At Natsume's booth for E3 2019, I checked out Reel Fishing: Road Trip Adventure. Unlike previous games in the series, this one adds some Japanese RPG elements to the existing focus on fishing. I briefly got some hands-on time with the game and came away with a good impression.

The plot is a bit more robust than previous titles in the franchise series have been. You play as Sean, who has gone on an epic road trip with his friends Alice and Neil. The three college students are driving around, stopping at various rivers and lakes, and enjoying some fishing along the way.

During the day, you go out fishing as Sean with whatever rod, reel and lure/bait that you feel is appropriate to catch whatever types of fish you're looking for in the current area. Casting is a simple matter of holding a button and releasing it once the targeting circle is where you'd like the cast to land. Once a fish is on the line, you can hook it and then reel it in either quickly or slowly while always paying attention to the stress on the line (indicated by it turning red), so the stress doesn't become too great and cause the line to snap.

During the day, your friend Neil will gather various materials: cloth, metal, etc. He can use these materials to craft upgraded fishing gear for Sean to use, such as better rods and reels or some new lures. Additionally, Alice can cook dinner for the three in the evenings, which can provide stat boosts for the next day.

Each of the three friends gain experience and level up by doing their own things, which in turn grants them skill points to spend in their skill trees. For example, Neil might be able to craft two items per day instead of one, or Sean might gain skills to more easily reel in fish. Fishing also nets you coin, which you can spend on materials for Neil to craft with and ingredients for Alice to cook with.

There weren't many details on the plot of Reel Fishing: Road Trip Adventure other than very vaguely that the story will be "introspective." I suppose that will have to be enough to go on for now, as we probably won't know more until the game launches on both the Nintendo Switch and the PlayStation 4 later this summer.