Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future

« With only a few camera issues to stomach and a raised eyebrow given to the level of difficulty (especially in later stages), Ecco's 25+ stages of fluid, gorgeous gameplay show it has the brawn to back up its beauty. »

« A game with a porpoise, and that porpoise is to entertain the witty and insightful gamer. This is not a fishy fighting game. »

« It is rare that a game this difficult can be this entertaining, but Ecco delivers the goods with a huge splash. »

« From the moment the title screens blinks on your television, to the time you finally force yourself to slap your dorsal fin on the "off" switch, you're bombarded with brilliance and visual splendor the likes we've haven't seen in ages. »

« The best-looking game I have seen in a long while and it combines that with a great main character, an engaging story and fabulous locations. »

« The audio is wonderful and matches the graphics, though the storyline is fairly pointless, and there's a certain childlike quality to it that could annoy but was fine with me. »

« From the first instant that this GD-ROM starts spinning until the final level is finished, Ecco's gorgeous graphics, amazing soundtrack, and unique premise will captivate players. »

« It's absorbing, beautiful, plays well, and will provide many, many hours of adventuring. »

« [SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.] »

« Ecco: Defender of the Future is a great tittle, and a good way to bring the beloved dolphin from the Mega Drive (Genesis in America) into 3D. The gameplay is enjoyable, though you may be a bit lost sometimes. When you are like that, I reccommend you to communicate with other dolphins for clues, there is much things to explore in the vast ocean. The story, as all Ecco games prior to this, is great, engaging and deep. The sound is great too, really inmersing. Long story short, the game, although not perfect, is great, and I keep wishing that Sentinels of the Universewould not have get scrapped. If you have a Dreamcast and the money to buy it, play this game, you won't regret it. »

« The greatest game ever released in the history of this world!! Humanity peaked here. »

« Great game, it feels good to be a dolphin and the soundtrack is just as ambient pleasing as the magnificent OST from ecco on SegaCD. The Bad When i first played this game when i was younger, i was well, in a rush. My life was exams and work and play balance was non existent. So In a rush i got frustrated with the controls; frustrated with the tasks and what to do where to go, frustrated about the lack of story, all the crystals what the hell? and the darkness that takes over after the first two Caribbean levels. What does has an invasion to do with dolphins? Aliens did destroy the friendship, alliance and contact between human and the dolphins? The Good In 2023, a global epidemic and the last war is behind our backs. It happened so its also over. My life started to become very slow. And so, when returning to the great Ecco, i suddenly felt it connected to me. Right out of the bat a friendly elderly dolphin gives a tutorial in what is possible (what buttons to press he wants you to figure out). Its also worth to notice that while holding x and down, a map reveals the area better then you can scout in 3d. Figuring the elder dolphins suggestions, i already felt i’ve mastered eccos moveset better then i’d ever had. I also noticed that in the gallery in the main menu there is a collectibles list of vitalis, a sort of crystals to find and collect, which i failed to notice and gather in my first try, giving me a fun challenge in the first two levels. I also noticed the purple crystals give me a demo in where to go and how to swim and the grey are story crystals. In level 2 (aquamarine bay), i found the purple demo crystal not needed, i know i had to jump from the lagoon into the shark basin, but instead i pigtailed walk over the water surface, which was a much more convenient way to do it and avoid the sharks. The dolphins do race too quickly or is it me? I don’t advanced to the dark levels yet. Im slow i play slow and the game feels good to work through that in short bursts. There is a challenging difficulty in this game. Its that the game only auto-saves progression at level completion or when a checkpoint is reached. Now i think the modern ps5 way of saving everywhere with a bunch of auto-saves every second is a bit of overkill. Sometimes i want to be just a dolphin, just figuring it all out. »

« Great graphics and sound but not without losing some of the classic ecco feel from the Genesis. The game ups the difficulty from other titles in the franchise but not in a fun challenging way, it's just not clear at all times about what needs to be done. A lot of 16 bit games that were rebooted at the end of the 5th gen or early 6th gen were merely concept testers. I think sadly, this concept failed and hence there were no more ecco games. i love Ecco and maybe I just need to come back to this one another time but this game is a 5/10 for me at this moment. »

« Great 3D gameplay, action and puzzles; similar story to previous Sega releases but feels new and fresh all over again. Very realistic dolphin and fish modeling. Three distinct acts create a rich story experience. Great soundtrack. Recommended! »

« I have to parrot the others here. The game is beautiful. The puzzles are creative and the overall experience leaves you satisfied. But the camera and controls just never feel right. You never fully feel in control because Ecco moves incredibly fast and the camera is right on him, making it hard to see where you're actually going. Making turns is also pretty rough while trying to keep your bearings. It's very tough to navigate combat, speed, and movement all at the same time. More importantly, the gameplay can be both tedious and downright confusing. So many times you'll be wondering what the hell to do next, and when you figure it out you'll be pissed off that they didn't even give you a clue to help you out... »