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It's been a long time coming, but we now have the first official details about the return of a video game icon: Ecco the Dolphin.
Developed by A&R Atelier in partnership with SEGA, the aquatic hero is coming back in Ecco the Dolphin: Complete, a remaster package featuring "all versions" of Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco: The Tides of Time.
Perhaps even more exciting, the compilation will also include a brand new Ecco game.
A&R Atelier is a studio with former Ecco staff in its ranks, including creator Ed Annunziata and "members of the original composition, art, and programming teams," according to the press release.
"The people who created Ecco's world, its music, its atmosphere, and its mysteries are the ones bringing it forward. This is not an outside studio's interpretation. This is Ecco as it was always meant to be—realized by the minds that dreamed it into existence."
Ecco the Dolphin: Complete will also include some neat modern features. These include "built-in speedrunning support, achievements, and leaderboards," as well as "meta" quests spanning across all the games in the collection.
You'll even be able to create custom courses, meaning you can play any level from any game in any order, then share that path with the community.
For fans, it sounds ideal — but now, the question is where you'll be able to play it. The press release refrains from naming platforms, though we'd expect this will probably come to most if not all modern systems. Hopefully we hear more on that front soon.
As things stand, the official website still features a countdown timer in the bottom left corner, expiring later today, 22nd April 2026. Fingers crossed more details will emerge then.
Ecco's revival has been teased on and off for a long time; about a year ago, Annunziata revealed his intentions to bring the series back, and details have been slowly emerging since.
Are you excited for the return of Ecco the Dolphin? Tell us in the comments section below.
[source prnewswire.com, via bsky.app, nintendolife.com]
Comments 18
I will always love the massive tone shift these games take. Starts out all sweet and lovely and then turns into lovecraftian nightmare fuel.
Loved Ecco on Megadrive, love the idea of having a PS5 collection. Hate that the words “built-in speedrunning support…and leaderboards” are even mentioned. Hope they don’t ruin the trophy list by forcing that slop. That was never what these games were about.
Hmm would have liked it if they included the Dreamcast game I never got to play
On the ps4 and ps5.
Forget platforms, most alarming phrase is "modern era".
I think it's weird that it's complete but doesn't include Defender of the Future. I would guess that might be due to some licensing issues, but it's a bummer none the less. It was a pretty good game in its own right.
I remember playing the OG on Sega Megadrive.
While it started out nicely enough, it didnt half give me the creeps later.
It wasnt till much later in my life i found out it has all sorts of things to do with evil aliens, time travel and saving the planet that i was mind blown and possibly even more scared of this franchise.
I also remember my cousin bringing tides of time over and those weird vortex half creatures would move towards you fast off screen and scare the hell out of me too!
Wayyyy to much trauma from this game. Lets do it all over again
Where else would it be, Dreamcast? lol
This does sound cool though. I've never played any but the first game, and I remember it being quite the trip.
Never played these growing up, but definitely interested in giving them a shot.
@DennisReynolds didn't know that. Now I'm even more curious about these games. Never played them
Defender of the Future on Dreamcast, that Hanging Waters level was something else. Would like to see that remastered with a good draw distance.
Very challenging games back in my Sega Mega Drive years now save points or passwords (to what I remember it's been 30 years) but the music was brilliant I managed to complete the first game only once. I started it one Sunday and got far and didn't turn off the console holding it didn't crash when I came back from school the next day managed to finish that evening
Having the people who created the original is one thing, but are they under the same hardcore drugs as when they made the OG Ecco?
Ecco is one if not the most challenging game in Sega Gens. I enjoyed it but never get the chance to finish it.
I'm curious why they decided to revive the series again. I don't remember see anyone ask for a new Ecco game 🤔
@MamaSymphonia Cue horror stories from Japanese players who played the first Ecco game through the Dreamcast's Dream Library service...The Dream Library service's Genesis emulator was, to put it quite frankly, best described with a choice word unfriendly for this site.
Wouldn't have played much better on American systems either--thankfully Ecco was spared from a spot on the Sega Smash Pack Volume 1 collection of equally poorly-emulated Genesis games (you know how bad said emulation worked when the collection's highlights are the non-Genesis stuff, namely Sega Swirl and Virtua Cop 2; needless to say, there was no Volume 2)...
I remember playing Ecco on the Game Gear. I probably dumped a few dozen hours into it. Never once did I ever really figure out what the hell was going on, or what I was supposed to be doing. Had a cool vibe, though.
Glancing at the article and reading 'meta' quests got me really excited for VR support. Doh.
@DennisReynolds I never thought about it being lovecraftian but you are so right! The Vortex scream it in hindsight!
Theres a minigame now on the website where you can play and clean up the ocean. Brings back memories! :'
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