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Sunday 13 January, 2008
Summary: In the game Aquaria, the player controls an aquatic humanoid character named Naija who has magical powers channeled through different songs. The players motivation is to explore the underwater caves of Aquaria and learn more about Naija's background, gaining new magical abilities and opening paths to new areas along the way.
Gameplay: The game began with Naija waking from a sort of state of meditation. Naija narrates the game at points of significance during the game to give the player some guidance and insight. For example, fter she awakes she states that she has grown restless and wants to explore. Soon I had learned my first song. Songs are executed by holding down the right mouse button and pointing in the correct order at the symbols which appear arranged around Naija. Because the symbols make up a scale, its also possible to play some simple tunes which I found quite amusing. I'll probable try to translate some of the ocarina songs from the Zelda games for the N64 to this eventually. The song created a shield around me so that I could mitigate some damage while avoiding enemies. I did not yet have a means of striking back at them.
The next thing I learned was that certain berry like plants will burst open if you sing the correct note, allowing you to get useful items or recipes for cooking. This is when I struck upon the only real issue I have with the game. The easiest way to determine what note to sing to open the plant is to match the color of the berry to the color of the symbol of the note. Unfortunately I am color blind. This doesn't pose problems to me often in real life, but videogames are often terrible about catching these issues. Fortunately there are only eight possibilities and I rarely had to try more than three notes before I guessed correctly. After all, I'm not that color blind. It may be that the game might train me to see more subtle differences between colors. Still it was a minor disappointment.
At one point the game also gives you a glimpse of what gameplay might involve later on. A strange shadowy creature appears to Naija and she experiences a vision of the life of another being similar to her. During this vision you control this other character who can fire some sort of energy or fireballs from her hands. Unfortunately this other person faces overwhelming odds. She is subdued by various hostile sea creatures, and the vision comes to an end. It seems that brief flashes of other locations are fairly frequent though I have not yet experienced another controllable vision such as this. The narration around this part of the game also indicates that Naija never really knew anything about the world she lived in. She merely lived from day to day, alone, with no clear goals in life, not knowing anything of her heritage. Suddenly she realizes there is more to the world and wants to know more. I think this sort of foreshadowing and narrative build up is an interesting way to keep the player engaged. The game doesn't jump straight for the action. Even after an hour of play I have no direct way to attack any dangerous creatures, but I haven't gotten bored.
After reaching a convoluted series of tunnels and caves I was nearly lost until I remembered to check the games map which highlights explored areas. Soon I found may way and gained a new song which promises to open up more areas still. It was at this point, I think, that I noticed the map had zoomed out making the part I had already explored seem rather small. It looks like this game is quite extensive perhaps on the scale of a Metroid or Castlevania game. It successfully gives the impression that the player is progressing, but that there is more to come. I like that in books, but it is perhaps even more satisfying in gameswhen well executed .
So far the game is very interesting and pretty fun. I've always been a sucker for a new fantasy or science fiction universe with a good backstory, and this one seems like it could be a good one. After seeing some ruins and hints of a past civilization, I'm looking forward to learning more about the world.
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