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"The Jet Gamer" Review: Finny the Fish & the Seven Waters
9 years ago
Back to cheap PS2 games again.
Finny the Fish & the Seven Waters
So what we have here is something I’m sure not many people would expect at all. Sega and Natsume got together and gave the fish from Sega Bass Fishing it would appear, its own game. Yes, you heard me right. This game is about a cartoony fish. I have to say, at least these companies can sometimes come up with something unique. However, is this a game you should try out or let pass for that same reason? Let us take a closer look and find out.
Gameplay
Finny the Fish is a kid’s game, where the main focus is pretty much to just get from one area to another before to the next area. Yes, all you really do is have to complete one or two simple objectives in an area before you are allowed to proceed to the next area. For a kid’s game, that actually isn’t too bad of an idea as you do want your game to be simple enough for kids to be able to progress through it. For someone like me, this is on the super simple side, but there is some challenge here and there that makes you wonder how kids would have figured some things out. The things aren’t impossible, but I can see kids getting frustrated or confused in certain areas. For example, you have to be able to progress over areas that are having the fish flop up water falls that flow over several rocks. You need to not only master the timing to flop up these rocks, but you then need to collect a correct item when you get to the top. That’s the big thing with this game is that it is full of puzzles more than there is combat. While combat exists, the majority of this game throws simple or middle complexity puzzles at the player, which the player must figure out before they get their key item and are allowed to head to the next area. The main gameplay mechanics of the game is that you control Finny as he is trying to collect statues before going to the next areas. You do this by swimming around under the water obviously, but there are other mechanics. You need to watch not only your health, but also your stomach meter. Your stomach meter slowly drains over time, but you also need your stomach meter for healing. When you are hurt, if you hold still for about five seconds, your health will quickly start to refill, but your stomach meter will drain just as fast as your health fills back up. You keep your health full but swallowing up the other creatures in the sea. Be is bugs, other fish, shrimp, or even things like salamanders or frogs. You have to aim at these creatures then get close enough to grab them. The majority of the creatures are too big to be swallowed right away, so the game makes you shake them a bit before you can swallow them up. Yeah, someone that enjoys seeing things swallowed whole will likely enjoy seeing this. Depending on what you eat, your stomach meter will fill up again a bit. However, you also need to be careful as some of the fish swimming around in the water are fake. You can’t tell the difference usually until you bite them, but some of the fish area actually lures. Yes, people are trying to catch you. If you do bite a lure, you can either try and break the line by tail slapping it, or you can try and shake it off by surfacing. Surfacing is more dangerous to you, but easier to do, while slapping is harder to do, but safer to you. If you break the line, you keep the lure and get to add it to your collection, more on that later. If you are caught, you have a chance of being thrown back, but if they don’t, you either are going to get a game over or lose one of the revive tokens the game offers you to find throughout it. With these, if you either are caught or run out of health, the token will be used and you are brought back to life. To me, this happened a few times, but the game isn’t that hard, so you shouldn’t have to worry too much. Just be sure and save often as the spots are common to do so anyway. That does bring me to one of the downsides of this game. It is pretty easy, but for kids that isn’t such a bad thing. This seems like a good game to give your kids as it is pretty forgiving if they are any sort of a gamer. For adults, it may be a bit too simple, but if they are looking for something quick and simple to play, then this may be something the can try out for sure. When I mean short though, I do mean pretty short. This game I think had less than four or five hours of gameplay before I got to the ending. It was in a few sessions because I had to break, but this is easily one of those games that you can play and complete in a single session. This is about all you do in the game really. You eat, explore, and survive. So really, I would say this would make a great kids game, but if you can get it cheap like I did, I would say it would be good for a day of something different that’s for sure.
Story
Pretty much the basic story of this game is that something wrong seems to be happening in the seas of this local area of water, and it is up to you, Finny the Fish, to try and figure out what is wrong by gathering up guardian statues. You work for a turtle looking creature named Kappa, and he gives you a ring to attach to your tail to let you know you belong to him. He has actually done this to many other creatures in these areas, as all the guardians you are looking for have these rings as well. So pretty much, Kappa grabs you and makes you work for him, even if you didn’t want to to begin with. After that, you really don’t get much more to the story other than something seems to be wrong and you need to gather these statues to figure out what is wrong. While this may seem like an okay start to a story, it is almost like they didn’t even bother to add much to the story at all after the beginning. You are just a fish doing as he is told while trying to make sure you survive. I think some of this was to make sure the game was simple for kids to follow, but not even explaining anything as you go other than you are trying to fix some sort of problem seems a bit lazy. You could explain what in the world you are collecting these statues for, or at least have something other than a small problem here or there happen as you are playing the game. Even at the end of the game nothing really happens other than battling some big dark creature. Nothing really seems to be explained at all. While there was a decent start, when you don’t build on it, it just comes off as lazy and looks like you didn’t even try to tell a story. All your characters and such are interesting as you are playing the game, and I do give points for interesting characters and actually doing a good job of building your world with interesting characters, but you do need to add some substance to your story and flesh out the purpose of everything more than you just need to solve some sort of a problem.
Graphics
While not the best out there, I do have to give points to this game on not looking that bad. You are a fish swimming around in rivers, and there actually is a good amount of life in the water to make it look like an active real life river. There is plenty of plant life, and the water looks pretty good as well. I do have to say they made sure that the water you are swimming in isn’t just empty ground with a fish here and there. It really does feel like a real river you are in most of the time. They even went so far as to put details of things above the water as well that you can see as you are swimming around. I have to say, it is a nice touch, even for a kids sort of game. The only complaints I have are that things do blur a little bit when you move fast in the water. This may be on purpose, but I do think it could be a bit clearer. Also, I do wish there were a few more things around, but I can’t really complain too much here. So really, there isn’t that much wrong, I just wish they went that one tad bit further.
Sound
I actually have to say that this kid’s game has good sound as well. The music as you are playing is soft and nice to listen to and actually does have a sort of water feel to it, if that’s something that makes sense. The music isn’t super memorable, but as you are playing, it does the job and actually does it rather well I must say. It was actually nice to listen to. The voice acting is pretty good as well. The character all have clear voices and are all rather unique as well. No one sounds similar, and you can tell they put some real detail into how these characters sound. As I said in the story section, while they didn’t do a great job with the story, the characters are all unique and sound great. I gotta give the game props for going all out on its characters. Some sound old, some sound like little kids, and one even sounds like a surfer dude. So really, good job on your sound guys.
Control
For the most part, the controls are pretty self-explanatory. You push one button to make Finny swim, and the faster you press it, the faster he goes. You use one of the shoulder buttons to lock onto other fish to make sure you line yourself up for when you want to lunge at them. This is how you try and eat other fish. If you aren’t lined up, you won’t catch them. That is a bit of a problem though at times, as you have to be a bit accurate when you want to catch some of the fish. Distance can occasionally be a problem, though isn’t all the time. Most of the time when you aim at something and swim towards it, you will catch it, but occasionally, you will miss it. Some of this is due to having to be able to judge distances problem, but also sometimes the camera can really screw you over when it comes to aiming at prey or dodging bigger fish. Since you are swimming in all directions, you do need to stop to turn yourself around if you need to make a quick turn sometimes, or you have to make wide turns if you want to keep moving while you are spinning around. Sometimes control is a bit hard to explain, but really, just think of it as I just said. If you want to make a full turn around, you either have to completely stop and turn around or you need to turn wide to turn around. This means that aiming at fish can occasionally be tricky if they are a swift fish that knows you are trying to eat them. I didn’t hit the game too much on this though. Some of this is just learning the controls, and really, when you get better at judging distances, you won’t be missing fish that often, at least when they aren’t super speedy fish. Just be sure you are paying attention where you are aiming and do take advantage of the lock on button. I don’t even think you can eat fish without using it, but just be sure you are controlling the camera properly, and you won’t have much of a problem. I’ve definitely seen much worst in terms of controls.
Replay Value
The replay value is average at best. The main reason for this is that the main story, as I explained before, is so simple and easy to complete that if you are going for a game that you just want to complete, this is a game you are going to finish in no time at all. The main replay value I see from this game is that it encourages you to do collecting just to say you got everything. I don’t really see much other reason to replay the game other than this, but there are two main categories of collectables in this game. There is the part where it wants you to eat every type of fish in the game. There is also a category where you collect every lure from the fisherman as well. When you break the lines, you actually do keep the lures that were used to catch you with. Other than this though that is all there really is to do long term in this game. Yeah, while collecting is nice at times, there usually is some sort of reward offered for doing so. The only reward I was getting was revive scales in order to help in case I died. Yeah, not exactly the best motivation in the world. The game is actually fun, it just doesn’t have very much lasting appeal.
Overall, I would say I’m actually impressed with this game. I wasn’t expecting much from a game I got for a dollar, and the fact that it is a kids game. I would say if you got some kids that like fish, or if you are a fan of underwater games or the Sega bass fishing games, you might want to give this game a whirl. Just be sure you know how short it is when you are getting into this game. It is short, and the story isn’t that great. Just be glad it is fun and that it seems like a simple game for the most part for kids to get into. This actually seems like a good kid’s game, which at times isn’t something you hear about, as many of them are budget titles that have much to nothing going on for them. Just as long as you are okay with the short length of this game, I would say this is a budget game that isn’t actually that bad. I would at least look into it before judging it from its first appearance.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Finny the Fish & the Seven Waters a seven out of ten.
Gameplay: 7
Story: 5
Graphics: 8
Sound: 9
Control: 8
Replay Value: 5
Overall: 7
Finny the Fish & the Seven Waters
So what we have here is something I’m sure not many people would expect at all. Sega and Natsume got together and gave the fish from Sega Bass Fishing it would appear, its own game. Yes, you heard me right. This game is about a cartoony fish. I have to say, at least these companies can sometimes come up with something unique. However, is this a game you should try out or let pass for that same reason? Let us take a closer look and find out.
Gameplay
Finny the Fish is a kid’s game, where the main focus is pretty much to just get from one area to another before to the next area. Yes, all you really do is have to complete one or two simple objectives in an area before you are allowed to proceed to the next area. For a kid’s game, that actually isn’t too bad of an idea as you do want your game to be simple enough for kids to be able to progress through it. For someone like me, this is on the super simple side, but there is some challenge here and there that makes you wonder how kids would have figured some things out. The things aren’t impossible, but I can see kids getting frustrated or confused in certain areas. For example, you have to be able to progress over areas that are having the fish flop up water falls that flow over several rocks. You need to not only master the timing to flop up these rocks, but you then need to collect a correct item when you get to the top. That’s the big thing with this game is that it is full of puzzles more than there is combat. While combat exists, the majority of this game throws simple or middle complexity puzzles at the player, which the player must figure out before they get their key item and are allowed to head to the next area. The main gameplay mechanics of the game is that you control Finny as he is trying to collect statues before going to the next areas. You do this by swimming around under the water obviously, but there are other mechanics. You need to watch not only your health, but also your stomach meter. Your stomach meter slowly drains over time, but you also need your stomach meter for healing. When you are hurt, if you hold still for about five seconds, your health will quickly start to refill, but your stomach meter will drain just as fast as your health fills back up. You keep your health full but swallowing up the other creatures in the sea. Be is bugs, other fish, shrimp, or even things like salamanders or frogs. You have to aim at these creatures then get close enough to grab them. The majority of the creatures are too big to be swallowed right away, so the game makes you shake them a bit before you can swallow them up. Yeah, someone that enjoys seeing things swallowed whole will likely enjoy seeing this. Depending on what you eat, your stomach meter will fill up again a bit. However, you also need to be careful as some of the fish swimming around in the water are fake. You can’t tell the difference usually until you bite them, but some of the fish area actually lures. Yes, people are trying to catch you. If you do bite a lure, you can either try and break the line by tail slapping it, or you can try and shake it off by surfacing. Surfacing is more dangerous to you, but easier to do, while slapping is harder to do, but safer to you. If you break the line, you keep the lure and get to add it to your collection, more on that later. If you are caught, you have a chance of being thrown back, but if they don’t, you either are going to get a game over or lose one of the revive tokens the game offers you to find throughout it. With these, if you either are caught or run out of health, the token will be used and you are brought back to life. To me, this happened a few times, but the game isn’t that hard, so you shouldn’t have to worry too much. Just be sure and save often as the spots are common to do so anyway. That does bring me to one of the downsides of this game. It is pretty easy, but for kids that isn’t such a bad thing. This seems like a good game to give your kids as it is pretty forgiving if they are any sort of a gamer. For adults, it may be a bit too simple, but if they are looking for something quick and simple to play, then this may be something the can try out for sure. When I mean short though, I do mean pretty short. This game I think had less than four or five hours of gameplay before I got to the ending. It was in a few sessions because I had to break, but this is easily one of those games that you can play and complete in a single session. This is about all you do in the game really. You eat, explore, and survive. So really, I would say this would make a great kids game, but if you can get it cheap like I did, I would say it would be good for a day of something different that’s for sure.
Story
Pretty much the basic story of this game is that something wrong seems to be happening in the seas of this local area of water, and it is up to you, Finny the Fish, to try and figure out what is wrong by gathering up guardian statues. You work for a turtle looking creature named Kappa, and he gives you a ring to attach to your tail to let you know you belong to him. He has actually done this to many other creatures in these areas, as all the guardians you are looking for have these rings as well. So pretty much, Kappa grabs you and makes you work for him, even if you didn’t want to to begin with. After that, you really don’t get much more to the story other than something seems to be wrong and you need to gather these statues to figure out what is wrong. While this may seem like an okay start to a story, it is almost like they didn’t even bother to add much to the story at all after the beginning. You are just a fish doing as he is told while trying to make sure you survive. I think some of this was to make sure the game was simple for kids to follow, but not even explaining anything as you go other than you are trying to fix some sort of problem seems a bit lazy. You could explain what in the world you are collecting these statues for, or at least have something other than a small problem here or there happen as you are playing the game. Even at the end of the game nothing really happens other than battling some big dark creature. Nothing really seems to be explained at all. While there was a decent start, when you don’t build on it, it just comes off as lazy and looks like you didn’t even try to tell a story. All your characters and such are interesting as you are playing the game, and I do give points for interesting characters and actually doing a good job of building your world with interesting characters, but you do need to add some substance to your story and flesh out the purpose of everything more than you just need to solve some sort of a problem.
Graphics
While not the best out there, I do have to give points to this game on not looking that bad. You are a fish swimming around in rivers, and there actually is a good amount of life in the water to make it look like an active real life river. There is plenty of plant life, and the water looks pretty good as well. I do have to say they made sure that the water you are swimming in isn’t just empty ground with a fish here and there. It really does feel like a real river you are in most of the time. They even went so far as to put details of things above the water as well that you can see as you are swimming around. I have to say, it is a nice touch, even for a kids sort of game. The only complaints I have are that things do blur a little bit when you move fast in the water. This may be on purpose, but I do think it could be a bit clearer. Also, I do wish there were a few more things around, but I can’t really complain too much here. So really, there isn’t that much wrong, I just wish they went that one tad bit further.
Sound
I actually have to say that this kid’s game has good sound as well. The music as you are playing is soft and nice to listen to and actually does have a sort of water feel to it, if that’s something that makes sense. The music isn’t super memorable, but as you are playing, it does the job and actually does it rather well I must say. It was actually nice to listen to. The voice acting is pretty good as well. The character all have clear voices and are all rather unique as well. No one sounds similar, and you can tell they put some real detail into how these characters sound. As I said in the story section, while they didn’t do a great job with the story, the characters are all unique and sound great. I gotta give the game props for going all out on its characters. Some sound old, some sound like little kids, and one even sounds like a surfer dude. So really, good job on your sound guys.
Control
For the most part, the controls are pretty self-explanatory. You push one button to make Finny swim, and the faster you press it, the faster he goes. You use one of the shoulder buttons to lock onto other fish to make sure you line yourself up for when you want to lunge at them. This is how you try and eat other fish. If you aren’t lined up, you won’t catch them. That is a bit of a problem though at times, as you have to be a bit accurate when you want to catch some of the fish. Distance can occasionally be a problem, though isn’t all the time. Most of the time when you aim at something and swim towards it, you will catch it, but occasionally, you will miss it. Some of this is due to having to be able to judge distances problem, but also sometimes the camera can really screw you over when it comes to aiming at prey or dodging bigger fish. Since you are swimming in all directions, you do need to stop to turn yourself around if you need to make a quick turn sometimes, or you have to make wide turns if you want to keep moving while you are spinning around. Sometimes control is a bit hard to explain, but really, just think of it as I just said. If you want to make a full turn around, you either have to completely stop and turn around or you need to turn wide to turn around. This means that aiming at fish can occasionally be tricky if they are a swift fish that knows you are trying to eat them. I didn’t hit the game too much on this though. Some of this is just learning the controls, and really, when you get better at judging distances, you won’t be missing fish that often, at least when they aren’t super speedy fish. Just be sure you are paying attention where you are aiming and do take advantage of the lock on button. I don’t even think you can eat fish without using it, but just be sure you are controlling the camera properly, and you won’t have much of a problem. I’ve definitely seen much worst in terms of controls.
Replay Value
The replay value is average at best. The main reason for this is that the main story, as I explained before, is so simple and easy to complete that if you are going for a game that you just want to complete, this is a game you are going to finish in no time at all. The main replay value I see from this game is that it encourages you to do collecting just to say you got everything. I don’t really see much other reason to replay the game other than this, but there are two main categories of collectables in this game. There is the part where it wants you to eat every type of fish in the game. There is also a category where you collect every lure from the fisherman as well. When you break the lines, you actually do keep the lures that were used to catch you with. Other than this though that is all there really is to do long term in this game. Yeah, while collecting is nice at times, there usually is some sort of reward offered for doing so. The only reward I was getting was revive scales in order to help in case I died. Yeah, not exactly the best motivation in the world. The game is actually fun, it just doesn’t have very much lasting appeal.
Overall, I would say I’m actually impressed with this game. I wasn’t expecting much from a game I got for a dollar, and the fact that it is a kids game. I would say if you got some kids that like fish, or if you are a fan of underwater games or the Sega bass fishing games, you might want to give this game a whirl. Just be sure you know how short it is when you are getting into this game. It is short, and the story isn’t that great. Just be glad it is fun and that it seems like a simple game for the most part for kids to get into. This actually seems like a good kid’s game, which at times isn’t something you hear about, as many of them are budget titles that have much to nothing going on for them. Just as long as you are okay with the short length of this game, I would say this is a budget game that isn’t actually that bad. I would at least look into it before judging it from its first appearance.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Finny the Fish & the Seven Waters a seven out of ten.
Gameplay: 7
Story: 5
Graphics: 8
Sound: 9
Control: 8
Replay Value: 5
Overall: 7
