In Fishing Girl, you play the titular “Girl”, a pink creature who is separated from “Boy” when his island drifts away at the beginning of the game. Thanks to developer errcw for sending us a review copy, I got to find out what happens.

The presentation is very simple and clever. You are given one tutorial message at the start of the game, “Hold ‘A’ to start casting.” The first time I tried it, Girl went through the full-ranged motion of a cast, but nothing happened. “Ah, you have to release the ‘A’ button to cast your line. Idiot!”, I thought. Ten minutes later I had finished one playthrough. You cast, catch and reel in fish all with one button. You can upgrade your rod and lure by casting at the red buoy that serves as the game’s store. The game has an art style reminiscent of the environments from Pixel Junk Eden and the Moogle characters from Final Fantasy. The game looks clean and colorful with a fittingly relaxing soundtrack which feel like solid choices for the type of game and intended audience.

Big fish, Little fish, Shark!

The game features some very simple gameplay mechanics that add up to an easy to understand formula. There are Small, Medium and Large fish. All fish will be attracted to a Small lure, regardless of size, but a Medium or Large fish will eat your Small Lure, etc. The one exception to this rule is the Small (upgradable) lure which allows you to catch a Small fish, which you can use as bait for a Medium fish, which can be “upgraded” by snagging a Large fish. Large fish will require you to mash on the ‘A’ button to reel them in. Exciting stuff! Oh, also there’s sharks. You can either avoid them or kill them by using large damaging lures. Killing the sharks will net you a different ending. You’ll have to decide for yourself if you’re a pacifist or a shark killing murder machine. There is no “morality” to this choice, however, so it’s left up to you to decide how to handle the game’s single predator.

I used to be like most of you. A few years ago, I would never have given this game more than a disdainful glance. Now though, I have two female children (who, I most certainly am responsible for bringing into existence) living in my house, watching me play games like Rock Band, Guitar Hero and anything else that was entirely child safe. Under these circumstances I find having a game like Fishing Girl installed on my Xbox 360 is something I’ll gladly welcome, even though I understand this type of game with these visuals isn’t going to appeal to everyone. You wont find much depth to this game past a couple of playthroughs. There is very little skill involved in playing Fishing Girl, so if that is a turnoff, steer clear of this one.

Some other points worth mentioning:

• There is a flash game of the same name, but it’s more complex and frantic. The game mechanics here have been tweaked for a more laid back experience.
• The game’s “economy” is based on each fish type bringing a certain amount of coins. There are Large fish that are nearly worthless, so if you’re going for the badges the game offers, you’ll want to pay attention to the fish values.

At 80 Microsoft Points, I think this game is well worth the money. You probably won’t want to play this game more than 10 to 30 minutes at a time, but it will be a game my family and I will play often. Fishing Girl is an adorable game that you won’t be ashamed to show to the whole family…unless you play it for hours by yourself and you’re a single man. In that case, you’re a sick, sick man and you need to get some help.

You should play this game if…

…you’re interested in a very casual, repetitive, cute game with little depth or complexity.

Final Score

Laid back pace and basic structure make this a relaxing game that can be enjoyed by gamers of all ages.

(What does this score mean?)