Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep

Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep, known in North America as Endless Ocean: Blue World, and known in Japan as Forever Blue: Call of the Ocean (FOREVER BLUE 海の呼び声, Forever Blue: Umi no Yobigoe) is a scuba diving video game for Wii and the sequel to Endless Ocean, previously released for Wii in 2007. It was first revealed at a Nintendo conference held on October 2, 2008.^[1] The game was released as part of the Touch! Generations series of games in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Gameplay

The player encounters a hostile caiman.

Adventures of the Deep features improved and more realistic graphics and larger explorable areas than the previous game. Adventures of the Deep allows players to travel to twelve different diving spots around the globe, including new polar and freshwater locations.^[2]

The ability to dive with a dolphin as a companion returns from the first game, and players will now also be able to ride them to move quickly through the water. Players can also now sell salvaged treasure, including legendary artifacts for money that can be used to buy items such as new styles of diving suits, items used to decorate their island and private reef, and to help the player to be capable of diving for a longer time and with less risk of receiving damage from hostile creatures, running out of oxygen, or getting lost, among others. The aquarium returns and the player can now walk outside the tanks. Several new areas are introduced, for example with the Marine Life Annex, you can put shore species such as penguins, shorebirds and seals. Another new area is the Small World, where smaller fish and invertebrates can be displayed. Potentially dangerous creatures such as sharks, crocodiles, and electric eels will now elicit a warning for players and may even attack them; players will be able to drive them off using a new tranquilizer-like tool called the Pulsar that can shoot electric charges which calms them down. The Pulsar can also be used to heal any creatures the player finds that are sick or injured.^[3]

Adventures of the Deep features a variety of animals, including dolphins, whales, sea lions, penguins, manatees, sharks, sea turtles, and more, with around 400 different species of fish, mammals, birds, invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians. There are also 30 legendary creatures to be found in various regions of the game: a select few play a role in the game's storyline and can be interacted with at any time afterwards, but most require a special condition to be met before they can be found.

Adventures of the Deep features online cooperative multiplayer that allows players to communicate using the Wii Speak peripheral, with which the game will also come bundled for a short time.^[4][5] As with the first game, players will also be able to take pictures during their dives; the pictures can now be saved to an SD card.^[6]

Plot

The story begins in the fictional Paoul Republic in the South Pacific, where the player (who may choose either a male or female character), currently studying folklore and marine biology at a university, takes a break to find out more about the "Song of Dragons" and becomes employed by R&R Diving Service, whose aims range from collecting lost cargo to taking photographs of rare species of fish. The plot centers around a young woman called Océane Rouvier, whose grandfather, Jean-Eric Rouvier, is the head of the service. Océane lives with her grandfather on Nineball Island in the South Pacific following the death of her father, Matthieu, who founded the R&R Diving Service alongside Jean-Eric.

The player is then initiated by interacting with the wildlife of Gatama Atoll. When Océane and the player reunite a humpback whale calf with its mother, her pendant makes a strange high-pitched noise that provokes the mother into charging at the player, fortunately dodging the attack at the last second. After getting to the boat, Jean-Eric explains that there's another pendant at Deep Hole that Océane lost there years ago, made of lapis lazuli like Océane's. Furious that her grandfather won't let her retrieve it, Océane steals a jet ski and sneaks off the boat while the player and Jean-Eric are asleep and goes to Deep Hole. The next morning they find Océane's jet ski near the atoll, and Jean-Eric gives the player the Pulsar, a gun that fires electromagnetic pulses, used for treating injured fish and subduing dangerous ones. The player dives in and finds Océane trapped at the bottom of the hole, due to an erratic tiger shark which the player must subdue with the Pulsar, afterwards finding her pendant at the bottom of Deep Hole. The two pendants fit together, and form a verse on the side: "The road to the truth is the Song of Dragons." Nancy Young, an associate of Jean-Eric, identifies the verse as part of a poem describing the mythical Valka Castle, which supposedly sank beneath the waves of the Mediterranean. Jean-Eric and Océane believe that Matthieu carved these words into the pendants, and is pointing them to Valka Castle, somewhere in the Aegean Sea.

The group heads off to Ciceros Strait in search of Valka Castle. They meet Gaston Gray, or GG, a famous American salvager, who tells them of the dangers of the region, in particular an enormous great white shark called Thanatos. The trio makes a bet with him to see who finds Valka Castle first. They find several pieces of lapis lazuli, but their progress is slowed down due to the infamous whirpools known as the Ciceros Undines, as well as hostile widlife in the region. The player finds a lapis lazuli bracelet that tells them to visit at night when the Undines are dormant. The player and Océane travel to a sunken ruin at night and find GG looking for the castle. GG leaves them suddenly, only for Océane to spot the giant shark Thanatos. The player attempts to battle Thanatos, only to find out the Pulsar's electric charges are too weak to tranquilize the shark. In order to escape Thanatos, Océane and the player hide in a well only to discover the lost Valka Castle, now a haven for marine life. They find a centuries-old map made by Anaximander, showing the circular world model. Later, Océane and the player hear a mysterious song, which they surmise to be the Song of Dragons, and are caught in a booby-trap. They manage to free themselves, finding a tablet made of lapis lazuli in a hidden vault. They also spot a North Atlantic right whale outside the castle windows. GG is shocked at the discovery and realizes the treasure he's looking for isn't in Ciceros Strait, so he hastily bids the group farewell.

Jean-Eric, Océane and the player travel to Japan to take the tablet to the aquarium professor Dr. Hayako Sakurai, who offers to translate the writing for them if they go to the ice floes of Northern Canada to help study polar bears. When they get to the Arctic, they spot the polar bear, and the player sets off to swim to its location. With the help of the player's dolphin partner, the player narrowly avoids a Greenland Shark and reaches the polar bears and studies them for Hayako. After completing the research, Dr. Sakurai deciphers the tablet and explains that the tablet contained the history of an ancient people known as the Okeanides, who were apparently able to control dragons, and how during their extinction their treasure was sunk along with their last known temple. Jean-Eric gets discouraged and declares that he doesn't want Océane and the player to die trying to find the truth; but the duo convince and reassure him. After Sakurai joins the team, the group helps prepare the Aquarium for the grand opening, while Sakurai deciphers the tablet. Hayako finds that in addition to the tablet found in Valka Castle, there are other tablets located in several locations around the world that correspond with the Okeanides.

Once the aquarium is ready, they travel to the Weddell Sea in Antarctica to investigate reports of the Song of Dragons being heard from inside a large, hollow iceberg. After coaxing a leopard seal to break through an ice barrier, the player and Hayako swim into a massive cavern in the iceberg. Inside, the group find a lost and tired spectacled porpoise and hear the Song of Dragons again. Upon exiting the iceberg, the divers witness a blue whale swimming by. Hayako and the player return to the boat to find that a blizzard has set in, and the newly freed porpoise helps to guide them to safety. After they escape, Jean-Eric snaps and declares that the search for the Song's truth is over, saying that every time that the Song of Dragons occurs, a horrible event happens and they almost get killed. Océane tries to fight back, but Jean-Eric says it's too dangerous for her and the player to continue and declares the argument over. They head back to Nineball Island, where Jean-Eric calms down and apologizes to everyone, and admits that before his death, Matthieu was searching for the legendary Pacifica treasure, apparently connected to the Song of Dragons, and his disagreement with his son over its existence led to their estrangement. The next day, GG arrives on Nineball Island, claiming to have a lead on the Song of Dragons.

GG confirms that he has been searching for the Pacifica treasure, and has been salvaging from areas connected to the Song of Dragons. He tells the group that in the Cortica River, an offshoot of the Amazon river, locals sometimes hear strange music coming from an area called Spirit Falls. R&R Diving Service (now the player, Océane, Dr. Sakurai, and GG) travels to the Amazon River on GG's information. The player and GG dive into the Cortica tributary and travel through treacherous waters, fending off electric eels, caimans, and piranhas, and find an ancient temple underneath the sacred waterfall. When the temple is opened, the Song of Dragons is heard. Inside, the pair finds a slate of lapis lazuli, largely undamaged due to the freshwater environment, and hears the Song of Dragons again. An agitated caiman appears, and the player subdues it with the Pulsar. Just outside the temple, GG and the player find a minke whale unusually far upstream. Back on the boat, Hayako studies the tablet and learns that it chronicles the rise and fall of the Okeanides, and describes a "Dragon Flute", a lapis lazuli instrument used by the Okeanides to control dragons. However, the Flute was dismantled and thrown into the sea in order to protect the Pacifica treasure, which is supposedly guarded by dragons. The group deduces that Océane's pendants are two of the three pieces of the Dragon Flute, and Jean-Eric reveals that the third and final piece is in the HD-9 minisub, the submarine Matthieu was using before his death.

Back on Nineball Island, Jean-Eric finally opens up about Matthieu, recalling how he and Matthieu were using the HD-9 to explore the depths of the Red Sea when they discovered three pieces of lapis lazuli, and also heard a strange song, likely the Song of Dragons. This discovery sparked Matthieu's interest in the Pacifica treasure, and led to the separation of Jean-Eric and his son. Matthieu later returned to the Red Sea depths in the HD-9 sub, only for the sub's engine's to fail and the air supply to run out. Rescue teams did not recover his body, and only two of the pieces were found, meaning the third must still be inside the sub. The group reaffirms their mission to solve the mystery, and Jean-Eric prepares to face the past.

R&R travels to the Zahhab Region of the Red Sea, where Matthieu's submarine broke down. The player dives into the deep-sea trenches in which Jean-Eric and Matthieu found the pieces of the Dragon Flute. Following several plaques set by Matthieu to mark his progress, they find a mysterious cave whose entrance is blocked by a giant squid. The player must then coax a sperm whale into attacking the squid, resulting in a battle which prompts the squid to leave the cave, allowing the divers to pass. Inside the cave, the final piece of the Dragon Flute is found amidst the wreckage of the HD-9. Jean-Eric also finds and reads aloud a goodbye letter from Matthieu, in which his son states that with his equipment failing, he intends to swim to freedom, and apologizes to Jean-Eric for causing him pain, bearing him no ill will for their disagreements. Jean-Eric is visibly shaken by the message, and resolves to help find the Pacifica treasure, to honor Matthieu's memory.

The group returns to Nineball Island to put the pieces together. They manage to fit together the three pieces and form the Dragon Flute. Hayako examines the Flute further, and concludes that the Flute contains a map to the Pacifica treasure, but is unsure how to interpret it so it shows a map. After some reflection, the player remembers Anaximander's circular map of the world that was found in Valka Castle, and the group realizes that the map was the real reason Matthieu left a message pointing to Valka Castle. Upon cross-referencing Anaximander's map with the designs on the Dragon Flute, the treasure is revealed to be located in the northwest Zahhab Region, where a huge cavern is believed to be hidden. The team sets underwater explosives to clear the way into the cavern, and detonates them remotely. The group decides to wait until morning before investigating further, to allow the dust from the explosion to settle.

The next morning they wake up to an enormous mass gathering of whales and dolphins of various species. The group returns to the site of the explosives and discovers an gigantic underwater Egyptian temple complex, the Cavern of the Gods. The Song of Dragons is heard again, and a current sweeps the player, Océane, Hayako and GG deeper into the complex. The player uses the Dragon Flute to navigate the area, with the Song of Dragons being heard every time the Flute is sounded. Using Hayako's knowledge of Egyptian mythology, the group advances further into the temple, encountering coelacanths and goblin sharks, eventually reaching the center of the ruins. While the group tries to figure out how to access the treasure, the goblin sharks return, including one massive shark which somehow seals off the room's exits. The player manages to subdue the sharks and inserts the pieces of the Dragon Flute into multiple statues around the room. The doors open, revealing a previously-unknown species of whale, identified as a "Singing Dragon". Océane suddenly realizes that what people have been calling the "Song of Dragons" is really just the result of whale song echoing around large enclosed spaces (the North Atlantic right whale's song in Valka Castle, the blue whale's song in the iceberg cavern, the minke whale's song in the Cortica temple, and the Singing Dragons' song in the Cavern of the Gods).

The four divers enter the last door to find the Pacifica treasure, which includes a massive golden statue of a deity. Without warning, more Singing Dragons and the whales out in the ocean start destroying the temple. The group is left with less than ten minutes to escape from the temple before it is destroyed. The divers hear Jean-Eric over the radio, giving them guidance and leading them to safety, allowing the group to escape the temple. Following this, the Singing Dragons and the whales stop attacking the temple, leaving it sealed and badly damaged but still intact. Once outside and back on the boat, everyone thanks Jean-Eric for guiding them through the temple, but he says that he lost all connection with them from the start. With everyone confused, Océane remarks that her father can finally rest in peace, thinking it was him who helped them escape. However, the group must leave without any of the treasure, but plans to return to excavate the treasure and share their discovery with the world. In order to access the temple again, the player has to pay 1, 000, 000 (pauols, which is the game's currency) for the excavation of the Cavern of the Gods.

The North American version of the game includes a number of varying translations: the Paoul Republic is instead the Pelago Commonwealth; the game currency is referred to as pelagos, some of the animal's common names are changed, the R&R Diving Service is the L&L Diving Service; Océane and Jean-Eric Rouvier are called Oceana and Jean-Eric Louvier; and Océane's late father, Matthieu, is referred to as Matthias.

After the main plot, players can still play with multiple quests, complete the encyclopedia, solve puzzles, train their dolphin partners to perform shows, raise the aquarium's popularity, give tours to clients, and go on salvaging adventures.

Music

Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep features a soundtrack by the musical ensemble Celtic Woman, including Andrea Corr. Unlike its predecessor, however, Adventures of the Deep does not allow players to create a custom soundtrack using the music on an SD card.

Soundtrack

• Ave Maria
• Carrickfergus
• Dúlamán
• Isle of Innisfree
• Nella Fantasia
• One World
• The Last Rose of Summer
• The Prayer
• The Soft Goodbye

Reception

The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[7]

Famitsu was the first media outlet to review Adventures of the Deep, doing so shortly before its release in Japan. They gave the game a score 36 out of 40, one point higher than Endless Ocean, with all four reviewers giving the game nine points each.^[12] Eurogamer called it a "genuinely peaceful and relaxing experience", though comparing it to "a cool adventure holiday for all ages."^[11] Official Nintendo Magazine was slightly more critical of the game, calling the game "batty ... but hardly enthralling" but also "truly fun, but not entirely action-packed". They also gave good reports of thrill and graphics involved in the game, which resulted in the game getting a slightly higher score than its predecessor.^[21]

References

External links

• Endless Ocean: Blue World at MobyGames