Ecco the Dolphin (character)

Ecco is a young male bottlenose dolphin and is the main protagonist in the Ecco games.

Ecco the Dolphin
Ecco was playfully performing tricks with his pod, until one day in midair, a mysterious vortex sucked up his pod and vanished!

Ecco must find out more about the vortex and find his missing pod.

Ecco II: Tides of Time
Ecco is once again on a quest to save the world from the clutches of the Vortex.

Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future
A different Ecco appears in Defender of the Future, while still retaining the star-like markings on his forehead. In the game, Ecco is a dolphin born to protect Earth and its future. At the start of the game, Ecco is seen swimming around with his fellow dolphin companions when a small ship belonging to that of a violent alien race bent on world domination known as the Foe crashed into what was a crystalline figure created by both Man and dolphin called the Guardian. The suicide impact caused the Guardian itself to shatter into pieces and the sheild it projected around Earth was disabled. The impact also trapped a young whale, which Ecco saved and returned to its mother. Afterwards, the young, but heroic dolphin traveled to the dolphin city of Atlantis, encountering dangers such as sharks and eels along the way. After finally reaching Atlantis, Ecco found shards of the Guardian and eventually repaired it, but was too late to stop the Foe from reaching Earth. When Ecco noticed a Foe ship abducting aquatic lifeforms via vortex, he quickly used the power of metamorphosis to transform into a winged Foe and destroyed the ship. After turning back into a dolphin, a bigger Foe ship appeared and used another vortex to rob the dolphins of their five traits: Intelligence, Ambition, Compassion, Wisdom, and Humility. Realizing the Foe's plan, Ecco quickly dived into the vortex after the traits. With the traits missing, the Foe altered Earth's history into a nightmarish world where dolphins were weak and gullible and men had been extinct for unknown reasons.

When Ecco entered this world, the dolphins there approached him and told him about the mysterious extinction of mankind and the "Engine of Salvation". Ecco searched for the truth about man's extinction and the "Engine of Salvation" while also searching for the globes that contained the missing traits. Eventually, Ecco found the trait of Intelligence and discovered the truth about the "Engine of Salvation". The "Engine of Salvation" was really a weapon created by men to repel and destroy the Foe, but mankind and the Foe were killed off before the machine was complete. Before the "Engine of Salvation" could activate again, Ecco destroyed the center of the machine and gained the dolphin trait of Ambition as a reward.

Ecco reunited Intelligence and Ambition, time altered again into another nightmarish world where dolphins became aggressive creatures and forced mankind from the sea, never to return. These dolphins then organized themselves into a warlike clan, while the remaining peaceful dolphins became outcasts. Once there, Ecco made his way to an outcast village that was cut off from their food source by the Clan. After feeding the Outcasts fish, one of the Outcasts leads Ecco to a clan outpost. There, Ecco rescued the leader of a secret Outcast resistance against the Clan.

Back at the Outcast village, it is revealed the Outcast resistance has been keeping watch over the dolphin trait of Compassion. It is also revealed that the Clan has also been in possession of another dolphin trait which was Wisdom. The Clan captured the leader of the Outcast resistance because they wanted the dolphin trait of Compassion for themselves. Soon after receiving Compassion, Ecco was tattooed the rank of general and went to the Hanging Waters to confront the three Exalted Ones, who were the leaders of the Clan. The third Exalted One known as Mutaclone had been in possession of Wisdom. Ecco defeated all three Clan leaders and retrieved Wisdom.

After collecting Compassion and Wisdom, time altered a third time where the Foe ruled the world as their domain and the Foe Queen herself came into possession of the final dolphin trait of Humility. Ecco reached the entrance to the dark Foe world and destroyed the Foe hatchery. After destroying the Foe hatchery, Ecco entered the Foe Queen and used his sonar power to destroy the queen's heart. Defeated, the Foe Queen roared with frustration and Ecco escaped the dark Foe world with Humility and returned to the present.

Back in the present, which was now restored thanks to Ecco, the dolphins happily celebrated Ecco's accomplishment in the city of Atlantis.We last see Ecco swimming with his dolphin friends next to the restored Guardian and a silver statue of Ecco as a memory of the young dolphin's heroic quest.