SLAP THAT FISH OVERFISHING GUIDE
by Michael Martin
GENERAL STRATEGY
Slap That Fish is a series of battles for the fate of yourself, your
honor, and all mankind, against legions of fish. Although, as the
game progresses, you will begin to face enemies that are actually item
usage puzzles, the core of the game (and what your score is ultimately
based on) is a resource management puzzle; the general goal is to
trade stamina for damage as efficiently as possible.
BASIC ATTACKS
You have four basic attacks (ATTACK FISH will cue you with them):
PUNCH, KICK, SLAP, and BACKHAND. If they connect, they generally
charge you two stamina and inflict two damage. KICKs are more likely
to be evaded by smaller fish, and evaded kicks in particular will
generally only cost you a single stamina point.
COMBINATION ATTACKS
The cost of a basic attack can vary based on the last few moves you've
done; this will either deliver extra damage or cost you less stamina
to perform. For example, against most enemies you can use the basic
"one-two": if you follow up a SLAP with a BACKHAND, the BACKHAND will
cost only 1 Stamina but inflict 3 damage. Thus "slap/backhand" is a
combo that costs 3 and inflicts 5.
The difference in combat effectiveness is significant; against the
first opponent (the rainbow trout, who has no counters other than
immunity to kicks): with a sequence of nothing but slaps, you will
need to attack five times and expend 10 endurance to defeat him. As
you start with only five endurance, this works out to 10 turns of
battle and five attacks. However, if you instead use one-two combos,
you can inflict 10 damage in two iterations, and this means you only
need to rest for a single turn, between the two combinations.
Running out of stamina partway through a combo will interrupt the
combo and is always bad.
Different fish have different combinations against which they are
vulnerable. Pay attention to the text you get, as combinations in
progress usually have some special text that seem to indicate that a
move was unusually effective. This is worthwhile even if it looks like
there's been no extra damage or lesser stamina cost; sometimes
completing a combo will trigger a plot event or environmental effect
that will deal loads of damage. If it looks like a combination hasn't
paid off, it's probable that you just haven't extended it far enough
yet.
Moves that do not finish a combination but are nevertheless part of
them may actually not do damage; replies to these often will mention
something about the fish becoming exposed or moving into a new
position that will suggest a followup.
OPTIMIZING YOUR SCORE
The scoring itself is based on, effectively, damage per second (DPS)
and damage per attack (DPA); it's computed based on how long it takes,
and how many attacks it took, to take down your foe. Because of the
combat and stamina regeneration model, however, optimizing damage per
endurance (DPE) - the most damage for the least stamina cost - will
usually optimize both, and so this is the statistic to focus on
primarily.
Some items will change the damage of your basic attacks; this may
change the total efficiency calculus if you have endurance to
burn. There is also a point in the game where you can get a full
stamina recharge, which will be necessary to get a perfect score in
its fight.
It is usually unnecessary to spend the between-fight times preparing
items for the next fight, but it also rarely hurts. When working for a
perfect run, save immediately after the ends of fights, not at the
beginnings of the next ones.
SPOILER SPACE BEFORE SPECIFIC HINTS FOR EACH FIGHT
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PER-FISH HINTS
Trout: This is a practice fight. Get your combos going, and make
every move count. If you can't perfect this guy, you may
have trouble doing damage fast enough to the enemies
that will actually fight back.
Bass: Examining the situation and reacting appropriately will
yield more damage faster than just attacking blindly.
Clownfish: This enemy can be one-shotted. Think outside the box.
Catfish: Just because a move has done no damage doesn't mean it's
not part of a combo.
Tuna: Long, repetitive combos can end with a sizable bang.
Swordfish: Make your combos last as long as they possibly can. Also,
do not run out of stamina while performing them or you
may trigger a game-breaking bug in version 1.1.
Pufferfish: You can't touch it directly. Keep the pressure on and
don't let it close.
Shark: This is a puzzle battle, but keep your combos in mind.
Electric Eel: Protection is available. You'll need to prepare in
advance to overcome its defenses fast enough for a
perfect score. Fortunately, you can rest as much as you
want before he shows up.
Piranha: Mix it up! You cannot safely do any move more than twice. The
crowd's chant gives you key to a flawless victory, but
you'll need to make sure your stamina is at least half
full before you make the first move.
Anglerfish: In defeating the piranha, you will have improved your
basic attack damage. For once, combos are not the whole
of the answer, even once the puzzles are solved.
Coelacanth: To complete this battle as rapidly as possible, you will
need to have satisfied your winning combination's
preconditions in advance.
OPTIMUM COMBINATION VALUES
These are targets to shoot for for a maximum score. Some fights may
require you to prepare in advance during the inter-fight
sequences. Others may actually be beaten by careful use of preparation
or foreknowledge.
[Opens a hole in the wall; prepare for next battles]
>GET BRICK
>REACH INTO OPENING
>REACH INTO OPENING
>REACH INTO OPENING
>REACH INTO BUCKET
>WEAR GLOVE
>ROLL PAPER
[Piranha]
>SEARCH GUTS
>REMOVE GLOVE
>REST [Or the piranha's next counterattack will kill us]
>GET GAUNTLET
>LISTEN TO CHANT
>SLAP. BACKHAND.
>SLAP. BACKHAND.
>PUNCH
>PUNCH
>GET TABLET
>Z
[Deep Sea Anglerfish]
>BOY, GIVE ME SHADES
>WEAR SHADES
>SLAP. BACKHAND.
[Punches give better DPS for more endurance cost with the gauntlet on.]
>PUNCH
>PUNCH
>PUNCH
>PUNCH
>PUNCH
