Ecco the Dolphin

A masterpiece (a damn hard game to find problems with). It is a timeless classic that will always stand as a reminder of how great Sega can be. Its a game that would be a sin to miss. Fast, original, fun, and gorgeous, Ecco exceeds the limitations of the 16-bit hardware, and is an adventure for gamers (or non-gamers) of all ages and gameplay-preferances. There's not a single word that can describe how much I (and you will) love this game.

Ecco the Dolphin ist wie gesagt sehr ungewöhnlich, sehr schwer - aber auch sehr genial und trotz doofer Delphine sollte man dem Spiel auf jeden Fall eine Chance geben.

Adolescence is a difficult time for girls and boys. Apparently it's a difficult time for bottle-nosed dolphins too, as young five-star-cephalic Ecco finds himself violently hurled into a quest to establish his own identity and independence while saving the entire dolphin species from the carnivorous alien race "Vortex" with little more than his own human-surpassing intelligence and the ability to explode voracious hammerhead sharks by squealing at them in his adorable dolphin voice: "Eeeeeeeee!" "Eeeeeeeee!"

Thankfully the game still manages to feel like an Ecco game. You'll still be swimming around solving puzzles, collecting crystals, and pushing around loose rocks. You still need to go up for air every so often (giving the game a sense of urgency you don't normally see in a game of this type). It's still you on a quest to save the rest of your pod from ... aliens? Okay, ignore the ridiculousness of the story; this really is a worthwhile game that translates amazingly well on the Game Gear.

Despite all it's attributes and political correctness, Ecco the Dolphin is not for everyone. Gamers who like lot's of variety and intense action will be disenchanted with Ecco's slow and repetitive gameplay. What's intellectually stimulating to some players will be boring to others. For fans of Ecco, though, he's still the king of the sea.

In the end, though, Ecco the Dolphin is a faithful port of everything that made my Genesis outing great, with a few improvements to boot. The old, clunky password system has been replaced by the option to save my progress wherever I wish, and the many secrets in the game were left intact. Finding some of them even became achievements. With the only problem marring my quest being a hardware difficulty and not a software one, it's reassuring to know that my quest is just as good as it's always been... arguably even better.

Now the Mega CD version is upon us so we are forced to question what it contains that justifies its existence on a CD. The answer is, not an awful lot. The first improvement is the addition of five extra levels. You also get QSound. But the Ecco CD offers little over and above its cartridge counterpart. It does not use the CD's potential at all. Still a good game, though.

Faszinierend, was manchen Entwicklern so einfällt. Obwohl das Spielprinzip schon einige Jahre auf dem Walbuckel hat, stellt es für den PC etwas völlig Neues dar. Der kleine Delphin läßt sich gut steuern, der SVGA-Modus wurde anständig ausgenutzt und ein bißchen mehr Anspruch als bei anderen Actionspielen ist auch dabei. Man sollte sich Ecco auf alle Fälle einmal anschauen.

But even after that, I can't deny that Ecco the Dolphin is both a good game, and a good Sega CD game. If you don't own Ecco 2 on the Genesis, and you see Ecco CD for sale, I strongly recommend picking it up. The game doesn't fit into traditional roles, but it's rewards, difficult, and a heck of a lot of fun. The graphics and sound are top rate, and there really isn't much bad with this game. Don't think it's another Aquanauts Holiday, Ecco is Rambo compared!

Your dolphin's movement is silky smooth, and swimming around in the open sea and jumping out of the water is fun in of itself. The goal of each stage is not immediately apparent, but you'll discover hints by "talking" to other sea creatures you encounter. You'll open passages, save other dolphins, avoid deadly sharks, and eventually destroy an "ancient evil" in the grand finale. Your 25-stage journey will even take you through back through time to the lost city of Atlantis. It's fun to see what each new stage has in store. The difficulty level is ideal, providing plenty of challenge but little in the way of frustration. A password is provided at the end of each stage. In addition to its gorgeous graphics, Ecco's music is also amazing, with sometimes ominous yet mostly relaxing undersea tones. Action-oriented gamers may find Ecco a bit tedious, but ultimately this is a very satisfying adventure.

A welcome departure from the usual platform game. The controls can take some getting used to, and the graphics aren't great. A solid, unusual bit of videogaming.

Playing Ecco now, 13 years later, is still enjoyable. Just not remarkable. The game inspired several ports, spin-offs and sequels, but hasn't gone down as a true classic. It's a notable, interesting and challenging release, but it shouldn't take your 800 points before some other, more worthy choices. Ecco helped diffuse a time of tension, but that time's long since past. This porpoise has served his purpose, and can be safely passed.

Ecco ist hübsch, clean und originell, aber nicht gerade ein Programm, das den Adrenalinspiegel blubbern läßt.

While it may seem that I’m extremely down on Ecco given the criticisms listed here, I actually like it and look forward to playing it more. I feel, though, that it was a tough game when it came out for the Genesis, and that hasn’t changed now. The 400 Microsoft Points (about $5) is a small price to pay for the title; the bigger cost is in the time, effort and patience you’ll need to devote to this one in order to wring every drop out of it.

Overall, it's difficult to justify the upgrade considering this CD version has loading periods that you don't have to put up with on the Genesis. It's still a fine game, but it doesn't appear that Sega made much of an effort here.

There is no doubt that Ecco the Dolphin shows its age, but it's still one of the most unique games out there. Watching Ecco leap out of the water and navigate the murky depths is still a lot of fun. You'll probably want to pass on this rendition of Ecco's adventure if you've played it on other systems because the improvements don't enhance the gameplay experience all that much. However, if you haven't played Ecco the Dolphin before and think you'd enjoy working through a challenging side-scroller as a bottlenose dolphin, you'll be able to squeeze enough play time and enjoyment out of this download to justify spending 400 points ($5) on it.

Doch auch heute noch weiß die atmosphärische Einbindung der Delphin-Fähigkeiten wirklich zu gefallen. Echolot, Gesang und die Attacke per Kopfstoß mit der Ihr Meeresräubern einen Strich durch die Rechnung macht, sind in selbst modernen Spielen alles andere als Gang und Gäbe. Dies ist allerdings auch schon der größte Pluspunkt eines irgendwie einzigartigen Spieles, das damals wie heute mit frustrierenden Spitzen im Gamedesign stellenweise für akuten Haarausfall sorgt. Wer der Verhätschelung durch moderne Spiele (mal ehrlich: Wann habt ihr das letzte Mal einen „Game Over“-Screen gesehen?) für eine Weile entfliehen möchte, findet hier unter Umständen die Herausforderung, die er (oder sie) schon lange gesucht hat.

Ecco the Dolphin is a classic from SEGA. But sometimes classic's should stay in the past. For those who have played Ecco before, there's really no reason to come back to it. There are no extras offered and the Achievements are junk. If you've never played Ecco, then you may want to give it a go. It really is one of the more innovative titles of its time. But, again, that time has long passed and Ecco's gameplay doesn't stand the test of time like Sonic's.

PC-versionen är i princip identisk med originalet. Sega har verkligen lyckats med konverteringen, inte tu tal om annat. Men, jag vet inte. Att spela TV-spel i datorn är underligt. Dessutom var det liksom roligare att spela det här spelet förut. Det känns nästan lite mesigt att sitta med en Pentium och lira Ecco, Sorgligt nog.

I'll give just about any game a try, no matter how ridiculous it is or how difficult it may be, but I cannot find any enjoyment here. Nothing appeals to me. The graphics and audio are what you would expect from a Genesis game, and as such, do not hold up after all these years, even on XBLA. The only reason why someone would buy this is to take a trip down memory lane, and for even the most nostalgic of gamers, that trip will end far sooner than they anticipated.

I didn't play though this XBLA version. Once I started the game all the bad memories came flooding back. I thought maybe I could power through it now that I am older and wiser. Nope, couldn't do it.

But seriously. Do you really need to delve into this game now? And if so, wouldn't you feel much better about it if you could do so in the company of all sorts of other big Mega Drive names for a fraction of the price? Although you can excuse Sega for trying it on with a true classic like Sonic, foisting dated crap like Ecco on us yet again feels like a monumental waste of everyone's time. Download the free trial if you must, but don't even think about parting with your hard-earned cash for this. It might still look pretty, but Ecco plays like a dog. Avoid avoid-o!