Ecco the Dolphin (1992)

(This was retro game club game #3 on the Grouvee forum.)

Ecco the Dolphin is a classic Genesis game I had tried on multiple occasions over the years to get into, but each time I found it a very frustrating experience and would give up after a few levels. I wasn't sure if it was a bad game, or if it just wasn't for me. But when people recommended it for a game to play in the aforementioned retro game club, I figured... heck, why not. I'll use a guide, and I'll use save states, and I'll finally play through this game from beginning to end.

And yeah. Even with the guide and save states, it was still a struggle (the final level in particular being especially absurd). Ecco is not an easy game, and the controls indeed do take a while to get used to. But setting the difficulty aside, this is a pretty fascinating title. I can't emphasize enough how nice the pixel art is for this one, for starters. The underwater world is one that isn't explored as much in video games, and for a game this old they really did a fantastic job of capturing the beauty--and the fear--of the ocean's depths. Complementing the visuals perfectly is the soundtrack, which is very ambient and moody. Gives a strange, atmospheric, natural, and uneasy vibe to everything.

Perhaps what stands out the most in this game (other than the difficulty) is its curious blend of the natural with the supernatural. Ecco is a dolphin, but not in the same way that Sonic is a hedgehog. Ecco is no cartooney mascot character, he is just a regular 'ol bottlenose dolphin. He eats fish to heal, and he has to surface for air to refill his oxygen meter. But this underwater world is a twisted one that often doesn't make much sense. Rocks can be broken by large shellfish. Spinning groups of starfish can be pushed around with your dolphin sonar. Giant static crabs launch out at impossible speeds to crash into you. The octopus meanwhile just sits there, waiting for you to pass by it, and if you look at it funny it'll go ahead and insta-kill you for the hell of it.

And indeed, damn near every creature in the ocean is out specifically for Ecco's blood. The many enemies, the many bizarre puzzles, the maze-like level designs, and the constant timer that is your air meter all combine for a truly controller-chucking experience. It's interesting that the game was made to be this difficult, when I feel it would've been just fine had it focused entirely on its true strengths: the powerful atmosphere, and the simple thrill of swimming about freely in the ocean. I get the feeling that this is what was loved about the game most at the time, and that a very high percentage of players never bothered to get very far in it. (Of course, this was the era of passwords, so game magazines surely provided everyone the means of checking out later levels' environments.)

All in all I'd have to say this is a very interesting game to talk about, but not one that's terribly fun to play. I think its good points are quite strong though (especially for its time), and with the assistance of guides and save states I feel I wouldn't mind checking out its sequel at some point, should I be in the mood.

Ecco the Dolphin is notorious for its strange design and bone-shattering difficulty, but its beauty and unique controls make this almost too interesting to absolutely hate.

Ecco's pod of dolphins has been sucked up by a mysterious waterspout! Traveling the oceans to seek a wise blue whale, the city of Atlantis, and the distant past, you make your way to gain the power of the oldest life form on Earth to fight hideous Giger-esque aliens. For a cutesy looking beginning, Ecco isn't afraid to go from weird to terrifying.

The controls are unique and might be a little tricky to handle at first, with the ability to sing sonar (activating glyphs, damaging enemies, mapping out the area), dashing, and speeding up. This must be used for tricky maneuvers like dashing into enemies and jumping (and super jumping) over bits of land. Glyphs can be used for messages, keys, invincibility, and other things. By saving dolphins and moving forward in the game, Ecco can disorient enemies and destroy them with the sonar, along with a rechargeable meter near the end. As for meter, Ecco has an air meter as well as a health meter, meaning he must go up for air or find another way to replenish his air supply.

The levels are a myriad of underwater mazes, filled with barrier glyphs that need keys to progress, walls that must be destroyed with special items, and many marine enemies such as jellyfish, seahorses, trilobites, puffer fish, eels, and alien menaces. If the player dies they merely have to restart the level, but some levels (especially near the end) are long and brutal, turning off a fair bit of players who haven't mastered Ecco's movement and navigation.

The graphics are gorgeous, with Ecco's complex animations (flipping and jumping in the air, dashing into foes, etc) and environments ranging from beautiful coves to jurassic seas to alien tubes. The music is also excellent, with ambient tunes that complement the darkness of the water below.

Ecco the Dolphin may be a tough game to love, but it's got a high concept that would be great to build upon and use in other games. It's also really freaky!

1001 Games - #240

Pros: beautiful underwater visuals, ambient Pink Floyd-inspired score, unique experience

Cons: gruelling difficulty, lack of obvious objectives or guidance, frustrating air meter

Recommendation: an incredibly difficult maze-like adventure game. While I enjoyed the overall atmosphere of the game, it was far too stressful backtracking for air constantly and getting extremely lost. To top it all off, you must start at the beginning of the area if you die. If you're in to difficult games, give it a try to see what the fuss is about. As for me, I doubt I'll be picking it up again for a long time.