Hook, line and sinker: How fishing minigames became a video game mainstay

The very first Zelda game to let players catch fish was "The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening," released for the original Game Boy in 1993. The minigame was devised by Kazuaki Morita, an avid fisher, who would also work on 1998's "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time," a game that ushered in a new level of quality for fishing minigames. In a secluded lagoon, Link is able to paddle out on his canoe and cast out using the Z-targeting system, a mechanic for locking onto enemies that Morita transposed to fish. As Links casts his float, the camera swoops overhead before diving below the water as the fish takes the bait. Link's rod bends under the strain of the fish, the camera zooming out to the regular third-person perspective until the fish is eventually caught.