Proud to say I just finished Aquaria not 5 minutes ago and I am so happy (though also kind of sad that it's over, haha). You might be thinking that I just rushed through and missed everything to be the "first to beat the game" or something, but I can assure you that I took time out to explore and conquer some optional minibosses along the way. I'll have a lot to say in this review, so it could get lengthy.
FINAL PLAYTIME: 16:23
Recipes: 8 / 13 pages
Pets: 2 / 4
Novelties: 23 / 32 (I count both decorations and costumes under this category)
Now I have a lot to say about this game, but I'll separate it into different sections. Before we start, I'd like to say that I did not in any way play a perfect game. You can see that I am in fact missing quite a few things, I would have liked to see all the pets, which is why I will no doubt be starting a new game with a 100% completion goal in mind. I think I would count my playtime as an "average" one given that I took anywhere from 1-3 hours to explore when I got stuck on a certain puzzle to think about it (or to ask one of the testers in the IRC channel, ahem). That being said, I didn't rush and I feel like it was a solid playthrough. Now, on to the review.
Story: The story doesn't particularly pick up or make itself apparent until slightly later in the game, but when it does I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story has all things a piece of literature should have: Buildup, a climax, and then the slowing down again. One thing I noticed that I particularly liked was that I really felt as though I could connect with the way Naija felt at certain times. If she was angry or wanted revenge on something, I'd feel myself like I couldn't stop playing and I needed to press on to avenge her in whatever situation. I think we can all remember times when we were alone or seeking a companion and this game really plays on that emotion.
Gameplay: What can I say? It's fantastic. I didn't use the mouse, actually, I opted instead to use a run-of-the-mill PS2 gamepad. I found the controls were a bit tighter, although I am a console gamer at heart so that could be why I'm more tempted to use it. The only obvious problem was singing the songs, I had to use the mouse for that at first but as I progressed I learned what angle I had to tip the control stick and now I can play songs just fine with only the controller. The song system is awesome; I'm so glad there's no B.S. mana bar or something for the songs, because I feel that might ruin them. The ability to shift between forms without any real repercussion is a great one, because you know that when you need that certain form it'll always be there and you won't have to jump through hoops or sip a mana potion just to be able to defeat a boss. Combat is incredibly fun, and at times it really does feel epic. The feeling of being surrounded by enemies and just launching energy bolts and hoping they thin the ranks slightly while spinning around and jumping from wall to wall so I don't get hit is frantic but fun in that way.
Music / Sound: I don't think I even need to comment here, no one I've seen has yet to complain about the music and I don't think anyone will. Alec did an awesome job with this, and the music adds to the experience immensely. Jenna's voice acting is very nice too; honestly better quality than a lot of games that are put out on multiple systems and have a giant chunk of wealth for a budget. I particularly love the combat music that comes up during some boss fights; it's in the Nautilus Prime fight if you know what I'm talking about. It feels sort of techno-y, and I really liked it because it sort of enforced that fast-paced frantic dodging that you have to do in those situations. All in all, very good composing and voice acting, and they do nothing but add to the experience.
Artwork: I wanted to talk about the art for a moment, because it's hard not to. Throughout the entire game I never saw a single artifact, nothing was of poor or lesser quality than everything else, and the whole thing just looks polished and awesome. It's very obvious a lot of work was put into this area, considering that they're all hand-drawn, and it really shines in every area. I thought an area like the bottom of the ocean where it's pitch black would end up scaring me off and I'd have to build up the courage to really explore there, but just wanting to see what sort of new enemies were down there really pulled me in and before I knew it I was done with that section. All of the fish are beautiful, and it was fun pointing out which ones I recognize. Honestly, if I wasn't paying attention to Naija I was usually swimming towards my goal and just looking all around the screen, and I usually ended up running into stuff in that case! Again, very superb and it does nothing but enhance the experience. You'll never be bored, there's always something to look at in the background.
Replayability: I shouldn't even need to write this. Yes, the replayability is there in full force! I beat the game, sure, but did I get all the treasures, pets and foods? No, so I definitely want to make a new game and try for that this time! And after that, well... Maybe look for secret endings, heheh~
SLIGHT SPOILERS FROM HERE ON IN!
Final Notes: This game is fantastic, and all of my anticipation was well worth it. I haven't been here the whole two years, far from it, but I was still heavily anticipating the game and it did not disappoint even my highest expectations. Every little detail is paid attention to, things that I think most other games would ignore. It's fun just finding out little things you can do in each form and then realizing "Oh, that makes sense, but I wouldn't have thought of it..." You can eat schools of fish in Beast Form for health, plant brambles under anemones in Nature Form to destroy them, it's things like this that don't technically throw you a game-changing effect but it's really neat that the detail is there. The puzzles are tough but not to the point you'll be tearing your hair out, and if you're a fan of puzzle-type games it'll probably come more easily. I won't deny that I needed help in certain areas, but Alec and the testers were always there to give me a hint or point me in the right general direction if I was truly stuck which was great.
That having been said, people have brought up that maybe I should write a walkthrough after I complete the game. I'm not going to do this, however. I'm not lazy, and there's a damn good reason I'm not going to write one. When I read walkthroughs, I usually do so for RPGs where I just want to get the combat out of the way and move the story along so I can just finish the game. I don't want anyone to do that with Aquaria, to miss any part of the experience because you're busy reading my walkthrough word-for-word would be a waste of time. If you want help, the IRC always has someone in it and I'm sure we'll be able to give you a hint on where to go. It's also the element of surprise this game provides. Not knowing what was around every corner really added to the experience, I felt as though I was in unfamiliar waters just like Naija in the game was, and it was as much of a surprise to her as it was me. I also did most of my exploring while stuck without a clue of where to go, which lead me to numerous alternate costumes and decorations for Naija's home. If you blast through the game knowing exactly what you're doing, you're going to miss the whole point: The giant world that's right there for you to explore.
That got a little lengthy, sorry. Well, there's my opinion!
