Game:

Ecco the Dolphin (1992)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 13:44

945 views

9

Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7IEN-HGlR44pXq11KhYKOaoSZM0zN-18

This... this is the horror that plagued children who dared dream to play as a time travelling, anti-alien dolphin. THE MACHINE.

Oh wait, that was last video, 20.5 . Check it out if you want to see how nasty this level can be. Or watch this and see how one can squeak on through!

Aaand after the queen falls, Ecco returns with his family and everyone is happy! Yay~! (Note, I don't control Ecco talking to his family, that is automatic.)

Thanks for joining me on this adventure under (and over) the sea! There are a few other Ecco games that I'll be sure and tackle some time, too! See you then!
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Hey, there! This is a series that'll be featuring the Sega Genesis at 60 frames per second captured on the original system! Why? Well... have you ever watched an older game on YouTube and noticed the main character turn invisible when hit, or some other such nonsense? That's because some older games use some ridiculously high speed flicker effects to achieve those crazy hitflashes on bosses or that "ouch I'm hurt!" flicker! These are not displayed properly at 30 fps, but now that we're able to upload at 60 fps we can see all the special effects that older games would use! (They'll be smoother, too!)
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Aw, look't the cute dolphin! It's Ecco~! He can jump n' flip and swim fast and hit things with his wittle nose, aw~! He can also talk to other sea creatures by singing, and he can create a map in his head by pinging! He also tampers with things way WAY beyond his understanding and you'd never even begin to think that a game about a sweet little dolphin would delve into such things but, uh... let's just say it does. The first level will give you a pre-tty big hint about the direction this game takes.

The game itself plays like a, well, a well-thought out "underwater stage". It has the problem with being difficult, like those kinds of levels, but not generally unfairly so. There are some wonky portions, yes, but overall a good experience. The game focuses on exploration and resource management, your air basically. You can't hold your breath for all too long so you need to always be on the look out for air pockets. Good thing your echolocation can bring up a handy-dandy map! I love the map~ You also need to keep an eye on your health, but eating fish generally takes care of that. The "shelled ones" will heal you too if you sing at them. Though, some aren't quite so benevolent.

You can dash at enemies to defeat them, and you may learn some new techniques if you save your dolphin friends in the first few levels. There's a super special technique that isn't in the manual doesn't appear to be in-game, either. If you defeat an enemy (primarily with your dash) you can press the dash button just as they dissipate into stars to "suck up" the star. This'll make it so the enemy never returns. SUPER useful considering they usually pop right back as soon as you turn your back on them. I didn't remember this technique until after a few levels though.

Come and join me for a swim as we discover the deep (and beyond~) with Ecco!
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Some additional notes for those technically inclined:

This was captured from an original Sega Genesis system via composite output along with stereo sound to get as authentic a recording as possible. The Genesis used is one of the "good" models with proper sound and video output. Genesis can also output an RGB signal which is clearer, but I vetoed the idea because it breaks the dithering effect (color blending and transparencies) as seen here:
http://retro-sanctuary.com/comparisons%20-%20differing.html
Also, the vast majority of people could not use the RGB signal even if they wanted to, so the experience they remember would be the composite signal as shown in this video.

There are a couple things to note about the quality of the video, however. Sega Genesis has a very dirty video signal that often "breaks" attempts to capture it with a capture device. The capture device I use is considered one of the most capable when it comes to older systems, but the Genesis' video signal still introduces some inconsistencies. These usually manifest where there are extremely thin lines in game, mostly the text, and in some other places as well. As a whole, it is more than manageable, but it is worth noting.

Also, the original sega genesis resolution is, in essence, 240p at 60 frames per second. To take advantage of YouTube's higher bitrate offerings and to enable 60 fps I need to upscale that resolution to 1080p. There is also a step of video deinterlacing before that to create crisp video. That is a significant amount of video processing to the image, so I want to note that here as well.