2D Platformer Nabs World Record From Duke Nukem Forever
Clockwork Aquario, at an initial glance, looks like a fun retro experience, bringing back in mind the feeling of 80s and 90s arcades. That’s not the intentional design like it is with, say, Shovel Knight. Instead, this game does come from the time period. And now, thanks to Guinness, everyone will know for certain that this game is from the time.
Westone, the company behind Wonderboy, started Clockwork Aquario back in 1991. There, the product was shelved for years, cancelled due to the popularity of 3D games. That was, until ININ Games and Strictly Limited Games picked up Clockwork to polish up and release. Both ININ and Strictly Limited specialize in finding popular (but forgotten or never released) video games, and came together with some of the original developer team. Together, they were able to ensure that while the game could be ready for the latest consoles, that it retained its original charm.
“...I would like to express my heartfelt respect and gratitude to those who have worked so hard to restore Clockwork Aquario.” said Ryuichi Nishizawa, co-founder of Westone and part of the development team for the ClockWork project. ” I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this work is a great piece of 2D art, where the pixel artists of that time put their hearts and souls into. I’d be happy if people would appreciate and enjoy it.”
Considering that the game waited from 1991 to 2021 to be released, breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest time between a videogame project start and final release, we hope so. This beats the previous holder of the title, Duke Nukem Forever. The Duke Nukem title had the record for being in development for 14 years and 44 days.
It’s impressive that Clockwork Aquario was able to be released after so long. But let’s hope it doesn’t take that long for, say, Dragon Age 4, Sifu, or other upcoming titles.
SOURCE: PRESS RELEASE