Ecco II Dreamcast released

[kainemaxwell]

http://www.retrocollect.com/News/cancelled-dreamcast-game-ecco-ii-sentinels-of-the-universe-released.html

Another day, another incredible 'lost' Sega Dreamcast game turns up. This time, it's the sequel to Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future. Long thought to be only available to those collectors lucky enough to own a Dreamcast development kit, the unreleased Ecco II: Sentinels of the Universe has been released to the internet at large by Hidden Palace as a self-booting CDI.

[Steve W]

I'm amazed they made a sequel. I don't recall ever reading about it in development. I liked what little I was able to play of the first Dreamcast Ecco, until the difficulty just got too high to keep going on. Which was early in the game.

[kainemaxwell]

I'm amazed they made a sequel. I don't recall ever reading about it in development. I liked what little I was able to play of the first Dreamcast Ecco, until the difficulty just got too high to keep going on. Which was early in the game.

Same here, most Ecco games I knew of where the ones released. Never quite understood what to do in them, but damn were they pretty!

[Edmond Dantes]

Yeah this shocks me too, because all reports are that most Ecco fans see Defender of the Future as the black sheep of the saga for not exactly continuing from the Genesis ones (Tides of Time IIRC ended on a cliffhanger)

[Emperor Megas]

I absolutely loved the first Ecco the Dolphin despite the difficulty towards the end. I learned to hate The Tides of Time for those damned autoscrolling sky stages, and just straight up gave up on Defender of the Future because I couldn't even figure out what I was supposed to be doing in the first area. What a disappointment THAT shit was.

[Edmond Dantes]

One of my greatest memories of Ecco is just after I got The Tides of Time at a flea market. I was at a friend's house and playing it (actually living with him at the time) and he comes in the room, and asks what's going on.

I explain to him that I'm trying to jump through these puddles of flying water in order to get this large orb that's actually a piece of this double-helix creature called the Asterite, because a flying dolphin from the future travelled back in time to bring me to her time so I could stop an alien invasion.

I glance at him and he's giving me this look that makes me realize how effed up everything I just said sounds.

It's been a running joke ever since.

[RP2A03]

I explain to him that I'm trying to jump through these puddles of flying water in order to get this large orb that's actually a piece of this double-helix creature called the Asterite, because a flying dolphin from the future travelled back in time to bring me to her time so I could stop an alien invasion.

Most.

Epic.

Story.

EVER!

[celerystalker]

It's super cool that this story happened. I just wish I was a fan of the series. I have a few of them, but never really enjoyed them.

[Tanooki]

Same here, most Ecco games I knew of where the ones released. Never quite understood what to do in them, but damn were they pretty!

I still have that problem. I've got the 2 on Game Gear within the last month or two, and I've had the Genesis game in the past, recent if you count that atgames thing, and I can't figure out ever how to play it. I seem to swim around randomly, bounce sonar around that may move a rare random object to get obtuse hints from some other sea life, and then I dash into stuff to take it out or eat for health. I get fed up despite how pretty even those old titles are going in circles and flip it off. I'm where I can somehow accidentally (or not?) clear a stage or two, section, whatever they're intended as and that's about it. I'm not a huge fan of games that make you feel dumb going in circles with no sense of direction.

The article says it's like the best thing ever found after the fact. I guess it shows my age but no, I'd still throw that to either the completed Sony murdered Half Life Blue Shift or Propeller Arena as they're amazing finished titles that got sandbagged. This one is an early beta level proto lacking audio and with debug menus up, not even certain it's exactly finished is it? I'd hope it was, then some hackers maybe could just for sanity sake hack an audio track into it ripping the stuff from the first as it would make it a lot more friendly to play.

[Emperor Megas]

I seem to swim around randomly, bounce sonar around that may move a rare random object to get obtuse hints from some other sea life, and then I dash into stuff to take it out or eat for health. You know that you have to HOLD DOWN the sonar button long enough for the sound wave to bounce back to echo locate, right? You didn't mention that so I wasn't sure if you realized, and I image the game would be close to impossible without using sonar maps.

[Tanooki]

I dont' recall ever holding it down that much. I'd tap it a lot to bounce off enemies, food, or chatting sea life. I didn't think the game had a radar system but I've also never had a copy of the manual either. ;)

[kainemaxwell]

I dont' recall ever holding it down that much. I'd tap it a lot to bounce off enemies, food, or chatting sea life. I didn't think the game had a radar system but I've also never had a copy of the manual either. ;)

I should sit down with Ecco some next time I plug in sega genesis collection on the ps2.

and propeller arena was great. think i still have a burn of it somewhere.

[Emperor Megas]

I dont' recall ever holding it down that much. I'd tap it a lot to bounce off enemies, food, or chatting sea life. I didn't think the game had a radar system but I've also never had a copy of the manual either. ;)I can see why you had problems. The whole game is based around the mapping mechanic. My wife told me that she rented Ecoo BITD and didn't like or understand it. Now I'm wondering if she didn't know about the radar either. Hell, I wonder if a shit load of people didn't know about it.

[Tanooki]

Probably not, is it very clearly marked in the manual if you had one? Also in game if you press it down and it beeps out that sonar, how is it exactly working like a radar so I know what/where my next objective is? I as I said just tapped it thinking of it more like an animal or even sonar on a sub sending out a ping. I'd do it to things that could be moved, talked to, etc, that's it. I wasn't just holding the button down and swimming like you'd jam B and run always in a Mario title.

[Emperor Megas]

I'm pretty sure the manual details it. Granted, I haven't read it in decades, but I did the first time I played the game as a kid (I always read them first on the bus ride home from the store).

Anyway, how it works is rather than just pressing and releasing it, you hold down the sonar button and wait for the sound wave to echo back to you. Get it; ECCO the Dolphin? ^_^ It takes about a second to return. When you do, the screen will show you a sonar map of the area around you. It'll show you just about everything you need to know about the area that you're in. What enemies are around, the 'lay of the land', or of the sea rather, the location of glyphs, other sealife, etc..

You have to do it constantly (unless you have an AMAZING memory), but it becomes first nature. Even fun. I thought so anyway.

[Emperor Megas]

This is what it looks like.

[Tanooki]

Can't say I've ever seen that screen on my Game Gear before. Ugh. Seems pretty useful, I just started to swim around and figure out where stuff was going in circles for a bit.

[Emperor Megas]

Can't say I've ever seen that screen on my Game Gear before. Ugh. Seems pretty useful, I just started to swim around and figure out where stuff was going in circles for a bit.Man, the game must have been impossible playing it that way. LOL

[kainemaxwell]

I need to remember this thread when I mess around with Ecco now. :)

[Graham Mitchell]

Just stumbled upon this thread. I adore DotF. Anybody try this? Is it finished?

[Greg2600]

Same here, most Ecco games I knew of where the ones released. Never quite understood what to do in them, but damn were they pretty!

I also never quite figured out the point of the Ecco games. Reading Console Wars, it's amazing how much emphasis and marketing that SEGA put towards Ecco. They really thought it was going to be the next big thing.