Strictly Limited Games has finally confirmed that it is bringing Westone' lost arcade title Clockwork Aquario (known as Tokeijikake no Aquario in Japan) to modern-day systems, including Switch.
Originally developed in 1992 by Ryuichi Nishizawa – famous for his work on the Wonder Boy series – the game was built on Sega's System 18 arcade hardware. However, it was never released and was, until recently, assumed lost in the mists of time.
Strictly Limited has managed to find the source code for the game and has worked with ININ Games and Sega to revive it. This task has required new material to be created, as some elements – such as sound effects, music and some graphics – were not recoverable from the source code. In order to do this, members of the original Westone team have been called in, including chief programmer Takanori Kurihara, composer Shinichi Sakamoto and Ryuichi Nishizawa himself.
Nishizawa 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.
As well as getting a digital release this year, limited physical editions will also be made available.
Comments 13
This is indeed great news, just hope that it won't set anyone back TOO much to play it...
@EmmatheBest
I believe that when Strictly Limited is involved with the preservation of these once-lost retro games, they give it a proper digital release too, not exclusively a physical release.
This is one to look forward to, my brother especially is a big Westone fan.
Oh wow!
This is definitely something I'd want to check out. :3
That's VERY cool.
Can't wait to check this out.
Modern day archeology haha. Cool story. Wholesome.
I love that art style.
So when Nishizawa brought the files to Naoki Horii did they complete the game? Or did something else happen?
The screenshot and character designs look great. I believe I learned of this game's existence here back in 2017, though perhaps earlier. I would occasionally look for news of any progress regarding a release. I've since seen that there's been some coverage elsewhere going back several years before, so the hope for this game to actually see a release has existed for a while. It is wonderful that, after so long, it will finally see release, and that they were able to replace the lost portions. I look forward to hearing more details and I hope to be able to play it.
@RupeeClock I could be wrong but I don't think Ultracore has seen the light of day digitally. And as a company, they are dreadful, with respect to their turn around and communication. I'm surprised companies keep licensing games to them.
Smelling like Wonder Boy
@YANDMAN
Looking it up now, yeah, it actually does seem that way.
I'd thought it did have a digital release on Switch somehow but doesn't appear to, that's concerning.
While I rarely look for 2D platformers, I want to get this one if only to show support for all the effort of restoring a lovely game
Yes! Who doesn’t love a good second chance story? Game looks to be right up my alley.
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