Fishy Games

[NeoZeedeater]

While it's not a very common theme, I have always liked the idea of games where you play as a fish or whale. I forgot I made this thread a while back and never posted it.


Shark(US Billiards, Arcade, 1975)
This is the earliest game I know of that fits the category. There were other shark themed games released in 1975(likely due to the movie JAWS) but the others had you play as a human. In this game you navigated a shark through mazes to attack people.


Shark Attack(Pacific Novelty, Arcade, 1980 or 1981)
Chomp the divers and avoid their harpoons.


Funky Fish(Sun Electronics, Arcade, 1981)
This was sort of a mix of Defender(two direction scrolling shooter) and Pac-Man(eating items). I think the fish is supposed to be a ship or robotic judging by the fuel canisters but close enough.


Shark! Shark!(Mattel, InTV, 1982)
In this game you grew by eating others. This has held up pretty well gameplay-wise.


Pakacuda(Comm*Data Computer House, Vic 20/C64, 1982)
Standard maze chase game from what I remember.


Dolphin(Activision, 2600, 1983)
The object of this game was to stay alive as long as possible.


Fathom(Imagic, 2600/IntV/Coleco/TI99/4A, 1983)
This was an adventure game of sorts and ahead of its time in many ways. The goal was to collect the pieces of the trident to free Neptune's daughter. Most of the time you played as a dolphin but you could also transform into a seagull.




Odell Lake(MECC, Apple II/C64, 1984/1986)
Named after a lake in Oregon, this was an edutainment game where you could choose what kind of fish to be. By playing you learned about the food chain, i.e. which fish eat which kind of fish.


It had a PC/Mac sequel in 1996 called Odell Lake: Down Under.


SeahorsesCBS Software/Joyce Hakansson Associates, C64, 1984)
Are seahorses fish?


The Dolphin's Rune/The Dolphin's Pearl(Mindscape/Reston/Flyghts og Fancie, C64, 1985)
I had a pirated copy of this game as a kid but I think it required the manual for some puzzles so I didn't get far.


Shark(Matthew Stepka, Atari 8-bit, 1987)
This never made it to release but I figured I would mention it anyway.


Fish!(Rainbird Software/Magnetic Scrolls, ST/Amiga/Spectrum/C64, 1988/1989)
This was a traditional adventure game played from the first-person view of a fish. Neat game from I what I vaguely recall.


Gold Fish(Takeru, MSX magazine, 1989)


James Pond(EA/Millenium, Genesis/Amiga/SNES/ST/Archimedes, 1991/1992)
This was the first in this action puzzle series. Sega 16 had an article on it fairly recently.http://www.sega-16.com/Missing%20Mas...es%20Pond.phpI rented the games(and the spin off Aquatic Games back in the day but never cared much for them.


E.V.O.: Search for Eden(Enix/Almanic, SNES, 1993)
Part of this evolution themed action game had you play as a fish.


Ecco the Dolphin(Sega/Novotrade, Genesis/Sega CD/SMS/GG/Compilations, 1993)
I hope most people here are familiar with this action/adventure game, at least the Genesis version(the SMS/GG game isn't the same but it's very similar).


I liked the 1994 sequel(Ecco: The Tides of Time) more. Like Fathom many years earlier, you could transform into a bird at parts. This is probably my favourite game in the thread although I haven't played it in ages.

There was also the more kiddie Ecco Jr. on Genesis in 1995.

Freddi Fish: The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds(Humongous Entertainment, PC/Mac, 1994)
This was the first in a five part series of kids adventure games that was around until 2001 when publisher Atari closed the developer down.


Ecco: Defender of the Future(Sega/Acclaim/Appaloosa, DC/PS2, 2001/2002)
Being a fan of the Genesis series I wanted to love this game. It was the perfect graphics showcase for the Dreamcast + VGA adapter at the time too. The game's design was really frustrating though so I never beat it. By the way, Appaloosa is the same developer as Novotrade; they just chnaged their name.


Laser Dolphin(Dingo Games, PC/Mac, 2003)
A pretty amateurish and boring indie game consisting of different modes like action/shooting and racing.


Finding Nemo(THQ/Disney Interactive/Traveller's Tales, PS2/GC/Xbox/PC/Mac/GBA, 2003)
I assume all the console/computer versions are the same game. I played the PS2 one briefly and it didn't seem like anything special.


Shark Tale(Activision/Edge of Reality, PS2/GC/Xbox/PC/GBA, 2004)
Another multi-format movie licensed game. I haven't played it.


Finny the Fish & the Seven Waters(Natsume/Sony/Sega, Playstation 2, 2004/2005)
I really enjoyed this and think the reviews were too harsh on it. It's sort of like a cutesy Japanese Ecco game and reminds me a bit of Nintendo's stuff. The story and dialogue are pretty lame though.


Feeding Frenzy(Gamehouse/Oberon/Sprout Games, PC/Xbox Live, 2005/2006)
This is basically a faster paced modernization of Shark! Shark!.


Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown(PC, 2006)


What are your favourite games where you play as a fish or whale? I'm sure I missed some so please make additions.

[dakidski]

wasn't there recently a new 3d shark game?

also, i need to play Fish! from Magnetic Scrolls. Its one of my favorite text adventure companies, but the whole fish pov scared me off.

[Compass]

Yes, Jaws by Appaloosa, the DC/PS2 Ecco game devs. I had high hopes 'cause I loved their Ecco, but apparently it sucks hard.

[Nash]

I absolutely love the Feeding Frenzy games. They provide a good combination of twitch gameplay and nice oceanic scenery.

I really wish Feeding Frenzy 2 gets released on Xbox Live Arcade. Unlike the first game, it allows for both vertical and horizontal scrolling. There's also more stuff happening on-screen and better power-ups. The graphics are a little better, too.

[Sqoon]

Any childhood without Odell Lake (and/or Oregon Trail, Carmen Sandiego) was a childhood robbed.

[Bacon McShig]

Any childhood without Odell Lake (and/or Oregon Trail, Carmen Sandiego) was a childhood robbed.

IBTN

Also Number Muncher, Gizmos & Gadgets, and The Castle/Island of Dr. Brain.

Man, edutainment used to be awesome.

[bVork]

IBTN

Also Number Muncher, Gizmos & Gadgets, and The Castle/Island of Dr. Brain.

Man, edutainment used to be awesome.

Don't forget Seven Cities of Gold, The Robot Odyssey, and Lemonade Stand!

I miss the days when edutainment meant entertaining games that happened to be educational.

[Tommy Tallarico]

E.V.O. > every other game listed.

[Grave]

E.V.O. > every other game listed.

IBTN. I'm still waiting for a modern equivalent that takes EVO's idea as far as it can go. The first person who says "Cubivore" is going to get punched in the mouth. Spore is the best chance we have, but it sure as hell won't be as simply presented as EVO, and that was part of what made it so much fun.

[Sqoon]

Ever try Seventh Cross Evolution? I have no words to describe how cool yet god-awful that game is.