Game:

Ace of Seafood (2016)

Duration: 23:50

680 views

15

NOTE: This game is currently available for the PS4, PC, Switch, and Android. I played it on a PS4 Pro.

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If there is one thing people understand about Gaming Sanctuary's presence on YouTube, it is that Gaming Sanctuary goes off the beaten path. It is something that people look forward to the most, based on my extensive email log. That's certainly one reason obscure gaming gives me and Bel so much joy. Another reason? I like for people to be like: "YAY, PS4 is on Gaming Sanctuary now! Wha? WTF is this!?" --- The great thing about such a reaction is it can be a lot of things --- curiosity, contempt, bloodlust, joy, so on and so forth. Nussoft, an indie game dev that has a major obsession with water, oceans, marine life...and definitely CRABS, makes games that fit our obscure video library like a perfect glove.

Nussoft's first game seems to be a project called "Neo Aquarium", which was a pretty basic, but functional, 3D action game where you travel for short periods underwater and walk into marked areas, where "aquarium battles" then commence between you and an opponent. Ace of Seafood is said to actually be a sequel to Neo Aquarium, and sometimes referred to as "Neo Aquarium II: Ace of Seafood"...and AoS, while still relatively simple overall, is a fun and strangely addicting indie game with a premise that will require you to devote SOME time into if you want to do everything...maybe 10 hours? Nussoft is also porting their latest game, CRAB FIGHT, to the Nintendo Switch this year, and they have some goofy game where giant things fight (I'd actually like another "R.A.D.", or Robot Alchemic Drive, kind of game...) that is called "Kenkashimu G" (ケンカシムG), with a "subtitle" of Gigant Fight Simulator. For now, I only really have experience with Ace of Seafood, personally.

You start the game up and it is "intentionally vague". You choose which fish you want to be and then you are thrown into a vast world where you basically must take out the "little fish" and become the "big fish"...or "Ace of Seafood". I chose the salmon because it is a pretty good starter fish, but also, because salmon has some special significance to me in my personal life. Each fish has a set of different techniques, strengths, and weaknesses. They also have different "costs" and you can build a party of 6 fish (or "others") to swim around with, beat up other fish and FREAKING WARSHIPS (yes, you read that right...make those warships sink into the abyss), gather resources and experience points, which you get from defeating other fish (you can also get resources from blasting sea objects, but they don't give experience points), etc...the more experience you get, the stronger the "leader fish" becomes. It is the only fish that gains experience when you destroy enemies in your travels. However, you can spend resources to strengthen your buddies.

That "cost" I mentioned...resources you gather aren't just for strengthening your fish --- they are also for creating new allies. The higher the resource cost, the "more powerful" a fish usually is. However, strength isn't necessarily everything...it can be, but don't underestimate different enemy formations. Sardines, the "weakest" fish in the game, supposedly, can kill you ultra fast early on, because they gang up on you, are speedy little hellions, and fire fast. Naturally, as you get stronger, they become less of a threat, but also, you can find stronger fish that do the job better than sardines would. As you expand and get more resources to have a stronger team, you can explore more of the sea safely, and occupy more "reefs", which is your main goal. You beat "reef guardians" and take over new territory, flexing on lesser marine life. You'll develop better strategies and formations (that benefit you the best when you command your allies/change their A.I.) via trial and error because you will die A LOT. You can use echolocation to find reefs close to you, but you can't gauge how powerful an unknown foe is. Think of old JRPGs where going a little bit off your normal route can send a random group of enemies that obliterates you instantly...and going into "deep water", with limited sunlight and vision, is actually pretty scary and tense, as it is harder to see enemies and fight effectively. (SEE PINNED COMMENT FOR MORE INFO!)