What is the purpose of beds in Aquaria?

Question

I have encountered a number of beds and "resting places" in Aquaria, but so far they seem to have no purpose.

They are something you can interact with, the help file even mentions them as an early example of interacting, but nowhere is it mentioned that they have any use.

Other than a small push to the plot (no spoilers) in the beginning they seem to have no point at all. They could not be a save point, there are save crystals for that, and from my experience they don't seem to regenerate your health.

I have not finished the game, so if a use becomes apparent later in the game, just mention that and I'll be content.

Answer

I never wondered about their purpose. During my playthroughs of the game I never noticed any actual purpose they served, other than some items being placed on them.

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How to beat Aquaria's race?

Question

The full title should have been, "How to complete Aquaria's circuit in less than 30 seconds", but that would have been unnecessarily spoilery.

I've found the race circuit in Aquaria. I got:

1. 2:07 in beast form (1st attempt, with some time lost understanding what was going on)
2. 1:56 in fish form (2nd attempt, with some time lost bumping into things)
3. 2:34 with seahorses (3rd try, with a lot of time lost starting to ride a seahorse to begin with, then getting through the statues right before the end)
4. 1:41 in fish form (4th try, now without bumping into almost anything)

It seems to be pointless fun, but a rock near the start of the circuit reads, "1:30" -- so maybe there is a point after all. Since you must run three laps, that means you must complete each lap in 30 seconds.

How do you beat that time? (Please note, I'm not asking what the reward would be.)

I have access to the song, energy, beast, nature, sun and fish forms. Li is by my side.

Answer

Yes, the fish form was the way to go. I achieved 1:27 even with some bumps along the way (the orbs mark it) -- it's definitely possible to improve this result. Indeed, I just made a run with Fraps and got 1:25 and uploaded it for people to watch.

Watch the 1:25 race on Youtube

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At the start of the race, press 6 immediately to switch to fish from, then tap space like crazy and avoid the bumps along the road:

• The statue at turn 2
• The statue after turn 3 (swim right above it, so you can avoid the following)
• The background mushroom after it (you'll swim behind the foreground mushrooms, so it's safe to run into them)
• The statue right between the checkpoint and turn 4
• The mushroom right after turn 4
• The statue at turn 6 (where you must go left, not right)
• The statues right before the finish (swim at their legs' level)

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