Clockwork Aquario

When Netflix released The Other Side of the Wind back in 2018, a lot of people saw it as just another movie. But for Orson Welles fans, this was a dream come true. It was, after all, a never-before-seen film from a legendary director who died more than thirty years ago. It was like finding a lost Picasso or discovering a new Beatles album, and all it took was a little money, a lot of perseverance and somebody behind-the-scenes putting it all together. If you're looking for the video game equivalent of this story, then let me introduce you to Clockwork Aquario, a long-lost Sega arcade game that was canceled in the mid-1990s. It was a promising side-scroller from the people who made Monster World IV that hardcore Sega fans have been dying to play ever since it was axed 27 years ago. And now, thanks to ININ Games and an assortment of long-time Westone staff members, we're finally able to see what Clockwork Aquario could have been. Was it worth the wait? That's exactly what I want to find out in this review.

Before we can even get into the story of Clockwork Aquario, we first need to talk about its troubled development. The game was originally started in 1992 by veteran developer Westone, who initially saw this as their swan song to the arcade market. It was designed to be a visually arresting side-scroller that felt like a more action-focused Monster World game and pushed the hardware to its limits. But what would have been a slam dunk idea just a few years earlier, suddenly seemed outdated as Sega turned their sights away from 2D action games and focused their attention on 3D titles like Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racing and Virtua Cop.

This is typically where the story ends. I don't care how long you've been gaming, because I guarantee that we can all think of at least a few promising games that were canceled and never heard from again. That's the nature of things in the video game industry. But not everybody was ready for that to be Clockwork Aquario's final chapter. After acquiring the rights from Sega, companies like Strictly Limited and ININ Games collaborated with former Westone developers to finish the long-dead action game. This involved everything from redoing the graphics to using the original hand-drawn sketches to complete boss fights. The result is every bit as uneven and outdated as you would expect, and yet, for the fans who have been waiting almost three decades to play this game, none of that will matter. The important point is that Clockwork Aquario is available for the world to play, just as long as you own a Switch or PlayStation 4.

As you would imagine, the story comes straight out of the 1990s. When the evil Dr. Hangyo threatens to take over the world, Hack Rondo, Elle Moon and a robot named Gash team-up to stop that from happening. The gimmick here is that these characters can slap the enemies in order to daze them, allowing us to pick up the bad guys and use them against Hangyo's robot army. We can also jump on the enemies or head-smack them in the air, which helps to make up for the relative lack of moves. In fact, the only other noteworthy ability is a star power-up that lets our heroes shoot a spread shot for a limited amount of time, making this game far, far too easy.

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A lot of the charm of this game comes from the bright and colorful graphics. I wasn't prepared for the wave of nostalgia that hit me as I played through the five stages, as each looks and feels like the type of action game that Sega was making in the early-1990s. We jump on clouds and walk on rainbows in one stage and watch the clockwork gears move in another. This leads to a ride on the top of a submarine and a mostly vertical stage filled with annoying conveyer belts. You've seen a lot of these ideas before, but originality isn't the point. The variety is handled well here and definitely feels like an arcade game you would have played at the time.

I also really like the character designs. Hack, Elle and Gash don't just look unique, but they also handle a bit differently. Gash, for example, is bigger and lumbers through the levels, especially compared to the much faster Elle. They also have multiple appearances that will show you exactly how much health they have. When Gash is missing a head and most of a leg, you'll know that he's only one hit away from blowing up. There are small touches like this for all three characters, adding a lot to the look and style of Clockwork Aquario.

When it comes right down to it, this is a tough game to review. It almost doesn't matter if Clockwork Aquario is good or bad, because a lot of people are going to play this simply for the novelty of experiencing a long-lost Sega game. Does it matter that the game is short, shallow and full of cheap boss fights? For most people, the answer is probably no. This will be exactly what they want -- an arcade game ripped right out of the 1990s.

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For me, I found the short length and simplistic gameplay to be disappointing. The whole thing is over too quickly and is far too easy, even on the harder difficulty settings. Had this actually come out in arcades like it was supposed to, I have a hunch that it would have been quickly forgotten about. Even in 1994, dazing enemies and tossing them at other bad guys was old hat, and there's nothing about the bosses or story beats that would keep you hooked after the first play or two. I mean, if Ristar and Dynamite Headdy got lost in the mid-1990s shuffle, then Clockwork Aquario didn't stand a chance.

And yet, somehow, this game probably works better today than it would have all those years ago. Perhaps it's because it feels like a novelty in 2021 or because the Sega of today no longer makes games we're nostalgic for, but no matter what it is, Clockwork Aquario definitely scratches an itch. Sure, it's short and shallow, but who cares, because it finally allows us to play a game we thought we would never have a chance to experience. And for the few minutes that it lasts, that feels like a tiny miracle all by itself.