This review was originally published on the Console Purist Facebook group on June 29th, 2019.
Have you
taken a vacation this year? A summer holiday to somewhere tropical or somewhere
cool? In today’s PlayStation Basement we might do just that with a review of an
odd or obscure game for the original PlayStation. Games are rated Good, Bad, or
Neutral. Let’s take a trip.
Aquanaut’s Holiday is another Artdink
game. If you’ve been following along since the beginning, you’ll remember Notam of Wind, a game that Artdink
released in Japan and nowhere else. The company released some perfectly
PlayStation Basement titles when they developed games for the PS1. Aquanaut’s Holiday is a game about
exploring the dark oceans. What will you find there that’s been lying dormant
since this game was released 24 years ago on June 30th, 1995 in
Japan (and September 1996 and October 1996 in North America and Europe
respectively)?
Before
diving in, let’s look at the cover art. The North America cover art shows a
dark underwater scene with the shadows of creatures and objects in the
distance. There’s an element of mystery to it. The title is written out in both
English and Japanese upon a faded disk. The Japanese cover features the disk in
high contrast. It’s a more artistic cover with shadows of fish from a dream.
The European cover features the disk again, this time with the text in English
and upon a bursting orb. Of all three, I prefer the Japanese cover. The North
American art is the least inspiring.
In the game,
there’s a lot of dark ocean to explore like on that North American cover. I
guess it’s good to show what the game is like, but it’s almost too plain. You
might think that of Aquanaut’s Holiday
as a whole. The ocean can be empty in some regions and full of life in others.
The ocean life has a tendency to pop up out of the dark waters, erring the
simulation a bit. In addition to fish, whales, and crustaceans, there are also
some mysterious objects to find. While out in the water, I came upon the head
of a statue resting on the ocean floor. Who is this fellow? How did he get
there? He’s not talking, so I think we’ll have to draw our own conclusions.
The sound
set of Aquanaut’s Holiday is also a
bit mysterious. The sound effects are sparse, sounds of fish and collisions.
The player can generate sonar waves to communicate with the denizens of the
deep as well. The musick feels like it’s generated organically with some kind
of algorithm. I think that it’s probably not, but it will smoothly transition
from nothing to small rumbles and blips to full minimalist industrial songs.
The soundtrack is a really interesting element for sure.
There’s not
much more to say about the gameplay of Aquanaut’s
Holiday. You swim around with sea creatures; you try to communicate. I
found a whale that led me on a small journey through the waters. It felt
special to me, but it didn’t seem to be a major plot point or something
equivalent. Aquanaut’s Holiday is
about you and what you find.
There is one
other element worth mentioning – the game allows the player to construct a
coral reef with pieces that are found by exploring the map. I’m not sure how
these pieces are actually obtained; they seemed to just appear when I returned
to base. You can use different colors and different elevations to make
something that will attract different creatures. As I constructed my reef I
began to wonder if the reef had some influence on the exploration too. I’ll
have to keep exploring to find out.
Aquanaut’s Holiday is not a game as you
might expect it. There are no Bowsers to fight, Peaches to save, or mushrooms
to eat. I became more interested as I played. The short phrases and images that
accompany the menus and the like contribute to this marvelous mystery with each
step. Aquanaut’s Holiday is really a
treasure of the deep.
Aquanaut’s Holiday receives a Good.
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