Twinworld Game Reviews

Posts Tagged ‘Clockwork Aquario’

Stuttgart, December 9th, 2021: ININ Games and Strictly Limited Games proudly celebrated the release of a treasure from the arcades – Clockwork Aquario last week. Along with the successful launch of this colorful retro gem, Clockwork Aquario is now being celebrated as a new holder of the Guinness World Records™ title for the longest time between a videogame project start and final release!

With the development initially started in 1991 and completed 2021, Clockwork Aquario takes over the mantle from Duke Nukem Forever that held the Guinness World Record title until now.

A story of true video game archeology

The initial development of Clockwork Aquario started in 1991. It was the last arcade game ever developed by the legendary company Westone. With the advent of 3D gaming and other genres vying for dominance, Clockwork Aquario’s development was canceled. Nearly 30 years later, ININ Games and Strictly Limited Games – two labels dedicated to preserving popular but also forgotten or never-released retro gems – joined forces to unearth this video game treasure.

A development team including members of the original Westone team such as Ryuichi Nishizawa – co-founder of Westone and creator of legendary Wonder Boy – was put together with the aim to bring Clockwork Aquario to life. With a motivated team of passionate retro game fans and the original creators of Clockwork Aquario, it was ensured that the lost arcade title gets its well deserved release, losing none of its charm, but staying true to its roots.

“[…] I would like to express my heartfelt respect and gratitude to those who have worked so hard to restore Clockwork Aquario. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this work is a great piece of 2D art, where the pixel artists of that time put their hearts and souls into. I’d be happy if people would appreciate and enjoy it.” – Ryuichi Nishizawa

About the Game

Clockwork Aquario is an exciting, colorful gem of an arcade game for PS4 and Nintendo Switch. It has already achieved some notable reviews that include a 9/10 from NintendoLife, along with many other great reviews and love from enthusiastic fans of the retro genre.

Dynamic movement, fun gameplay, colorful animations – Clockwork Aquario is an awesome experience for all retro and arcade game fans from back then and new players alike. The digital version of Clockwork Aquario will be available in the Nintendo eShops and PlayStation Store in North America from December 14th!

Source: PR Email

Stuttgart, November 30th, 2021 – ININ Games is proud to release Clockwork Aquario digitally for Nintendo Switch and PS4 in Europe today!

Record-breaking development time? After almost three decades, a lost gem from the arcade era, the last arcade game from legendary developers Westone, finally sees the light of day for the first time and is heading straight to modern home consoles. Traveling from the year 1992, Clockwork Aquario now finally arrives on the screen and got the whole team involved more than excited for this release.

To make this special release possible, ININ Games, Strictly Limited Games and former members of the original team from legendary developer studio Westone joined forces to do some serious video game archaeology by unearthing this video game treasure while preserving the original vision and roots of the game. So retro game fans can now look forward to an authentic arcade gameplay that features:

• Colorful pixel graphics
• Beautiful animations
• Dynamic movement
• Fun gameplay
• 3 unique characters to choose from (Huck Londo, Elle Moon & Gush)
• Single player and 2 player co-op
• A superior soundtrack by Shinichi Sakamoto
• Plus, an ingame gallery giving some visual insights in the game’s history

The digital version of Clockwork Aquario is now available in the Nintendo eShops and PlayStation Stores in Europe.

Source: PR Email

Stuttgart, November 24th, 2021 – ININ Games is excited to announce the release of the lost arcade game gem Clockwork Aquario from legendary developer studio Westone as digital version for Nintendo Switch and PS4 on November 30th, 2021 in Europe, followed by North America on December 14th, 2021!

After being lost for almost three decades, the colorful side-scrolling action game, and last, but never released arcade title of legendary developer studio Westone, will finally come to life! To set the mood, a brand new trailer shows you the amazing, colorful gameplay that awaits you!

Clockwork Aquario presents imaginatively created levels with beautiful, colourful, pixel graphics. Easy to pick up, the addictive side-scroller action and intuitive controls ensure you will instantly be immersed in the action as you face a host of baddies! Choose your favorite character and conquer various enemies and unique bosses with Huck Londo, Elle Moon, or the giant robot Gush – alone or together with your favorite Player 2 in co-op mode! Complemented by an amazing soundtrack by Westone legend Shinichi Sakamoto, Clockwork Aquario has been well worth the wait.

“Clockwork Aquario is a great piece of 2D art, into which the pixel artists put their hearts and souls. I would like to express my heartfelt respect and gratitude to those who have worked so hard to restore it.” – Ryuichi Nishizawa (chief publisher, and co-founder of Westone)

Source: PR Email

Stuttgart, Germany – March 25th 2021 – Strictly Limited Games and ININ Games are delighted to present the first teaser trailer of Clockwork Aquario after the game has been dormant for almost 30 years. Clockwork Aquario will finally see the light of day, releasing Q2/2021 for Nintendo Switch and Sony PlayStation 4 both digitally, from ININ Games, and physically as limited editions from Strictly Limited Games. Other platforms to be announced at a later date.

Clockwork Aquario was the last arcade game ever developed by the legendary Westone Bit Entertainment in 1993, but was never finished. The game was thought to be lost in time, but Strictly Limited Games set out on the mission to dig deep into video game archeology and save Clockwork Aquario from being lost forever.

First gameplay teaser

The first teaser trailer shows not only some incredibly beautiful hand-drawn images of the three main characters, but also the first gameplay footage of this arcade treasure. Clockwork Aquario wins the viewer over with its beautiful pixel art, the vibrant colors and the three unique characters: Huck Londo, the daring hero, Elle Moon, the brave adventuress and Gush, the warmhearted giant robot.

Non-stop arcade action

Ryuichi Nishizawa, game creator and founder of Wonder Boy, has led development of the game that encapsulates the spirit of and story about a boy, a girl and a robot in the near future, crushing the ambitions of enemies who plan to take over the world. Clockwork Aquario, a two player couch co-op, focuses on colourful, eye candy presentation, fun and fighting off enemies. Non stop action, cavorting from one platform to another, fending off endless attacks, be they from the sky or along the ground…. No stopping to admire the beautiful settings. Bash, stun, jump on the enemy and throw them away, and collect bonuses as the battles continue.

Limited and exclusive physical editions

Three limited editions for Switch and PS4 can exclusively be pre-ordered at Strictly Limited Games.

• The Limited Edition for PS4 is available for 29,99€. (Switch is already sold out.)
• The Collector’s Edition is priced at 69,99€ and includes amongst others an Acrylic Diorama, 2x soundtrack (original & remix), an Arcade Coin (100-yen-style) and character cards.
• The Ultra Collector’s Edition is available for 129,99€ and includes everything from the CE and even more cool items like a beautiful 18cm figurine of Elle, Huck and Gush and a Shikishi.

“Clockwork Aquario is a great piece of 2D art, into which the pixel artists put their hearts and souls. I would like to express my heartfelt respect and gratitude to those who have worked so hard to restore it.” (Ryuichi Nishizawa)

Source: PR Email

Stuttgart, Germany – September 23rd 2020 – Strictly Limited Games and ININ Games are very excited to present the logo and key visual for Clockwork Aquario. After being lost for almost 27 years, the colorful Clockwork Aquario will be released in the beginning of 2021.

The game will be published for Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4 as limited physical editions. Clockwork Aquario will also be available digitally in the Nintendo eShop and the PlayStation Store. Other platforms to be announced at a later date.

The development of Clockwork Aquario started in 1992 and is the last arcade game ever developed by the legendary company Westone. Originally designed by the chief publisher, and co-founder of Westone, Ryuichi Nishizawa, Clockwork Aquario can be described as the swan song of a company that was part of an era with historic milestones such as the Wonder Boy / Monster World series.

Large character sprites, beautiful animations, vibrant colors – the game had everything an arcade game fan could dream of. But in the early 1990s 3D games and fighting games were booming in the arcades, so 2D games like Aquario, that relied on beautifully drawn pixel art, were no longer regarded as commercially feasible for the arcade centers. So the game never got released. Something that Strictly Limited Games and ININ Games needed to change.

The side-scrolling action game can either be played alone or with a friend in co-op.

Players can choose from three different characters, each of them with her/his individual moveset: Huck Londo, the daring ghost hunter, Elle Moon, the brave adventuress and Gush, the warmhearted giant robot.

This is probably the freshest 27 year old game that gamers ever enjoyed – and as this treasure stems from the arcades, it won’t go easy on the player!

“In the 90s, when game centers were dominated by fighting games, there was one title which had never been released, even though it was completed after more than two years of development and repeated changes. This title is Clockwork Aquario. Who would have thought that it would be restored and playable again? I would like to express my heartfelt respect and gratitude to those who have worked so hard to restore it. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this work is a great piece of 2D art, where the pixel artists of that time put their hearts and souls into. I’d be happy if people would appreciate and enjoy it.” – Ryuichi Nishizawa

We would be delighted if you stay tuned to the latest news and updates for Clockwork Aquario. Please check out http://clockworkaquario.com/ and subscribe to the consumer mailing list.

We are also offering two great Clockwork Aquario wallpapers from the three heroes for mobile and desktop on the website.

Source: PR Email

Stuttgart, Germany – June 4th 2020 – Strictly Limited Games and ININ Games are very excited to announce that the colorful game Clockwork Aquario will be released in 2020 – after being lost for 27 years.

The game will be published for current gaming platforms and will be available in limited physical editions, as well as digital. The release date is planned for later this year.

The development of Clockwork Aquario started in 1992 and is the last arcade game ever developed by the legendary company Westone. With its beautiful 2D graphics it was created to push the SEGA System 18 arcade hardware to its limits. Unfortunately, fighting games and 3D games were dominating the arcades at that time which led to the cancellation of Clockwork Aquario.

Originally designed by the chief publisher, and co-founder, of Westone, Ryuichi Nishizawa, Clockwork Aquario can be described as the swan song of a company that was part of an era with historic milestones such as the Wonder Boy / Monster World series.

As a company that is striving for the preservation of video games, it has also become a part of Strictly Limited Games’ mission to unearth unreleased games that are an essential part of the cultural video game heritage.

So, three years ago, Strictly Limited Games set out to find the whereabouts of “Tokeijikake no Aquario”, the Japanese title of Clockwork Aquario, and to bring the game back to life.

ININ Games then joined in the endeavours to convince SEGA/LAT that Clockwork Aquario will finally see the light of day, by signing to create a digital release and making the game accessible to a wider audience.

Some parts (including sound, music and several graphics) were not recoverable from the source code, so the particular emphasis is placed on involving as many members of the original Westone team as possible in the project to be true to the game – from the chief programmer, Takanori Kurihara, to the musical genius, Shinichi Sakamoto, to Mr Wonder Boy himself, Ryuichi Nishizawa, who expressed his joy and excitement about seeing the title screen again after 27 years on Twitter.

Ryuichi Nishizawa also said: “Clockwork Aquario is a great piece of 2D art, into which the pixel artists put their hearts and souls. I would like to express my heartfelt respect and gratitude to those who have worked so hard to restore it.”

Source: PR Email