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$$ $ $ $$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$ $$*** THE BLUE MARLIN
$ $ $ $$****$**********$$$$ $$$$$$$* GAME fAQ
$ $$************** **$** $$$$$$$$$$ by eyenot
$ $$*********$$$ $ $ $$* $* *$$$ *$$$$
[email protected]
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this document may only be provided by "gamefaqs.com".
CONTENTS:
I. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
II. WALKTHRU IT FOR YOU
III. BAIT BUCKET
___________________________________________________________________________
__I. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)______________________________________
Q: What is Blue Marlin?
A: A Marlin is a fish that is known for its long, pointed nose, its
great fighting strength, and its speed. The Blue Marlin belongs to this
group of fish and it is most elusive, evasive, and uncatchable of fish
there are. Something to note, however, is that the slightly more easily
caught "Swordfish" of the Marlins actually taste better. The Blue is
fished mainly for sport and trophy, and rarely (if ever) to be eaten.
Q: Why does the Blue Marlin have such long nose?
A: You don't need to ask, the answer is obvious: it's the same reason
that hummingbirds and mermaids have long noses; to snort things up.
Q: Who made this game? Why?
A: Hot-B company made it, to profit from your enjoyment of a simulated
oceanic fishing adventure. Some people say it's a 'sequel' to "The
Black Bass", but there have been so many electronic fishing game
historically that this claim doesn't hold much water. Bass aren't so
tasty, either.
Q: Are there any sequels?
A: I don't think so. See the next question.
Q: Are you sure it isn't a sequal to "Black Bass"? Lots of similarity.
A: The only similarities are that they are games about fishing that
have audio devices to simulate tension on the line. If you look around,
most fishing games have these two things in common, even old fishing
game for Atari ST computer. Just because the same company made it does
not mean anything except this company likes to make fishing game!
Q: Is this game any fun?
A: I think that for people who want to go fish but don't have any fish
left to catch, this game isn't just fun, it's essential! I mean, if you
have fished the oceans barren of life, this game is probably your only
chance to experience the thrill of catching elusive Blue Marlin.
Q: Are there any add-on?
A: Nope, it's just yer basic nintendo ROM cartridge. You can't plug
anything in it, can't grow anything with it; it's just to flip on and
play.
Q: Where have I seen that boat before?
A: I know I've seen that damn boat before. Doesn't it look familiar? I
checked out a lot of games with boats: Jaws; Spy Hunter; Super Mario 3;
but I still can't find out where I've seen that boat. I can't figure it
out.
Q: What's the easiest fish to catch?
A: You know you have the basic controls down if you can catch a 300 lb.
Dorado on a 300 ft. line before you get any body increases. Dorados are
the easiest fish to catch but at the beginning of game even a 200 pound
fish can give you a fight.
Q: What's the hardest fish to catch?
A: The Blue Marlin is hardest because it has the ability to leap in the
air and drag your line out almost a hundred more feet. Next I would say
any of the other Marlins, then the Shark.
Q: That Marlin does fight hard, can anything help me?
A: Yes, put your boat in reverse and fight with all that you have.
Q: Can Shark eat up my boat?
A: No. That's "Jaws" you are thinking. However, the Sharks and the
'Cudas are both most likely to chew off the line, and are tough fish
to catch. Sharks come big but don't give you any experience; you
can have fun with them but it's safer to just cut them loose. Even a
50 pound Barracuda will upgrade you faster than a 900 pound shark! In
fact, catching 50 pound Barracuda on lightest line has brought up
my experience more frequently than any other catches.
Q: But that Shark ate my catch.
A: It might make you feel better to go catch a shark, then.
Q: Is there any danger to my boat at all?
A: Yeah. If you run into the shore or rocks a couple times, you will
be warned that the boat can be easily damaged. If you ram something
solid a couple more times, you will be informed that something is
wrong with the engine. The real problem here is you will go slower.
If you ram the boat again, you'll end up back at the dock for repairs,
and some time will have passed.
Q: What's the difference between lures?
A: They affect the drag on the line and how strongly the fish holds
the hook in its mouth. The bigger lures usually get you bigger or
faster catch, but not always. Live lures need to be kept fresh.
Q: How come my live lure isn't catching anything?
A: You need to keep it fresh! Check it every so often through the
status information. If it isn't fresh, select it again from lures.
Q: I got something on my line. Now what?
A: You have to reel it in. You will probably have to fight with it a
little bit. You also have to take it easy; if you reel too fast on
too much friction you'll burn the line. And, if you aren't careful,
the fish will snap your line.
Q: The fish is getting away with my line too fast! Now what?
A: By pressing 'B', you can change the drag (friction) on the line. If
you press it once you will see the drag lever move. Press it again and
the lever will move in the other direction. Hold the button until the
lever is where you want it; the bottom is highest drag, the top is no
drag. Higher drag will make the line harder to run away with, but it
will also be harder to reel in and you run the risk of burning it.
Q: The tension on the line is too high! Now what?
A: You need to stop reeling and let the fish have a little of the
line. If you stop reeling at this point, the fish is probably strong
enough to run away with some line even at the highest drag. One way
to keep how much line you lose low, is to pull back on the rod and
give it out a little at a time.
Q: I'm pulling the rod and the hook is coming out! Now what?
A: The fish can't get any line at all while you are pulling the rod,
but the problem is pulling the rod drags the hook out of the fish's
mouth. Fighting (pulling left to right) while you are pulling the rod
drags the hook the fastest. Fighting with the rod down sometimes even
helps settle the hook back in.
Q: What else does pulling the rod do?
A: Well it tires the fish out, and fighting (left and right) while you
pull the rod tires the fish the fastest, but the more you pull the rod
and tire the fish, the more you drag the hook out of the fish's mouth.
You have to be careful to weigh out whether it's more important to
fight the fish or to keep the hook in, before you pull the rod.
Q: How do I know if I'm dragging the hook out too much?
A: The little picture of the fish in the right hand corner has a line
going into the mouth. When the hook is nice and settled in, you can't
see the hook in the picture. When it's dragged out a little bit, you
can see a little white bell. When it's almost out, it's out more by
the fish lips. When it's just about to pop out it flashes back and
forth in front of the fish's face. A little more dragging and you will
lose the fish.
Q: How do I settle the hook back in?
A: Giving the fish an easy line is necessary, but fighting it a little
also helps. Let the rod rest and fight left to right a bit, and it may
settle the hook faster.
Q: I'm getting tired?
A: You will get tired at first. The row of green arrows measures how
much stamina you have left. As you get tired it depletes to the left.
When it's getting low it changes to orange, yellow, and red to warn you
that you're getting low.
Q: How do I get not tired again?
A: Stop working so hard. Decrease the drag on your line how much you
think will help. Don't pull the rod so much -- pulling the rod makes
the fish tired the most, but it does the same to you. Don't fight left
and right so much -- this tires the fish, but it tires you, too. A
trick I use is to tap down once in awhile on the pad -- you will see
your shoulders sag a bit. Sag a few times and you will get a little
more back.
Q: The fish was just resting?
A: If the fish was resting, so were you. Keep that in mind. You got a
left and a right and so does the fish: keep that in mind, too. If you
are strong or skilled enough, don't be afraid to play with the fish.
Even if you only get a few feet here and there, that's better than the
the fish running away. Try everything you can think of,
Q: The fish was just too tired?
A: Reel in! Take off all drag and reel in fast as possible! Do not
bother fighting, the fish is already totally tired! Every second the
fish wakes up a little more. It can still recover its full fighting
strength, so get it in now while you can! As soon as the progress does
slow a little, pull the rod on your sides and angle up the middle! You
must take every single advantage of this very lucky occasion that is
at all possible because it might be all you get of the fish.
Q: That fish is all the way out there and I can't seem to get him in
at all. Should I just give up?
A: I rarely give up. A shark is worth giving up unless you're feeling
mean. A marlin, though, you should never give up. It's not like a
snapped line or a lost lure cost you anything. Okay I admit, once in
awhile I cut the line because I just can't stand to watch myself lose.
Even with 'A' and 'AA' stats, you are gonna watch some Marlins tear you
a new reel. If you are doing everything in the book and just watch as
you lose another hundred feet everytime the fish jumps, forget it. You
are either too tired, too weak, the line is too light, or the fish is
built to get away before too long. Keep in mind that a shorter line is
a shorter fight. Don't forget to wear down both sides.
Q: My stats are too low, how do I build up?
A: Skip the Marlins and drag your line straight into the middle of any
school of fish. Use middle or low weight lines, because those fights
give you more experience when you win. A fifty point Barracuda is an
amazingly easy fight that will bring you up classes. However, a 900
pound shark won't do anything for you. Funny, isn't it? Fight huge
500-800 pounds fish into the boat all you want, and never see a single
score increase. Then catch a dinky fifty-pound 'Cuda and get two quick
increases. Anyways. Fight the normal fish until you're at least to the
'C' classes, then just throw caution to the wind; you will probably be
able to land a Marlin by then.
Q: My reel is on fire! What do I do?
A: If you release the drag on the line, you will solve the problem but
you will lose an instant little bit of line to the fish. However, if
you try to douse it with water either you will succeed and lose all the
tension on the line or else you will fail and damage the line, which
will lower the threshold of tension before it snaps. It will be like
fishing with a lower strength line but you won't get better experience
for it. Usually, after you have chosen to 'release tension on the line'
a couple of times first, next choosing to 'douse the line' will work
instead of damaging it. You'll get a message telling you that it works
and all the tension on the line has gone out, which is good. Whenever
you choose something and it works, you get experience points.
Q: The sneaky fish caught the line in the propeller! What do I do?
A: I am still not too sure what to do with this problem. I can never
seem to provide the right answer, I always end up with engine problems.
If you come up with a solution, contact me.
Q: That fish bit through the line! Now what?
A: Go fish. The fish was too strong and got lucky.
Q: The line snapped! Now what?
A: Go fish. You fought too hard on too light of a line.
Q: That fish ran away with my line! Now what?
A: Go fish. You didn't fight enough or were too weak.
Q: The hook popped out of the fish's mouth! Now what?
A: Go fish. You pulled too much and forgot the hook was dragging.
Q: That shark nabbed my catch! Now what?
A: Go fish. This just happens, sometimes.
Q: Where's Blue Marlin at?
A: Stalking A Flock of Seagulls around, isn't that crazy? Other of
the Marlins are hiding behind schools of fish.
___________________________________________________________________________
__II. WALK THRU IT FOR YOU_________________________________________________
There isn't a whole lot to walk through with this game. Beyond the tactics
themselves, there is no other element to cover. Your first Marlin catch
over 500 pounds will get you to Hawaii; after that you need to catch 600,
700, and 800 pounders to progress.
I would like to say that I know much about which location to hit up at a
certain time of day, like hit locations in the evening, but
I haven't actually observed such that acutely. If you have something to
inform me about in that regard, please contact me with the info below. Any
thing I add here sent from other people will have their name before it, but
I retain any copyright.
[email protected]
___________________________________________________________________________
__III. BAIT BUCKET_________________________________________________________
This is where I intend to put stuff that is interesting. I am working on
some things. If you find out anything about this game, contact me.
"Blue Marlin FAQ" Copyright 2-22-2003 by Gabriel Arthur "Eyenot" Petrie,
All Rights Reserved.
