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This week's Arcade Archives release is... Aqua Jet (Namco, 1996)


Both the Japanese and English ROMs are included. The Demo Sound option is found in Preference Settings this time, and as with other ACA2 games, you have a lot of control options. You can fine-tune your analogue settings (you'll find this in Settings > Button > Custom Button Settings > Advanced Setting) as well as toggle on gyro controls (PS4, PS5, Switch and Switch 2 only) and change how the analogue sticks work- by default, the left stick controls your left and right movement and the right stick controls moving the handlebar pole up or down, but you can set these to the same stick if you so wish. The manual also contains the cheats for Penguin Mode, Mirror Mode and Penguin-Mirror Mode, although the instructions are a little unclear- the trick is to hold the direction listed then press Start, and when you get to the final step, release both the direction and Start before you press the accelerator. It's tricky, but keep your inputs clean and you'll get it eventually.

It's a beautiful sunny day*, the perfect weather for the Namco Mermaid Beach Cup! Everyone's ready to go at the starting line on their Namco-branded jet skis (please don't sue us Kawasaki, we're using your brand name in a more general way, honest) with 550cc action on the Novice course and high-octane 1100cc speed on the Expert course. As well as turning, you can move the handlebar pole up and down to affect your height and distance on jumps- angle it right and you'll even take a dip under the waves for just a moment, keep an eye out for fish! As well as racing for first place and the best time, both courses have a jump contest to see who can grab the most air time on a series of big ramps. Just remember to look behind you before stepping off the mach- oh, wait, I mean, your sofa, this is a home port.. 
* For the purposes of this Arcade Archives post, please assume that the weather is sunny but mild with a nice breeze, and not the current heatwave in the UK that is turning me into a puddle as we speak.

Hamster, please, you can't just keep dropping unported-until-now 3D Namco arcade games on us like this! I figured they'd play it safe and do something like Ridge Racer 2, but nope, we're now getting games with specialised cabinets. Aqua Jet is to jet ski racing as Ridge Racer is to car racing, as you pick one of two courses (and mirrored versions via a code) and ride the waves to get to the end. This means a greater emphasis on navigating waves in certain parts of the course and giant ramps to launch off of. There's perhaps slightly less complexity here than Ridge Racer (although you might pick up some tips from ohfivepro's Caravan Mode run) and not having the big cabinet where you have to lean to turn and squeeze the accelerator might take away some of the appeal away for some (something I think Hamster could alleviate by providing a picutre of the actual cabinet to give players a sense of what it was like- luckily, Aqua Jet has a 3D model of it in its attract mode). Even so, this works pretty well on a standard controller and it's still important to make these kind of games available without having to fight with MAME's analogue controls, you know? Besides, the presentation is immaculate- blue skies, blue waves, sharp polygons, hot jams and the low camera that really gives a 'feel' for being there (as does dipping under the water for a brief moment after leaning in to a big jump). I'm wondering what this means for future 3D Namco arcade games, as a lot of them had specialised controls like this, even just on System Super 22 like this game- Cyber Cycles? Alpine Racer? Prop Cycle? We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?