Given that its late, and I've spent half the night playing Touhou... I'll try to keep this brief, I'll elaborate more later. Anyway, during the sale on Steam, a friend recommended Aquaria to me saying that it was basically "Super Metroid" underwater. Of the games I bought on Steam following Christmas, I've probably spent the most time on Aquaria. The quality of the soundtrack and the way the game immerses you in its world is exceptional. I wrote a review about it on "The Gaming Experience", a little blog hosted on the site for a BFME2:RotWK mod I help with. (
LINK) However I would like to take advantage of the fact that everybody here's already played the game (more or less) to touch on some elements more sensitive to the story.
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First off, I'll go ahead and introduce myself so you know where this is coming from. I'm Jarrett Voight, and I go by JEV3 on most internet communities I frequent (Forendacil if its too short, jevoight for college, and have some joke names for IRC). I have a strong interest in creative writing and graphic design, though my skills haven't caught up to my conceptual abilities yet, and probably never will. I am the site administrator for the BFME2:RotWK mod (don't ask me to spell it out), Wars of Arda... and I'm often responsible for the visual design of the popular Sonic fangame, "Sonic Robo Blast 2".
I'm a shameless geek who has always had a knack for obsessing over one thing or another, most significantly, Lord of the Rings, Sonic, and more recently, Touhou. I'm also something of a romantic, which means I tend to look deeper and see things in a more optimistic and sentimental light than my peers. I identify readily with stories in any shape or form they come in, from "Two Towers", to "Spirited Away", to "Okami", to "Braid", to Aquaria", etc. I'm one of the few people I know that can take some of my most memorable experiences from games, and put it into context in my life, my schooling, and my faith...
So now that you've had a fair warning... I'll dive in. First off, I want to say that the best part of Aquaria was the voiceovers. The script is the sort that is very easy to come out awkward, and reached a huge range of emotions and yet it never lost its integrity with the exception of a couple of the action sequences (the pre-boss dialogue at the end of the game, and the secret ending). As I touched on in my review, I'd play the game to relax because of its ambiance. What I didn't say and probably couldn't say was how emotionally invested I became in the game. Although one of my critiques in a more spoiler-friendly crowd would be that Li wasn't relevant until the end of the game, I was quite attached to his character (even though I thought I'd drowned him at first) and more importantly his part in Naija's story. When one evening I relaxed and sat down to explore the abyss, I think it goes without saying that going through the Sunken City was a pretty big deal.
Due to my lack of useful recipes (other than a bunch of health-boosting sweets), it took me a few tries to confront the boss, and each time I had become more and more drained (something I'll have to get used to if ever I am to reach Touhou's bonus stages XD). I finally defeated the boss, eagerly awaiting my reward. What happened next had me dumbfounded. A tentacle reached out and grabbed after Li, and rather than learn a new song, Naija spoke about her despair and then her fury. I tried using his song to call him back but nothing happened, and to add insult to injury, eager Steam hopped in to say "ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Lose the only person you ever knew". If I needed an excuse at this point for crying, I could honestly say that I'd probably gone for several minutes without properly blinking because of that scene... but I don't think I need one. That same night, I probably spent a dozen tries going through the gauntlet before being forced to give up.
After that came the boss. I'd say that it was an excellent design that allowed him to be very difficult at first but not tedious or so frustrating (aside from the dark area, but that part was so atmospheric) after you'd beat him already. The epilogue's story managed to top even the scene in the Sunken City and I applaud the story behind "the Verse", as well as the clever tie-in between the cryptic introduction scene and the game. Because I saw the secret ending as the end to Naija's story rather than a teaser for a possible sequel, I found it bittersweet and quite disturbing. Who knows if when we see Naija again, if it will be the same Naija that we'd got a chance to know through the events of Aquaria... I like to think that the fact that Naija's rebelled against Mia in that scene means that there will be a part of her that Mia cannot control... however so much of Aquaria was about loss of innocence. Getting the energy form was just the beginning, for then Naija found herself ravenously devouring schools of fish, killing innocent turtles to keep your stock supplied, and I can't be the only one that REALLY enjoyed the devastation I was capable of at the end of the game, thanks to the scene in the Sunken City. The ending was so beautiful but it made me feel so guilty.
I think most of my other impressions were accurately described in the review. I would like to point out a few nitpicks, however. First off, the help menu and level editor are not nearly as user-friendly as the rest of the game... this is especially a big deal with the help menu, as I know people that had to go through half the game before finding out you could open up the minimap, and I only just found out that 'x' can cancel your form in time to abuse the jelly costume in the gauntlet. Furthermore, the pre-boss dialogue and the bit with Mia would have been better as cutscenes, because the game's strength was in its voiceovers which spoke to you while you were playing... but here the limited animation of Naija and the rest really became noticeable. This limited animation also bugged me with concern to the energy form.
Another thing I'd like to add is that the secret ending fits better into the story as an ending than a teaser. I personally would have merely zoomed in on whats-his-name and ended it there, leaving the player to decide how the story was going to continue. Even as such, "To Be Continued" felt especially out of place, especially given how dramatic the ending of the game was... I think a friend of mine saw the same ending as little more than a sequel hook, and I think the segment should feel more like a part of Aquaria than the sequel.
As for any actual bugs, a friend of mine has had issues with his map progress being erased from time to time. Additionally, I actually was not aware that you could only make recipes with three items at kitchens until the memory game... I dragged each food item into the place where I thought the third slot was supposed to be and it worked, which I believe counts as an exploit/bug. The twinkle when you use sun flash at the Creator's final form should probably stand out more. Then there's the matter of introducing some of the mechanics more explicitly. I did not know I was supposed to be able to carry that crystal, nor did I know that I could use the nature form to go through warp plants. Finally, the steam achievements are pretty mundane.. either being "Beat x boss" or "all x collected". Surviving the nightmare segment, speedrunning the game, finding secret areas, and similar obscure challenges would be more interesting and would be less disruptive than the ones that pop in every time you beat a new boss.
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That's all I have for now. Would like to look at the modding tools more in-depth, although the user-interface is pretty terrifying... although as someone who is used to editing maps for the Doom engine for SRB2, I'm sure I can get the hang of it eventually. When I'm not broke, I'd love to get my hands on the soundtrack.. until then I'll have to settle for the jukebox, the game's music files, and the streaming music from your site. I'm looking forward to "Marian" (and the fact that I'm a fan of Alice Margatroid from Touhou has nothing to do with it... also, I won't bother to mention the comparisons I'd made between Aquaria and Touhou, because I don't think that helps my cause any), and hope to keep up with this place at least intermittently.
Best of luck to to the whole crew from Aquaria... you did an excellent job, and while I do have a few critiques, it is still one of the most outstanding games of its kind. And sorry for the sloppy post, its late and I'm too tired to trim of clean it. You guys seem pretty laid back though from the threads I've been digging through so hopefully you won't mind.
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