Welcome back, folks! As usual, Free Comic Book Day crept up on me last week\u2014I didn’t even remember it was this past weekend in time to mention it in last week’s column. I hope folks were able to pick up some free comics? I wanted that one Mega Man<\/cite> comic, but my local shop didn’t carry it. Oh well. I had a nice day otherwise. It turns out, mochi doughnuts with ube icing are nice. <\/p>\n This is…<\/cite><\/p>\n I’ve given Sega<\/a><\/cite> plenty of guff in the past for ignoring a lot of their older franchises. While Sonic the Hedgehog<\/cite> and Like A Dragon<\/cite> get the keys to the kingdom, older Sega<\/cite> IP like Ristar<\/cite>, Comix Zone<\/cite> and Afterburner<\/cite> are left in the dust. Well, I guess it’s time for me to put my money where my mouth is\u2014stars have aligned for a much-forgotten Sega<\/cite> hero to get their due. Grab a wetsuit, and put another one on the board\u2014Ecco the Dolphin<\/cite> is coming back!<\/p>\n \u00a9 Sega<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n In an interview with Xbox Wire<\/a>, Ecco the Dolphin<\/cite> creator Ed Annunziata announced upcoming remasters for the first two Ecco the Dolphin<\/cite> titles (the eponymous original and its sequel, subtitled Tides of Time<\/cite>). He also announced that a brand-new title was also in production, directing readers towards the official Ecco the Dolphin<\/cite> website<\/a>, which currently features a countdown that’s set to end sometime next year.<\/p>\n Ecco the Dolphin<\/cite> is a curious title from Sega<\/cite>‘s catalogue. While Sega<\/cite>‘s brand in the ’90s was all about being brash, in-your-face and Blast Processing, Ecco<\/cite> was a much more off-beat experience: a series of minimalist platformers about the eponymous dolphin (who bears a star-like pattern on their head that resembles the Delphinus constellation<\/a>) and their many adventures through space and time as they defend the oceans from a predatory alien species called the Vortex. While most Sega<\/cite> games used the Genesis’ YM2612 sound chip for some extremely chunky-sounding techno or heavy metal, Ecco the Dolphin<\/cite> went for a much more moody Pink Floyd-inspired soundtrack. It’s an audio experience like few other games.<\/p>\n \u00a9 Sega<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Minimalist as it was, Ecco<\/cite> wasn’t much like other games of the era. The games were told entirely from the dolphin-brained perspective of Ecco and his pod; they were sentient and intelligent, but viewed the world through their viewpoint. Echolocation (the real-life means by which dolphins navigate<\/a>) was referred to by Ecco and company as “singing,” and poetically described as “sight beyond your eyes.” Humans, if they ever appeared, were a very minimal matter. For another, the games reached way out there; Ecco’s journeys through the ocean would lead him to communicate with centuries-old whales, travel back in time millions of years to explore the ruins of Atlantis, and communicate with bizarre abstract life-forms. <\/p>\n Ecco was still just a dolphin<\/cite>; you attack things by dashing into them with your dolphin beak or “singing” at them with your echolocation. You could improve your echolocation to make it more of a magical attack, but Ecco was nevertheless limited by being a mammal: he had to breathe air regularly to stay alive, making certain stages an absolute challenge<\/cite>: you not only had to keep Ecco alive from all manner of undersea threats (sharks, urchins, giant seahorses, the Vortex) but also make sure Ecco didn’t drown.<\/p>\n Besides the two mainline titles on Sega<\/cite> Genesis, Ecco also starred in three other games: Ecco Jr.<\/cite> (an edutainment game aimed at younger children from the Sega<\/cite> Club line), Ecco Jr. and the Great Ocean Treasure Hunt<\/cite> (another edutainment title, this one on the Sega<\/cite> Pico), and Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future<\/cite> (a reboot of the series released on Sega<\/cite> Dreamcast). Sadly, that’s been it for Ecco. Still, new remasters of the original Sega<\/cite> Genesis games, plus<\/cite> a brand new title? If that’s not a tiny miracle, I don’t know what is. Hopefully, the difficulty is toned down a wee bit\u2014but most importantly, I hope the soundtrack is fittingly killer…<\/p>\n![\"ann_game_review_1\"](\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/thumbnails\/max600x600\/cms\/this-week-in-games\/224172\/ann_game_review_1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\nEcco the Dolphin<\/cite> Remasters Announced, Along With New Title<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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