The Iceberg Cavern is a sub-area in Endless Ocean 2, the third and final coldwater map to be unlocked in the game, and the seventh playable map in the game overall. True to its name, it is a cave found inside of a massive, hollowed-out iceberg in the Weddell Sea.
No new mechanics are introduced here, but this portion of the story does mark the first instance where usage of the Sea Whistle (which the player initially obtains at the end of Chapter 1) is mandatory.
In-Game Description
"This natural cavern amazes all who see it. A variety of small marine life calls these icy walls home."
"Said to have been discovered by 18th-century explorer Captain Cook, the Iceberg Cavern began as an ice shelf but turned into a floating iceberg several thousand years ago.
Inside the iceberg is a giant cavern that is thought to have been formed by animals living inside it and erosion by wind and rain back when it was still next to Antarctica."
Flora, Fauna and Geography
Local Life
The largest and most notable creatures found within the cavern are the leopard seals.
Other sea life includes Antarctic silverfish. Under zoom-mode glows, creatures like sea angels, Hydromyles globulosa, and bald notothens can be found.
During the course of the storyline, a single spectacled porpoise with an odd marking on its dorsal fin is encountered here.
Local Geography
The Iceberg Cavern can be accessed from Special Iceberg Asm-16p in Blue World's Weddell Sea area. In order to reach it, the player has to swim through Lower Ice Cave 3.
Other Locations
Lower Ice Cave 3
While this cave isn't technically inside of the Cavern itself, it is the Cavern's entrance. It is on the southern tip on Special Iceberg Asm-16p in the Weddell Sea; a long fissure on the southern side leads directly down to the cave opening.
Crystal Globe
This is the first room of the Cavern, so named for its crystalline formations of ice. Inside the Globe itself, only a lone leopard seal swims around; however, in the tunnels leading into and out of the room, small creatures like sea angels can be found in zoom-mode spots.
Hall of Radiance
The Hall of Radiance is an enormous cave littered with ice crystals and tall, majestic pillars. Shoals of quick-moving antarctic silverfish are seen swimming around this area, and several zoom-mode glows reveal bald notothens, as well as a few coins. The main residents of the area are the leopard seals that can be seen swimming around (including a particularly notable leopard seal who acts as the only legendary creature on the map) and a spectacled porpoise that only appears during the course of the storyline.
Story Significance
Spoilers for Endless Ocean 2 ahead!While the player and the scientist Hayako Sakurai are exploring the Weddell Sea, they hear a strange sound that they suspect might be the Song of Dragons. Upon investigation, they're led to Lower Ice Cave 3 and thusly the Iceberg Cavern.
Before the player can go very far into the Cavern, however, they must seek assistance from a leopard seal that patrols the Crystal Globe, which is the first room of the Cavern. There is a set of ice crystals that block off a tunnel that leads to the rest of the Cavern, and in order to get past it the player must use the sound of the sea whistle to enrage the seal into charging. If the player dodges out of the way, however, the seal will instead ram into the ice crystals, which breaks them.
After the way is cleared, the player and Dr. Sakurai emerge into the majestic Hall of Radiance. After processing the fact that they've found an entirely unexplored landmark, the pair then realizes that the "Song of Dragons" that they've been hearing isn't really the Song - instead, it was the cries of a distressed spectacled porpoise, reverberating through the tunnels and rooms of the Cavern. It is assumed that the porpoise lost its way or got injured somehow, and ended up trapped inside the Cavern. the player is then tasked with healing the porpoise, and upon doing to gains its trust - and thusly gains it as a dolphin partner. (This is one of only two dolphin partners that the player gains during the course of the storyline - the other is the short-beaked common dolphin partner. The others are all obtained through side quests.)
Then, out of the blue, the real Song of Dragons echoes throughout the Cavern. Dr. Sakurai and the player immediately exit the Cavern, and find that a blue whale patrolling the area is responsible for the Song. The pair returns to the boat only to find that a terrible blizzard has kicked up, making navigation out of the area nigh-impossible. However, the recently-befriended spectacled porpoise assists them in navigating the paths through the icebergs, and leads them out of the area.
Spoilers for Endless Ocean 2 end here.Notes
- The Iceberg Cavern is tied with the Cortica River Midstream, Deep Hole, and the Zahhab Region Depths for having the lowest number of legendary creatures, that number being one. Of these four, it is also the only one whose legendary is locked behind completion of the main campaign.
- Ignoring the spectacled porpoise partner, this is the only sub-area in the game to not contain any resident cetaceans.
- It is also one of only two sub-areas to not contain any resident dangerous animals, the other being the Cortica River Upstream.
- In the Japanese version of Endless Ocean 2, Iceberg Cavern is referred to as "The Ice Coffin". While it is unknown why this name was chosen, one could assume that the "coffin" refers to animals such as the spectacled porpoise partner who get trapped inside and cannot find their way out.
- The Iceberg Cavern is one of two maps that do not have Treasure Rumors, the other being the North Coast of Canada.
- The Iceberg Cavern is the easiest map in the game to completely fill in in one go.
- Out of all sub-maps in the game, the Iceberg Cavern contains the lowest number of constellation coins, at a total of four.
- It is also the only sub-map to contain more constellation coins than the main map it's a part of.
- The Iceberg Cavern houses the lowest number of exclusive (non-legendary) species out of any map in the game, at a total of one, being the bald notothen. All other animals found here can also be found on other cold-water maps.
- Humorously, as is also the case with the Weddell Sea, the player is able to dive into the Iceberg Cavern without proper attire, namely they can just wear a swimsuit.
- Unlike the first game's Great Aqua Cave, the Iceberg Cavern is actually a cavern by definition, as it does not let in any natural light, and largely consists of tight, enclosed areas.
Gallery
Dive Spots:
Northeast Area • Special Iceberg A-sm16p
Major Landmarks:
Special Iceberg A-sm16p • Small Iceberg A-s1289 • Small Icebergs A-s2230, A-s2231 • Small Iceberg A-s2813 • Lower Ice Cave 3
Minor Landmarks:
Higher Ice Cave 1 • Higher Ice Cave 2 • Higher Ice Cave 3 • Lower Ice Cave 1 • Lower Ice Cave 2
Major Landmarks:
Hall of Radiance • Lower Ice Cave 3
Minor Landmarks:
Crystal Globe
