reeling in the line is very thin. When you encounter a big fish, you have to control the direction, otherwise it will really cut off the line for you. This idea of balancing ease and operation is a bit like the "Fishing Enthusiast" of the year, but it is not so hard-core and is suitable for older players like me who don't want to be obsessed with operation.
Of course, shortcomings must also be mentioned. The first is that its development line is a bit scattered. Fishing rod enhancement, bait formula, aquarium decoration, plus the star rating of each fish, it is easy for novices to be confused. It took me two days of playing to figure out that certain rare fish require specific bait in specific weather before opening the illustrated guide. This guide is really not enough, and many newbies on the forum are stuck with bluefin tuna. The other one is the server problem. I have experienced two disconnections in the past two days. I am fighting with a 20-pound big fish. It just kicked me back to the shore. The mood is really... well, it is even more uncomfortable than when Nokia called me.
But having said that, I have been exposed to so many fishing mobile games, from the JAVA era that only had a few lines to swing the rod, to the silly dot connecter in "Fishing Contest", and now to the current picture where you can see the reflection of fish scales, I really feel like I have witnessed the growth of the industry. Although "National Fishing" has some minor flaws, at least it puts the fun of "fishing" first. This is not easy in today's environment where everything is about money. Is the charging model zero in-app purchase? I confirmed that I really didn't see the entrance to the mall. It was just luck and luck, and it was really friendly to prostitutes. If the server could be stabilized and the novice guidance could be more user-friendly, this game would rank among the top three fishing mobile games in the past five years in my mind. 😌
There is still a screenshot of "catching a beautiful goldfish" ten years ago on my phone. It is a memory of the Symbian system. Now I open "National Fishing" and look at a row of colorful rare fish swimming in my aquarium. I suddenly feel that even though I am fishing, I am actually catching the feeling of watching the sea quietly. 🎣