Life was an adventure for Ecco, the young dolphin. The ocean seemed endless with rolling breakers to race through! At high speed Ecco could burst through the waves leaping through the air – almost flying! Until one day, all of that changed. A freak whirlpool of air and water tore the life from Ecco’s home leaving Ecco all alone. Now he must fight to stay alive, while traversing the vast ocean in search of clues that will help him save his family and return them to the bay.
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The Metroid series is often praised for the lonely atmosphere it creates but, as much as I like Metroid, none of the games can hold a candle to Ecco the Dolphin.
The game sees you take control of the eponymous Ecco, tasked with exploring a maze-like, underwater world to rescue the rest of his dolphin pod. The game opens with an utterly terrifying cutscene of Ecco's pod being raided and kidnapped by extra terrestrials and remains tense and uncomfortable (at least it did when I was a kid) thanks to the isolating music and scary, brooding aquatic creatures you need to traverse. And don't get me started on the final boss...
For context, Ecco felt like a totally ubiquitous game in the early '90s, it felt like everyone played this game. It seems odd that this game would be so popular considering it's premise but the '90s also gave us Free Willy and Flipper. Aquatic animals were all the rage, I guess.
Ultimately, Ecco might have an admirably spooky atmosphere but it plays terribly. You'll need to find pockets of air regularly or else Ecco will drown, which adds tension but slows the game down horribly. Along with this central issue Ecco also suffers from confusing level layouts and atrociously implemented environmental puzzles that seem to require pixel-precision movements to solve. It's just not fun at all but it left a mark on me nonetheless.
The game sees you take control of the eponymous Ecco, tasked with exploring a maze-like, underwater world to rescue the rest of his dolphin pod. The game opens with an utterly terrifying cutscene of Ecco's pod being raided and kidnapped by extra terrestrials and remains tense and uncomfortable (at least it did when I was a kid) thanks to the isolating music and scary, brooding aquatic creatures you need to traverse. And don't get me started on the final boss...
For context, Ecco felt like a totally ubiquitous game in the early '90s, it felt like everyone played this game. It seems odd that this game would be so popular considering it's premise but the '90s also gave us Free Willy and Flipper. Aquatic animals were all the rage, I guess.
Ultimately, Ecco might have an admirably spooky atmosphere but it plays terribly. You'll need to find pockets of air regularly or else Ecco will drown, which adds tension but slows the game down horribly. Along with this central issue Ecco also suffers from confusing level layouts and atrociously implemented environmental puzzles that seem to require pixel-precision movements to solve. It's just not fun at all but it left a mark on me nonetheless.
Vamos lá. Eu cheguei a desistir de Ecco — cheguei até a marcar o jogo como Shelved depois de pegar um walkthrough e ficar meio tonto com tudo que tinha que fazer para passar de uma determinada fase. Não sou a melhor pessoa com jogos no geral, só agora estou começando a jogar mais, então... eu jamais conseguiria zerar esse jogo.
Mas aí fiquei curioso... fui assistindo... e acabei vendo todo o gameplay. E resolvi marcar aqui porque sim.
É um jogo lindo, de verdade. Dos gráficos às ideias à trilha sonora, é tudo deslumbrante e melancólico e poético. A história é uma maluquice deliciosa, e até a dificuldade meio que colabora para a mística da coisa toda. É um jogo que conheci quando criança e, apesar de ter jogado pouco na casa de uma pessoa que não lembro nem quem era, acabou me marcando. Talvez um dia eu crie coragem e paciência e pegue pra fechar eu mesmo. É um grande talvez...
Ecco, em tempo: eu te amo, você é o melhor golfinho do mundo.
Mas aí fiquei curioso... fui assistindo... e acabei vendo todo o gameplay. E resolvi marcar aqui porque sim.
É um jogo lindo, de verdade. Dos gráficos às ideias à trilha sonora, é tudo deslumbrante e melancólico e poético. A história é uma maluquice deliciosa, e até a dificuldade meio que colabora para a mística da coisa toda. É um jogo que conheci quando criança e, apesar de ter jogado pouco na casa de uma pessoa que não lembro nem quem era, acabou me marcando. Talvez um dia eu crie coragem e paciência e pegue pra fechar eu mesmo. É um grande talvez...
Ecco, em tempo: eu te amo, você é o melhor golfinho do mundo.
beleza psicodélica que me deixou meio hesitante, como pode tão puro assim, algo deve estar errado mas não há como saber o que, o mistério chama mas nada aqui faz questão de mim, nem eu nem o golfinho temos a destreza pra sobreviver em cavernas tão profundas com tão poucas bolhas
The game has a rich atmosphere and pleasant aesthetic, but it carries all the frustration of early Metroidvania level design with few of the positives. Levels are arcane, rarely fun, and made stressful to explore by the need to constantly refill oxygen (until you get the right upgrade, anyway). The final level and boss encounter is a terrifying and awesome sight for the Genesis, but a great example of how this game is more fun to look at than actually play.
I played a lot more of Tides of Time, but it was fun when we finally went back and got this one too. I miss when we got games starring non-humanoids more regularly, and always have fond memories of these even though some levels were really frustrating. Cool music too
I'm giving it a five for reasons that I can't explain yet