Maybe you could make the beginning not the beginning, but rather the end of part 1.
Part 1 would be a short bit in which you play various games with the octopi, learning how to communicate with them, what their abilities are, etc. This will also help establish empathy between the player and the octopi. Most importantly, it will introduce the player to this magic super octopus.
Will the first octopus that Oscar breaks out of the tank be his sidekick? that'd be cool, but of course, more work. Maybe you play some levels as Oscar and some as the octopus...
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