This isn’t a simple short review, but a long due (and personal) acknowledgement of merit for an unsuccessful (ren’ai ADV) masterpiece, doomed to obscurity by lack of funds and, perhaps, marketing errors. The Japanese cutthroat market of erotic games doesn’t forgive errors, but, nevertheless, AQUAS still puts to shame many “superior” games (for an example, consult ErogameScape’s 2003 Score List.
The first product of a little software house (Mercurius), AQUAS initially showed great promise, but its shortcomings partially wasted this promise (although the general artistic and aesthetic value remains the same, in my opinion).
Background:
Long, long ago, the Human race disappeared entirely from existence, for obscure and forgotten reasons. Only a few managed to survive, fleeing into the oceans and beginning a new life amid the waves.
Over the passing of aeons, their descendants fully adjusted themselves to their marine habitat, evolving into a slighty different (but totally Human-like) new race, the Mermen.
Now, after uncountable generations, the Merman race has begun the re-colonization of the planet’s coastlands…
Short introduction:
The main character is Eiji, the only son of the chief of a little Merman island village. An apparently normal young man, he actually hides a big secret. Originally a little child that mysteriously appeared in the island (and that was adopted by the village chief), Eiji is, incredibly, a true member of the lost Human race!
However, nothing of this seems to be of much importance to the protagonist, who lives a carefree life. But his father, concerned for Eiji’s future and desirous of an heir, after reaching an agreement with other two families, gives an ultimatum to his son: within two weeks, Eiji will must choose (and marry!) one of the (eldest) daughters of those two families, becoming the new village chief (incidentally, both girls look favourably at the possibility of an arranged marriage with him, but for different reasons -and not for love-).
Eiji doesn’t suspect what the future has for him: through incredible experiences, mysterious dreams and a fateful encounter, Eiji will discover responsability, love and, perhaps, the truth about himself, and the true fate of Humanity, old and new.
Storyline:
Mysterious heritage? Fateful encounter? Spiritual growth? Heck, we have seen all of this! Every single bit of this storyline was inspired from episodes/examples/scenarios taken from myriads of different manga and anime. But… is this truly a defect? No at all, in my opinion!
An exotic and variegated mix of comedy, mystery and (fantasy-veined) science fiction, AQUAS’s story is a strongpoint of the game, while the various protagonists are very credible in their characterization and the (consensual only) sex scenes, romantic and delicate, represent the finishing touch of the player’s efforts, generally sanctioning Eiji’s eternal love with one of the 5 available girls (except for a particular episode, see IMPORTANT NOTE below).
Perhaps a slighty conventional story (or, more probably, I’ve seen too many manga and anime so far -I’m a veteran from the initial “JapANIMEse” invasion of Italy, in 1978-), AQUAS’s storyline still provides not a few (for a b-game, at least) hours of fun, and a totally enjoyable experience.
Graphics:
SUPERB! WONDERFUL! All the CG’s (almost) are beautifully rendered in perfect manga-like style (sometimes with onomatopoeias and balloons, too!), while the remaining art is “merely” excellent.
The game isn’t animated, but with similar graphics, who needs it?
Sounds:
The musics are generally of good quality, varying from wacky to evocative and giving a nice ambience. But the character voices… SHOCK! HORROR! Those beautiful girls… don’t speak!!! AQUAS is bereft of character voices! Lots of bOVINE-games have plenty of voices, and AQUAS… Ah, cruel world!
Bonus:
Another weak point. Besides the 7 endings (very few, although the script-writer and the programmers have some tricks for increasing the game longevity…), AQUAS boasts the usual CG Gallery, a very small Scenario Gallery, and… nothing else. A total disappointment for omake-loving players!
Final considerations:
Truly, this game is caught in the middle. AQUAS could be a great game for novice b-gamers, but the usual barrier of Japanese tongue is worsened by the lack of character voices. AQUAS has much to offer even to expert (and Japanese-literate) players, but the Japanese market, for the same price, offers (vastly) more interesting erogames. An English version would be nice (and, I’m sure, technically easy), but, besides eventual problems due to the IMPORTANT NOTE below (moralistic I-Know-All id**ts are everywhere!), I don’t think, sincerely, that Payne-sama even reads these reviews/requests.
My final considerations? Me, I just loved AQUAS and its comic/dramatic/romantic moments. Unfortunately, considering the pros and cons of this game, I don’t know if the Japanese version of AQUAS could be truly appreciated by the (Japanese-illiterate) majority of gaijin b-gamers.
As always (but especially in this case), the choice is yours.
Mercurius Home Page:
http://www.paleveil.jp/~mercurius/
AQUAS Home Page:
http://www.paleveil.jp/~mercurius/aquas/index.html
Getchu - AQUAS Page:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=27346
AQUAS Demo Movie (51.1 MB’s):
http://www.hobibox.net/download/aquas_demo_l.mpg
AQUAS Promotional Movie (30 MB’s):
http://www.hobibox.net/download/aquas_clip.avi
YouTube - AQUAS Demo Movie page:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHa8dZ2hFHA
YouTube - AQUAS Promotional Movie page:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq759QVXKSM
AQUAS Game Patch (tiny, but indispensable!):
http://www.paleveil.jp/~mercurius/update/aquas_0916.exe
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Of 203 CG’s in the CG Gallery, ONLY 3 (the first is here) show an apparently controversial sex scene.
THE DEPICTED SITUATION ISN’T SO OBVIOUS!!
I can’t be more specific (I hate spoilers!), but rest assured that AQUAS implicitely disapproves of sexual practices, even consensual, with “Lolitas”.
[ 12-30-2006, 07:30 AM: Message edited by: Baldo ]
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