Ecco the Dolphin - The Scariest Game Ever (Retrospective Review)

At this time of year, there's always talk of scary games - for me, one of the scariest ever is Ecco the Dolphin on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. It looks like some flippy fun, but under the surface, Ecco is a surprisingly dark, unsettling sci-fi tale of alien invasion and time travel, and its apparent inspiration - the Dolphin House of John C Lilly - is just as weird. Swallow your thalassophobia and let's dip a toe into the terrifying, misunderstood masterpiece that is Ecco the Dolphin.
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#eccothedolphin
#horrorgaming
#scarygaming
#thedolphinhouse
#JohnCLilly
#EdAnnunziata
#eccothedolphinreview
#eccothedolphinretrospective
#eccothedolphinscary
#thalassophobia
Additional gameplay footage courtesy of World of Longplays (RickyC, Waldimart, MadMatty), hirudov2d and dosdaysareover:
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All featured games, music, films and television programmes are the property of their creators, used under transformative fair use for the purpose of review. Additional stock footage courtesy of Pexels, Stock Footage Collective, Videvo and Video Library.
Based on an article originally for Vice
www.vice.com/en/article/qbxmyd/there-must-be-something-in-the-water-my-nightmare-of-ecco-the-dolphin-325

[@stevesan]

fun fact: i was on the original subnautica team, and we did a podcast with EdA about underwater games! as a HUGE ecco fan, i was a bit star struck. i like to think i brought just a bit of that ecco spirit to subnautica :)

[@ebenezerspludge8369]

I love both Subnautica games. Great job.

[@AMPlayem]

That's so cool! I haven't fully played Subnautica yet (need to pluck up the courage) but I can definitely see the influence and I'm glad the spirit of Ecco lives on in some way. Thanks for sharing!

[@ironman4life89]

That's pretty awesome. I'm really looking forward to Subnautica 3, I don't even like the survival genre very much but Subnautica is a high level game for me, out of every genre

[@whitemic3481]

Subnautica is terrifying as well

[@damenwhelan3236]

As someone woth a deep fear of water. I want to say both, I hate you, and, thank you!

[@treesurgeon2441]

This game was so strange it's like trying to explain a nightmare to someone who has never played it.

[@AMPlayem]

Yeah, I always felt a bit awkward explaining how a game about a dolphin from 1992 really freaked me out, hence this video. Turns out a lot of people feel the same way! Thanks for watching.

[@christopher9727]

... . Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Romans 6.23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus

[@jizzyjake6783]

It's based on a true story

[@bc4yt]

How's this for a nightmare: you're a kid, have never been able to get past the Jurassic era and so you're stuck... But you're a bit of a hacker, and you played with the passwords and found some random things work. You keep messing around and try ANANANANAN and the screen dips to black. A moment later you are in: THE MACHINE Oh God what is this place?! Why does it look like this?! IS THAT A GODDAMN ALIEN?!!!!! Is this even a level or is it some easter egg the devs put in?! WHY IS THIS LEVEL IMPOSSIBLE?! As if the music and general tone of the entire game weren't unsettling enough. Absolute nightmare fuel 😂 Honestly one of the best games ever.

[@bc4yt]

​@@AMPlayem glad to have found the support group after all these years 😂 I'm actually amazed at how good this game still looks three decades later. Especially the early levels. The rock texturing is amazing because it doesn't seem to tile. The palette, the detail, amazing... But I think the music is what really sets the tone. Maybe the disconnect between the beautiful visuals and the unsettling audio is part of what makes this game such a horror. Five stars will play again! Thanks for the video.

[@slayerofthebuzz1]

Ecco lives underwater but can't breath underwater. Then he has to venture into claustrophobic underwater caves. That's where a lot of the fear came from for me.

[@thomasnolan100]

Feeling anxiety as a little kid playing this lol

[@Rachel-ht3rf]

Ooohhh yes!

[@RediTtora]

Ummm. Dolphins are mammals they can't breathe underwater

[@NecroticTechnics]

@@RediTtora…Yeah…That’s what the comment said

[@RediTtora]

@@NecroticTechnics yeah but he said it like it's weird that a dolphin couldn't breathe underwater like it was a nerfed feature or something

[@IronD]

The Dreamcast version of Ecco was so terrifying that neither my sister nor I were able to play past the first 20 minutes or so.

[@AMPlayem]

Wow! I can't deny I'm kind of tempted now...

[@AutumnOnDvor]

Really? The first 20 minutes of that game were basically sunny levels with a lot of happy dolphins and very few enemies. Later in the game though, there was some true nightmare fuel

[@tiglishnobody8750]

​@@AutumnOnDvorI think it do with isolation and fear of unknown

[@PsychoPatrick403]

​​@@AutumnOnDvor the dark future where human left and the world was basically a submerged wasteland was so eerie, sad and maybe not really scary but very creepy, like a ghost ship or something like that. I liked the Dreamcast game, but I'd rather had a real third Ecco game, the reboot was ok, but I wasn't found of how they re-imagined the whole thing.

[@fordesponja]

@@PsychoPatrick403 Yeah, the dark future on the Dreamcast game is not really that scary if you compare it to the last 3 levels of the first Ecco or in the Tides of Time when you fight the giant moray onwards. The music does a lot too.

[@Chris-jg3km]

A pretty torturous game to get through but man the aesthetic of Ecco is so unique, from the eery music to the isolating oceans you swim through and well of course the final section I mean wtf

[@AMPlayem]

Yeah, it's a shame that a lot of people gave up due to the high difficulty early on - there was such a weird and wonderful game to experience if you stuck with it. Thanks for watching!

[@UkeofCarl]

I had such strong, fond memories of Ecco. Playing it back as an adult, I just don’t have the time!

[@kenyatalongmanifestingesse9149]

I think what creeped me out about this game was the fact that not only did the creators make a game about the ocean, which is home to god knows what, they were also able to capture the "feel" of the unknown.

[@AMPlayem]

Absolutely; the design comes together so well that just the atmosphere, the sense of isolation, can be just as striking as being chased by some big creature.

[@ayebraine]

@@AMPlayem It's played off a bit as heroics, but only just. Otherwise, Ecco is a squishy creature that's desperate, speaking to inhuman chiming intelligences and frantically trying solutions it doesn't really understand, a cute animal that's presented as always near asphyxiation or being mauled to death, who is so alone there is zero entities like him on the entire world. I remember how my school friend who was later into philosophy told me about Ecco for hours, describing every detail, so I know the game pretty well, even though I never could finish it. The thought of a marine mammal *swimming up an alien umbilical tube up to space* has something so wrong and precarious about it, it struck me even then, via description. Oh, and the chime and wobble of the words scared me firsthand. Even though I didn't understand them at the time, I didn't speak English.

[@16Nire61]

I can confirm that the Dreamcast Ecco and its PS2 port were terrifying. It was truly beautiful much of the time, but that didn’t stop the intense fear from rising up every time the bright, sunny levels gave way to darker waters.

[@AMPlayem]

Sounds much like the original in that regard... except in 3D you could be attacked from all angles! 😨 Thanks for watching.

[@tomrensen6467]

That shark boss 😢😂

[@thenonexistinghero]

Only those who played through it can understand how terrifying the game is.

[@AMPlayem]

In a way I envy those who couldn't get past the first few levels!

[@jimmyjam3753]

@@AMPlayem I had Ecco but i was not fortunate enough to pass through into the depths of hell which are described here. I feel deprived.

[@jimihayes150]

@@AMPlayem but then they would never see the deep evil squids, or the weird Antarctic animals!

[@AMPlayem]

@@jimmyjam3753 Never too late to psychologically scar yourself!

[@growlie2676]

It was the Asterite in both games that was the stopping block for me. Only because I couldn't figure out how to get past it.

[@dangerousdays2052]

The Asterite is a complete multidimensional being. Just like how humans freely move in 3 Dimensions, it freely moves in 4, with the 4th being the time dimension. All experiences for it are memories of the future.

[@AMPlayem]

You just blew my mind.

[@dumpywhite]

Since everything is just a memory existing in the minds of those who observed it, It could probably read people’s minds to experience the past through a memory. Actually, come to think of think it, spirits or ghosts or whatever, they may be able to read minds in a way that allows them to experience history and human life through through the eyes of a person that was there.

[@crono3339]

The game is based on psychonaut John Lily who took massive doses of LSD and ketamine in sensory deprivation tanks and was trying to teach dolphins English. No joke, look into it haha.

[@dangerousdays2052]

@@crono3339 Yeah I know of him. Just like I know how his assistant was giving one of the dolphins 🖐✊ every day.

[@ayebraine]

@@AMPlayem I wanted to say that time paradoxes exist as long as time is conceptualized as a road, a line along which the universe is rolling from A to B - so you can't be already riding this tram at B unless you boarded it somewhere up the line, at A. Then, if you claim you've bought the ticket at B but somehow sent it back to A so you could board, it's hogwash. But if all moments in time exist "simultaneously," as they do for space dimensions, all states already exist (let's assume complete determinism for simplicity). So looking at this timeline "from above" (as we look down on a 2D world, or, well, a diagram of a time paradox =), we see no contradiction. The dolphin exists on the right side of the page and also on the left side. He is there millions of years ago, he is causing his own existence, and he is entering the time machine. Just in different points on the map. Same way that the conductor knows that you do have the ticket, just in a different part of the tram's "length" in time, and lets you board at A. So there was no "state before", when the universe has NOT YET rolled up to the present moment when Ecco enters the machine. He "already" (in meta-time) and always entered the machine just as much as he already fought with trilobites. Of course, then we're talking many timelines vs. determinism but that's not relevant to the paradox.

[@patrickvalentino600]

There was a maze stage in the game gear version where, if you navigated it the wrong way, you'd just be trapped in a section that was quite large but had no exit, until you ran out of air. That, coupled with the music, was horrifying.

[@AMPlayem]

Yikes! I haven't played much of the Game Gear version, but that does sound horrible. Is it on KZbin?

[@richerichism]

The most scary thing about Ecco on the Gamegear was the batteries dying out of the blue(all six of them…) while you’re in the deep blue. lol.

[@kvol1668]

That violent red hurricane made me think I had broken my Sega for a few seconds. I didn't know what I had done, but I knew my mother would murder me for it. 😂

[@AMPlayem]

Hahaha. I'm not surprised, it felt like such a weird, unnatural thing for a game to do. Probably why it sticks in so many people's minds! Thanks for watching.

[@FealtyOrangeJuice]

​@@AMPlayemI played this game so many years ago when I was a little child and the only thing I remember from it is all the fish being sucked up so I searched for the game and FOUND IT im so happy

[@rebeccaconlon9743]

My mother was the owner of the games too... she played it more

[@BunnySpaceMachine]

I'm 38 years old and played this game as a kid. Sure it was difficult but I LOVED it so much. I think I loved the music more than anything. It's so hauntingly beautiful and sad. I love it 😢

[@AMPlayem]

The music is a big part of it; such a weird soundscape that conjures up everything from sorrow and loneliness to panic and terror. Those tracks are all forever burned into my brain. Thanks for watching!

[@JustAnotherAlchemist]

37 yo, and SAME!

[@BunnySpaceMachine]

@@JustAnotherAlchemist such a great game. I actually just bought an Ecco the Dolphin poster because I'm a sucker for nostalgia. Memories! 🥺

[@brj2343]

This game wasn’t scary though. I liked it.

[@BunnySpaceMachine]

@@brj2343 who said it was scary? I sure didn't say that...

[@HeavyMetalSonicRM]

I'll never forget that jump scare at the beginning. This was back when we played on big CRT TVs and sat on the floor right in front of them.

[@AMPlayem]

Yep! I have very vivid memories of that big storm and then swimming around the opening levels, which really glowed and popped on those old CRT TVs. Great memories, even if some of them ended up being unpleasant... Thanks for watching!

[@StrikerEureka85]

OMG that scared me so much the first time

[@slowbro1337]

The FM synth use of the Sega Genisis absolutely induced terror in me as a kid. However, I kept returning to it because it was so captivating.

[@AMPlayem]

You said it, 'bro. It's as captivating as it is unsettling so I always end up coming back to it despite how uneasy it makes me feel. I have some Pokemon vids on my channel if you're interested 🙂

[@yrednai]

Beat this game as a kid and have no idea how I did as I came back to it as an adult and couldn’t handle the stress. The oxygen bar man it haunts my dreams.

[@AMPlayem]

Respect! You're in a minority, if these comments are anything to go by. Thanks for watching!

[@HelloYersoGae]

Respect. My whole family beat this game. Literally, as in one playthrough required the aid of parents and older siblings. It was a group effort

[@ggrarl]

I watched a playthrough of Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future. Yes, there are parts that are scary. There's creepy caves, a huge shark, and you time travel into three dark futures: 1. humans are gone, the ocean is barren, and dolphins are dumb 2. Dolphins took over the ocean and formed a caste system, with the strongest ruling over the lesser creatures 3. The aliens won against the humans and dolphins

[@AMPlayem]

Yikes! The barren ocean itself sounds really unsettling to me.

[@OckhamTheFox]

Story and lore of DotF are scary and epic...

[@alphamoose4385]

That big shark always scared the piss outta me.

[@HypoceeYT]

Defender of the Future's plot was put together by noted sci-fi author David Brin. It wasn't his magnum opus or anything, but it's very good structurally. After the calm, lovely starting area you actually start out successfully - if barely - fighting off the Foe invasion with the help of the Guardian, a joint human-dolphin planetary defense system. The Foe however does time travel shenanigans to steal the dolphins' five Noble Traits in the past: Intelligence, Ambition, Compassion, Wisdom, and Humility. You then play three alternate futures after the Foe attack. In the first, with none of the traits, dolphins were barely sapient and got enslaved by humans (who then traded killing blows with the Foe) and divided into three color-coded castes: Cops/overseers I guess, machine operators, and brute labor. You find and send back first Intelligence and then Ambition, and shift to the second future. In the second future, with smarts and ambition but no compassion, wisdom, or humility, dolphins drove humans permanently from the sea and divided into...three (different) colored castes: Basically warriors, laborers, and "Outcasts". They also enslave whales and exploit the world in the way humans did without dolphins' mutual guidance. You send back Compassion and Wisdom, shifting to the third future. In the third future, lacking just Humility, the dolphins and humans get together as in the base timeline but never build the defense system and both get stomped by the Foe. With powers acquired in the other worlds you fight through the Foe and their Queen to send back Humility, restoring the original events but now with a statue of Ecco commemorating his quest which the Guardian also remembers. Pretty simple, but it's got themes and stuff! That connect to the type of problems in each area! Pretty good. I also find it fun to compare it to the Elements of Harmony in My Little Pony:Friendship is Magic. MLP does a lot of scenarios where all the Elements are stolen/lost/nullified/reversed/shuffled, but I don't think there's any situation where only one or some of them are put out of action. I think you could build a full season or two on exploring how virtues could become vices without other virtues balancing them out - as Brin did, in a videogame about a dolphin bopping aliens.

[@chalrie54]

The sound effects and music really dialed in the tension. The sound of ecco scream in pain, the sound of the machine moving around ecco, the echolocation sounds.

[@AMPlayem]

Definitely. So many weird, sci-fi sounds coming out of a game set in the ocean really made things feel unsettling. Even the echolocation call has a sombre tone to it. Thanks for watching!

[@Venatius]

The soundtrack of the Sega CD versions of Ecco and Tides of Time deserve a listen for sure. It's the main thing that sets those versions apart from the originals (aside from a few cute FMV segments in Atlantis in the first game). Very Tangerine Dream-esque.

[@AMPlayem]

I've heard some of the music from those versions. Pretty nice from what I remember but for me it wouldn't be Ecco without the original tracks. The GBA version only used the time travel music through the entire game from what I remember which really took away from the atmosphere. Thanks for watching!

[@leannotmean]

I came here to say that as well. The Tides of Time one is still, cheesy as it is to say it, one of my favorite CDs in my whole collection

[@Discuiet]

The Dreamcast game is still one of my favourites to this day. It's unsettling in much the same way as the original, though it does take a little longer to get there. Lots of industrial horror: ancient megastructural machine complexes of unknown purpose, that sort of thing. And the alien stuff in the final act really hammers home that dark, deadly Ecco feeling. There's a quiet, claustrophobic loneliness to it all. I'd say it's sad almost as much as it is scary.

[@AMPlayem]

Yeah, sounds like it invokes the same feelings as the original, where the isolation can be as unsettling as the more straight-up horror elements. A lot of commenters have recommended it but I've yet to get round to playing it, as much as I'd love to do a follow-up video. Thanks for watching!

[@TheAnticarnist]

I can't remember much of that game, except the feeling of unease

[@kolomgorov]

I remember my brother, sister and I playing this one as children. Even with all of us lending one another moral support, it became too frightening to continue. None of us could really express what it was that was so unsettling.

[@AMPlayem]

I'm an only child so I mostly played games alone, which probably made things worse! I remember showing friends what a scary game it was when they came over though, it really had an effect on me at a young age. Thanks for sharing!

[@dadtries6917]

It was the thought of being trapped under water and not being able to air. Then you throw in the music and everything else and I never rented that one again lol.

[@wjb4578]

I played Ecco at a Blockbuster back when they had "test before renting" stations. Never did rent the game but decades later I watched a full Let's Play. I think about how strange this game is now and again, Ecco's family getting sucked up as alien food. Because this game involves time travel, they've already drowned and/or been devoured for most of the game.

[@AMPlayem]

Thanks, that's another level of horror to this game that I didn't need! 😅

[@Sensorium19]

I was one of the kids who didn't get through the early levels. Just got stuck somewhere. Despite that a remember the game very well. Thank you for allowing me to enjoy it vicariously.

[@AMPlayem]

You're welcome, thanks so much for watching! A lot of people didn't make it past the first few stages due to the difficulty but those who did were in for a bit of a shock.

[@achilles704]

You're not alone

[@jollyexotic]

Same here, I had no idea that this was a sci-fi. Trippy...

[@Chwoonp]

The unsettling atmosphere of Ecco reached me, even through a 14 minute synopsis video. Well done, and thanks for making this vid! I'd only known intriguing bits and pieces about Ecco and its reputation before watching. It feels similar to a SF novelette I read: "At The Fall" by Alec Nevala-Lee. A lonely, abandoned creature, deep in the ocean, with one improbable goal. Washed in an eerie mystique of Why and How.

[@AMPlayem]

Thank you so much for watching and for your kind comment! It really means a lot to hear that about my videos. That story sounds really up my street, I'll be sure to read it!

[@ayebraine]

Thanks for the suggestion

[@Vossdoch]

no joke an old man gave this game and some dirtbike goggles to me when i was at the store with my grandma. I was 7 😂 and after that day I never saw that man again. I lived in a village called Shandon in California. everybody knew each other. but nobody knew that man.

[@IRUKANJI]

Ecco made boys into Men. It was the "cute dolphin game clearly good for kids" that sneaked through the tight grip of so many overprotective parents who never stuck around to level 2/3

[@AMPlayem]

Absolutely. For years I thought I was the only one! I've been amazed to find so many like-minded people through this video and article. Thanks for watching and subscribing 🐬

[@IRUKANJI]

@@AMPlayem You definitely reminded me how frustrating the game was, I had forgotten about that part.

[@nakarg]

Ecco is like Subnautica, the talasophobia, claustrophobia and loneliness that they make you feel when playing without you truly realizing what those feelings are. With time and iteration, those feelings don't usually stop you too much, they actually turn into masochistic pleasure as you venture deeper and deeper for the sake of moving forth till you beat the game... most times (?) Nice video, thought it was a personal "feel" i got when i played it when little, but it seems we are not alone

[@AMPlayem]

I suppose that masochistic pleasure is why horror fans consume that type of media in the first place - we obviously get a kick out of something which we should naturally want to avoid. I haven't plucked up the courage to fully play Subnautica yet though! Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts, always glad to hear I'm not alone 🐬

[@nakarg]

@@AMPlayem it gets easier to delve deeper when you get enough courage to tackle killing some leviathans (at least the most common ones).

[@MatheusCarvalho-ev9hw]

In my experience, the first 3 stages were very relaxing. Then came the fourth, the lagoon, with its very dark music, and longer level design. Then I started realizing that the game was not exactly what I thought it was. One of the best for the genesis.

[@DLFLux]

The paradoxes you speak of are causality loops, events that have no origin

[@AMPlayem]

Is that like the bootstraps paradox?

[@DLFLux]

@AMPlayem yeah, it's like say in the Terminator, Skynet is made possible by a chip from the Terminator in the first movie, but in order for that chip to exist, skynet had to exist, so there is no origin, it just loops, skynet exists to create the Terminator and the Terminator exists to create skynet.

[@kanon0853]

Chicken and egg. At some point I researched these loops and my favorite example of infinite regress is Bradley's Regress, and Aristotle's concept of the unmoved mover.

[@Scoobay]

@@DLFLuxkinda like how John was only born because he sent Kyle back to impregnate his mom.

[@Immacksgdoesntpostonthisone]

I could never make it very far in this game as a kid since the opening levels were too confusing for my 5 year old brain, but this game still managed to stick with me over the years. Even early on it really captured the isolating, lonely and almost alien feeling and atmosphere about being the only creature in the depths of the ocean

[@AMPlayem]

Very well put! A lot of people didn't make it very far due to the notorious difficulty, but never mind the aliens etc - it's that overwhelming sense of mystery, isolation and dread that's the real wonder - or horror - of this game. Thanks for watching!

[@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan]

Same, never got far. Never knew how wacky it got until years later when I nostalgic for the old megadrive ^^

[@jimmybates2592]

the sound of Ecco getting damaged is what my mind plays on repeat whenever I have a fever and try to fall asleep. It’s dark.

[@theotherther1]

Tides of Time is my second favorite game ever (OFF taking the position after I played through it). Ecco games were liminal hellscapes with a pervasive sense of loneliness and danger, which made quite an impression on 90s babies. To this day the series influences my artistic and musical tastes.

[@AMPlayem]

Yeah, same here probably. My love of psychological horror (and the ocean) was probably born from my early exposure to Ecco - ironic, considering how much the game freaked me out. I've been learning about liminal spaces and vaporwave over the last year or so, and the influence Ecco had on that. Thanks for watching!

[@beardedchimp]

Tides of Time was a fundamental part of my childhood, it wasn't just my big and little sister who were addicted, but also my mum. I was the only one who could beat the medusa level. If they were playing and reached that monstrosity, they'd drag me back from whatever I was doing and demand me to play. It shares a high pedestal along with Prince of Persia and Monkey Island. My mum was dangerously addicted to Prince of Persia.

[@theirontenth2099]

This was the foundational game of my childhood, and I agree it was terrifying, and a real challenge. Replayed it countless times.

[@genuinejustin6269]

Omg dude, I was just telling my girl that this game triggered my fear of games with ocean levels. And you have now justified everything I was literally just saying. Thank you for this video because now she understands.

[@AMPlayem]

That honestly means a lot, that my video could help you in some small way. Thanks so much for watching and you're definitely not alone!

[@genuinejustin6269]

@@AMPlayem Thanks again man. I kept telling my girl how scary Ecco was and she didn't understand till your video 😆

[@Rezard]

The prehistoric part actually happen after the end of ecco 2, even more mindfuck tier than the old paradox.

[@AMPlayem]

That's right, you mean how the Vortex evolve to become the crustacean enemies?

[@roxasyoboxas]

Always nice to see Ecco getting some attention! I remember playing it when I was very little and I still think about how it affected me to this day. I recently bought both Ecco 1 and 2 and the ps2 version of Defender of the Future just so I could have those pieces of my childhood memories in a physical form. Excellent video!

[@AMPlayem]

Thanks so much for watching! Glad people are keeping Ecco alive 🐬

[@MrJamesshipman]

To this day. I can still beat "welcome to the machine" even though there was a 10 or maybe even a 15 year break. (i think it was in the first go too) That's how deeply ingrained the game is burned into my subconscious.

[@AMPlayem]

Nice! I only remember beating it once, it sort of becomes a game of Simon. Ecco definitely ingrained itself into my subconscious in other ways though... Thanks for watching!

[@thiagodiascosta3582]

Came for the cute dolphin... stayed for the thalassophobia-inducing lovecraftian nihilistic story where the future of all existence lies on the fins of such cute dolphin.

[@nobody.-my.-name]

Whats weird is when i was younger i don't think i remembered how scary it was i just remember like swimming around and i forgot about the game until today and i didn't know if it was a dream or if anyone knew what it was or not

[@AMPlayem]

Oh yeah, there's a sizeable community based around it and so many people have unpleasant memories from playing it. Give it another try sometime, it's a bit of a tough game to get into but quite a unique experience. Thanks for watching!

[@Triggernyar]

Imagine never being able to get through the ice stages, and then one day playing with the password screen, typing i n "NNNNNNNN" and getting "Welcome to the Machine" without any context or lead up. That was me as a kid.

[@AMPlayem]

I don't need to imagine it - the same thing happened to me 😅 A few other commenters have said the same thing - one guy commented nothing but "NNNNNNNN" and I was like, this guy knows the score.

[@buckwild9168]

I have never beaten the octopus level, but this game did stick with me into adulthood, I even read all the information I could find on the dolphin experiments in the Virgin Islands. I still think it is a atmospheric masterpiece. I need to get into it again. you've gained a new sub, or.. pod mate lol.

[@AMPlayem]

Thanks so much, truly appreciate you joining the pod! 🐬 It really is a very unique game with an atmosphere unlike any other from its time, in my experience. Not many people made it past the octopus (some didn't even get that far) due to the difficulty but those who got further got a big surprise with the alien weirdness, seemingly influenced by the dolphin house experiments. Cheers again!

[@gazs7237]

I remember as a kid i got to a DNA looking thing, and had absolutely no idea how to progress past that point

[@AMPlayem]

You just talk to it via sonar then go back the way you came! 🧬

[@binkbonkbones3402]

"So long, and thanks for all the fish" -The dolphins

[@Blackshroom]

It was the graphics and controls that did it for me, like how smooth Ecco swam around and the animations, the game has some really nice graphics especially for the time, it really captures that "mystery of the abyssal unknown"

[@AMPlayem]

Yeah, even for a game of the time it looked quite realistic and things moved so fluidly. Here's a great video looking into the animation of the game: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6upkKubbJyrock Thanks for watching!

[@YukonJack]

I think part of what makes games from that era so magical in the real sense is that it gave birth to an entirely new medium to tell stories in, in ways that could hardly be dreamed of previously. I think of games like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, and Earthbound, how they all shaped and sculpted not just the games that I played, but how I thought about things (especially myself in relation to the world/my place in it), how I viewed love, sacrifice, and being the true embodiment of a heroic person set on to fix the things that are not right with the world. It really helped mold me into the person I eventually became, so going back to those games decades later and replaying them, beating them, and going further than I had been able to when I was a kid - it really is a poetic journey in itself. Can anyone really say that seeing -no, *being* in the opera scene from Final Fantasy 6 really didn't touch them on not just an emotional level but even a spiritual one? To me, they are more than just "games" - they are a part of me down to my core.

[@ejb3781]

Great breakdown of a game that I haven’t played in many years and yet still haunts me. You summed it up perfectly… despite the difficulty, the aggravation, the fear… it still captivates. How high in the sky can you fly?

[@AMPlayem]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed! Even those words have a haunting air about them in retrospect. If only I'd ignored that dolphin!

[@theshi3152]

TIL ...that's the story of Ecco... seriously?... i was one of those kids that couldn't get past the first few levels with so little to go on.

[@AMPlayem]

Yeah, so many players didn't get past the opening levels due to the difficulty and open-endedness, but those who did were in for a big surprise! Thanks for watching.

[@tafari127]

Exactly man. I remember f*cking around with a "crystal" for half an hour then taking it back to Blockbuster.

[@JohnnyFromVirginia]

I LOVE Ecco the Dolphin. Yes it’s hard and unfair. Yes the controls and mechanics are fucked. Yes it’s a buggy mess that makes you repeat stuff over and over again. But let’s get real. The story is insane. The music is atmospheric and beautiful. The graphics were incredible for its time. The feeling of being alone, lost, tense and fearful were all very real. Now imagine it today with todays graphics, sound, evolved story telling and in the hands of someone who could put together incredibly tight fluid controls and offer up a balanced AI and game mechanics and add a ton of new fun elements, abilities, features and customizations to the game…. I am willing to argue it could rival even the best of the best platforming / Metroidvania / cinematic adventure games out there. How do we will this into existence?

[@AMPlayem]

I'd say the retro graphics and music are part of what makes the original so special so I'd be in two minds about updating those *too* much, but I would certainly love to see a third installment of the original 2D series, especially since The Tides of Time ended on a cliffhanger. Ed Annunziata has said he'd want it to involve Cassandra, the Atlantean girl who made the glyphs to guide Ecco in the first game, so an interplay between her on land and Ecco in the water could be a neat mechanic. Maybe when the dolphin travelled through time at the end of TTOT, he went back to the era that the Atlanteans fled into and the story could pick up from there. Who knows if we'll ever find out though? :( Thanks for watching!

[@Exile_Sky]

5:25 That's called a closed time loop. Dolphins exist, Ecco exists, Ecco goes back into the past before Dolphins exist, inspires their ancestors to take to the water, Dolphins exist. The thing to remember is the start "Dolphins exist" this is a constant and regardless of any changes will always happen in some form.

[@AMPlayem]

The theory being that Ecco's ancestors would have re-entered the water regardless and Ecco later going back to influence them is just incidental?

[@Exile_Sky]

@@AMPlayem Pretty much. A lot of closed time loops can be explained by the loop simply speeding up what would have already happened or applies in the mindset that time is not linear. Non-linear time feels like more of a cop-out than inevitability. Its also odd to assume that Whales' ancestors would still take to the water without Ecco, since Ecco doesn't sing their song, but the dolphins ancestors specifically needed Ecco to inspire them the first time around.

[@Geth-Who]

Still an absolute favourite game, for these exact reasons.

[@AMPlayem]

Yep, I love it in spite of myself. Thanks for watching!

[@Spectre-907]

Swim slowly past eight arms, and welcome to the machine friend.

[@AMPlayem]

Those words will forever haunt me.

[@Spectre-907]

For me the killers were tubes of Medusa and the hanging gardens from the 3d one

[@DLDT]

I remember being 4 or 5 years old when I first played this on Genesis. I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to do and couldn't make it out of the first section. Never knew all of this lol

[@nessdragon]

Small world, I wrote a similar article for my own blog years ago reviewing Ecco and discussing a lot of the horror themes you bring up here, so it's neat to see someone else address Ecco from this angle rather than just complaining about the difficulty. For me, what makes this a very tense, effectively scary game is the sense of isolation. Dolphins are social creatures, but Ecco has to go it alone, and rarely even gets to interact with friendly NPCs. On top of that, he's forced into situations an essentially normal dolphin has no business being in, surrounded by hostile creatures that will happily tear him to pieces. And the environments themselves, due to the nature of ocean life, are inherently kind of disquieting and alien, even for someone like me who also wanted to be a marine biologist as a kid. That sense of being a stranger in a strange land, barely equipped with the tools you need to survive and subject to constant hostile attacks makes it one of the most tense, dread-inspiring games I've ever played. I'd put it up next to games like Silent Hill 2 in terms of creating a sense of dread, isolation and tension...maybe even a bit higher due to its insane difficulty (I love SH2, but even on its hardest settings it's not especially challenging). Finally beating the Vortex Queen almost broke me; even using save states, it was so nerve-wracking that I laughed like a lunatic all the way through the credits, to the point that my then-wife was seriously concerned about my well-being. I've never played another game that had that effect on me. I have played (and actually still own) Defender of the Future on Dreamcast. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's as scary as the original and Tides of Time, but it definitely has its moments; the early boss fight with a great white shark is pretty damn terrifying.

[@AMPlayem]

That's awesome, is it still online for me to read? You're spot on about the sense of isolation in an unknown world so familiar yet untamed, coupled with the intense but oddly beautiful music. I understand the SH2 comparison in that regard (I'm a fan of that game too but haven't played the remake...yet.) Sometimes that atmosphere of loneliness and desperation can be as intense as monster encounters. A lot of commenters have recommended Defender of the Future, some say it's scary, some say otherwise. I plan to finally get around to playing it to do follow-up videos on the rest of the series. Thanks for watching and sharing!

[@nessdragon]

@@AMPlayem Sadly no, I let it go by the wayside and I didn't save the post as a doc or anything because I wasn't in the habit of doing that at the time. I've been toying with the idea of relaunching that blog in some form at some point, and I may revisit Ecco and even do the Tides of Time if I do.

[@carlmarais]

I bought the game after watching this video. Never played it before. It is really amazing. It oozes atmosphere. Probably the hardest game that I have ever played.

[@AMPlayem]

That's awesome! I'm quite honoured that my humble opinion helped you find a new game you enjoy. Glad it's still appealing to people all these years later - there are level select passcodes and invincibility cheats if you get stuck.

[@educostanzo]

Glad to finally see footage of other levels of this game. I loved the visuals when I was a kid, but it was the most frustrating game to play. My 10 year old self would go absolutely insane if he had seen those prehistoric levels.

[@AMPlayem]

Yeah, you might have inadvertently saved yourself some trauma! You weren't alone though, a lot of people didn't get very far due to how difficult and frustrating it could be. Those who did were in for a bit of a shock. Thanks for watching!

[@maxbean1245]

I remember getting this game, always drowning in the first level, and then never playing it ever again.

[@johnwagner6126]

It's like if NES Ninja Turtles Hudson Bay level was the entire game. So nice to be introduced to anxiety at age 9.

[@P373RV2]

Uff the music... great and opens wound at the same time.

[@AMPlayem]

I hear ya! The music's a big part of my complex relationship with the game. Thanks for watching!

[@olivergilmartin]

You also forgot to mention the ever present reality of being trapped underwater and suffocating at every point if you wish to progress.

[@AMPlayem]

Believe it or not, I accidentally removed the line about having to experience all of this while technically drowning! It meant you couldn't always take your time exploring these dark caverns and sometimes had to rush right into danger; probably bad game design in a sense but definitely added to the sense of desperation.

[@Crono_Triggered]

Great video! I definitely think the loneliness and isolation the game makes you feel add to the terror.

[@AMPlayem]

Thanks so much! A lot of the time it is indeed just the empty sea that's disturbing, before we even factor in any giant octopi or Lovecraftian abominations.

[@Spamhard]

I have no fears of water or deep sea, but for me it was the combo of really haunting music (even listening to it in your video had me on edge), the constant panic to find a new air pocket, and probably most importantly the opener where you're just left so thoroughly alone.

[@AMPlayem]

Totally - a lot of the time it wasn't even the creatures but just that sense of isolation and facing the unknown, coupled with the intense music, which even in this modest 2D game was really palpable.

[@nicolasandre9886]

Big Blue jump scared me the first time I got to its chamber at full speed. I'm just gonna forget this an chill out a bit in Subnautica, they have such pretty fishes.

[@AMPlayem]

Yep, vivid memory of just swimming along minding my own business than that goddamn whale call booming at me and the biggest sprite ever appearing from nowhere. I haven't properly played Subnautica yet but I hear it's very peaceful and relaxing, enjoy!

[@darthtaiter]

This game was so traumatizing way back when it came out, the poor dolphin made the most awful noises if it bumped into anything bad. It left mental scars man, it left scars.

[@AMPlayem]

Yeah, that awful noise just made things much worse. One commenter actually said they heard it during a fever dream or something, which sounds like a living hell.

[@darthtaiter]

@@AMPlayem yikes, agreed 👍💯

[@yoshi396]

Ecco the Dolphin on the Dreamcast eventually turned into the Dark Souls of the sea as you played it because the fear of the deep ocean and the large fish creatures you would find and the need for Air for your character was insane for a kid to play, I believe the first boss was a giant shark that could eat you in a small area, then there was the caves that where hard to navigate through and didnt have enough places for air. I feel like with the evolution of the Ecco games the story could oddly fit into the Sega universe of how Sonic and humans came to be in the same world. Also the final boss of Defender of the future has you rip into the final bosses ribcage to kill the heart and pull out the Orb of humanity, Ecco is one Metal Dolphin

[@AMPlayem]

Another commenter compared it to Dark Souls too! I haven't played that series but I can see the similarity, relentless difficulty that still keeps you coming back for more (not to mention some eldritch horror thrown in.) I'm gonna endeavour to play Defender of the Future, given how many people have recommended it and how popular this video has been, so I'll hopefully have an upload about it in due course. My memory of the Sonic backstory is hazy - didn't one of Robotnik's experiments transport them all from Mobius to Earth? How would you fit Ecco into that? Thanks for watching! 🐬

[@obscuredgurl]

Hearing that loading screen ... PAUSE ... I could literally feel every one of my synapse gaps fill and hug so snuggly with endorphins, I felt intoxicated for a moment 🥴

[@AMPlayem]

Huh, I tend to get a knot in my stomach when I hear it! 😅

[@samanthashore9627]

I love Ecco. I got really far on it when I was a child and teenager after being really persistent with it, but let me tell you; it took me years to work out how to beat the Vortex Queen. I kept trying and trying that I knew it all like the back of my hand. Didn't work out how to complete it for several years. I've not played it now for a good few years. Played it this evening and I'm so rusty

[@AMPlayem]

Yeah, she doesn't really telegraph her weak points - you sort of just need to figure out that you sonar out her eyes, then ram her jaw, then ramming her head suddenly becomes effective. And you can't really afford to screw up because it means repeating the entire previous stage. What a nightmare. Thanks for watching, hope I brought back some memories!

[@pixelotix]

Fantastic video. The extreme ambience and mystery also drove me to obsessively complete Ecco when I was a kid. Still one of my favorites even if I never want to play it again as long as I live.

[@AMPlayem]

Thanks so much, that means a lot. I feel very similar about it - can't help but have a fixation with the game (and thalassophobic imagery in general) despite the bad times I had with it!

[@jacksmith4460]

I think a new Ecco...would possibly be even more terrifying

[@AMPlayem]

It was kind of lightning-in-a-bottle stuff so it might be hard to replicate that, but a new game would be cool, especially in the same sprite-based style. Sadly it hasn't happened, even in this age of series revivals. Thanks for watching!

[@seekertosecrets7618]

It's the soundtrack that really puts you in a state of curiosity from time to time. The plot, however, almost compels you to go deeper into the rabbit hole.

[@uptown215]

Man that ending boss it's straight up nightmare fuel lol

[@AMPlayem]

I see her every time I close my eyes!

[@edonslow1456]

Big Blue used a technique that was often used in shoot-em-ups, where they used a background layer to draw a boss that was much bigger than standard sprite size would allow. Something about it's use in Ecco was completely unexpected, and made me jump out my skin.

[@AMPlayem]

Ah yeah, that makes sense. Would the game not have been able to run smoothly if it was processing a sprite that large on the same layer as Ecco or something? I remember freaking out the first time I discovered him too, you're just swimming along through an empty passage then suddenly that booming whale call, so unexpected.

[@edonslow1456]

@@AMPlayem sprite size was baked into the hardware, so there's an upper limit. You could join them together to make something bigger, but it's far less processing power to make a static background.

[@BelieveInTheTARDIS]

I grew up with this game and it is in my top 5 favorite games. It is so nostalgic and I love it even now! 🐬❤

[@AMPlayem]

That's awesome! I'd probably count it among my favourites too, despite all the mental scarring. It's amazing how one little relatively unknown game from 30 years ago boasts such deep lore and such a passionate fanbase. Thanks for watching! I have some Pokémon vids on my channel too.

[@smashrails2175]

Time isn't linear. We just experience it that way. The future can change the past since they are all happening simutaniously. That's what it's hinting at. If the future can affect the past just the same, then the paradox can no longer exist.

[@TheLyricalCleric]

I played Ecco CD and always loved the expanded music, sound effects, and atmosphere the CD version offered. Definitely worth a replay.

[@AMPlayem]

Yeah, the CD soundtrack is cool, but I don't think it'd really be Ecco for me without the original one I grew up with!

[@MichaelMaxwell747]

With Q sound!

[@RosesTeaAndASD]

The Sega version traumatised me as a kid with the concept of being trapped and dying alone in a cave.

[@AMPlayem]

Yeah, never mind the aliens and other predators, sometimes it's the claustrophobia and unsettling atmosphere that really play on the mind.

[@smokeysnowboard1809]

The trilobites still attack me in my nightmares

[@AMPlayem]

Me too, my friend. I'm told I even make the Ecco damage noise in my sleep.

[@bezoticallyyours83]

The trilobites, giant sea crabs, and atlantian puffers are the worst enemies in the game

[@TheRealRayMillsToo]

Fantastic video. You covered a lot of ground in a very concise amount of time. I commend you for being able to get through this as a kid. It may be part of the reason I have thalassophobia

[@AMPlayem]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it! Despite Ecco's best efforts, I've always loved the ocean and have a bit of a fascination with thalassophobic imagery. I've no doubt Ecco played a part in that.

[@Mickey_Silver]

I didn’t realize how emotional some of these old games were, if anyone knows of more like this please lmk

[@AMPlayem]

Chrono Trigger has quite a sombre atmosphere a lot of the time. I can't recommend it enough if you've never played it before. Here's my video on it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIvOiIKAiamGgKc Super Metroid has a similar foreboding atmosphere to Ecco, while EarthBound isn't quite scary but just *weird* - like a cross between a Sunday morning cartoon and a bad acid trip.

[@Mickey_Silver]

@@AMPlayem I’m gonna have to check those out thank you!!

[@The80Kat]

Dude the Dreamcast version is pretty bad ass, it has such a deep story for no words spoken, it also has awesome time paradox and that humans and dolphins teach each other things, the alien goes back in time to stop humans and dolphins from meeting… it’s awesome

[@AMPlayem]

@@The80Kat People are speaking highly of Defender of the Future, maybe I should get around to playing it. Is it as difficult as the first game?

[@Kingjames313]

Valis

[@wadeokaysguitar]

I played this on the arcade version at my childhood dentist back in like 95-96. Never thought of it again until it showed up in my recommended just now. It’s been 30 years!

[@AMPlayem]

Hope you enjoyed a little trip down memory lane! Can't believe it was 30 years ago though 😓

[@darkhobo]

Personally, I thought 2 was scarier. But Ecco was TOTALLY a whole new diffrent subtle kind of horror.

[@AMPlayem]

I find 2 just to be more weird than anything else, they really amped up the sci-fi element, but completely agree about the first game. Both the plaintive, melancholy opening levels and the straight-up horrific final levels are effective in their own way. Thanks for watching!

[@LegoJunk128]

Thank you for making this video. I read your article a couple years ago and I initially played the first part of Ecco on a plug n play Genesis that had about 12 titles on it.

[@AMPlayem]

Thanks so much for watching and reading the original!

[@BillyWhizzThaKoldFace]

Great video and yes, truly terrifying 🥶

[@AMPlayem]

Thanks! Always glad to hear I'm not alone 😅

[@LucasRMA]

I remember getting constantly jump scared by sharks when playing the Ecco Defender of the Future on the Dreamcast

[@danoid7998]

I couldnt get past the sea of darkness level for sooooooo long. Those scary vortex drones were too much for me.

[@AMPlayem]

Ugh, that level looks like it'd put me on edge too!

[@CDOES]

What a Wild ride that backstory is about where this game came from. Madness. Literally.

[@AMPlayem]

Crazy, isn't it? As I mentioned, Ed A has since distanced himself from it in terms of its influence on Ecco, but it's just a wild story regardless.

[@seancallahan1312]

That's classic! I was almost always a little poor, but loved gaming. The first game (and system) I ever actually owned was this. I made enough money to be able to spare some cash for it. I've always wondered if I finished the actual game, and for a moment in your video in the prehistoric part, I thought "Oh, I know I've never seen that. I must've given up cause it was too hard." Then I saw the Giger levels in the end and realized I had totally beaten it. Just forgot parts. I'm going to have to see if it's on PC now with an emulator or something. In this era, I'm into Dying Light, Dying Light 2, Dark Souls 2 and 3, and getting ready for Elden Ring. I've missed a couple waves along the way, but I've been gaming since Pong in '74 at my friend's house.

[@AMPlayem]

That's awesome! Glad it brought back some memories. You can get Ecco on Steam for next to nothing these days (or there's always emulation, as you say.) Thanks for watching, keep on gaming!

[@Hektols]

The game was released for PC with CD music, the best way to play the game.

[@Jennyshalfmusic]

I remember playing this as a kid, not realising 'A pod' is a group of dolphins. I spent ages wondering why he was trying to find his pod and what was in it! lol

[@AMPlayem]

😆 That's awesome. Ecco's the only reason I know that a collective of dolphins is a pod!

[@DavidCurryFilms]

[cetacean needed] 🐋

[@AMPlayem]

Belter.

[@thenext9537]

Strange! As a kid playing this long ago, I felt so odd because the game invoked terror but I didn't know what terror was yet. Thanks, you had a porpoise after all.

[@AMPlayem]

Ha! Good one. Hope you enjoyed my thoughts on what that unknown terror was.

[@fernandomorales5179]

Just started playing it and yes, it's truly terrifying!!

[@AMPlayem]

Glad it's still scaring people 30 years later! Thanks for watching 🐬

[@achilles704]

This game held me down back in the day. I can still hear the sound effects. And I love the way you can just play around at the beginning before getting into the levels.

[@AMPlayem]

Yeah, despite the scarier parts that come later, the opening stages can be quite serene. The animation and controls are so fluid that it's fun just to swim around and dive over stuff.

[@nathanwalters2856]

I literally couldn't play this game at night. It was too scary 😨

[@AMPlayem]

It was bad enough during the day!

[@SuperFlashDriver]

My jaw dropped the moment that, all you had to do in the first level was jump so freakin' high into the first strastosphere to pretty much time travel....My whole face literally froze as you were explaining all of this.....I have heard about this game while looking through Sega Genesis games to emulate on OpenEmu back in 2014/2015, and I was stunned to know I probably didn't go far. I thought it was some sort of movie, or a platformer I wouldn't mind having fun with. But seeing that the game was difficult, I didn't even think the game was that brutal or even know where to go. Many games back in the 1990s and before would plop you right into the action without any intro or cutscene, but holy crow man. This game is something I probably would have not experienced, had you not make this video. And yes, I do have the fear of open bodies of water, I've had a dream/nightmare about it back in 2004, long before I knew this game existed. But what I was mostly afraid of was the darkness and the underwater meters deep within. Even the darkness on land was pretty terrifying to the younger 7/8 year old me.

[@AMPlayem]

Glad to hear I got you into the game! Hope it doesn't make the nightmares worse... Thanks for sharing!

[@Abs272b]

soundtracks are very disturbing in this game..

[@CopiousDoinksLLC]

Everything is disturbing about this game. The way the plot unfolds and becomes gradually more insane as the game goes on; the way the levels are designed like underwater labyrinths to choke the life out of you; the way the edge of the screen gets gradually darker as Ecco swims further down into the depths. It's all really messed up in a really subtle way.

[@AMPlayem]

@@CopiousDoinksLLC Definitely. I touched on that in the video - yeah, there are sharks and dinosaurs and aliens, but sometimes it's the isolation and darkness that really gets to me.

[@bezoticallyyours83]

Really? I think a lot of them are lovely

[@froggyspond1133]

Ok how in the hell do you not have more subscribers??? Dude keep bringing the heat

[@AMPlayem]

Thanks so much, that's really kind of you to say!

[@OfficialDJTasawennateken]

This game pissed me the hell off a lot more than any game I've ever played in my life

[@clobato500]

Yesssss

[@TheSportsHammock]

I was a teenager playing this game and I was too old to be scared by it but it has stuck with me all these years...I was obsessed with it while I played it in my free time

[@AMPlayem]

Yeah, fair enough - I imagine it probably wouldn't be very scary to a teenage or adult player, but it definitely shook up a lot of younger kids. Great that you still loved it though!

[@PopCultureCarnivore1]

I ❤ this game. Beat is several times. The second one was too hard to beat

[@AMPlayem]

I love it too, in spite of myself. I've never fully played the second one but it looks really frustrating at points.

[@PopCultureCarnivore1]

@@AMPlayem very! That second one wasn't fun

[@growlie2676]

Tides Of Time was my favorite one to play over the first Ecco the Dolphin.

[@Tacochamp123]

Thanks for the nostalgia. I remember feeling so much pride with every mystery I unlocked in this game as it was so enigmatic.

[@AMPlayem]

And thank you for watching! It was a crazy difficult and open-ended game that it really did give you a sense of achievement when you overcame something.

[@Hektols]

Great game, back in the 90s people hated it or loved it, no middle terms.

[@AMPlayem]

It's definitely a divisive one. I was always into it, despite the psychological impact!

[@Freneticburn]

i loved the games on sega cd. the music was amazing and I think they changed some things to make the game easier. The dreamcast ecco is awesome as well but also ridiculously difficult at times. Ecco games don't hold your hand or make things easy that's for sure.

[@iamsancho443]

Just like me, people love me or hate me.. or think im alright

[@PhexxiePlays]

That opening music threw me right back to 1994, playing Ecco at the age of 5 I'm now 36 and scared of the ocean 🥲

[@AMPlayem]

Sorry for the trip down memory lane! I wouldn't say the game gave me a fear, I love the ocean, but I do find it morbidly, thalassophobically(?) fascinating. I think Ecco definitely played a part in that from a young age.

[@PhexxiePlays]

@@AMPlayem haha don't be, I LOVED Ecco and it's still one of my favourite soundtracks of all time! Probably didn't give me the fear really, but the open ocean (or anything where I can't see the bottom) genuinely does give me chills 😅