Endless Ocean: Blue World (known as Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep in the European version) is the second game in the Endless Ocean series of games, originally released in 2009 for the Nintendo Wii.
The game builds upon its predecessor in many ways, removing the limitations of a single map and expanding to many maps in locations across the world, as well as including updated graphics, new music, new species of creatures, and a much larger gameplay experience with a main plot as well as side-quests and worldbuilding.
Main Plot
Prologue
The introduction starts right before the Cavern of the Gods is discovered. Before the dive starts, Jean-Eric asks if you are ready. Choosing "I'm that kind of girl" or "I'm that kind of guy" chooses your gender. You then customize your diver through information given. When diving, the basic controls are given. After swimming through the tunnel and seeing the entrance to the Cavern of the Gods, the prologue is over.
Chapter One: The Song of Dragons
A college student studying folklore is intrigued by the Song of Dragons, and by chance begins working for the L&L Diving Service. You start diving with Oceana Louvier in Gatama Atoll. During the dive, she drops her pendant that her father gave. It makes a weird sound and a humpback whale rushes at you. Oceana then decides to go by herself and find a piece of the pendant her father lost at Deep Hole. Jean-Eric gives you the pulsar for safety since a tiger shark patrols the area. After shooting the shark with the pulsar, it leaves and Oceana is revealed to be safe. She finds the pendant and returns to the boat. When joining Oceana's pendant and the new pendant together, a mysterious verse is found written on it reading:
"The road to the truth is the Song of Dragons."
Chapter Two: The Legend of Valka Castle
When going to Nineball Island, your first dolphin partner, a short-beaked common dolphin, has been showing itself at the island many times before you joined. Ringing the Dolphin Bell will give you the first training session.
The mysterious verse found on the pendant hints to the Valka Castle, a set of ruins at the Ciceros Strait in the Aegean Sea. While at the Strait, GG the famous salvager meets you, looking for the Valka Castle himself. He makes a bet, saying whoever finds it first makes the loser eats a sea slug (scrubs the underside of the boat with a toothbrush in the American version). While at a set of ruins, you run into GG, who quickly goes back to his boat. The answer to why comes when a fierce shark named Thanatos swims by. The pulsar has no effect on it and Oceana decides to hide in a well, but the well is actually part of the ruined Valka Castle. While exploring the castle, a picture of a flat earth leaves a huge impression on Oceana. Then, a weird sound is heard: the Song of Dragons, and a door closes, locking you and Oceana in a room.
After finding out how to escape, you discover a secret room, containing a mysterious tablet made of lapis lazuli. You safely make it back to the boat. GG, despite having lost, never actually ate a sea slug.
Chapter Three: Frozen Waters
Upon returning to Nineball Island, Jean-Eric requests to speak to the player. He informs them that, due to the discovery of Valka Castle, L&L Diving Service has become a global sensation, and the player can now receive requests, wherein they can take photos of creatures, give guided tours or find salvage items in exchange for money.
You call Nancy, asking for assistance in deciphering the mysterious tablet found in Valka Castle, and although Nancy is unable to decipher the tablet herself, she does recognize the writing and relates it back to an ancient civilization known as the Okeanides. She recommends that the Diving Service travel to Japan and speak with Professor Hayako Sakurai, a genius young oceanographer who holds many degrees and is considered a fantastic marine biologist. You travel to the Aquarium in Japan where she works and meet her.
Hayako says she recognizes the Okeanos Tablet and would be able to decipher it given time, but is interrupted by her boss, Mr. Kaimoto, who tells her that she cannot work on it due to required research in the arctic. Oceana suggests that they go and do the work instead while Hayako works on the tablet, to which Kaimoto agrees. You travel to the North Coast of Canada to gather info on polar bears, and along the way to one on land, you are ambushed by a Greenland shark, who you successfully deter with the Pulsar. Once you reach land, you observe the polar bear attempting, and failing, to hunt for seals, after which you can return to the boat and to the Aquarium.
Upon returning to the Aquarium, Mr. Kaimoto allows you to place animals in the aquarium and gives a quick tutorial. You then speak with Hayako, who has finished deciphering the tablet. It reads:
"The treasure of Pacifica sleeps with the queen behind the bronze door in the abyss.
The fissure filled by the circular ocean shows the way to the queen's tomb.
Offer your flute to the sun of morning, noon and night, and the dragon's song will open the gates to treasure."
She summarizes this message as meaning that the Song of Dragons will guide those who seek the treasure towards it. She mentions that there are increasing reports of the song being heard, namely in the Weddell Sea of the Antarctic near an iceberg known as Special Iceberg A-sm16p. She joins the team in order to help search for the truth behind the Song, and with that, the team sets off for the Weddell Sea.
Chapter Four: Antarctic Expedition
Upon arriving in the Weddell Sea, you get a brief explanation between the differences of ice floes and icebergs; ice floes consist of frozen seawater, whereas icebergs are chunks of Antarctic ice that have broken off. Jean-Eric mentions that hypothermia may be an issue, but Hayako presents a solution: AAP Wax, which helps prevent hypothermia when applied before diving, even in sub-zero temperatures. Jean-Eric comments on how times have changed.
You dive into the sea from the northeast and travel southwest towards the Special Iceberg, where the main source of noise is reported. Upon discovering Lower Ice Cave 3, you and Hayako hear an ear-splitting noise, a sort of wailing/grinding noise, coming from within. Hayako says that the cave must go deep into the iceberg to produce such reverberations and you travel inside, where you are taken to the Iceberg Cavern. You discover a small chamber containing a leopard seal and a closed-off entrance to a greater area. With use of the whistle, you anger the leopard seal and cause it to ram into the blockade stopping you from accessing the rest of the Cavern. You discover the beautiful, serene Hall of Radiance, a chamber filled with tiny ice formations, leopard seals, schools of fish and gleaming ice stalagmites. Within, you notice a Spectacled Porpoise crying for help, presumably having been trapped within by accident, and realise that the ear-splitting noise heard earlier was not, in fact, the Song of Dragons as previously presumed but actually the cries of the porpoise amplified and distorted by the unique structure of the Iceberg Cavern.
Hayako suggests you Pulsar the porpoise to calm it down, and upon doing so, it takes a liking to you. You befriend the Spectacled Porpoise and it is now an official member of L&L Diving Service! Suddenly, unexpectedly -- a noise is heard, not like the previous screech, but more of a definite song, with its own melody and tune -- could this be the Song of Dragons?!
It's coming from outside the Cavern! You rush out with Hayako, ready to face the unknown, and out of the blue appears -- a blue whale? A rare sight, according to Hayako. The Song stops after meeting the whale, and you're left perplexed as to what happened at all. Yet another surprise when Oceana radios you urgently, saying that conditions have severely worsened above water, and the radio cuts out with one final, eerie message:
"It's all... white... lost..."
You and Hayako return to the boat as quickly as you can, unable to contact them, and discover the source of the trouble: an immense blizzard has come over the Antarctic, reducing visibility to essentially nothing and causing serious danger, as the boat could capsize and leave them stranded. All hope seems lost, with no chance of truly safe escape, when suddenly, the Spectacled Porpoise you befriended in the Iceberg Cavern pops out of the water, chirping. Oceana asks if it's trying to help them, to which it nods fervently, and you decide to listen to it. It goes off in one direction and you follow suit, keeping a careful eye out for the Porpoise as it leads you through the twisting maze of icebergs. Eventually, it leads you out of the iceberg zone and into clearer waters, where you are safe.
You all discuss what happened down in the Cavern, with the final conclusion being that the sound was definitely the Song of Dragons. Oceana mentions that she and you heard it in Valka Castle, too, just before you were locked in, and Jean-Eric panics, having not heard of this before. Jean-Eric forces you to stop chasing the Song of Dragons, believing it will bring nothing but bad luck. You return to Nineball Island, feeling that Jean-Eric is hiding something...
Chapter Five: Amazonian Explorers
You confront Jean-Eric about why he's acting so odd towards the Song of Dragons, and he responds that he doesn't want to lose Oceana too. When you ask what he means by "too", he gives in and tells you the story of L&L Diving Service.
L&L Diving Service was founded by Jean-Eric and Matthias Louvier, a father-son diving team, who traveled the world exploring oceans and seas. However, one day, fifteen years before the game takes place, Matthias caught wind of the Song of Dragons and become infatuated with it, whereas Jean-Eric just called it a load of hogwash. Jean-Eric pleaded with Matthias to let it go, that it would be dangerous to search for, to which Matthias responded:
"I know it exists! Why don't you believe me, Father?"
The two fractured and L&L Diving Service was almost no more. A year later, Matthias went off on his own to explore for the legendary treasure said to be hidden by the Song of Dragons, and died in the process, leaving Jean-Eric certain that he had failed his son and that he had died hating him forever.
Oceana and Hayako, having overheard Jean-Eric's lament, confront him. Oceana says that Matthias may have died, but to not continue the search for what Matthias believed in, what he truly desired in his life, would be disrespectful, and that what he had done was not foolish. She puts her foot down (metaphorically) and says she will search for the treasure, regardless of what Jean-Eric says. Jean-Eric, weary, says that he can't come with, and you leave him to think about it on his own time.
The next morning, you, Oceana and Jean-Eric get a rather rude awakening in the form of a figure on the docks yelling out. Oceana stumbles out, grumbling, and is shocked by who is there. When you and Jean-Eric follow, you see who it is: the less-than-stellar return of GG, who's come back to discuss the Pacifica Treasure with you and L&L Diving Service. GG explains that he has been chasing the treasure for over 10 years, picking up clues and salvaging any and everything that might be related to it, and that he was at Valka Castle to search for clues. He says that he has a new location to scout for the treasure based on a hot tip, but it's too dangerous to scout alone; so if L&L Diving Service go with him, they'll split the treasure fairly and evenly if there is any... at an 80-20 ratio for GG, of course. Oceana flips the deal and only agrees to go if they get 80%, since there's four of L&L and one of GG. GG agrees after realising the team now houses the famous Hayako Sakurai, and asks her out on a date. She does not respond.
GG explains this new location. It's called the Cortica River, a tributary of the Amazon River, located in South America. Apparently, in the upstream of the river, there's a waterfall referred to by locals as Spirit Falls. They report hearing strange sounds coming from the cascading water that they refer to as Dragonsong. They say the song was sung by the spirits of the falls for a traveling ocean deity that once visited them. Hayako suddenly remembers the river, having come across it in her research, as an unusual number of lapis lazuli-based artifacts have been discovered there recently. Most likely only for the treasure, and rather reluctantly, GG joins L&L Diving Service!
You all travel to the Cortica River, in the heart of the Amazonian rainforest. Hayako warns of the dangers of the river, namely the piranhas, electric eels and caimans that reside within. You dive in the lower midstream of the river and travel up the winding stream, encountering swaths of piranhas, caimans, arapaimas and, most important of all, otters, along the way. You breach through a mangrove thicket known as the Mangrove Maze and proceed upstream. You reach upstream and turn a corner, ending up in the area known as Spirit Falls. However, something nobody else has noticed about Spirit Falls is the temple-esque entrance sitting beneath the cascading water. A small bout of small stone steps leads up to a closed door with two sacred frog statues on either side. GG recalls a song about frogs and floodgates from the area:
"A frog that eats silver and a frog that eats lapis, guard the king's floodgate one side apiece. Impress them each to open the gate. Lapis, lapis, silver, lapis, silver, release."
You touch the frogs in the correct order and the floodgate opens up to reveal a stone corridor intricately engraved with all sorts of drawings and markings. Predictably, as the gate opens, you hear the Song of Dragons once more, this time from within the corridor. You push into the corridor and turn a corner, ending up in the Twilight Temple; a large structure sunken beneath water decorated with pillars and intricate architecture, reminiscent of Valka Castle. GG remarks about how the Song of Dragons has stopped. At the far-back of the structure lies a single chamber filled with dorados, and upon a pedestal lies another Okeanos tablet known as the Cortica Slate!
As you inspect the slate, you hear the mythical Song of Dragons yet again, this time coming from Spirit Falls itself. You turn to leave the Temple, but a large crocodile blocks your escape. You Pulsar it and it calms down, allowing for your escape.
You travel back to Spirit Falls, and you find, of all things, a Minke Whale. Hayako explains: whales normally live in the Atlantic, but have been known to become disoriented and end up traveling into rivers and upstream where they become lost and/or trapped, hundreds or even thousands of miles from their natural habitat. The Pacifica Treasure was nowhere to be found, and the Song of Dragons vanished yet again, but you have a new piece of evidence to play with: the Cortica Slate.
On the boat, you hand the slate to Hayako, who deciphers it quickly. The slate contains almost the entire history of the Okeanides, from their rise to their fall. She explains the story as such:
"According to this, [the Okeanides] were a people who spoke to and controlled dragons. To do this, they used something known as the Dragon Flute. The Dragon Flute was made of lapis lazuli, and it could be used to awaken the dragons and give them orders. However, the Dragon Flute was ultimately dismantled and thrown into the deepest depths of the sea in order to protect the royal treasure, which is guarded by the dragons."
Upon hearing this, you realise what the flute was made of: Oceana's pendants! Feverishly, you almost begin theorizing where the third piece of the flute could be with GG -- until Jean-Eric cuts you short. He says it isn't necessary, because the third piece lies with Matthias Louvier, in the HD-9 submarine. GG, perplexed, asks how he knows this. Jean-Eric tells him to get some rest and that he will explain in the morning.
Chapter Six: The Depths
Characters
Main Characters
- Player Character: The main character that you control.
- Jean-Eric Louvier: Co-founder of L&L Diving Service.
- Oceana Louvier: Jean Eric's grandaughter. Despite her young age, she is a talented and an experienced diver. She is also in charge of providing guided tours.
- Gaston Gray: A famous American salvager who wants to find the Pacifica Treasure, he starts off as a rival to the player, but eventually joins them in their quest.
- Hayako Sakurai: A highly educated Japanese vet, Hayako is a crucial member of the service. Not only is she a professional diver, but she knows everything there is to know about marine life. She also helps to run the aquarium.
- Matthias Louvier: Jean-Eric's lost son who died trying to escape the Zahhab Region Depths.
Other Characters
- Nancy Young : A business woman based in the Pelago Commonwealth.
- Other Divers: Some divers ask for certain requests from you, in exchange for money.
- Dolphin Partners: Your loyal partners.
Click here for a guide to all of the game's dangerous creatures.
Changes from the Predecessor:
- While the first Endless Ocean restricted players to a circular part of the map referred to in-game as the "targeted dive area" (with its position depending on where the boat was parked), and would not let them leave the boundaries of this area, Endless Ocean: Blue World allows players to explore the entire location upon diving from any point on the map, no matter where the boat is parked. (Though this is assuming that you've completed the main objective of the area in order to advance the story).
- Most of the more dangerous and hostile sea creatures from the predecessor make a return, where unlike the first game, they now pose a threat to the player, and most of them cannot be interacted with unless they are pulsed.
- While the first game only had one location to explore, (along with a total of four sub-areas each sporting their own map), Blue World has a total of six different locations to dive in, along with six sub-areas, making for twelve locales in all. Additionally, while the first game focused mainly on tropical coral reefs, the locales here are more diverse, allowing players to dive in areas such as the arctic, and even in freshwater. It is also worth noting that some of the types of areas present in the first game are now accessible without having to enter a sub-area, (such as Cicero's Strait's shipwrecks being scattered around the entire coral area instead of only being viewable in one spot).
- In the first game, whenever the player would grab onto a dolphin partner, they had no control where the dolphin went. Here, though the dolphin will still swim forwards automatically, players can control its direction. Also, riding on the dolphin now provides a speed boost.
- Some of the returning sea creatures from the previous game have updated and/or more realistic models/animations.
- Additionally, the habitats where some of the returning animals are found are different in order to replicate their real-world counterparts as closely as possible.
- Also, the game places a larger emphasis on cutscenes that depict animals performing their natural behaviors.
- Players can now take pictures in different lighting styles, (black and white, sepia, etc.).
- Endless Ocean only allowed players to keep up to three dolphin partners. In Blue World, players can keep one of every species, (11 species in total).
- Befriending dolphins in the first game was rather easy, as simply petting and feeding a dolphin enough would make it like you, and then you could enlist it as your partner. In Blue World however, befriendable dolphins only appear at specific points during the game, and only certain specimens (distinguished by unique markings) can be enlisted as diving partners. Also, the conditions that need to be met in order to befriend a dolphin are much more complicated now.
- In the previous game, the player could zoom in on just about any spot on the sea floor, while in the sequel, only certain spots can be zoomed in on.
- Blue World now enables players to dive at four different times of day instead of just day and night.
- When training dolphins, tricks can now be selected, unlike the first game, where the dolphin performs tricks randomly upon being given the command.
- Additionally, when performing a trick, only the dolphin you've selected to train will perform it, while in the first game, all three enlisted partners could be seen performing the trick in unison at times.
- The game has a lot more legendary sea creatures.
- In Endless Ocean, petting/feeding any animal for a long enough time would make it like you. As a result, animals who have been pampered enough will often follow the player around. In Blue World however, animals do not do this, and feeding and petting them enough will only enable the player to learn more information on it.
- The same goes for learning the animal's species. In the first game, the player had to rub the animal enough in order to identify its species, while here, the animal's name can imediately be learned upon clicking on it.
- In the previous game, upon spotting a treasure, you could immediately tell what it was. Here however, the game tells you that you found a generic item, and collected items must be appraised in order to identify them.
- The player now has infinite fish food to give to animals, and the camera has unlimited film.
- Unlike the first game, where the player could only dive alone or with a befriended dolphin, this game allows them to dive with humans, with each human partner having unique strengths beneficial for completing the game 100%.
Locations
- Main article: Locations