Developed by TOSE Co., Ltd. and published by Victor Interactive Software in Japan and Natsume in North America and Europe, Legend of the River King is a JRPG that is based around the sport/pastime of fishing. It was initially released for the Game Boy in 1997, and the Game Boy Color version (which is Super Game Boy enhanced) came out in 1999.

There are two modes of play: fishing, and raising. In the former, you play as a young boy who must save his sister (from some sort of unnamed disease), by catching fish in a local river. She asks you to catch a “Guardian Fish“, which will apparently help cure her. In the latter, you raise fish in a tank in a Tamagotchi-style manner.

At the beginning of the game you can wander around your home village (called Torrent), talking to NPCs, visiting and buying stuff from the local fishing tackle shop (purchases require gold; you begin with 100G – not enough to buy most equipment, but just enough to buy different kinds of bait and hooks), fishing, and selling your catches to raise extra money.

Pressing Select toggles between walking and fishing. Pressing ‘B’ controls casting your rod, and also cancels selections on the menu (or acts like a ‘back’ button). Pressing ‘A’ will reel in your line, if you get a bite, and will also confirm a selection on a menu. And it is also used to fight animals, if they attack you.

The key to catching fish is: 1. to work out which bait/hook combination catches what type of fish (a chart or a guide will help); 2. working out how to cast and fish effectively, and 3. learning how to land your catches without losing any fish.

What you basically have to do is (for basic bait-fishing): make sure you have some bait on your hook first (go to the menu, choose bait, then choose which bait to use – worms are a good starting point and are 5G for ten at the shop), then cast your line out (holding down the ‘B’ button will cast it further), and your float will then land on the water and slowly move downstream until it stops. Wait patiently for a fish to show interest (or re-cast, if there are no fish nearby). When a fish takes the bait, it will circle the float and three beeps will sound (these are clear and not to be confused with the sounds of nature happening around you), and then one long beep. During the long beep, press either ‘A’ or ‘B’ and the view will change to underwater. You’ll see the fish trying to swim away with your line in its mouth. Allow it to swim (ie. don’t touch the buttons), until it stops. When it stops, press and hold ‘A’ or ‘B’ to reel in the line. If the fish stops, and you hear a screeching sound, stop holding the button and allow it to swim away again. Wait for it to stop, and then press a button again to reel it in. Repeat this until you land it.

There is also a different kind of fishing, called ‘lure’ fishing, that uses a different technique, and is a more difficult type of fishing. With lure fishing you’re basically trying to imitate a living creature in the water, so you pull the line in gradually, and then stop, until a fish takes the bait.

You should try to catch as many fish as you can in a day, and then sell them at the shop in the village, to build up your gold so you can buy better equipment. At the end of a day, when you’ve had enough of waiting around for fish to bite, you can sleep at the inn to recuperate (although it’s strange that you can’t rest at home in the first village, but your sick sister has the only bed in the house).

Surprisingly, there’s also RPG-style, turn-based combat in Legend of the River King. Occasionally you’ll encounter wild animals that are hostile to you, and running away from them is the wrong thing to do. You should fight and defeat them, to build up your EXP, and therefore your maximum HP. During a fight, a fist will appear in random places on the attacker, and you have to press ‘A’ when the fist is in a spot you want to hit. Each animal you encounter has a different weak spot, and it’s a good idea to figure those out and target them to win those battles. The animals can also steal fish from your catch bucket too, so you have to watch out for that and remember to sell your fish before hiking out to find a better fishing spot.

Legend of the River King has four completely different areas to explore and fish, as the story progresses (plus a hidden bonus area). You can acquire a raft early on, to fish in deeper waters (although using the raft uses up your HP quicker), and this makeshift boat will lead you on to the next town where you have to defeat a bear that is terrorizing the population…

Legend of the River King is a neat handheld RPG/fishing game that could appeal to those who have little to no interest in fishing. All you need, really, is an appreciation of ‘the great outdoors’, the patience and understanding to actually catch some fish, and a liking for JRPGs. If you have those, then you’ll find an engaging and fairly unique game in Legend of the River King. It’s worth noting that – if you’re raising a fish – time will continue to pass while you’re out fishing, meaning that you can go back and forth between fishing and inspecting/caring for your fish in the tank.

A sequel to this game, called Legend of the River King 2, was released for the Game Boy Color in 1999.

More: River King video games on Wikipedia