After a stretch of around 18 hours I've reached the end of Aquaria. Here are my thoughts:
Gameplay:
Anyone who has played Aquaria should know that it shines in this category. As soon as I entered the game I was easily
navigating Naija around her home waters. Jumping off the walls, or boosting through tunnels I always had the sense that
I was discovering the deeps. Both of the control scheme's presented worked quite well, though i found that I would just use the number
keys to perform the songs of the verse. Considering that singing is one of Aquaria's more unique features you'd think it would be
a bad thing to have the ease of the number keys when there is the song wheel. Though doing the transformations on the song wheel
during combat was just too cumbersome. It was much better to use it for opening the plant "chests", puzzles, and story progression.
One of my favourite parts of the game was hearing Naija say "Not another sea loaf". The recipe system was great. I loved scouting the waters
for a new ingredient to try, and the effects to naija's attributes based on which food was eaten was quite diverse. The puzzles in the game were very well done, I especially like the memory game that gives you the extra recipe slot. The boss fights also helped to add more depth to the game. Instead of kamikaze shooting, and dodging you would have to think about how to defeat the bosses using your transformations from previous boss battles. It reminded me of using boss powers in Megaman to defeat other bosses, and also of Zelda because you had to think about how you could use the powers to defeat different foe's. For example the Ice Crab in the Frost Veil had to be knocked off the ceiling
using the phallic plant protrusion!!!
Score: 9
Story:
Alec and Derek presented the world of Aquaria to be lonely and unfamiliar. Though this helps to convey the sense of adventure and discovery it also works against the games pacing. Before reading some minor spoilers on the forums I was quite overwhelmed with the amount of freedom I had to explore the world. The freedom of exploration isn't bad it's hard to judge what type of game it is until you've played it for a good 4-6 hours. Until I read a post where Alec said you didn't have to get spirit form last I then realized that there was no specific order to the story progression. The abyss also threw me off quite a bit with the light emitting fish. I felt I had to lure them through the abyss to reach my destination. There are small inserts of Naija's voice giving clues about whether or not you should continue, but she is quite vague saying she shouldn't proceed without a source of light. The fish can easily be mistaken for that source.
The overall story of the game isn't bad, but maybe a bit rushed and lacking elaboration in some parts. Meeting, and instantly falling in love Li seemed a little strange, I found i really didn't care too much for him. There was no build up, or any reason for Naija to have such strong feelings for a foreign creature other then the fact she's "lonely". Li didn't even question anything he just seemed to accept he was cornered by a strange creature It felt like he just appeared to add some emotion engagement but without any build up the whole attempt fell a bit flat.
Along with this the final boss didn't surface until the end portions of the game which also prevented any emotional buildup towards him. I felt i didn't have much hate brewing, or any desire to rid of him other then the fact that i knew he was the last boss. He takes Li from you around an hour before the game ends, but other then that he doesn't do much else to you for the other previous 16 hours of game play.
Score: 6
Sound:
What can be said on the sound front? Each track was appropriate to the surroundings, though in some cases they were a bit repetitive. I felt the track playing in Mithalas could've had a more eerie and empty feeling, especially considering the story of what happened to the inhabitants. It's hard to keep the musical score universal to the game and not share some similarities in the tracks. Though the musical score was one of the best i've heard this year. It's simple, representational, and helps to immerse the player into the game world. I find sometimes, especially in more recent games the sound tracks are too orchestrated and impersonal. Aquaria's soundtrack is the exact opposite. It's very old school, and its very emotional. The system music at the game start screen really pumps you to explore the world, and is easily my favorite track.
Score: 10
Graphics:
I had very mixed opinions about the graphical representation of Aquaria. The artwork in the game is great. Derek has an excellent style that really covey's a sense of a deep underwater environment. The way the fish swim through the water in schools, and jelly fish wade around looks quite authentic. The biggest problem I had with the graphical presentation was the skeletal animation. In some cases 2d skeletal animation worked quite well. Using it for creatures like fish, eel's, or jelly fish created a desirable effect. Though for more complicated and multi segmented sprites looked awkward and similar to how a mannequin would act. The one aspect of animation that is hard to tackle with a 2d skeletal system ( at least without multiple poses with different rotations ) is torsion. humanoid creatures twist and turn depending on the gesture they are doing. While Naija usually looked fine in terms of animation (save the Energy form attack where she wiggles her hand) , many of the bosses looked too robotic. In a game where the environment, and many of the creature exhibit a strong organic, and flowing nature it takes away from the experience to encounter such rigid, and fragmented foes. Overall I felt the animation lacked expression and personality.
Score: 8
Closing Comments:
Aquaria is a great game, and it accomplishes so much considering the majority of the effort was just Alec, and Derek. I've been hard pressed to find a good game to sink my teeth into this year. I find with each passing year good games are becoming far and few between. Developers are becoming mere slaves to suited money grubbers, and the end result is a mess of recycled mechanics, shady Hollywood schemes, and millions of dollars into graphics production and marketing. Aquaria steps up to the plate to denounce the direction of modern gaming, and to remind us that gaming has never been about those things. Its all about SOUL baby, and Aquaria reeks of it
Final Score: 8.25/10
