Overview
This guide will detail how to fish while playing as Big The Cat in Sonic Adventure or Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut. I will try to be as detailed as possible so that you can at least finish Big’s (thankfully) short story. Please read on, fellow gamers!
Basic Gameplay As Big
Big is very different from the rest of the cast. He’s a really BIG (shocker) purple cat with a very small brain.
He is the slowest character out of them all, but he is somehow the fastest ladder climber. He also is the strongest, and can pick up heavy objects with a press of the action button, and can also push them aside.
In the way of attacks, he doesn’t have many. He can swing his fishing rod by pushing the action button, which is really hard to aim, but it will kill any of Dr. Eggman’s robots that it hits. He can’t jump attack, as he will just get hit if you land on an enemy.
Fishing Basics and Casting
Ok, here we go. This part, THIS PART of SA. If you hold down the action button, Big will raise his fishing rod over his shoulder and a blue reticule with red arrows will appear on the ground in front of him. Using the directional buttons, you can aim that reticule. Letting go of the button will have Big cast his line. To fish, you need to be positioned next to the body of water you want to fish in, then cast your line into the water. The lure will sink and your camera will switch to a really bad view of the lure. This is the easy part about fishing.
Reeling, Hooking, and Catching
To reel, hold your action button. Too slow for you? Hold the jump button to reel quickly. This is IMPORTANT. REALLY,
Let’s say that you’ve found Froggy (more on that below) and he’s noticed your line. (This applies to any fish.) He will swim over and bite your lure. IMMEDIATELY hold the down button! Not left, right, or up, but DOWN. Most fish will be on the line by now, but Froggy will let go. Just wait for him to bite again and hold down once he’s on. At this point, the word “HIT!” will flash up on the screen, Big will say “Something’s biting!” and the music will change. This is make-or-break time. LITERALLY. The gauge at the bottom-right hand corner is your Tension gauge. No it doesn’t show how much boost power you have, that’s Sonic Rush. It shows how much tension there is on Big’s fishing line. The fish will try to pull away with your lure, and you have to reel that fish back in! Reeling will increase the Tension gauge. Be careful! If the gauge hits maximum, Big’s line will snap and you will lose a life! This is the crucial part. I find that it’s easiest to alternate between the two action buttons with two fingers. For a visual representation of when you should press and not press, look directly below the Tension gauge. A handle will be there. When you reel, the handle will turn. Use the action button to make the handle go all the way around once, pause for a quick beat, then repeat. Depending on your Tension gauge, you may need to stop reeling for a second, or increase the time you pause. When Froggy is in your hands, the level will be complete! For the missions B and A, just catch other big (ha ha ha) fish until your weight counter, represented in grams directly above your ring counter, reaches the number shown before catching Froggy.
UPDATE 9/28/14:
Thanks TysTheGuy for this information:
Pressing both camera buttons will cancel the lure, so that you don’t have to reel all the way back in if you’re unhappy with your cast.
Froggy! Where’d you go?
I can answer that question! For the first stage, Twinkle Park, Froggy is located in the singular pool of water in front of you. To catch up to him, grab the Ice Stone behind the elevator you exit out of and bring it to the Mystic Ruins. Head up the cave to Big’s left and place it in the recep-“Tikal” (hahahah, good one, right?) to open the door. Enter the newly opened room and head on over to the Ice Cap stage. Froggy is located in the frozen pool of water right where you begin, just go the the differently colored patch of ice in front of you and jump on it to break open a hole to fish through. Next, run to Station Square and head on over to Emerald Beach. Go forward and to the right onto that line of sand with the robots. Then turn right. Cast your line towards the left of the giant pillar and you should find Froggy. Make sure to stand on the little cliff area under the water, as you’ll have a shorter distance to Froggy. For Big’s final stage, head to the area where Amy was imprisoned in her story. Jump on the switch to the left and head into the Hot Shelter. Just go forward through the hallways until you find the area where Big notices his buddy. Hit the emergency drainage switch and catch Big’s friend. And that should be all. BUT WAIT! After a short trip into the past, Chaos swallows Froggy and you must get him out! This is actually very easy. Just cast your line towards the hexagon that shows where Froggy is and yank him out by pressing down. Big then leaves the rest for Sonic to take care of, and steals-*ahem. BORROWS the Tornado-2 to fly home.
Making Your Life A Little Bit Easier
Big does have some upgrades to help you out a little. If you would prefer to find them on your own, be my guest. If not, keep reading.
Life Belt
Function: Allows you to float in waterand dive by holding the jump button.
Required: Yes.
Location: Entering the icy area where the entrance to the Ice Cap zone is, look to your left. Can’t miss it!
Power Rod
Function: Allows you to catch bigger Pokemon cast farther!
Required: No.
Location: Go to Big’s hut in the Mystic Ruins forest area. Push his bed to the side and snag your upgrade!
Lure x4
Function: Allows you to catch progressively bigger fish.
Required: No.
Location: There are actually four seperate Lures. The first one is located in the sewers behind the Twinkle Park elevator, where you find Tail’s Jet Anklet. The second one is hidden in the Ice Cap zone, and is the ONLY upgrade hidden in and Action Stage. Climb the ice stairs away from the pool where Froggy is until you see a small pool. Since you need the Life Belt to complete this stage, hold the jump button down and go through the underwater path. Then get to the pool with the dinosaur bones and sink down to the bottom of that. The lure is hidden there. The third one is located in a small clearing in the Mystic Ruins jungle area. Go to Big’s hut, take the second path from the left, and then take the second path ON the left on that path. It is very easily missable, but the Map function added to the pause menu in Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut makes this a breeze. The final lure is hidden on the Egg Carrier. Go to the holding cells where Amy was, and just jump on the switch to open the door to the cell with the Lure inside. That’s it!
Closing
I hope that this was helpful to you people out there! Now go play the rest of Sonic Adventure, with the knowledge that you have vanquished the most rage-inducing part of this game, EVER. Please comment, this is my first guide and I would like some feedback. Thanks!
-SuperCrafter2