DAY 94 / GAME 94
Ecco the Dolphin
There are few games that have you controlling a non-anthropomorphasized animal. Off the top of my head I can only think of two: Okami and Ecco the Dolphin. With that in mind, Ecco ends up being a fairly unique side scroller. Using only the skills and abilities of an actual dolphin, you solve your way through maze like underwater caves looking for your lost pod, and unraveling the mystery behind their disappearance.
You navigate the waters using your basic dolphin traits. You can power through the waters, bursting up out of the surface to jump over barriers, performing twists and flips in the air if you so desire. You can charge at soft enemies to kill them, or small fish for food to help regain health. As an air breathing mammal you have to surface now and again to breathe, making some of the underwater caves very tricky to navigate. You can push rocks and other items around to help clear blocked paths and communicate with other higher mammals for information to help you in your journey. Your sonar allows you to map your surroundings and communicate with crystal glyphs you find in your journey. Sometimes even allowing you to bounce a soundwave off of a glyph in order to get back a special 'key' sound which helps unlock other glyphs blocking your way.
Ecco the Dolphin was a very long game. Thankfully it used level codes so that you could continue, otherwise I would have never completed the sequel, or have gotten as far as I have with this one. Moreso than any other side scroller I've played this one really felt like a journey. As you make you way further and further from your home things look less and less familiar. Creatures you start to run into are new and different. Your surroundings become more alien and your friends are far behind you. Everything is always moving forward and not until the end do you have the opportunity to look back.
I still love this game. Another one of those Sega classics that appear bundled so often, so I ended up with a few copies of this game. My first version was for the Sega CD which was great because it featured a fantastic soundtrack. Albeit a little on the 'new age' side of things, but it definitely set the mood. For an older 16-bit game that tried not to stylize everything too much, it still holds up. The animation on the dolphins feels very true and the surroundings work so well. It's fast, solid and has few if any bugs. Sometimes I just love to play this for the first section where you are free in the open waters to speed around and jump up into the air, performing trick after trick.
There were 3 sequels for this game. Ecco the Dolphin 2, for the Genesis, which I own and love. There was also Ecco Jr., which I never actually tried and a 3D version for the Dreamcast which was amazing looking and I actually picked up, but never did play more than a few hours of. I'd love to see this remade with updated graphics, but I'm more than happy still playing the original. It's a timeless classic.
Ecco the Dolphin
There are few games that have you controlling a non-anthropomorphasized animal. Off the top of my head I can only think of two: Okami and Ecco the Dolphin. With that in mind, Ecco ends up being a fairly unique side scroller. Using only the skills and abilities of an actual dolphin, you solve your way through maze like underwater caves looking for your lost pod, and unraveling the mystery behind their disappearance.You navigate the waters using your basic dolphin traits. You can power through the waters, bursting up out of the surface to jump over barriers, performing twists and flips in the air if you so desire. You can charge at soft enemies to kill them, or small fish for food to help regain health. As an air breathing mammal you have to surface now and again to breathe, making some of the underwater caves very tricky to navigate. You can push rocks and other items around to help clear blocked paths and communicate with other higher mammals for information to help you in your journey. Your sonar allows you to map your surroundings and communicate with crystal glyphs you find in your journey. Sometimes even allowing you to bounce a soundwave off of a glyph in order to get back a special 'key' sound which helps unlock other glyphs blocking your way.
I still love this game. Another one of those Sega classics that appear bundled so often, so I ended up with a few copies of this game. My first version was for the Sega CD which was great because it featured a fantastic soundtrack. Albeit a little on the 'new age' side of things, but it definitely set the mood. For an older 16-bit game that tried not to stylize everything too much, it still holds up. The animation on the dolphins feels very true and the surroundings work so well. It's fast, solid and has few if any bugs. Sometimes I just love to play this for the first section where you are free in the open waters to speed around and jump up into the air, performing trick after trick. There were 3 sequels for this game. Ecco the Dolphin 2, for the Genesis, which I own and love. There was also Ecco Jr., which I never actually tried and a 3D version for the Dreamcast which was amazing looking and I actually picked up, but never did play more than a few hours of. I'd love to see this remade with updated graphics, but I'm more than happy still playing the original. It's a timeless classic.
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