Thanks to console hacking, the community can keep on expanding a system’s game library thanks to homebrew ports and the Switch is no stranger to this with Return To Castle Wolfenstein being ported earlier this month. In this article, we’re going to look at Aquaria being ported to the Switch thanks to developer dimag0g.
What is Aquaria?
As its name might suggest, Aquaria is a 2007 side-scrolling title set in the underwater world of the same name. In this title, one plays as a human-like character called Naija who has some fish-like qualities such as being able to breath underwater and move very quickly in water thanks to her webbed feet. The game is centered around exploration, puzzle solving and combat as Naija explores the underwater depths of Aquaria after having lost her memory.
The game was quite well-received despite it being a two-person effort with reviewers giving the title scores ranging from 7-9. When it comes to platform support, the game was originally released on Windows but then found its way on Mac, Linux, iOS and Android with an unofficial PSP port also being created.
What about the Nintendo Switch port?
The Nintendo Switch port, by dimag0g, was released over the weekend with version 0.1.0 on Saturday and version 0.2.0 yesterday which made it fully playable albeit with some minor issues. This port was made possible thanks to the folks behind Aquaria releasing its source code in 2010 with that evolving into AquariaOSE which packs in various enhancements to the original code and is the base for the homebrew Switch version.
Dimag0g mentions that this port is fully playable but it comes with some issues such as the map view not working correctly and some non-essential features not being functional. Other than that, performance seems pretty good and you can easily get it on your Switch by downloading the NRO from the link below and providing your own data files as Aquaria isn’t a free title.
Conclusion
You may grab Aquaria for the Nintendo Switch by following the links below. The game may be bought from either GOG or Bit Blot depending on which platform your prefer. A video showing the game in action has been provided below.
Aquaria for the Switch GBATemp Thread (more information): https://gbatemp.net/threads/aquaria-on-switch-homebrew.578005/
Aquaria for the Switch GitHub Release Page (download): https://github.com/dimag0g/Aquaria/releases
Aquaria GOG Purchase Page: https://www.gog.com/game/aquaria
Aquaria Bit Blot Purchase Page: http://www.bit-blot.com/aquaria/buy.html