Wetrix was an easily overlooked little puzzler. Released in 1998 for the N64 before getting ported to PC and Dreamcast, it was unconventional, to say the least. While the name is probably supposed to remind you of Tetris, there’s a lot more to it than trying to wipe out a wall of tetrominoes. The goal is to wall up areas to hold water, and doing a good job rewards you with ducks. I think we can all agree that ducks are a pretty great reward. They’re like chill geese that won’t drag your child away.
If Wetrix was easily overlooked, its 2000 sequel blended in with the carpeting. Despite enjoying the original and knowing the existence of a follow-up, I only recently got around to trying it. That’s because it’s not named Wetrix 2 in North America. It’s Aqua Aqua.
To be clear, it’s only Aqua Aqua in North America. In Europe, it was Aqua Aqua: Wetrix 2.0, which gets the point a lot clearer. On the other hand, Japan had the stylized Aquaqua, which is slightly more fun to say. “A-kwa-kwa.”
The box art was also awful in North America. If the name wasn’t unrecognizable enough, the cover looks like it belongs at the bottom of a bargain bin. The game, on the other hand, doesn’t belong there. I mean, as long as you like Wetrix, it doesn’t. And you should.
I outlined the basics above, and that largely remains accurate. In fact, I’m scouring my brain for any major differences between Wetrix and Aqua Aqua, and I’m coming up with bupkiss. You make ponds. Except for this time, your reward varies depending on the board you’re playing on. Sometimes it’s dinosaurs, and dinosaurs are nearly as awesome as ducks.
You’re given a square of land to build on, and you create your pools by setting various block shapes on it that fall from the sky.
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