Aquas Ruins

Aquas Ruins
Political Information
Establishment(s)	Ruin Pillars
Item(s)	Supply rings
Appearance(s)
Main Game(s)

“Lylat Datalink; Mysteries in the Deep pg 86
The ancient civilisation of Aquas once stood above the waves on a series of islands admits the global ocean. There, people built great temples and made a living by harvesting sea life from the surrounding waters. But long ago, a monstrous entity known as Bacoon grew in the depths of the ocean, and it was jealous of the glorious civilisation on the land. Over many years, Bacoon grew powerful. It learned how to control the other aquatic lifeforms, like the explosive Starfish. When Bacoon commanded thousands of the Starfish to migrate to the ice cap and explode, the resulting heat melted the polar ice cap and all the islands were covered by the sea forever.”

—

The Aquas Ruins are remains of an ancient civilisation on the planet Aquas established centuries before the Lylat Wars.

History

“Planetary Compendium
The entire surface of Aquas is covered with water. Normally the ocean teems with life but the predations of Andross's forces have done severe damage to the planet's ecosystem. Undersea ruins similar to those found on Titania indicate that Aquas was once inhabited by intelligent beings.”

—

Centuries before the Lylat Wars began, an advanced civilisation not entirely different to the one discovered on Titania, built impressive temples and made a living by harvesting sea life below. But a monstrous entity known as Bacoon became jealous of the surface dwellers and commanded thousands of explosive Starfish to explore and destroy the polar icecaps, burying the civilisation beneath the waves. During the Lylat Wars, Andross's forces had polluted the native sea lifeforms into dangerous bio-weapons and likely altered select stone columns as well as traps for enemy submersibles. Slippy Toad expressed great fascination of the ruins, even after the state of the planet's pollution made by Venomian forces. The Stone Columns that were destroyed were added to the Star Fox team's service invoice as they would no longer be a threat to any Cornerian archeologists.

In the game

“Wow! Look at that! It's beautiful!”

—

On Aquas, after taking down the Giant Spindly Fish, Slippy will alert the location of the ruins ahead, as he will be expressing fascination of the ancient architecture. Certain ruins can be locked onto and destroyed with a homing Torpedo for extra Hit Points, and even some hidden Supply Rings. Other columns cannot be destroyed but have a lock on anyway, which can be a setback if any Torpedoes are launched into them. Columns that fall can be a hazard therefore it is advisable to keep a safe distance as they sink.

Treasure in the Ruins

“The sunken temple columns may contain valuable items for the Blue-Marine. Only columns that show cracks in the middle can be broken. The second column in the second row of columns contains a gold ring. Lock on your torpedoes to blast them quickly.”

—Official Nintendo Power Player's Guide, pg 87

“In the final column of the third ruins, you can pick up a Supply Ring.”

—Official Nintendo Power Player's Guide, pg 87

Name origin

The Aquas Ruins are similar to the legendary lost city of Atlantis as both are lost cities that sank beneath the ocean.

Etymology

The etymology of "aquas" is the Latin word "aqua", meaning "water". It is appropriate, since the Aquas Ruins are underwater.

References

• NINTENDO POWER Star Fox 64: Official Nintendo Player's Guide. Redmond, WA, Nintendo of America. 1997.
• Star Fox 64.com