Ecco the Dolphin

This article is about the video game. For the game series, see Ecco the Dolphin (series).

Ecco the Dolphin
Box art of the North American release of Ecco the Dolphin. Painting by Boris Vallejo.
Developer(s)	Novotrade International
Publisher(s)	Sega
Designer(s)	Ed Annunziata
Composer(s)	Spencer Nilsen (also sole composer for Sega CD) Brian Coburn András Magyari
Platform(s)	Sega Mega Drive, Mega-CD, Windows, Game Gear, Master System, Game Boy Advance, Xbox 360 (XBLA), Virtual Console, iOS, Cloud (OnLive)
Release date(s)	Sega Mega Drive EU July 31, 1992 NA July 29, 1993 JP July 30, 1993 Mega-CD NA 1993 EU 1993 JP February 24, 1995 Virtual Console NA November 27, 2006 EU December 8, 2006 JP December 2, 2006 Steam NA June 1, 2010 iOS July 22, 2010
Genre(s)	Side-scrolling action-adventure game
Mode(s)	Single player
Media/distribution	ROM cartridge, CD-ROM, digital distribution, cloud computing

Ecco the Dolphin (title screen: Ecco) is an action-adventure game originally developed by Novotrade International for the Mega Drive, and published by Sega in 1992. The game's designer is Ed Annunziata. It is the first installment in the Ecco the Dolphin video game franchise.

The player character, Ecco, is a bottlenose dolphin who travels through time to combat hostile extraterrestrials in Earth's oceans and on an alien spacecraft.

Ecco the Dolphin was republished digitally via Nintendo's Virtual Console in 2006, Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade, Steam, and the iOS App Store.

Development

Ed Annunziata, the developer, said on Twitter that "I was paranoid about game rentals and kids beating the game over the weekend. So.. I.. uh... made it hard."

Gameplay

Attacking enemies is accomplished by making Ecco ram into them at high speeds. Swimming could be made progressively faster by tapping a certain button, and the speed could 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 game played 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 would cause the song to return, generating a map of the area. Additionally, Ecco, being a mammal, has to surface periodically for air, or else find an air vent. If the "air meter" ran out, Ecco would lose health rapidly - this represented drowning. His health was measured by a separate meter; it was depleted by enemies or when his air meter had run out, and it is recharged by eating fish, "singing" to clams, or, later in the game, singing to special statues or crystals called "Glyphs". Ecco's song could be optionally "upgraded" at two points in the game; one upgrade allowed Ecco's song to be used in combination with a charge as a long-range weapon, and the other temporarily disoriented sharks and made minor enemies freeze temporarily. Touching any enemy by any means other than an attack causes Ecco to sustain damage. The enemies range from seahorses to giant octopodes.

Several levels contain enormous crystals called glyphs, which would respond in different ways if Ecco touches or sings to them. Some blocked paths, and a "Key-Glyph" had to be found in such cases to pass. Others gave information, and a few in later levels would replenish health/air and give Ecco temporary invulnerability.

The penultimate level of the game is titled "Welcome to the Machine", named for "Welcome to the Machine", the second song on Pink Floyd's 1975 studio album Wish You Were Here. Ecco: The Tides of Time (1994) features a level called "New Machine", named for "A New Machine", a two-part song on Pink Floyd's 1987 album A Momentary Lapse of Reason.

Storyline

Ecco The Dolphin for the Sega Mega Drive.

The game begins with Ecco as he and his pod are swimming in their home bay. One podmate challenges him to see how high into the air he can jump. When he is in the air, a waterspout storm forms and sucks up all marine life in the bay except Ecco, leaving him alone in the bay. Upon leaving the bay to search for his pod, he contacts several dolphins from other pods, who tell him the entire sea is in chaos, and that all marine creatures had felt the storm. An orca tells Ecco to travel to the Arctic to find a blue whale named the "Big Blue", who is revered among marine mammals for its age and wisdom. Once Ecco finds him, the Big Blue tells him such storms had been occurring every 500 years and directs him to the Asterite, the oldest creature on Earth. He leaves the Arctic and travels to a deep cavern where he finds the Asterite. Although it has the power to aid him, one of its globes is missing, and needs it returned. However, this can only be achieved by traveling back in time using a machine built by the ancient Atlanteans.

Ecco travels to the sunken city of Atlantis, where he discovers the time machine and an ancient library. He learns the cause of the storm; it was a harvest of Earth's waters that was conducted every 500 years by an alien species known as the Vortex. The Vortex had lost their ability to make their own food, and so every 500 years, they would harvest from the waters of Earth. Learning this, he activates the time machine and travels 55 million years into Earth's past. 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. Once inside the waterspout, Ecco makes his way towards the Vortex Queen, the leader of the Vortex race. Eventually, the Vortex Queen is destroyed and Ecco rescues his pod.

Versions

Reception
Review scores
Publication	Score
MegaTech	94%
Awards Entity Award MegaTech Hyper Game

The game was originally released in 1992 for the Sega Mega Drive, and became a bestseller. Mega placed the game at #24 in their Top Mega Drive Games of All Time.

An enhanced Sega Mega-CD version that features new and redesigned levels and an alternate Red Book audio soundtrack, composed by Spencer Nilsen, was also released. On release, Famicom Tsūshin scored the Mega-CD version of the game a 27 out of 40. This version was later ported to Windows. The Windows port was further enhanced with higher resolution graphics.

Game Gear and Master System versions were also released; they featured different levels to the other versions and a special intro featuring a whale song, and dolphin noises for the title screen.

Game Gear

The Game Gear version had some notable features in the intro that were not present in the Mega Drive version. These included a dolphin crying "SEGA" on the SEGA screen and dolphins laughing on the title screen.

Sega Mega Drive Collection/Sega Genesis Collection

Ecco the Dolphin, along with Ecco: The Tides of Time and Ecco Jr., can be found on the PS2, and PSP game Sega Genesis Collection.

RealOne Arcade

In 2002, Sega's first attempt to enter the downloadable retail game content business occurred on 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.

Virtual Console

Ecco the Dolphin was released in Europe and Australia for the Virtual Console on Nintendo's Wii console on December 8, 2006 for 800 Wii Points. It was released in North America on November 28, 2006 for 800 Wii Points, and in Japan on December 2, 2006 for 600 Wii Points.

Xbox Live Arcade

Ecco the Dolphin was released on the Xbox Live Arcade for a price of 400 MS Points on August 15, 2007 for the Xbox 360.

Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection/Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection

Ecco the Dolphin is part of Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, along with its sequel.

Steam

The version of Ecco the Dolphin released on Steam is part of the "Sega Genesis Classics Pack" (it can also be purchased separately) so it is the Mega Drive/Genesis version as opposed to the earlier Windows port of the Mega-CD version, but the Windows version is slated to be announced as an update for the Steam game.^{[citation needed]}

References

Nintendo Official Magazine Staff (2001). Nintendo Official Magazine - Nintendo's Market Share 1988. Future Publishing. p. 35.

External links

• Arkonviox.com - An Ecco the Dolphin news and resource website with a focus on the 8/16 bit classics and Ecco, Defender of the Future.
• Caverns of Hope - An Ecco the Dolphin news and resource website, with a focus on the Defender of the Future title for Sega Dreamcast.
• Significant Bits section - An article listing some of the most notable points of Ecco the Dolphin.
• The Big Blue - The newest Ecco website.Links, downloads, and all about Ecco.

Preceded by Sonic 2

UK number-one Mega Drive game April 1993

Succeeded by PGA Tour Golf 2