Hyper Black Bass '95 Faq

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
                                  Game Basics
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
[BASS]

        In Hyper Black Bass '95, you are a professional angler competing
with 99 other professional fishers, which are divided into three classes, with
anglers ranked 1-20 being in Class 1, 21-50 in Class 2, and the rest in Class 3.
You start off in Class 3, with the ultimate goal being to make it to #1 at
least once during the full tournament, which takes place over 12 days of
fishing.

        To make it to Class 1, you need to specifically catch several Black
Bass, and have a high _average_ weight of Black Bass at the end of each fishing
day. To this purpose, you are given several different types of lure and two
lakes, as well as several special techniques, and can move around the two
different lakes. However, you can only access the second lake once you make it
to Class 2, and some of the techniques require Class 2 or Class 1 to utilise.

        Each fishing day takes place from 6am to 6pm, and the weather changes
between days. The time and weather changes the ranges of the Black Bass and the
type of lure that you should use.

        At the end of each day, you will also get a password that you can use to
return to that particular day with the same amount of lure and same rank (there
is no save function in the game).


-------------------
Out-of-Game Options
-------------------

Country
-------
        Allows you to select the language you play with your menus in. The
default language is Japanese, but you can switch to English.


Start
-----
        Starts a new game.


Continue
--------
        Lets you resume a previous game through use of a password, returning you
to a specific time, lake, and with a specific amount of lures. However, in
practice the author has found that the codes he gets do not actually appear to
work very well, as you seem to be dropped right back down to Class 3.


---------------
In-Game Options
---------------

Select Lure
-----------
        Lets you select between different types of lure. A separate section on
lure in the fishing section explains the difference between each lure.


View Data
---------
        View the current time, day, and weather conditions.


Today's Catch
-------------
        Shows you the types and weight of the fish you have caught on the
current day.


Move Point
----------
        Allows you to move your boat around the lake to different cast points.
If you are Class 2 or Class 1, you may also move your boat to Stormy Lake.


Casting
-------
        The meat-and-bones of the game, where you can cast your lure and attempt
to catch fish.


End/Pres. Rank
--------------
        Shows you your current rank, and lets you end the day right away if you
desire. At the end of each day, you will also be given a 14-digit combination of
letters, numbers and ASCII characters for a password to return yourself to that
exact day with the same lures and rank.

        To advance at the end of the day from Class 3 to Class 2, you must be
Rank 51. Similarly, to go to Class 1, you must be Rank 21. If you are below Rank
19 or Class 49 when in Class 2, you will get bumped back up a class the
following day.


--------
Controls
--------

Fishing
-------
A - Reel in the line, causes sink-lures to go up and float-lures to dip
D-Pad - Causes your lure to dance around the water
Select - Open your Special Techniques list


Reeling in Fish
---------------
A - Reels in Fish
B - Brakes the Line
Left/Right - Tilts the fish to the left/right
Up - Pulls the fish up from the lower depths
Select - Open your Special Techniques list


~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
                                    Fishing
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
[FISH]

-----
Lures
-----
        Prior to actually going out and fishing, you should select the type of
lure that you are intending to use. Each of them has slightly different
characteristics, so it is worth reading up on which is useful in which
situation. Float lures will stay on top of the water when you are not pressing
buttons, while sink lures shall sink to the bottom of the lake.

        Black Bass in particular stick in shallow waters near the shore during
the early morning and late afternoon, while from approximately 9am to 3pm, they
are found in deeper waters near the centers of the lakes, so adjust your bait as
needed.


Shallow Runner
--------------
        A float-type lure for the water surface and the middling depths of each
lake. Suggested button movement to attract fish is with the A button to make it
go down to around the middle-top of the water, and left/right to make it dance
around.


Spinner Bait
------------
        A sink-type lure that will touch the bottom of the lake. Use the A
button to keep it right off the sand surface, and use the left/right button.
This will cause light to reflect off the bait and attract fish.


Worm
----
        Possibly the most useful type of lure, the worm is a sink-type lure. It
is particularly helpful for capturing Black Bass, and can be used with the
Dancing Worm Special Technique with no distance limitations. Press Left/Right on
conjunction with the Up button to give it the impression of dancing, but do not
bring it too far up from the lake bottom when doing the movements.


Spinner
-------
        A sink-type lure that has feathers, and is useful for middling depths of
water. Press the Left/Right button in conjunction with the Up button to cause it
to float around off the bottom of the lake.


Spoon
-----
        Another sink-type lure which can be used for shallow depths near the
surface. Press Left/Right along with Up to make it dip and dive through the
water.


Popper
------
        A float-type lure that does best staying right on top of the water. Use
Left/Right along with Up and press the buttons quickly to keep it in motion to
attract fish.


Pencil Bait
-----------
        Another float-type lure that should stay on top of the water. As always,
use left/right, and use Up when fish come along to lure it better.


Frog
----
        A Float-type lure that can be used to activate the Dancing Frog
technique when your frog bait is near a lily pad. Left/right should be used for
the most part with this bait.


-----------
Lure Colors
-----------
        Along with choosing the type of lure to use when going fishing, you may
also choose between lure 'color', with red, blue and silver the available
options. The following are the optimal conditions for each color type.

        Red
        ---
        Rainy/Cloudy Days
        Very Shallow or Deep Waters
        Early Morning or Late Afternoon


        Blue
        ----
        Clear or Cloudy Days
        Middle Depths
        1:00pm - 3:00pm


        Silver
        ------
        Clear Days
        Shallow to Middle Depths
        Early Morning or Late Afternoon


----
Fish
----
        There are four types of fish in this game: the Black Bass, the Rainbow
Trout, the Northern Pike and the Catfish. The latter three are irrelevant for
advancing the game forward, with the Black Bass being the only important fish
type. During the day, you can find them resting in the deeps of the more
'central' parts of each lake, while during the morning and late afternoon, they
may be found closer to shore, and higher up in the water.

        If you get two or more catches in a row that are not Black Bass, then
chances are the location you are at will not offer up any Black Bass, and you
should move on. An easy way to quickly move around is to use Select -> Let Fish
Go to save your lure whenever you catch a fish that you recognize as not being a
Black Bass (each of the four fish have their own different appearance in game).

        Note that when it comes to catching Black Bass, it is your _average_
weight that is more important than anything else. The weights for Black Bass
range from 1.3lb to 7.7lb, so if you find a Black Bass at the beginning of the
game around 6.5lb or more, it may be worth ending the day right there. However,
average weight is not the be-all end-all.

        Black Bass are usually best found around objects and currents.

-------
Casting
-------
        Once you have selected your lure type, and moved your boat as desired,
you can cast your lure. Press the A button to activate the cast bar: the more it
fills up before you hit the A button, the further your lure shall be cast.

        When the lure finally lands, if it is a sink-type lure, it will sink to
the bottom of the lake, while a float-type lure will keep it on the surface. The
screen shall transition to a pseudo 3D view. Pressing any of the D-Pad buttons
will let you move your lure about in that specific direction, while also slowly
reeling it in. In the case of the A-button, it will reel in the lure far faster,
while it will also sink float-type lures and cause sink-type lures to rise up
slightly.

        Although the A button can help with a couple of lures, pressing the
Left/Right and the Up buttons will do most of the work in attracting fish. The
fish will only rarely show up, so it can take some time. Once one does come
around, you will see its shadow, and should continue to press the D-Pad buttons
to attract the fish's attention: it will not always bite, so you may be waiting
several times to get a fish to bite.

        As soon as you finally catch a fish, its shadow will disappear to be
replaced by the actual fish, allowing you to figure out what type of fish it is
(each of the four fishes have different appearances), so you can press Select ->
Let Fish Go if it is not a Black Bass (of course, at the beginning of the game,
you may wish to try catching some of the other fish for practice).

        When you have managed to get a fish to bite, you will be given a chance
to reel it in. Pressing AND holding the A button will reel the fish in slowly,
while the B button will merely brake the line, which I find to be useless. When
you are either reeling or braking, a bar will fill up - if the bar fills up
totally, your line shall break and you will lose the lure. If you stop holding
the A button, the fish will pull back, but the bar will start to decrease. Near
the end of each reel-in, you will probably be quickly tapping and holding A and
possibly the Up button as well, and then quickly releasing it. The face of the
fish on the bottom shows how much strength it has left, with the toothed icon
meaning it has maximum strength, ranging to the bubble cloud indicating it has
minimal strength.

        You should also notice that you will be given a depth number and a line
number, measuring how deep under the water the fish is and how far away from the
boat the fish is. Ignore the depth until you are under 10 meters away from the
boat: if you try to force the fish above the water, it has a far greater chance
of escaping, and wastes time.

        On occasion, the fish may also just simply escape if you take a
significant amount of time to try and reel it in. You will not lose your lure,
so do not worry about it too much.

        While you are reeling in your fish, you can also use the Power Lift
Special Technique, but only if you are a Class 1 reeler and you are close to the
boat.


------------------
Special Techniques
------------------
        During fishing, you can open up a Special Techniques menu by pressing
Select. All but one of the Special Techniques have a prerequisite, be it
distance of the line from your boat, or your Class. Some can only be used while
casting and reeling in your line, and others can be used while you have a fish
on your line.


Let Fish Go
-----------
No Prerequisites
While a fish is on your line, you can use this to let it go without losing your
lure


8 Magic
-------
Class 1 and 2 only
3 Uses Per Day
Only within 4 feet of the boat
Causes the lure to automatically move on its own to lure fish


Dancing Worm
------------
Class 1 and 2 only
Worm lure only
2 Uses Per Day
Causes the lure to automatically move on its own to lure fish


Dancing Frog
------------
Class 1 only
Frog lure only
2 Uses Per Day
Causes the lure to automatically move on its own to lure fish


Last Strike
-----------
Class 1 only
2 Uses Per Day
Only within 4 feet of the boat
Causes the lure to automatically move on its own to lure fish (Better than 8
Magic)


Power Lift
----------
Class 1 only
5 Uses Per Day
Only within approximately 10 feet of the boat
Automatically catches the fish on the line for you without failure



~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
                                 Best Practices
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
[BEST]

        This is merely the author's best practices.

        In Jackson Lake, go down to the lower right section of the map, and nest
yourself just to the left of the lower right island so that you are in between
the island and the coast. There is a dock here, and the area seems to be 100%
Black Bass.

        In Stone Lake, from where you are dropped off, go half a second to your
right and cast. This area has a deep sand bed which, while having some Northern
Pike, is mostly Black Bass.

        In both spots, keep your lure near the bottom of the water at all times
to maximise the chance of getting a Black Bass.

        Do not attempt to go for a high average weight and end the day
prematurely - instead, catch as many fish as you can. After 10 Black Bass, the
lightest Black Bass gets knocked off your average.