Ecco the Dolphin: 1HN Thinker

In the early 90s, when the Sega Genesis was at the height of its popularity, Ecco the Dolphin showed up as a rather odd bird among the stable of Genesis games. While there were action games like Altered Beast and Strider, as well as sidescrolling speed demons like Sonic the Hedgehog, Ecco came along as the antithesis of those games: ponderous, languid, yet somewhat eerie and unsettling. Ecco the Dolphin was a side-scroller with no platforms, no-power-ups, and no weapons; instead, it featured puzzles, checkpoints that required problem-solving to pass, and maze-like underwater passages that threatened to drown your wayward dolphin if you didn't find air in a timely fashion.

Ecco the Dolphin begins with you as Ecco, blissfully swimming in your lagoon and conversing with other dolphins using echolocation. Suddenly, a unexpectedly terrifying gale whisks your fellow lagoon inhabitants up into a whirlwind, leaving you alone. From there, the game begins with you leaving your lagoon, asking questions of any passerby that you encounter, and progressing from stage to stage by pushing shells with your snout, vanquishing jellyfish or other baddies with said snout, and navigating through tight spaces and wide expanses whilst shooting up to the surface (or into a convenient air pocket) occasionally to replenish your air supply. All of this occurs with the overriding goal of trying to find out where your fellow lagoon compatriots went and why they were abducted.

As a character, Ecco possessed abilities that offered the promise of fun and excitement for the gamer: he could swim at high speed, thump enemies with his snout, execute some cool jumps out of the water, and communicate with a high-pitched blast. Yet, Ecco the Dolphin was strikingly different from many games of the time because of its languid pace and somewhat somber tone, as well as the emphasis on overcoming impeding obstacles. In some ways, this game evoked a feeling that was somewhat similar to some of the zones in the original Metroid on the NES, where you had to search continuously to find that hidden power-up or that passage that would take you to another area, but at a slower, more deliberate pace. Thus, despite the potential for action, the emphasis of Ecco the Dolphin is on your ability to successfully navigate through zones to find answers to questions that become more apparent as the game progresses.

When I bought Ecco the Dolphin in the early 90s, I didn't know what to expect; I just knew that there was much hype about this game on TV and in the magazines I read. After I bought the game and played it for a while, I was impressed by the vibrant graphics, the detailed sprites, and majestic, albeit dated, synthesized music that evokes an unnerving feeling I came to associate with games like Myst. Sure, Myst was a point-and-click game with stills and embedded puzzles, but that uncertain feeling of not knowing where I am going or what I was supposed to do was the same for both games. At the time, I didn't have the patience to complete this epic game, even though it had a password system which would allow me to return to the game later. Nowadays, with a family and a full-time job, Ecco the Dolphin is way down the queue of things I want to do, even on the list of games I allocate time (if I have time) to play.

I recommend this game if you are looking for a game that immerses you (literally) in a strange underwater realm which you must explore armed only with your wit and a boatload of patience. For kids, this may also be a good game because the game requires problem-solving, the violence is only for survival (such as when smacks of jellyfish drift into your path), the focus on marine life may spark an interest in the sea and its flora and fauna, and the pace isn't a sugar-soaked, frenetic one. If anything, Ecco the Dolphin compels you to appreciate the nuanced graphics and sound inherent to the game. My only caveat is that (spoiler alert!) aliens play a role in this game; if you are wary of the concept of the supposed existence of aliens, you may want to speak with your children before playing Ecco the Dolphin.

Top Ten First-Hand Nostalgia Sega Genesis Characters (10-7)

You know, a common perception of Top Ten lists is that they are highly opinionated, self-indulgent, and personal. I mean, why would I want to know what some guy thought about which ten Van Halen songs were the best of all time? Well, actually, I often find other people's Top Ten lists to be exceptionally intriguing, depending on the subject matter; I get much insight from what others think about stuff in which I am interested.

With that in mind, I have prepared a Top Ten list of the best video game characters I have personally experienced in Sega Genesis games. Why the Genesis? Because I owned one back when it was relevant... and I still own the same one! Now, there are many games I have not played that feature such classic characters as Knuckles, Earthworm Jim, Ristar, Vectorman, Sparkster (from Rocket Knight Adventures), Strider, and the like. I did not include those characters because I have never experienced them first-hand.

Despite this, I do have characters like Sonic, Ecco, and those dudes from Gunstar Heroes on my list, but I also have several surprises (including some in-game depictions of real people) on the list with which you may vehemently disagree (By the way, I will break up the list into four separate blog entries so that you won't be stuck with reading one LONG post). So, here goes -- my Top Ten First-Hand Nostalgia Sega Genesis Characters (10-7):

10) Those Dudes from Gunstar Heroes. These two dudes, whom I will dub Red and Blue, were cute sprites with angry faces that threw, kicked, punched, and blew away any baddie that they encountered. Beyond what they did, these characters were as dull as dirt -- they were just angry dudes that destroyed stuff. Maybe they were angry about the injustices faced by their home planet Gunstar, but the characters were bombastic, monotonous, and gratuitously violent... much like the game itself.

9) Marcus Allbäck (FIFA 97). Back in the day, I was a huge EA Sports game guy, and FIFA 97 found its way into my Genesis library. One of the first teams with which I played was an Allsvenskan (Swedish League) team called Örgryte. On that team was a super-speedy striker named M Allbäck. I didn't know his real first name, so I used to call him "Mats," based on famous tennis player Mats Wilander. But I would later discover that Marcus Allbäck was not only a real player, but he would eventually become an important player for the Swedish national side and play a key role in the European success of FC Copenhagen... Anyway, going back to 1996, Allbäck was a speed merchant who became my most prolific goalscorer and the one player I would often try to acquire whenever I played with another team.

8) Transformable Mecha (Herzog Zwei). Okay, could any American kid who didn't speak German pronounce this game's title right back in the day? My friend Ed and I used to pronounce it "Herzog Zweee," just as one may process American English orthography based on the American English phonemic library and phonological constraints. However, the actual German pronunciation is "Heut-sock tsvai" (IPA: ˈhɛɐ̯tsok ˈtsvai). Pronunciation aside, the transformable mecha controlled by the player was undeniably awesome: you used it to deliver and drop tactical units, you could fly it around to scout what the enemy was doing, and you could transform it into a giant robot to blast away the enemy's tactical units. It was a versatile "character" that was the poster child of one of the first real-time strategy games ever produced, making the character and the game underrated classics.

7) Ecco (Ecco the Dolphin). We all know Ecco -- he's the super-smart and courageous dolphin who has been charged with finding out to where all his sea creature buddies were abducted. He is beautifully rendered, swims fast, has a cool and effective nose attack, and can get some mad hops out of the water. Despite these positives, the plodding, pensive pace of Ecco the Dolphin may be too dull for some, unless you have hours of time to search for answers to arcane puzzles and explore narrow caves and vast expanses of open ocean. Ecco the Dolphin was and is one of the few non-sports games I've played on the Genesis, which is why Ecco rates so highly. Nonetheless, the game may be worth a look, even if the character isn't "exciting."

Stay tuned for 6 to 3!