Fish Dude (GB)

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Fish Dude
Fish Dude - GB - USA.jpg
Platform: Game Boy
Year: 1990
Developer: Salio

Fish Dude is an action game developed by Salio and published by SOFEL.

The game plays very similar to the game Shark! Shark! INTV); you play as a fish swimming around the ocean, and must eat up smaller or equal-sized fish, but must also avoid the bigger fish that pursue you. There are also other obstacles such as octopus and scuba divers that you have to avoid. You use the D-pad to move your fish and rapidly press A to consume a fish. Unlike Shark! Shark!, you don't grow every time you consume other fish. However, you do change size depending on the level. There are 18 levels in all; each main level is broken up into three other levels. However, instead of numbers 4, 5, and 6, the game changes it to A, B, and C.

One nice feature of the game is that you can continue from any level via a two-character password given by the game. While the original Japanese release required a cheat code to enter passwords, the North American release allows the player to enter a password via an option on the title screen.

The game received mixed reviews from players and critics alike. The game is also known for being one of the rarer Game Boy titles, and as a result, even a cartridge can be pricey.

Most of this game's staff would go on to produce Taikyoku Renju (GB).

Screenshots

Fish Dude - GB - Title Screen.png

The title screen.

Fish Dude - GB - Uoozu Selection.png

The selection screen.

Fish Dude - GB - Gunfighter (1-2).png

Stage 1-2.

Fish Dude - GB - Miss.png

Ouch! That's gotta hurt.

Fish Dude - GB - Stage Clear.png

Moving on to the next stage.

Fish Dude - GB - Game Over.png

Game Over.

Music

Fish Dude contains a soundtrack by Takashi Saito, Salio's main composer at the time. Most of the music is fast-paced rock in the key of C. While there is a decent amount of music, most of it's pretty short and repetitive. However, the track Gunfighter ranked #251 on Atwiki.jp's Best of Game Boy list.

Masashi Itoi is credited as a sound programmer; a broad term used in Japanese game development at the time. This most likely means he programmed the sound driver, but it's unknown if this also means he programmed Takashi's music into his sound engine, or if Saito did it himself.

Atwiki.jp says of the music:

The music has a pretty cool selection of songs. A sound test is available as a secret technique.

Most of the song titles are taken from the Japanese version's sound test. However, the non-looping tracks are counted by the game as sound effects and thus do not have a name, so they're named after the location they play in the game. The sound test is not available in the North American release.

Recording

# Title Composer Length Listen Download
01 Theme of Uoozu Takashi Saito 0:36
Download
02 Uoozu Selection Takashi Saito 0:23
Download
03 Chasing Fish Takashi Saito 1:27
Download
04 Gunfighter Takashi Saito 1:27
Download
05 Sigh of Fish Takashi Saito 1:27
Download
06 Silent Seabed Takashi Saito 1:27
Download
07 Miss Takashi Saito 0:04
Download
08 Game Over Takashi Saito 0:07
Download
09 Stage Clear Takashi Saito 0:07
Download
10 Dancing Fish Takashi Saito 1:01
Download
11 Kita-Sakana Takashi Saito 1:01
Download

(Source)

Credits

(Source)

Normally, the game does not have credits, despite having an ending. However, the credits can be accessed in the original Japanese release via a cheat code; on the level selection screen, press either A or B and press Start; a password entry will show. Enter STAF to view the credits, which also has its own theme.

Game Rip

Format

Download

GBS.png VGZ.png


Ripping Game Boy music is a very arduous process that is beyond the scope of this site. The soundtrack was recorded in Winamp using in_vgm.

Releases

  Japan.svg   Japan
Uoozu - GB - Japan.jpg
Title: うお〜ず (Uoozu)
Platform: Game Boy
Released: 1990-10-05
Publisher: Towa Chiki
  USA.svg   USA
Fish Dude - GB - USA.jpg
Title: Fish Dude
Platform: Game Boy
Released: 1991-04-??
Publisher: SOFEL

Links