A much more welcoming experience than Ecco’s original outing, Tides of Time does away with most of the obtuseness and repetition of the original and is a much more well-rounded game for it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t help but feel rather indifferent about the overarching narrative in this one, it’s hard to top traveling 50 million years into the past with a time machine sitting in the heart of Atlantis in pursuit of the alien civilization that abducted your clan. Tides of Time will instead gently remind you at times that something truly horrible is on the horizon… but it never quite manifests in a meaningful way during the events of the game, giving you a little taste during the conclusion before leaving as quickly as it showed up.
I’m happy to say the gameplay can stand on it’s own, keeping Ecco’s base mechanics and controls from the first game and destroying whatever previous expectations you had of how high a dolphin can fly. The progression of this game is much more straightforward, focusing more on moment-to-moment platforming and exploration than it does escort missions, while also mixing it up occasionally with transformations and “3D” rail-shooter levels that echo better games but have the decency to not outstay their welcome. When its at its most ambitious Tides of Time starts to fall into the same traps of its predecessor, forcing the player to rely on dumb luck rather than presenting situations a player could reasonably get through on their first try. These difficulty spikes are less pronounced than anything in Ecco 1, but it’s unfortunate that these moments of triumph often leave the player feeling more frustrated than satisfied when the rest of Tides of Time flows so well.
I would highly recommend playing the original Genesis/Mega Drive version, the soundtrack is superb through and through; the foreboding, menacing tone of the title theme stands unparalleled among its 4th gen peers, it gives me chills just thinking about it! The game is no slouch visually either, 94’ saw Sonic the Hedgehog facelifted into a gremlin with tude' while Ecco quietly became sleeker and sexier, his sprites redone and the backdrops much more colorful and vibrant than his last gig. Easily beaten in an afternoon, I recommend this game wholeheartedly to fans of Sega and the Mega Drive with at least a mild tolerance for pain, suffering, and existential horror… that should be most of you.
I’m happy to say the gameplay can stand on it’s own, keeping Ecco’s base mechanics and controls from the first game and destroying whatever previous expectations you had of how high a dolphin can fly. The progression of this game is much more straightforward, focusing more on moment-to-moment platforming and exploration than it does escort missions, while also mixing it up occasionally with transformations and “3D” rail-shooter levels that echo better games but have the decency to not outstay their welcome. When its at its most ambitious Tides of Time starts to fall into the same traps of its predecessor, forcing the player to rely on dumb luck rather than presenting situations a player could reasonably get through on their first try. These difficulty spikes are less pronounced than anything in Ecco 1, but it’s unfortunate that these moments of triumph often leave the player feeling more frustrated than satisfied when the rest of Tides of Time flows so well.
I would highly recommend playing the original Genesis/Mega Drive version, the soundtrack is superb through and through; the foreboding, menacing tone of the title theme stands unparalleled among its 4th gen peers, it gives me chills just thinking about it! The game is no slouch visually either, 94’ saw Sonic the Hedgehog facelifted into a gremlin with tude' while Ecco quietly became sleeker and sexier, his sprites redone and the backdrops much more colorful and vibrant than his last gig. Easily beaten in an afternoon, I recommend this game wholeheartedly to fans of Sega and the Mega Drive with at least a mild tolerance for pain, suffering, and existential horror… that should be most of you.