Ecco: The Tides of Time
I enjoyed the original Ecco the Dolphin game on the Sega Genesis a whole lot. For such a difficult game I came very close to completing it. Or maybe I finally did, I actually don't remember. But I do remember that I finished it's sequel, The Tides of Time, which I was very excited to purchase after how much I loved the first one.
Like the first game, Ecco really was an unexpected story based on what it presented. You'd think, 'hey, this is a game about a dolphin, swimming about helping sea friends' but you'd be wrong. Ecco, and it's sequel, feature a heavy sci-fi narrative where you fight to defeat an alien force which has been 'harvesting' the earth of it's life on a regular cycle of a few centuries or so. With the aid of the Asterite Ecco travels through time using the power of Atlantis to gain the lost power of the Asterite to finally defeat the Vortex.
In the sequel, Ecco finds that he did no truly defeat the Vortex and has to quest once again across time in order to slay it for certain. This brings him through two possible futures, one where dolphins have evolved as the top form of life on Earth, and one where the Vortex has destroyed it, leaving it a machine husk of it's former self. Travelling through tubes of water amongst other sad life.
Ecco: The Tides of Time felt a little bit easier than the first one, which is why I remember for certain beating it. Though, it's epilogue level leaves the story hanging, with a third installment having originally being intended. It's really too bad because between the art, the non-violent puzzle platforming action and cool sci-fi story, it could have really used a third, final game to close up the trilogy. There was a Dreamcast game released later, but it's story was unconnected and to be honest, as fantastic a game as it was, I never did play more than 15 minutes of it. I really should pick it up and play it some more one day.
Like the first game, Ecco really was an unexpected story based on what it presented. You'd think, 'hey, this is a game about a dolphin, swimming about helping sea friends' but you'd be wrong. Ecco, and it's sequel, feature a heavy sci-fi narrative where you fight to defeat an alien force which has been 'harvesting' the earth of it's life on a regular cycle of a few centuries or so. With the aid of the Asterite Ecco travels through time using the power of Atlantis to gain the lost power of the Asterite to finally defeat the Vortex.
In the sequel, Ecco finds that he did no truly defeat the Vortex and has to quest once again across time in order to slay it for certain. This brings him through two possible futures, one where dolphins have evolved as the top form of life on Earth, and one where the Vortex has destroyed it, leaving it a machine husk of it's former self. Travelling through tubes of water amongst other sad life.
Ecco: The Tides of Time felt a little bit easier than the first one, which is why I remember for certain beating it. Though, it's epilogue level leaves the story hanging, with a third installment having originally being intended. It's really too bad because between the art, the non-violent puzzle platforming action and cool sci-fi story, it could have really used a third, final game to close up the trilogy. There was a Dreamcast game released later, but it's story was unconnected and to be honest, as fantastic a game as it was, I never did play more than 15 minutes of it. I really should pick it up and play it some more one day.
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