Angler's Paradise

Angler's Paradise (known in Japan as Fighting Bass, and in Europe as Fishing Paradise) is a series of fishing games developed by ACS Production Studio Tokyo and published by ACS. The series began with the release of its first installment, Angler's Paradise: Grand Bass Challenge, in 1999, and has since spawned a sequel. Originally released for Arcades, the series has since been released for several platforms, including the PlayStation and PlayStation 2. In North America, the games' console ports were released under the ACS Sports label.

Gameplay[]

The game plays similar to most arcade fishing games of its time, particularly Konami's Fisherman's Bait and the Sega Bass Fishing series. The game's main objective is to catch enough fish within a time limit of 2 minutes (approx. 120 seconds) in order to reach a certain weight threshold, with the player being given a time bonus for every fish they catch. Once the weight threshold is reached, the player moves on to the next area. Bigger, heavier fish are recommended, but are also harder to catch.

After selecting their chosen area, the player then gets to move their character around in order to pick a casting point. Once they have found a suitable casting point, the player must cast their rod by pressing the Cast button. While the rod is retracted, the player may also select their lure of choice. Different lures serve different purposes, and each have their own unique strengths and weakness (e.g.; the Rubber Jig lure is most effective in deep waters, while the Popper lure is best used to catch big fish swimming on the surface of the water).

Once a fish bites on the lure, the player must pull the rod in order to hook the line and catch the fish (a successful hook will be indicated by the announcer yelling out "Fish On!"). Afterwards, the player must reel the rod back whilst balancing the Tension meter located below the screen. Reeling has to be done carefully: reeling too slowly causes low Tension and result in the hook coming off, while reeling in too fast will increase Tension, causing the line to break. Occasionally, the player will be prompted to move the rod around a certain direction in order to balance the Tension level.

The first game is themed around the black bass, with the player going around American locales, with bass as the only species available to catch, while the second game takes the player all around the world, as well as features other species of fish, such as salmon and trout (hence the "Bass & More" subtitle). At certain intervals in both games, players might encounter "rare" fish at complete random. Rare fish are among the hardest to catch, but catching them would instantly clear the level.

The arcade releases utilitize a fixed joystick meant to simulate a fishing rod, with a reel on the side and a cast button, and can also be moved around in 4 directions to select the casting point and to jerk the rod around while underwater. Meanwhile, the home console releases are compatible with the ASCII Tsuricon Fishing Controller and the Bass Champion 2 Fishing Controller made by Naki, respectively.

Lures[]

In the first game, the player is given five basic lures at the start: Minnow, Pencil, Spinner Bait, Vibration and Crank Bait. Upon clearing the first area, the player would be given the Popper, while clearing the second area grants the player the Rubber Jig. Lastly, clearing the third area unlocks the Buzz Bait.

In the second game, the player is given all lure types from the start, along with a bunch of other new lure types. Exclusive to World Tour mode are unique lure variations which the player can obtain via buying them in the Shop or as a reward after completing a challenge or tournament. These special lures are best used in various situations.

Minnow
Pencil
Spinner Bait
Vibration
Crank Bait
Popper
Rubber Jig
Buzz Bait
Jerk Bait (Bass & More! only)
Noisy (Bass & More! only)
Grub (Bass & More! only)
Worm (Bass & More! only)

Areas[]

Angler's Paradise: Grand Bass Challenge[]

Upon starting the game, the player can select between three areas: Morning Lodge, Cloudy Falls and Rainy Seas. Nightfall Tides serves as the final area in Arcade Mode, while Angler's Paradise is exclusive to the PlayStation port, as the final area in Challenge Mode. Weather is static across all areas.

Morning Lodge
Cloudy Falls
Rainy Seas
Nightfall Tides
Angler's Paradise (PlayStation exclusive)

Angler's Paradise 2: Bass & More![]

Upon starting the game, the player can select between four areas: U.S.A., Japan, Italy and Australia. South Africa serves as the final area in Arcade Mode, while Prehistoric is a secret area that is unlocked by fulfilling certain special conditions.

The PlayStation 2 port features the exclusive Costa Rica level, which can be unlocked in World Tour mode, as well as adding several alternate fishing spots for each area. Weather is static across all areas in Arcade Mode, but can be freely toggled in Free Fishing Mode, while in World Tour Mode, the weather is dependent on the current event chosen.

U.S.A.
- Weather: Fair
Japan
- Weather: Rainy
Italy
- Weather: Cloudy
Australia
- Weather: Sunny
South Africa
- Weather: Night
Prehistoric
- Weather: ???️
Costa Rica (PlayStation 2 exclusive)
- Weather: ???

Game Modes[]

Both games feature standard modes such as Arcade, Free and Aquarium modes. Arcade Mode features the full arcade game in its original form, Free Mode is, as its name suggests, a free fishing mode with no time limit, with the second game granting the player options such as setting the weather, and Aquarium Mode is unlocked after beating Arcade Mode for the first time, and will house the player's five biggest catches (in the first game), or every species of fish the player has caught up to that point (in the second game).

The first game's console port features an exclusive Challenge Mode, wherein the player must compete in a series of bass fishing tournaments. The goal of each tournament is to catch enough fish to earn at least a top 3 spot each time in order to move on to the next area. In this mode, the timer is replaced with a clock, meaning there are no time bonuses, and small bass of certain weights must be released, with the weight limit depending on the area.

The second game replaces Challenge Mode with World Tour Mode, which is structured more like a full-fledged career mode. In this mode, players could not only compete in tournaments across five countries (including bass-only, trout-only and salmon-only tournaments, as well as free catch tournaments, where the player could catch any fish), but also take on special side challenges, from catching a certain amount of fish in a limited amount of time, to catching specific rare fish, with each event granting the player various rewards such as money or rare items upon completion.

In World Tour mode, the player can choose between a male and female avatar, which could then be customized to a certain degree, including changing their clothes, rod, line, tackle box and lures. Certain rods, lines, tackle boxes and special lures would grant various advantages, such as increased durability, additional lure slots or effectiveness in certain weathers. These items can be obtained either the in-game Shop, or, in the case of rare items, as a reward for beating certain challenges.

Titles[]

Angler's Paradise: Grand Bass Challenge (1999; Arcade (ACS TGX2 Modeler System), PlayStation)
Angler's Paradise 2: Bass & More! (2001; Arcade (ACS NOVA System), PlayStation 2)

Trivia[]

Various unused assets can be found within the first game's data, including an alternate title screen bearing the name "Grand Master's Super Bass" (a possible early title for the game), as well as incomplete textures for a female avatar.
The announcer for the second game is Greg Irwin, who is best known amongst gamers for his role as the announcer in Street Fighter Alpha 3.