Ecco the Dolphin

Ecco the Dolphin is an adventure game released for the Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, and Sega Genesis involving the adventures of a young dolphin named Ecco the Dolphin. His characteristic feature is the stars on his head arranged in a unique pattern.

Plot
One day, Ecco was challenged by a member of his pod to see how high he could jump.

Upon accomplishing this feat, a water spout occurred and blew his entire pod away into the sky.

Ecco, now alone, sets off to search for his pod...

Gameplay
Ecco as a dolphin is able to swim, jump and use echolocation, from which he gets his name.

Using echolocation will have him send out waves which when bounced back will bring up a map of the surrounding area telling Ecco of the dangers or rewards ahead. The echolocation can also be used to talk to other dolphins and whales and later upgraded into a sonar attack that will temporarily stun enemies.

Ecco's main attack is his dash which allows him to dive towards an enemy, ramming them with his bottle nose.

Being that he is a mammal, Ecco must occasionally surface to breathe. He has both a health bar and an oxygen meter. If the player does not get Ecco to the surface or to an airpocket to allow Ecco to recover his oxygen meter his health bar will begin to drain as Ecco starts to drown. Ecco can also recover oxygen from certain clam shells that release oxygen when echolocated, but beware these clam shells can also spit out filthy water bubbles that actively hurt Ecco instead.

Health can be recovered by dashing into a school of fish, which Ecco will eat.

Along the way Ecco will come across other dolphins who have also lost their pods. If Ecco can rescue their members he will recieve a useful permenant upgrade to his skillset for the rest of the journey.

CD version differences

 * Ecco CD features an animated intro, and an ending still frame of Ecco singing at you.
 * Ecco CD includes new levels not included in the Mega Drive version, these levels are: Open Ocean 2, Volcanic Reef, Ship Grave Sea, The Sea of Silence, Wreck Trap, Deep Gate


 * Ecco CD uses Redbook quality audio instead of the Mega Drive's sound processor for CD quality music.


 * Ecco CD uses higher quality sound samples than the Mega Drive.


 * Passwords for Ecco CD are not compatible with Mega Drive Ecco.


 * In the Library, two Glyphs feature short educational dolphin videos. In the Mega Drive version, Glyphs were repeated.


 * Trilobites and Sea Horses are easier to evade in Ecco CD than the Mega Drive game.


 * In Ecco CD, when Ecco dies he returns to the last Barrier Glyph he removed. In the original game you have to restart the entire level.


 * The 'A and Start' cheat for Ecco Mega Drive does not work on the Mega CD.


 * Various glitches and bugs from the Mega Drive game are not present in Ecco CD

Japanese version differences
There is an extra level named "The Stomach" which takes place after the final boss. It uses artwork not found elsewhere in the game, and the sonar does not display correctly. This level only appears in the Japanese Mega Drive version. It is speculated that this was an unfinished concept level that was accidentally left in the game. All data associated with this level was removed in all other versions.

After beating this stage, the ending plays as normal.

Game Gear
The Game Gear version features the name "Sega" done like a dolphin cry as the logo is shown at the start, and dolphins laughing at the title screen.

Sequels
The game spawned a few sequels including Ecco Jr for little kids, Ecco II: The Tides of Time, and Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future for the Sega Dreamcast.