Nintendo 64 Longplay: Wetrix

Played on a PAL copy of the game.

Wetrix is a 3D puzzle game, created by Zed Two (now Zee-3 Digital Publishing) and sold to Ocean Software in 1997 for publication on Nintendo 64 in 1998. The game was subsequently ported to personal computers running Microsoft Windows 95/98; to the Sega Dreamcast, as the enhanced remake Wetrix+; and to the Nintendo Game Boy Color, as either simply Wetrix or Wetrix GB.

In 2000, Wetrix received a sequel on the PlayStation 2, entitled Aqua Aqua or on Japanese editions Aquaqua.

The original and first-released version of Wetrix was for the Nintendo 64 in 1998. Some sources have reported that the water tech demo was initially conceived to show this system's power by simulating water;[4] however, whether or not the original tech demo was designed for the N64, or with it specifically in mind, has not been confirmed by the Pickford brothers themselves (see above).

The player receives a flat square of land (the Landscape) and has the goal of gaining as many points as possible, through managing a landscape of Lakes and the water therein. This is accomplished by manoeuvering different types of Pieces that fall onto the playing area, one at a time (in a similar manner to the puzzle game Tetris). Each Piece has differing effects upon the arena. The main Pieces are Uppers, several different shapes that increase the height of the land on which they fall by one tier; these can be used to sculpt walls, dams, and the perimeters of Lakes. Shortly into the game, Water Bubbles will begin to fall; these burst upon impact with the land and flow realistically like a fluid across its surface.

The main method of gathering points is by using the Fireball Piece to evaporate Lakes, the number of points depending upon the volume of water removed in this way. On the right side of the screen is a water gauge called the Drain, which fills up as water falls off the edge of the Landscape, or down holes created by Bombs. The player loses the game when the Drain fills up to the top. The only way to reduce the level of the Drain is by evaporating water with Fireballs; again, the amount it is reduced by depends upon the amount of water evaporated.

Other modes of gameplay have different starting conditions or goals for the player to meet, but the basic features described above apply to all modes.