Aqua Ippan

What begins as a quiet dive assignment quickly spirals into chaos in Aqua Ippan, a free indie arcade shooter that blends fast-paced action with lighthearted storytelling. Set against the backdrop of an Alpine region still scarred by past floods and military fallout, the game follows two diving students who unknowingly uncover an artifact tied to forces far beyond their control. Before they can even grasp what they have found, they are forced to flee — not only from armed pursuers, but through environments shaped by abandonment, tension, and improvised resistance.

Rather than focusing solely on raw firepower, Aqua Ippan emphasizes speed, flexibility, and cooperation, with movement playing a central role, allowing players to shoot in multiple directions, react quickly, and rely on rescued allies who actively assist during combat. These companions can stun enemies, collect items, and even help free others, reinforcing a sense of teamwork that carries through both single-player and co-op modes and resulting in a run and gun experience that feels agile and dynamic, rather than purely aggressive.

Visually, the game embraces a retro arcade identity through expressive pixel art that merges anime influences with a 16-bit aesthetic. Its design openly echoes the classic military action games associated with SNK, while also reinterpreting early, abandoned concepts from the 1995 Metal Slug: SV-001 prototype in a way that feels personal rather than derivative. Developed and published by Division 六 (6th Division) in Game Maker and released on May 22, 2023, Aqua Ippan is distributed for free on Windows under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, with optional donations. It stands out as a thoughtfully crafted free indie title that values atmosphere, movement, and charm as much as classic arcade action.

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Video

About the game

Free from your pursues with only your diving gear and some help from local hooligans!

After retrieving an artifact buried at the bottom of a lake, student divers Itou and Yena find themselves being hunted by a local armed group called ‘Vigilanti’ looking to steal their treasure. Now the pair must escape the region and bring their artifact back to their school!

Heavily inspired by the Metal Slug arcade series, Aqua Ippan is a ‘Shoot’em Up’/platformer game currently in development that can be played by one or two player(s). Despite being a modern game, it feels and plays like a true arcade classic and pays homage to the 1995 prototype build of Metal Slug: SV-001 by reinventing ideas that were scrapped during its development.