Strictly Limited Games and ININ Games have shared the first teaser trailer for Clockwork Aquario, an arcade platformer that’s finally getting released after sitting dormant for almost 30 years.
Clockwork Aquario was developed in 1992 by Westone Bit Entertainment, a studio best known for the Wonder Boy series. However, a poor reaction to location tests and fighting games’ dominance of the arcade scene at the time resulted in the game getting cancelled, despite being pretty much complete. It was thought to be lost, until Strictly Limited Games obtained the rights in 2017 and, together with members of the original development team, embarked on a journey to finally put Clockwork Aquario out into the world.
As the new trailer shows, Clockwork Aquario has a similar playful energy and bright palette as Wonder Boy. It follows a Huck Lando, Elle Moon, and the warmhearted robot Gush as they fight to save the world from all sorts of colourful enemies.
Clockwork Aquario is coming to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in Q2 of this year, with other platforms to be announced at a later date. It will be available both digitally and in three limited edition physical releases that are up for pre-order through Strictly Limited Games:
- The Limited Edition for PS4 is available for 29,99€. (Switch is already sold out.)
- The Collector’s Edition is priced at 69,99€ and includes amongst others an Acrylic Diorama, 2x soundtrack (original & remix), an Arcade Coin (100-yen-style) and character cards.
- The Ultra Collector’s Edition is available for 129,99€ and includes everything from the CE and even more cool items like a beautiful 18cm figurine of Elle, Huck and Gush and a Shikishi.
“Clockwork Aquario is a great piece of 2D art, into which the pixel artists put their hearts and souls,” said Ryuichi Nishizawa, creator of Clockwork Aquario and Wonder Boy. “I would like to express my heartfelt respect and gratitude to those who have worked so hard to restore it.”