This game was my first Dreamcast title and everything I expected from a 128-bit Ecco reboot by Appaloosa (formerly Novotrade).
There are nods to the old games everywhere. Giant cephalopods, flying reptiles that ferry dolphins, morph power ups, aliens, talking crystals and anti-gravity water.
The setting is much wilder than the original. It's the distant future and dolphins and humans have built a utopian civilisation and thwarted 'The Foe' (this game's version of the Vortex). Earth is protected by the Guardian, a sentient forcefield generator.
You start the game, like the first, by jumping really high. Suddenly, the foe finds a weakness and breaks the Guardian. You eventually repair it but the Foe opens a temporal rift and alters the future. So, with the help of the glyphs (now pieces of the Guardian in this reboot), he has to go about repairing the damage. First, is a future where humans have nearly destroyed the planet. The next, is where dolphins have become militaristic and utilised organic technology, even creating the Hanging Waters (which nods to the Sky Tides, the Pterodactyl and the Giant Octopus from the first two games). Finally, you come to a future where dolphins and humans united but underestimated the Foe and lost.
Ecco can swim backwards, do flips, tail walk, roll and chatter. Ecco's sonar can be upgraded. You get the old shark confusion song and the old sonar charge(now in the form of a power up). You can also gain the ability to talk to other creatures and even have fish follow you. Glowing fish will light your way in dark places and poisonous fish will deter predators. These poison fish, by the way, are the only cure if Ecco is stung by a jellyfish. You don't just manipulate the environment, but also the animals around you.
Graphically, this game is gorgeous! It's a shame we'll never see a HD remake because it was fantastic for the time. The environment in Tranquility Bay is incredibly detailed and clean looking. Man's Nightmare is dirty and Dolphin's Nightmare is bright green and alien. The soundtrack is wonderful and at times, you feel like you're in an underwater wilderness with the forest-like ambience, especially in Dolphin's Nightmare.
Now, flaws: this game is hard, like the old games. The developers didn't want the game being rented and beaten in one week, so they made it as punishing as possible. DotF continues this tradition. Particularly, a part in level 'Atlantis Lost', where you will miss grabbing the jewel if you do not line up your jump just right! Also, Hanging Waters: you will die A LOT.
There are also times where you will get lost and go round in circles. However, I heard the PS2 version as the dolphin compass. That would have come in so handy in the first place.
Also, Ecco's sonar. The sonar in the old game travelled in a split second. The sonar in this game floats slowly, so it's more likely to miss a moving target you wish to speak to. It also takes a few seconds to summon the sonar map. Also, it sometimes it trails off at an angle when you think you've got it aimed straight ahead. BTW, using the sonar consumes oxygen now, so you'll be wasting air meter when this happens.
If the Dreamcast survived a few more years, we would have eventually got the sequel: Sentinels of the Universe. I would have also liked to have seen Ecco 3 of the old series. I like to think that would've bridged the gap between the old and new.
Obligatory CGR review posting:
