Genesis Ecco the dolphin 1 and 2 getting remastered, ecco the dolphin 3 announced.

[Leon]

Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco: The Tides of Time remasters announced alongside third Ecco game

Remastered versions of the Genesis games Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco: The Tides of Time are in the works from series creator Ed Annunziata, he announced in an Xbox Wire interview. Once those are comp…

www.gematsu.com

I'm gonna be honest, i never expected these games to get any new announcements, since the company that made them i believe no longer exists.

 

[Johnathan Smikey Johnathan Smikey]

The other dolphin game that can never replace peak (Dontrel the Dolphin)

 

[MajesticSiN]

I was never a fan of those games. I'm shocked this is happening.

 

[ciro64]

While I wasn't a fan of those games either, I certainly felt its reasonable cultural presence and I'm happy the franchise is not only getting revived but a sequel as well.

Let's hope the remasters are pleasing to look at.

 

[Leon]

I was never a fan of those games. I'm shocked this is happening.

For me it was all about the music, which is unique but incredibly enjoyable, whether the genesis or sega cd version.

 

[nyka]

I'm wondering personally. I know that there was work on that Dolphin game for the supposed Intellivision Amico...I wonder if that was repurposed and/or morphed into a new ecco? >:3 I am so excited either way haha

 

[solnK!]

But what about Defender of the Future?

 

[WesternYokai]

These games gave me my first nightmares as a kid back in the day. I'm also not a huge fan but find interesting that the whole point of the franchise is something that maybe indie developers would cook nowadays, but in early 90's.

 

[sandogma sandogma]

The difficulty of the Genesis game frustrated me as a kid, but the overall vibe of the game, with its eerie music and setting left a lasting impression on me, there really wasn't anything like it. And then years later, as a happy Dreamcast owner, reading previews of a new Ecco game, in 3D no less, re-ignited those feelings the original gave me. I was floored once I got a copy to play, the game was (and still is) gorgeous with music matching the visuals. Sadly I couldn't beat it (I got stuck at the large alien head near the end), but what a journey!

I will happily Day 1 a remaster of the Genesis games. But I'm really curious how they will update the visuals and sound as those two aspects will be critical to its success. The concept/universe of Ecco is so unique that its a shame Sega won't take a risk moving the franchise forward. Hopefully this is their way of checking who's still interested. I know I am!

 

[Riveler]

I can say that Ecco was the game that made me into the video game hobby.

When I got my Mega Drive, I just did it because there was a copy of Ecco Tides of Time (one of the best MD games IMO). Years later, after the demise of the Saturn I was abouth to quit playing games when I saw that Sega was about to release a new Ecco game (Defender of the Future).
Months later I've bought the Dreamcast and a copy of the game.
I also have the PS2 version.

I wonder if they really release a new Eccco game I would return to console gaming. My last gamin device was the 3DS and I'm not interested in new games. I'm kinda... bored of playing games.

 

[FTLOTG]

But what about Defender of the Future?

Not by the original creator, but I think it's an interesting game. Tim Follin's best soundtrack roo.

 

[sandogma sandogma]

Not by the original creator, but I think it's an interesting game. Tim Follin's best soundtrack roo.

I only learned that Tim Follin was behind Defender of the Future's soundtrack until earlier this year. It sounds NOTHING like his previous works so I was quite surprised when I discovered it was him behind it. I had always assumed it was Spencer Nilson reprising his role with the soundtrack. Not that I'm complaining, he did an amazing job as usual.

I'm very interested to see what they end up doing with the remake soundtrack. On one end, I hope they keep the synth sound on the original Genny but at a higher bit depth. On the other end I wouldn't necessarily complain if they remaster the CD music they did for the Sega CD version.

For the new sequel however, which type of sound would be more fitting?

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

Were they really good? I can appreciate their ambiences and soundtracks but honestly I heard they were excruciatingly hard.

And maybe people preferred to play as a Ninja or a Hero than a Dolphin?

 

[Leon]

Were they really good? I can appreciate their ambiences and soundtracks but honestly I heard they were excruciatingly hard.

And maybe people preferred to play as a Ninja or a Hero than a Dolphin?

They were hard, the first game more than the second, but at the same time they weren't, you had infinite lives for example, but the game just had ways to mess you up if you made a mistake in a couple of stages.

As for how good they are, well it's like asking if nights into dreams is good, it's a genre all to it's own in many ways.

 

[aquova]

I have always had a strange obsession with the Genesis Ecco games. I think it started as a bit of a joke, that I would show off this weird games about dolphins and aliens to my friends. Over time though, I legit fell in love with the music and atmosphere of both games. I used to study in college listening to the Nilson soundtracks on loop, they're probably the pieces of music I've heard the most in my life. Despite my fondness for them, I'll admit they're probably B-tier Genesis games at best, and wouldn't make my top 10 on the system, but I'm very excited for these remasters (and even more excitingly, a new entry following that).

Please don't let it be some ugly 2.5D thing though...

 

[dr grim]

Not sure if that's the best IP to ressurect, but hey, let's see.

Ecco was pretty great to look at back then but was stupidly frustrating

 

[sandogma sandogma]

I have always had a strange obsession with the Genesis Ecco games. I think it started as a bit of a joke, that I would show off this weird games about dolphins and aliens to my friends. Over time though, I legit fell in love with the music and atmosphere of both games. I used to study in college listening to the Nilson soundtracks on loop, they're probably the pieces of music I've heard the most in my life. Despite my fondness for them, I'll admit they're probably B-tier Genesis games at best, and wouldn't make my top 10 on the system, but I'm very excited for these remasters (and even more excitingly, a new entry following that).

Please don't let it be some ugly 2.5D thing though...

The Nilson soundtrack is excellent and I'm always happy to hear "Motion E", "Sounding Echo" and "St Gabriel's Mask" whenever it plays on Rainwave.

What are your thoughts on the Tim Follin soundtrack for Defender of the Future? Honestly I would be happy if either composers return to doing the soundtrack for the supposed sequel.
If a new game leans more into the cosmic horror element and improve gameplay segments, it could be a surprise hit!

 

[twistedbee]

It surprised me when i saw the announcement. If I'm honest i thought it was fake lol. but what do you know it's really happening. Ecco games were notorious for being hard and not really holding your hand so most people never really got far, myself included then. But recently I played through Ecco Jr. and while it was initially released in 1995 as a kids game that removed the health and oxygen meter from the game and added two more playable characters, an Tara the Orca and Kitnee the Dolphin, those changes make it a surprisingly fun cozy game here in 2025 to play through in just a couple hours and is probably the most fun I've had playing any version of Ecco.

 

[sandogma sandogma]

It surprised me when i saw the announcement. If I'm honest i thought it was fake lol. but what do you know it's really happening. Ecco games were notorious for being hard and not really holding your hand so most people never really got far, myself included then. But recently I played through Ecco Jr. and while it was initially released in 1995 as a kids game that removed the health and oxygen meter from the game and added two more playable characters, an Tara the Orca and Kitnee the Dolphin, those changes make it a surprisingly fun cozy game here in 2025 to play through in just a couple hours and is probably the most fun I've had playing any version of Ecco.

While I've heard of Ecco Jr. I never really looked into it much as I figured it was just a condensed version of the original for the GameGear. I had no idea it introduced more playable characters! Does it expand on the games lore at all? That alone would make me want to play it.

 

[Leon]

While I've heard of Ecco Jr. I never really looked into it much as I figured it was just a condensed version of the original for the GameGear. I had no idea it introduced more playable characters! Does it expand on the games lore at all? That alone would make me want to play it.

Ecco jr. is more or less a edutainment game, it's not bad for what it is but it's best to not think of it in the same way as 1 and 2.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

Are there romhacks for EtD that doubles the oxygen and lifebar? I think this would make the game much more bearable.

 

[yando]

I have always had a strange obsession with the Genesis Ecco games. I think it started as a bit of a joke, that I would show off this weird games about dolphins and aliens to my friends. Over time though, I legit fell in love with the music and atmosphere of both games. I used to study in college listening to the Nilson soundtracks on loop, they're probably the pieces of music I've heard the most in my life. Despite my fondness for them, I'll admit they're probably B-tier Genesis games at best, and wouldn't make my top 10 on the system, but I'm very excited for these remasters (and even more excitingly, a new entry following that).

Please don't let it be some ugly 2.5D thing though...

as a card-carrying ecco the dolphin enjoyer, i echo these sentiments. i am pretty sure i started playing it ironically and my first time through i badly needed a walkthrough to get through it but now it's gotta be one of my favorite games of all time... but if it wasn't for the vibes i would have put it down and never looked back.

the music is amazing, the backgrounds are stunning, and the echo-location dialogue mechanic is wonderfully weird. very much wondering how much of that vibe is going to be preserved in this "remaster" and hoping it doesn't end up being some half-assed straight-to-gamepass bulk rush job

 

[Moreno909]

Now they must remaster Kolibri 32x too

 

[twistedbee]

While I've heard of Ecco Jr. I never really looked into it much as I figured it was just a condensed version of the original for the GameGear. I had no idea it introduced more playable characters! Does it expand on the games lore at all? That alone would make me want to play it.

the story its that Ecco and friends wanted to go see big blue, a blue whale but in order to reach them Ecco and friends have to help out the other sea creatures along the way. most the missions are super simple and easy to do and without the fear of dying allows you a bit more exploration even if there isnt much going on. the hardest missions i had were the tag levels where you had to find someone and make it back to the crystal at the end of the level... they move real fast lol.
you can knock this game out in like an hour and a half if you wanted. its not a challenging one but you can say that youve beaten an Ecco game afterwards lol

 

[Deleted member 560402]

I like that the site for it has a countdown. It's like a year away but still. lol