Aquarium (Endless Ocean)

Aquarium
Name:	Aquarium  L'aquarium  Aquarium  Acquario  アクアリウム  Aquarium ?  Acuario  Aquarium  L'aquarium  Aquarium  Acquario  アクアリウム  Aquarium ?  Acuario
Game:	Endless Ocean
Setting:	Ka'ia, Pelago Commonwealth
Appearance:	A large, blank aquarium with a huge tank as its centerpiece, surrounded by smaller tanks.

The Aquarium is a stage in Endless Ocean, where the player can place creatures they've identified in the Marine Encyclopedia, excluding those found only in zoom mode and aboard the Gabbiano.

In-Game

Loading Description

EN FR GE IT JP SP  Mankind's creativity enhances the splendour of nature in a microcosm all can enjoy.  Mankind's creativity enhances the splendors of nature in a microcosm all can enjoy.  L'ingéniosité humaine sait recréer toutes les splendeurs de la Nature dans un monde miniature.  Durch die Kreativität der Menschheit enstand ein Mikrokosmos, in dem alle die Schönheit der Natur genießen können.  La creatività umana accresce lo splendore della natura, creando un microcosmo accessibile a tutti.  Mankind's creativity enhances the splendors of nature in a microcosm all can enjoy.  Deja nadar a tu imaginación en un microcosmos donde la naturaleza brilla en todo su esplendor.

• EN
• FR
• GE
• IT
• JP
• SP

 Mankind's creativity enhances the splendour of nature in a microcosm all can enjoy.

 Mankind's creativity enhances the splendors of nature in a microcosm all can enjoy.

 L'ingéniosité humaine sait recréer toutes les splendeurs de la Nature dans un monde miniature.

 Durch die Kreativität der Menschheit enstand ein Mikrokosmos, in dem alle die Schönheit der Natur genießen können.

 La creatività umana accresce lo splendore della natura, creando un microcosmo accessibile a tutti.

 Mankind's creativity enhances the splendors of nature in a microcosm all can enjoy.

 Deja nadar a tu imaginación en un microcosmos donde la naturaleza brilla en todo su esplendor.

Flora, Fauna, and Geography

Location and Geography

The Aquarium is said to be located in Ka'ia on the Pelago mainland.  It consists of a single interactable tank in which all non-zoom or shore creatures can be placed, surrounded by smaller non-interactable tanks and leather seats. Save for a couple of establishing shots angled from outside the tank, not much else is known about its appearance, nor anyone who works there. The player also has the option to enter the aquarium at night.

Main Tank

The empty aquarium, as seen from the inside.

Upon arrival, the player will automatically be submerged into the main tank. Pressing will prompt the player to place any valid creature they've unlocked, either by selecting them manually or by choosing the "autoplacement" option. The tank is arranged in a 4x4 grid format, and each creature will either occupy one, two, or four squares on it, thus limiting the amount that can be placed inside. Size notwithstanding, there are no restrictions on what creature combinations can be placed in the aquarium. Magu Tapa, despite his status as a legendary creature, can be placed in the aquarium once his data has been added to the Marine Encyclopedia. After the player has completely filled in the encyclopedia by discovering every creature and unlocking all three tiers of trivia for them, they will be granted the opportunity to place the Ancient Mother inside the tank.

Story Significance

After taking at least one dive with a dolphin partner and adding at least ten creatures to the Marine Encyclopedia, Katherine will tell the player that she has been asked to curate the aquarium's main tank display in preparation for its opening in a month, but is unable to because it would require her to go into the tank. After a brief period of thinking, she realizes that the player can take her place as curator, thus unlocking the aquarium. An icon will subsequently appear to the west of the map, and clicking this icon after selecting the steering wheel in the Gabbiano's cabin will let the player enter the aquarium at any time. Visiting the aquarium is largely optional, but in order to progress through the story, the player must dive here at least once, thus unlocking the Underwater Camera and the Great Aqua Cave.

FOREVER BLUE 1.0 Glitch

Upon Endless Ocean's Japanese release, a glitch that involves placing a bowmouth guitarfish in the aquarium was discovered, which would cause the game to crash. This essentially locked the player out of using the Aquarium if there was a bowmouth guitarfish inside, though other elements of the game were unaffected. Data miners have since determined that the glitch is caused by one byte of the guitarfish's aquarium data using the wrong number, causing the game to attempt to load it as a "swim" type creature rather than its correct "migrate" type, which is impossible. The game does not know how to handle this request, which means that once the broken guitarfish loads into the aquarium, the game crashes.

This error was fixed in the 1.1 patch of FOREVER BLUE, which carried over to all international releases.

Dialogue

When the player first returns to the boat after their first dive with a dolphin partner, Kat can be seen talking to herself:

"Rats... This is bad. ...This is really, really bad"

After the player approaches her, she then explains what's troubling her:

"Whaaaa! Don't sneak up on me like that! ...Huh? What's wrong with me? Oh, I dunno, I just... I've got a problem. See, the aquarium on the mainland is opening next month. And they asked me to help coordinate the main tank display. You know! Like which fish to put in there and so on... Buuuuut...doing that means that I have to get inside the tank. And what with the whole lack of swimming ability and all... Double rats! I gotta find someone who knows about the ocean! But they also need extensive diving experience. Hmmmmm...

Gyaaa! Katherine, you're an idiot! What am I talking about? I'm talking about the aquarium!

A person who "knows about the ocean"? With "extensive diving experience"? That's you!! You'd be perfect! What do you think?! The aquarium is in Ka'ia on the Pelago mainland. I put it on the map in the cabin in case you're interested. You can just sail the Gabbiano right there! So whenever you're ready, just... grab the steering wheel and go!"

Afterwards, when the player enters the Gabbiano's cabin, Kat will say:

"To get to the aquarium, open the map by clicking on the wheel, then choose the small island on the left-hand side of the map. I'm counting on you to place fish properly in the aquarium!"

When diving in the aquarium for the first time, Kat will say:

"Preparations complete! Please select a creature. You can design the contents of the tank. Oh, wait. I almost forgot. You can't learn about creatures by interacting with them in the aquarium. You can only do that in the wild, OK? Come back to the boat when you're done."

Gallery

The aquarium populated with different species of fish.

The aquarium when filled with nothing but the Ancient Mother.

The aquarium when filled with nothing but Magu Tapa.

By teleporting past the main tank's glass, it's more clearly visible that the smaller tanks use real-world photos as textures.^‼

Notes

• Many large creatures, most noticeably whales, are smaller in the aquarium than they are when encountered in their typical habitat. This is likely to enable them to fit within the aquarium without issue.
• Sea pigs, when placed in the aquarium, float in the water as opposed to standing on the ground as they do in the Abyss. This is an error, and this behavior was changed in Endless Ocean 2.
• If there are West Indian manatees in the aquarium, you will hear them squeak in the loading screen that occurs when you dive there, despite them not being visible.
• Placing Kidako morays in the aquarium is the only way to see their entire body in the game, as they are always hiding in rocky crevasses in their typical habitat.
  • This is also the only way to get a cleaner wrasse to appear in the aquarium, though still un-interactable, as they always spawn alongside Kidako morays.
• The smaller tanks surrounding the main tank of the aquarium use real-world underwater photos as textures. The source of these photos is unknown.
• Most of the terrain within the aquarium's main tank, such as the sand, rock, and several types of coral, use textures seen nowhere else in the game, with the main similarity being that they are more greenish blue tinted. This could imply that the aquarium's design is a relic of a much earlier point in the game's development history, but this is not absolutely certain.