So whens the sequel? :p

[Align]

Ah, too subtle for me...

[Alec]

Ah, too subtle for me...

I guess this is what I find confusing, the people that find the game too cheesy think its cheesy because the finer points are too subtle for them.

Oh no Snake, its a paradox!

[Align]

Well, I didn't say "shallow".

[Nava]

Ah, too subtle for me...

I guess this is what I find confusing, the people that find the game too cheesy think its cheesy because the finer points are too subtle for them.

Oh no Snake, its a paradox!

I think maybe people make broad predeterminations on the general plot elements and don't allow themselves to open up to the nuances that can be inserted into that general plot.

For example, I don't like horror stories where someone moves into a house and something is WROOONG with the house, because it typically feels predictable and forced and I can tell from point one who will die and who will survive. And then (after much hesitation because of its plot) I read House of Leaves, which inserts pound after pound of nuance into the traditional frame of the "eerie house" cliché, taking it beyond its genre.

I mean sure, an exciting new story is great, but how often do you come by those?? Not much is really new anymore. Instead, good stories are ones that take old plots and examine them and play with them in new (sometimes subtle) ways, generally according to the personal interpretations of the 'author'. I feel that Aquaria accomplishes that very well.

[Grahf]

Hmmm, I'm surprised that by simply not enjoying the story as much as some of the other forum members I'm somehow less mature and should stick to Ninja Gaiden. For the record several stories in games have captivated me, Xenogears, Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy Tactics to name a few. Xenogears, in particular, will always be the standard for me in terms of story telling in games.

But Aquaria...

Where I think Aquaria fell short was in the voice acting (Yes, I know, it was low budget, it just bothered me), the sudden addition and over simplification of the relationship with Li, the often over acted emotional scenes,  and the massive gaps in game play where nothing happens spotted with huge story points that seem to throw the whole back story at you in bursts. Theres something to be said for flow. In regards to the nuts and bolts of the plot it's honestly not that hard to come up with a "deep" concept, as its been done time and time in other games. Its mostly a matter of recycling ideas in clever ways and dressing it up so that its entertaining to the player. Every once and a while a new and exciting story comes around that really catches you off guard (ie. the three games I listed above), but most are just the same old jumbled around with new faces, and thats fine! I just enjoy a little polish with those games, which Aquaria lacked.

But even though I'm being hard on the story I really did enjoy the game play. The combat was smooth, the environments were well designed, the bosses were challenging. The song system brought a sincere sense of difficulty and, at times, panic when surrounded by enemies before I realized I could use the number keys to switch effortlessly =P. My only gripe is that character upgrading came primarily through food farming (which wasn't even necessary to beat most bosses) and form acquisition, which would be nice if most of the forms weren't a simple gimmick to get through barriers. I suppose I'm still a fan of the item system used in Castle Vania Symphony of the Night, which is still my #1 side scroller. It created a nice sense of character development which I found lacking in Aquaria. You could grab new armor, but their effects were largely worthless barring one incredibly overpowered silly looking suit ;-). I'm sure one of the main reasons for this is that programming in a huge item database and balancing bosses accordingly would be much much much more time consuming and for a small dev team, thats not always an option.

So all in all, Great gameplay, average plot, sub par story telling, sub par character development. I'd still buy it again if I could go back. = )

[Titch]

It seems to me Grahf that you picked up a short story or novelette and you found it disappointing that it didn't contain the content of a full blown novel. Aquaria is not an RPG. If you know anything about games writing, then you would know that most games (as in ones that aren't 40 hours long on a single play through) are written in a single act structure; because unless you are Hideo Kojima you have to keep narrative content balanced with gameplay in order to deliver a good gameplay experience. A one act structure doesn't give you a lot to play with when it comes to character development and plot twists.

Also, Chrono Trigger. New and exciting? Don't make me laugh.  I love Chrono Trigger, but Time Travel and Defeating the big evil monster that is sucking the life out of the planet is hardly new. There was a book, it was called 'The Time Machine' or something like that -_-;

[silverflagon]

If you think that was bad you should try Syberia lol

I found it pretty good and I see a bit more there than the most obvious story of boy meets the last girl alive, and girl meets the last boy alive and falls in love and follows her around like a lost puppy... Think about it...  Magic is what this story is about and magic was used on both of them...
 Most stories are about love or power and it's not easy to write a truely original story line believable, and I know that Alec and Derek have done a very good job with Aquaria without having to find the money to pay top actors to take on the parts.

I didn't call you imature I just thought that the fighting games were more to your taste, and that is the impression that you gave. Like it or not it's done, you should of taken time to explain your reasoning in the first place then you wouldn't of left yourself open to the remarks you don't like.

[Chibi]

Sorry to post so harshly, Grahf. You do have some reasoning for your position, though I wholeheartedly disagree with you. 

[EDIT]: However, your forceful first posts are unjustified. (As Silver states).

[Grahf]

Sorry to post so harshly, Grahf. You do have some reasoning for your position, though I wholeheartedly disagree with you. 

Haha, no worries, given the scope of the internet thats not uncommon.

[silverflagon]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but it's better if their opinion is explained in a less forceful way perhaps?

[Alec]

IMO, Xenogears had a pretty terrible story, and the storytelling was even worse. It even degraded into a novel at the end. (I'm guessing they ran out of time to finish the game properly? They just ended up having large periods of text followed by a single boss or single dungeon)

I enjoyed playing through Xenogears, but I can't for the life of me remember anything about the plot, because it was so convoluted.

I think Aquaria relies a lot on the player's imagination to fill in the gaps. Its a more subtle/light way of telling a story. I guess the downside of that is that some people fill in the gaps with "OMG IT WOULD HAVE TO BE THIS STUPID THING THAT I HATE LOL".

Oh well, you win some, you lose some. You can't make people who are determined to hate something like it.

And that's one of the main reasons why I don't ever want to have to make a sequel.

[Alphasoldier]

Wait, main reason you DON'T want to make a sequel.
That first means there are more reasons and second it makes me wonder if there are enough reasons that MAKe you want to make a sequel. D:

[Alec]

Well the main reason to NOT do a sequel is that it wouldn't be worth all the heartache and misery again.

[Chibi]

That's a good point. The last effort pretty much dominated your life by the sound of it ... but think how many other people you would make happy by making a sequel. 

[Zoko]

Aquaria is a unique story in the way that it's told, and this all relies on the player. There are some people out there who are too dense to look beyond what is presented to them to what it truly means. To fully get the meaning of some events, you have to look deeper. (ie: Naija finding Li symbolizes an end to Naija's constant loneliness, but some people would only see this as "oh wow she found a boyfrnd")

Anyway, I think people aren't asking the right question about the sequel. It's not what it's gonna be like, it's how it's going to be like. Because I think that if you guys have possible sequel(s) in mind, it probably won't be exactly like this one. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed swimming around as much as the next person, but aquaria is a one of kind game, and I have the feeling that another game exactly like this one won't be as successful as the original. That's what mods are for.

Of course, I may be horribly wrong.