Blue Submarine No. 6: Time And Tide

Overview

Blue Submraine No. 6: Tides of Time is an underwater-exploration game developed by Sega and released for the Dreamcast in 2000. The game follows the exploits of a deep-sea salvage crew as they recover treasure. The game includes FMV animation by Gonzo, a renowned Anime studio responsible for the original OVA.

Gameplay

At the beginning of the game, the player starts off in the city where they may move from area to area before each mission. This includes the salvage headquarters where they take on contracts to recover items from underwater, a store where the player can buy upgrades for their submarine, and their hanger where they can overlook the status of their submarine before moving out to sea. At the start of each mission the player starts at sea-level where they can choose their loadout of salvaging gear and weapons. Once they descend underwater they must use their radar to find the item of interest. The player must use the radar sparingly, as it can attact the attention of sea creatures, which include giant crabs and fish. The player must defend against these creatures using various weapons. Smaller creatures can be killed with machine guns but larger ones require the use of torpedos. The player has a limited amount of ammo, so accuracy is key. As the ship gets damaged the player can lose the function of certain parts of the submarine, and retreating may be required to survive.

The player can find other treasure while underwater which can score additional money to be used on upgrades. Some treasure is small enough to simply be picked up and stored in the cargo hold, while larger items require the player to use bouys to raise the treasure to the surface. Only one piece of treasure can be held at once so the player must return to the ship at the surface and descend once more.