Fishing (Final Fantasy XII)

Fishing is a minigame in Final Fantasy XII played in the South Bank Village of the Dalmasca Estersand. The item Lu Shang's Badge can only be obtained by doing the fishing sidequest, an item needed for the Wyrmhero Blade.

Unlocking
To begin the fishing sidequest, the player must have completed the and the portion of the game's storyline at the Draklor Laboratory. After speaking with Ruksel at the South Bank village, the player must travel to the Port at Balfonheim and speak to the Fishing Enthusiast outside of the Aerodrome.

The player must talk to him twice and ask about the fishing rod, then run to the Aerodrome's entrance and back to the same spot without leaving the area. The Muramata fishing rod will be near the wall where she was sitting. The player can then return to Ruksel at the Dalmasca Estersand to begin the minigame.

Gameplay
When the minigame begins, a line of four to eight button commands will appear on the screen, moving in a random direction horizontally or vertically. The goal is to input the commands shown correctly before the line reaches the edge of the screen. Doing so successfully will cause Ruksel to make a catch.

There will be a total of six commands during each game. Each time a command is entered successfully, either a fish or an empty bottle is rewarded. Furthermore, by achieving a perfect score of all six commands, a bonus command will appear, and correctly entering it will award the player with a bonus item. (See the tables below.)

Fishing Areas
The minigame begins with only one area available, but by completing certain conditions, an additional four river sections can be unlocked. Each area has an increasing level of difficulty and a different variety of perfect fishing rewards. Every fishing spot will produce the occasional "Empty Bottle" instead of a fish.

Matamune Sidequest
A different fishing rod is required to gain access to the last two fishing spots. Acquiring it is almost another sidequest in itself. The player must first vanquish Gilgamesh.

When fishing, the occasional Empty Bottle caught will turn out to be one of five colored bottles. Each will contain a cryptic message leading to a specific spot in the game. After visiting every spot, the bottles will then form one last message, leading to the location of the Matamune.

After finding each location and deciphering the clues, the player will be lead to Barheim Passage. The Matamune is found in a section of the Zeviah Span, but by looking at the map, it's clear that it can only be reached via the West Annex. Gilgamesh appears and presents the player with the fishing rod.

Trivia

 * The Lu Shang's badge is a reference to the Lu Shang fishing rod from Final Fantasy XI, which is the second-best rod in the game and infamously difficult to get.