Ecco can attack enemies by ramming into them at high speeds. Swimming can be made progressively faster by tapping a certain button, and the speed can be maintained by holding it down. Players can perform a purely aesthetic spin in the air when jumping out of the water.
Two features of the gameplay are based on actual dolphin habits: one button causes Ecco to sing, allowing him to speak with other cetaceans and interact with certain objects. The same button is used for echolocation: holding it down causes the song to return, generating a map of the area. Several levels contain enormous crystals called glyphs, which respond in different ways if Ecco touches or sings to them. Some block paths, and a "key-glyph" must be found in such cases to pass. Others give information, and a few in later levels replenish health/air and give Ecco temporary invulnerability.
Additionally, Ecco, being a mammal, must surface periodically for air or find an air vent. If the "air meter" runs out, Ecco loses health rapidly, which represents drowning. His health is measured by a separate meter (above the air meter) which is depleted by enemies or when his air meter runs out and can be recharged by eating fish, "singing" to clams, or, later in the game, singing to special statues or glyphs. Ecco's song can be optionally upgraded at two points in the game: one upgrade allows Ecco's song to be used in combination with a charge as a long-range weapon, and the other temporarily disorients sharks and makes minor enemies freeze temporarily. Touching an enemy by any means other than an attack causes Ecco to sustain damage. The enemies range from seahorses to giant octopods.
Plot
The game opens with Ecco, a bottlenose dolphin, as he and his pod are swimming in their home bay. A podmate challenges Ecco to a game to see how high he can jump into the air. When he is in the air, a giant waterspout forms and sucks up all marine life in the bay except Ecco, leaving him alone in the bay. Upon leaving the bay, Ecco swims around meeting other marine life including other dolphins who tell them they have felt the storm and the entire ocean is in chaos. An orca that Ecco encounters tells him to travel to the Arctic to meet the "Big Blue", an ancient blue whale revered by marine life for his age and wisdom, who might be able to help Ecco on his journey. Arriving in the Arctic after a long journey through the ocean, Ecco finds the Big Blue, who says that the storms occur every 500 years. Though the Big Blue doesn't know what causes the storms, he suggests that Ecco should seek the Asterite, the oldest life form on Earth. Acting on this advice, Ecco leaves the Arctic and travels to a deep-sea cavern, where he finds the Asterite. To his dismay, though the Asterite would otherwise have the power to aid Ecco, it currently can't, as some orbs from its body were lost a long time ago. The Asterite tells Ecco to go to the sunken ruins of the city of Atlantis, where he can use the time machine left behind by the Atlanteans to retrieve the orbs.
Ecco travels to the sunken city of Atlantis, where he discovers an ancient library filled with Glyphs, giant crystals filled with information. From the library, Ecco learns about the source of the storms: an alien race known as the Vortex lost the ability to produce food on their planet. According to the texts, when the planets align once every 500 years, the Vortex use their technology to harvest from the waters of Earth. The Atlanteans fought a long war with the Vortex, which only ended when the Vortex fired a beam at Atlantis, sending the city into the depths of the ocean. Learning this, Ecco activates the time machine and travels 55 million years into Earth's past. While Ecco is in the past he learns an ancient song to communicate with a Pteranodon. Ecco locates the Asterite in the past but is immediately attacked by it. Forced into battle, he manages to dislodge a globe from it. This opens a time portal and he is sent back into the present. After receiving the globe, the Asterite grants him the power to turn his sonar into a deadly weapon against the Vortex, as well as the abilities to breathe underwater and to slowly regenerate lost health. The Asterite instructs him to use the time machine to travel back in time to the hour of the harvest. This time he manages to be sucked into the waterspout with his pod. Ecco is sent flying through outer space to a giant tube-like machine. Making his way through the construct Ecco arrives on the planet Vortex engaging the aliens in combat. He makes his way to the Vortex Queen and engages her in a fight. When the Queen is defeated, she spits out Ecco's pod, and the dolphins make their collective escape back to Earth.
Development
The existence of Ecco the Dolphin had been heavily rumored throughout the industry before it was finally revealed by Sega in 1992 as a Mega Drive/Genesis exclusive, then simply known as Dolphin.[6] After deciding to create a game based around dolphins, developer Ed Annunziata carried out research on the subject and was particularly inspired by the book Sounding by Hank Searls which explained how the creatures use echolocation.[7] Annunziata worked with the music team on the soundtrack, playing them songs by Pink Floyd to illustrate the feeling he was aiming for.[7] Annunziata later said: "I was paranoid about game rentals and kids beating the game over the weekend. So... I... uh... made it hard".[8] His favourite level was "Welcome to the Machine", which was "way over the top challenging".[7]
Annunziata had considered naming the character after the constellation Delphinus, which is depicted on the character's forehead. But Sega's director of marketing Al Nilsen suggested the name Botticelli the Dolphin, citing the popularity of characters named after Italian artists, like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Panicked, Annunziata turned to his boss Clyde Grossman who suggested Echo, which alluded to the dolphin's echolocation ability. Annunziata loved the idea. Being of Italian descent, he chose the spelling Ecco, because it can loosely mean "I see" in that language, and "seeing with sound" is what echolocation enables dolphins to do.[9][10][11] Another explanation is that it references John C. Lilly, a controversial scientist who believed in an alien organization called the Earth Coincidence Control Office or E.C.C.O. and was also noted for his work with Dolphins. Annuziata stated on Facebook once that he "read a lot from John C. Lilly."[12]
The Mega Drive/Genesis version of the game was released in late December 1992. The game was ported to multiple consoles throughout the years.
Versions for the Game Gear and the Master System were also released; they feature different levels from the other versions and a special intro featuring a whale song, and dolphin noises for the title screen. The Game Gear version has a dolphin "SEGA" on the SEGA screen and dolphins laughing on the title screen, along with a new soundtrack by Csaba Gigor and Gábor Foltán, as well as a wider color gamut.
An enhanced Sega CD version that features new and redesigned levels and an alternate Red Book audio soundtrack, composed by Spencer Nilsen, was also released. In Japan, the Sega CD version was only released in a compilation (along with Ecco: The Tides of Time), titled Ecco the Dolphin CD, on February 24, 1995. The Sega CD version was later ported to Windows. The Windows port was further enhanced with higher resolution graphics. In 2014 a fan-made fixed and enhanced version, dubbed Ecco PC Fixed & Enhanced Edition, became available.[14][15]
In 2002, Sega's first attempt to enter the downloadable retail game content business occurred on the digital storefront RealOne Arcade. The first few titles released included Ecco the Dolphin, Columns III and Shinobi III. These downloadable releases came in one-hour trial versions.[16]
Ecco the Dolphin was released in Europe and Australia for the Virtual Console on Nintendo's Wiiconsole on December 8, 2006, for 800 Wii Points.[3] It was released later in North America on November 28 for 800 Wii Points, and in Japan on December 2 for 600 Wii Points.[3]
3D Ecco the Dolphin is a port of the game for the Nintendo 3DS as part of Sega's 3D Classics line. Along with stereoscopic 3D graphics and the option to choose between Japanese and international versions of the game, the port also adds 'Super Dolphin Mode', which decreases the difficulty by giving players invincibility and unlimited oxygen. The game was released for the Nintendo eShop in Japan on June 26 and in North America and Europe on December 12, 2013.[17]
Ecco the Dolphin is one of the games included in the Sega Genesis Mini.
In 1996, a soundtrack album combining music from both Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco: The Tides of Time was released, under the title Ecco: Songs of Time.[18]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2014)
The Sega Mega Drive version became a bestseller.[62] It sold over 570,000 copies worldwide.[63] A reviewer for Next Generation called the PC release "little more than a conversion from the yesteryears of the 16-bit Sega Genesis. Except for a few video cut-scenes, there is little attempt to make this game look or play better for the PC". He nonetheless praised the game not only for its novel concept and responsive controls, but also "its smooth graphics".[51]
Mega placed the game at No. 24 in their Top Mega Drive Games of All Time.[64]Complex ranked Ecco the Dolphin number 44 in their "The Best 100 Sega Genesis Games". They called the game: "the most soothing puzzle-action game available on the Genesis."[65] In 1995, Flux ranked the Sega CD version 100th on their Top 100 Video Games, they praised the game's atmosphere, eerie music, sad dolphin song and the rich underwater look, concluding: "Proof that you don’t need explosions, fatalities or a celebrity endorsement to make a great game."[66]
The Sega CD, known as Mega-CD in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory and format for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. Originally released in November 1991, it came to North America in late 1992, and the rest of the world in 1993. The Sega CD plays CD-based games and adds hardware functionality such as a faster CPU and a custom graphics chip for enhanced sprite scaling and rotation. It can also play audio CDs and CD+G discs.
Ghouls 'n Ghosts, known as Dai Makaimura in Japan, is a side-scrolling platform game developed by Capcom, released as an arcade video game in 1988 and ported to home platforms. It is the sequel to Ghosts 'n Goblins and the second game in the Ghosts 'n Goblins series.
Columns is a match-three puzzle video game released by Jay Geertsen in 1989. Designed for the Motorola 68000-based HP 9000 running HP-UX, it was ported to Mac and MS-DOS before being released commercially by Sega who ported it to arcades and then to several Sega consoles. The game was subsequently ported to other home computers, including the Atari ST.
In the history of video games, the fourth generation of video game consoles, more commonly referred to as the 16-bit era, began on October 30, 1987, with the Japanese release of NEC Home Electronics' PC Engine. Though NEC released the first console of this era, sales were mostly dominated by the rivalry between Sega and Nintendo across most markets: the Sega Mega Drive and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Cartridge-based handheld game consoles became prominent during this time, such as the Nintendo Game Boy, Atari Lynx, Sega Game Gear and TurboExpress.
Altered Beast is a 1988 beat 'em up arcade video game developed and published by Sega. The game is set in Ancient Greece and follows a player character chosen by Zeus to rescue his daughter Athena from the demonic ruler of the underworld, Neff. By collecting three power-ups in a level, the player character transforms into one of five magical beasts. It was ported to several home video game consoles and home computers. Altered Beast was the pack-in game when the Genesis launched in North America and the Mega Drive in Europe.
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is a falling block puzzle game developed by Compile and published by Sega. It was released for the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive in North America and Europe in November 1993, and ported to the Game Gear in 1993 and Master System in 1994.
Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a run and gun video game developed by LucasArts and published by Konami for the Super NES and Sega Genesis consoles in 1993.
Ecco: The Tides of Time is an action-adventure video game developed by Novotrade International, published by Sega, and released for most of Sega's then-supported gaming consoles in 1994. It is the second game in the Ecco the Dolphin series. The Tides of Time continued the story of the first game and featured similar gameplay with a few new additions.
Flashback, released as Flashback: The Quest for Identity in the United States, is a 1992 science fiction cinematic platform game developed by Delphine Software of France and published by U.S. Gold in the United States and Europe, and Sunsoft in Japan.
Golden Axe is a 1989 beat 'em up game developed and published by Sega for arcades, running on the Sega System 16B arcade hardware. Makoto Uchida was the lead designer of the game, and was also responsible for the creation of the previous year's Altered Beast. The game casts players as one of three warriors who must free the fantastical land of Yuria from the tyrannical rule of Death Adder, who wields the titular Golden Axe.
1993 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden, Mortal Kombat II, Secret of Mana, and Super Street Fighter II, alongside new titles such as Star Fox, FIFA International Soccer, Doom, Gunstar Heroes, Myst, Samurai Shodown, Ridge Racer, NBA Jam, Disney's Aladdin, and Virtua Fighter.
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, released in Japan as The Super Shinobi II, is a 1993 hack-and-slash platform game developed and published by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis. It is the direct sequel to the previous The Revenge of Shinobi. The game was intended to be released in 1992 and to be very different from the final version of the game in terms of levels and storyline. Shinobi III received critical acclaim. It's been ranked among the greatest Mega Drive/Genesis games.
Streets of Rage 2, known as Bare Knuckle II in Japan, is a 1992 beat 'em up game developed and published by Sega for the Genesis/Mega Drive. A sequel to Streets of Rage (1991), the characters Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding return while the game also introduces two new characters: Max Thunder, and Eddie "Skate" Hunter, the younger brother of Adam Hunter from the first game.
Bonanza Bros. is a 3D-style, 2D side-scrolling stealth action game developed and released by Sega in 1990. It is one of the earliest arcade games powered by the Sega System 24 arcade system board. It was ported to various home systems, including the Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System, PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-CD, and several home computers.
The Sega Genesis, known as the Mega Drive outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan as the Mega Drive, and in 1989 in North America as the Genesis. In 1990, it was distributed as the Mega Drive by Virgin Mastertronic in Europe, Ozisoft in Australasia, and Tectoy in Brazil. In South Korea, it was distributed by Samsung Electronics as the Super Gam*Boy and later the Super Aladdin Boy.
Ecco the Dolphin is a series of action-adventure video games developed by Appaloosa Interactive and published by Sega. Appaloosa Interactive was founded in Hungary in 1983; the first Ecco the Dolphin game was developed by an entirely Hungarian team, originally for the European market. Ecco the Dolphin series was released in part due to Nintendo's exclusive deal with the company Capcom. In the early 1990s, Capcom signed a deal with Nintendo preventing Sega's console from carrying two popular games at the time, Street Fighter I and Final Fight. As a result, Sega created Ecco the Dolphin to develop a competitive advantage against Nintendo by having their own interactive game series. The games were originally developed for the Mega Drive/Genesis and Dreamcast video game consoles, and have been ported to numerous systems. Ettore Annunziata envisioned and conceived the game, while Laszlo Szsenttornyai, Jozsef Molnar, and Zsolt Balogh programmed the game for the SEGA Mega Drive. The story follows the eponymous bottlenose dolphin, who fights extraterrestrial threats to the world. The games are known for their high difficulty as well as their pacifist nature, which is common for Hungarian Games. Hungarian animated games often feature animal protagonists like Caesar the Cat, a game released in 1983 for the Commodore 64. Ecco the Dolphin was seen as a continuation of the use of animal protagonists in Hungarian content. Ecco was created by Ed Annunziata, who also produced Chakan: The Forever Man, which was also released in December 1992.
Online console gaming involves connecting a console to a network over the Internet for services. Through this connection, it provides users the ability to play games with other users online, in addition to other online services.
In the video game industry, a console war describes the competition between two or more video game console manufacturers in trying to achieve better consumer sales through more advanced console technology, an improved selection of video games, and general marketing around their consoles. While console manufacturers are generally always trying to out-perform other manufacturers in sales, these console wars engage in more direct tactics to compare their offerings directly against their competitors or to disparage the competition in contrast to their own, and thus the marketing efforts have tended to escalate in back-and-forth pushes.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}