Strictly Limited Games and ININ Games have announced that they’ve managed to find an arcade game that was lost to history, Clockwork Aquario, and that they’re planning on releasing the game on modern platforms later this year, with digital and limited physical versions confirmed.
If you don’t know about Clockwork Aquario (and to be honest, I didn’t either until the press release found its way into my inbox), it was developed by Westone back in 1992. Westone were responsible for the Wonder Boy / Monster World, so they have some old-school pedigree. Clockwork Aquario was the last arcade game they developed, with some beautiful 2D visuals, but unfortunately the game was cancelled in 1993 due to the dominance of fighting games in the arcade space.
Strictly Limited Games have made it their mission to preserve the heritage of video games, and that includes unearthing unreleased games. Bringing Clockwork Aquario back took three years of effort, with the help of ININ Games, but the two companies have been able to work with SEGA to resurrect the game this year.
Unfortunately, some of the source files have been lost in the 27 years between cancellation and now, including graphics and sound files, but an emphasis has been placed on bringing back some of the original developers to the game, including the chief programmer, Takanori Kurihara, composer Shinichi Sakamoto and Westone’s chief publisher and co-founder Ryuichi Nishizawa.
Nishizawa in particular is excited for Clockwork Aquario to see the light of day, stating the following in the press release: “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.”
While video game preservation for many might just include releasing games physically to prevent delisting, it also includes highlighting and preserving those cancelled projects too, such as Clockwork Aquario. Thousands of hours of work still went into those games, so honouring their memory and, where possible, working to actually release those games, is such a noble gesture.
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