Clockwork Aquario is a lost arcade title that has been brought to life for the first time for PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Originally developed by Westone, Clockwork Aquario was canceled by its developer at the last time and the title was never released to the public. Now after decades, ININ Games and Westone have finally released it for PS4 and Nintendo Switch and we can finally play it. This is our review of the PS4 release of Clockwork Aquario in which we pop some balloons and throw some enemies at each other.
Right at the start of the game, Clockwork Aquario offers you a chance of playing the game at your pace. You can jump in the Training mode where you can try out the game in the first two levels with unlimited lives. If you think that you are now ready for the main title, you can choose between three difficulty levels Easy, Normal and Hard. Each of these difficulty levels offers fewer and fewer lives before it is game over for you but since there is no coin system in place, you can just continue right where you die even if you lose all your lives.
One of the best aspects of Clockwork Aquario is probably its gameplay. Contrary to other platformers of its time, the controls of Clockwork Aquario were really ahead of its time back in the 90s. It was meant to push the hardware to its limits back then and the brilliant controls of the title certainly show. The controls feel really flexible and are extremely responsive for precise platforming. While the platforming in Clockwork Aquario is not that punishing, it still requires accuracy, and the controls give you just that easily. Movement feels smooth and is really silky as you jump around slapping balloons and landing on enemies to stun them.
You can control your jumps by tapping or holding down the jump button to reach higher areas or extending the area over which you can jump in the game easily. The enemies in the game are really unique as well however nearly all of them are not that hard to beat. This also depends on your chosen difficulty, but normal difficulty feels fine in the game. Each level is filled with a large number of balloons as well that you can pop to move around the level or to reach higher areas that are not otherwise accessible however all of this requires careful platforming and time jumps.
Some of the enemies can be stunned in the game as well by slapping them or jumping on their heads. Slapping them again or jumping on their heads again will kill them but if you move into stunned enemies, you will pick them up and then throw them in various directions to take out other enemies or pop balloons that are out of your reach. Almost every enemy in the game can be stunned and picked up and thrown around. Most of the bosses are killed in this way as well as they send their smaller minions at you and then you stun them and throw them back at the boss to damage them. Some levels also have mini-bosses that you have to kill as well.
The ability to pick and throw enemies can sometimes give you some really cool combo opportunities in the game. For example, you jump on one enemy, pop a balloon and then slap another enemy and pick it up while moving forward and then you quickly throw it ahead at another enemy thus killing all of them in one jump. These not only look really cool but are extremely satisfying as well to execute. This is the reason why I say that the title has extremely fluid and smooth gameplay and controls that you can easily move around and execute these combo kills without any issues. If you are playing in co-op, you can pick up and throw the other player around as well.
Clockwork Aquario does come with some hiccups of early platformers. On some levels, you cannot go back so if you missed some balloons, you have to restart the level if you accidentally moved too far ahead, and the balloons went to your left and out of the frame. When something goes out of the frame on the left, it is gone forever. Additionally, you have limited lives, and each level has a timer. This is not a big issue but there is no pause button in the game and pressing the emulator pause often restarted my game when I came back to the title after some time forcing me to start the title all over again. Obviously, these are not game-breaking bugs and with modern releases, lives do not really matter since you do not have to insert coins anymore so you can easily look over them.
Clockwork Aquario might be coming out at a modern time, but you can imagine like you are still playing on a CRT screen by applying a variety of filters and texture effects to the game. In the main game menu, you can choose between options like display settings, shaders, and filters. You can tweak the settings and create your very own CRT monitor display inside your modern 4K display thanks to the emulator on which the title runs on the PS4. The PS4 version supports trophies as well and I will say that it is a really easy Platinum. This release is a complete experience of the title with its art gallery and soundtrack available to you inside the game as well. I loved every bit of Clockwork Aquario, and I have been playing tons of retro games in recent times.
The main reason why Clockwork Aquario was never released back in 1993 was because of the fact that fighting games were taking over arcades and 3D games were starting to rise up everywhere. It was a shame that this brilliant platformer was canceled back then but kudos to ININ GAMES who brought this title to life and that too with the help of the original developer of the title Westone. The release shows that Clockwork Aquario was way ahead of its time back in the 90s and it holds its development value quite well even today. The gameplay feels more refined than tons of modern platformers released in recent years.
Final Verdict:
Clockwork Aquario is a great arcade title and a perfect addition to any retro lover’s library. It features beautiful and colorful visuals with an upbeat soundtrack and great gameplay mechanics. In the recent influx of classic and retro titles arriving on modern consoles, Clockwork Aquario easily sits among the best ones and since this is actually the title’s first official release, it is perhaps the best time for it as well. If you love playing retro platformers and have been adding the recent releases to your library, Clockwork Aquario is a solid title, and it deserves a spot in your retro collection. Even for players who love playing platformers, this game is a must-play.
Final Score: 8.5/10
