Ecco the Dolphin

Ecco the Dolphin is a video game in the action genre developed by Novotrade Software Kft. and published by SEGA of America, Inc. originally released in 1995. It is currently playable on Windows 3.x.

Ecco the Dolphin is the rare Windows 95 version of SEGA's first game in a classic series that began on the SEGA Master System in 1992 and is still going strong, with sequels on the Playstation 2 and Dreamcast consoles.

Undoubtedly the most unique game SEGA has ever created, Ecco the Dolphin is a charming action-adventure game that bills itself as a 'dolphin simulator' and succeeds in a big way: you can do just about everything a dolphin does in real life, such as fishing, surfacing to breathe, using cool biological sonar and performing acrobatics on the water to surprise friends and foes. Unlike most action games, Ecco's story is quite interesting and unfolds with exciting twists along the way. As Ecco, you are the only dolphin capable of saving the life of Asterite, your mystical mentor who has been torn apart by the Vortex Queen. To do so, you have to travel through 100 million years of time and space using the Atlantean time machine. The game features over 25 levels of underwater exploration, each of which is beautifully rendered. The freedom of movement, unlike platform games, is almost unlimited: most of the time you can take your time exploring the huge level, enjoying the sights and sounds while avoiding the dolphin's natural predators and other dangers. There are plenty of surprises in the game, and the mix of adventure-style puzzles is tasteful and seamless. I don't want to describe the puzzles too much so as not to spoil one of the most enjoyable aspects of this game, so suffice it to say that you can tap the glyphs to get clues on how to achieve the objective of each level, and sometimes all it takes is a sonar in the right place ;) The game is quite difficult, but the difficulty lies more in figuring out what to do, rather than something that requires superhuman reflexes. This means that fans of exploration/adventure games should find Ecco a captivating game that is a refreshing change from the norm. If you like creative action games, or just unique games in general, then this unlikable game deserves a place in your collection. SEGA contracted Novotrade to convert the SEGA CD version of the game (itself a vast improvement over the SEGA Genesis version) to Windows 95 and 3. 1 formats in 1995. This PC version features better graphics than its console counterparts (256 vs. 64 colors), full soundtrack and video footage from the SEGA CD version of Ecco: The Tides of Time, and even multilingual support. This means that the PC version is probably the best version of the first game in the series: a proper and competent work on one of SEGA's best games. Two thumbs up, way up!

Note: This download is the CD-rip version, which includes all the sound effects and video sequences of the game 'downscaled' with DivX (with some loss of quality). You can get the (superb) soundtrack on CD at the music section of Caverns of Hope, the best Ecco fan site on the Internet.

Ecco the Dolphin is available at a reduced price on the following websites and is no longer abandonware.