Intuitive controls, artistic visuals and stellar music make a voyage into the world of Aquaria a wonderful time.
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As Naiji, a simple ocean dwelling mermaid/siren/fish-person thingy you lead a halcyon life snapping babies' necks… just kidding! You only do that onc- I mean you don't do that at all. Naiji is searching for answers to her questions. Who is she? What is her purpose? Why is she here? The curiosities of life have enveloped her and have drilled a permanent hole in her brain that cries out to be fulfilled. Joining her quest of discovery and exploration is a magical ride.
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For the most part everything pans out in typical adventure game fashion. You explore a big overworld with various off shooting locales, get upgrades and whatnot, return to your home for some R&R at times… Aquaria doesn't force you to do anything. It's a non-linear experience for the most part, although sometimes a barrier or obstacle will have to be dealt with later on. Aquaria starts out relatively slow but things start to speed up over time. But really though Aquaria is the type of adventure game that will only go so far as you take it, if you don't go out and explore then it won't either. Naturally like a good adventure game there is some grinding traveling and backtracking, but nothing that will kill you.
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The save system in Aquaria is old school to the core. Saving is only possible at stationary red crystals and if you die you respawn at the last one you saved at exactly in the condition you were when you saved at that moment. You have a mini-map and a health meter as the only HUD on the screen. Accessing the world map is easy and useful, but a little disorientating and sometimes irritating as you have to pause the games to see the map. You'll be doing this often because the mini-map is kind of useless, as it's a bright blue color and passageways are muddled together a little bit so it's hard to read. Fortunately the menu/pause screen is well laid out. Here you can review songs you learned (more on this later), look at obtained pets and treasures (pets are creatures that will help you in combat and treasures are basically collectable loot), cook stuff and change settings.
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Cooking is a big part of Aquaria. It's your source for making healing items, which you can make from recipes that you find scattered about the world. At Naiji's home you can cook with 3 items simultaneously, outside of it you can cook with 2 items only. Cooking is actually very easy and because you do it so frequently there is no mini-game to do it, as that would become tedious. It's a simple matter of just dragging items to slots and followed by a press of the "cook" button to make your concoction. It sounds lame but the streamlined process of it is very helpful and you need to cook often, as you need healing items to survive. Receiving the supplies for cooking comes from either combing the walls and floors or picking them up after you defeat enemies. Nothing quite like getting a clump of rubbery meat after you dispatch a octopus then making a hearty stew out of it.
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You have the power of Verse as Naiji. This is like the life force of the world, you can "sing" out in Verse in 8 different notes each with a different color. Overtime you learn songs that can be sung which will do various things. It's pretty pleasing when you sing a note and the local friendly creatures will change hue to that notes color. Also by singing songs Naiji can transform into several different forms. These forms are obtained throughout the game and each is very distinct. Initially the Verse is like a little bonus ability, but it quickly becomes very significant, plus it's a fresh new innovative idea. To have one central controlling gameplay mechanism is hard to pull off, but the Verse delivers as a great medium for Aquaria.
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Aquaria can be controlled multiple ways. A very intuitive and unique way is to use the mouse only controls. Everything can be done with the mouse, and I mean everything. There is a keyboard option as well but who wants to use that when you could use a superior mouse? Also several gamepads are compatible with the game. The controls are also mapped out well. Plus in the beginning a tutorial is given and it does a really swell job of walking you through everything, it's flows by at a sluggish sedative pace but it gets the job done. The lengthy tutorial segment does extend a bit too far and experienced veteran gamers will feel like they're being treated like children at times when the game explains new techniques and moves.
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Fantasy infused and imaginatively brilliant, Aquaria looks fantastic. The stupendous 2-D backgrounds are packed with meticulous detail, parallax scrolling and unique vibes. Several foreground focusing and background fading techniques give the visuals a layer of depth that is rarely seen in 2-D games. There are tons of different fauna and flora as well, and there are some really neat eye catching effects. Plus Naiji animates very fluidly, if you make her spin around (by swirling the mouse in circles while holding the left mouse button) you can make mini whirlpools that make your PC monitor look like it's actually rippling! Unfortunately a decently good PC is needed to run the game with all the bells and whistles turned on. But it can be easily scaled down; I got it to run well on my piece of crap PC while on relatively high settings. So that pretty much means it can run on anything, probably even your kitchen blender.
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Perhaps Aquaria's strongest point is its soundtrack. If its graphics are a blissfully sublime tea party with the worlds best delicate crumpets already then the perfectly accentuating soundtrack is like having a 5-course meal topped off with cigars which were rolled on the thighs of Brazilian woman. The soundtrack is that good, it just absorbs your mind and melts you. While I am not entirely sure if it's pre-mastered samples spliced together or a real performance by an orchestra that was recorded, it's simply amazing (also orchestral samples are so damn good these days you probably wouldn't notice, take that you purist classical freaks!).
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The soundtrack could stand on its own legs, but when working in tandem with the gorgeous visuals it radiates this mellow warm glow of atmospheric comfort. Honestly I can't wait to buy the soundtrack when it is available. The music is so varied as well, in the Kelp Forest it's like a blend of Arabic music with woodwind instruments as the melody carriers, then in the Abyss it's a darker toned beat with a really slick background bass-line, each region has it's own outstanding individual soundtrack. Female voice actor Jenna Sharpe gives a great performance as Naiji as well. While her voice doesn't have that seducing ethereal feel that could lure the unicorns out of hiding, it is gentle and soothing to please human ears.
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There are also some modding options in Aquaria. While the editing tools aren't that expansive, it is quite user-friendly. I don't even know how to empty my recycle bin but I had fun fiddling with the mod tools. There is a tutorial that does a decent job of teaching you the ropes but in the end you'll just learn by trial and error… like I did. The maps you make can also be supplied with custom made graphics and sounds through LUA scripting.
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30 dollars (I'm in USA so I use dollars, sorry I don't know how much rupees or yen that is) is what you pay for Aquaria. A small price if you ask me, I would pay 50 dollars for the soundtrack alone. Plus it's a digital purchase so no need to leave your house to go get it, so don't worry about the angry ball of fire in the sky getting you. In the end Aquaria is a surreal and whimsical journey that will entice and engross you. It's a very personal experience per say. Aquaria is like a realization quest of life, it shows how one can go beyond what they perceive and reach beyond the limits of their world. However Aquaria is a game that is better than the sum of its parts. The intuitive but not revolutionary controls, the normal pacing of exploration, the extremely high production values and the whole mystery aspect of Aquaria's lore come together to fuse a wonderful game that few will play and many will overlook. Don't miss out on a one of a kind journey in Aquaria.