LCD handheld Ecco the Dolphin playthrough / review

Hey what's up guys,

I recently bought and played through a rare and unique LCD handheld game: Ecco the Dolphin from 1994. While Ecco was fairly well known for quality games on Sega Genesis, Sega CD, etc., I never knew there was an LCD version of Ecco. Apparently the line of games, Pocket Arcade, seemed devoted to bringing translations of popular Sega titles on Genesis and even on Sega Saturn, onto LCD handhelds.

Anyway check out my unboxing and play-through.

The channel is not monetized so I do not make money in any way, shape, or form.

It's genuinely for the interest of exploring a rare and obscure game that I never knew existed, in a line of games that I never knew existed.

The Ecco series is possibly my favorite videogame series so I had to check it out:

a reply to: peacefulpete

Wow , 24 years on and look how far we've come.
I remember the LCD games but never played one , even back then they were a bit primitive compared to to the consoles , interesting to see it played though.

I had Ecco the Dolphin on the Megadrive , good game with a unique hook but hard as nails , for me at least , I'd either drown or get killed by sharks so never completed it.

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: peacefulpete

Wow , 24 years on and look how far we've come.
I remember the LCD games but never played one , even back then they were a bit primitive compared to to the consoles , interesting to see it played though.

I had Ecco the Dolphin on the Megadrive , good game with a unique hook but hard as nails , for me at least , I'd either drown or get killed by sharks so never completed it.

Thanks for appreciating it.

There is actually a second "Ecco the Dolphin" LCD game from 1997 lol. Which I will probably check out at some point.

I think one really interesting aspect of LCD games is that they demanded so much imagination lol, because of their extremely limited gameplay and display.

Tech-wise the LCD (liquid-crystal display) is basically exactly the same as the display of a calculator lol or a stopwatch.

So instead of numbers, the LCD has drawings of gameplay images.

And instead of calculating numbers, the game is creating a resemblance of free-movement and gameplay interacting with the objects on-screen.

This is a great little game.

It's also such an unknown and unlikely version of Ecco that it seems a bit unreal and dream-like lol.

a reply to: peacefulpete

Lookup "Sega Genesis emulator".

originally posted by: IgnoranceIsntBlisss
a reply to: peacefulpete

Lookup "Sega Genesis emulator".

Haha I meant that the LCD games of Ecco are practically unknown.

The Genesis games did see a moderate presence and popularity.

I hated those LCD games, frustrating as hell half the time with dodgy buttons.

Ecco on Mega drive was great though, hard as #!!!

Never thought I'd see an Ecco thread on ATS

originally posted by: valiant
I hated those LCD games, frustrating as hell half the time with dodgy buttons.

Ecco on Mega drive was great though, hard as #!!!

Never thought I'd see an Ecco thread on ATS

Haha well I made the videos out of my own interest. I don't usually check out the videogames section of ATS but it's here and seems to be for general videogames talk, so I figured I'd post it. I find the little game pretty beautiful and impressive so I knew that some other people would like it, too.

Ecco has such an amazing series. The Sega CD music (featured in the vids) always feels so epic and so healing.

Plenty of the music could legit be used for a relaxation CD or meditation CD. Yoga class etc. I have even slept with some of that music looping quietly all night.

edit: re-posted below.

a reply to: peacefulpete

The music was great, that's the first thing I think of when I see ecco or someone talk about it, very memorable, as were a lot of games' music back then.

originally posted by: valiant
a reply to: peacefulpete

The music was great, that's the first thing I think of when I see ecco or someone talk about it, very memorable, as were a lot of games' music back then.

Also you may be surprised to know that the Ecco series ties into the topic of aliens.

Only the beginning of the game is nature-simulation, and it's awesome.

But after maybe half a dozen stages, it goes into crazy science fiction, with aliens attacking Earth to consume all the life from the ocean.

Ecco ends up defeating the aliens to save Earth and to make the alien Queen barf up all the creatures she has eaten, including Ecco's family.

Furthermore, the roots of the series are inspired by that one scientist who would take drugs to hallucinate and talk to aliens lol, which he really believed he was doing.

The good aliens were called ECCO. The Earth Coincidence Control Office.

IIRC.

That's where Ecco gets his name. He also found bad aliens who were robotic artifical life that consumed life. The inspirations of the aliens in the videogames, apparently.

Finally BILLY MEIER has an indirect connection to the Ecco series because his false photo of a pterodactyle was actually just from a book, and that drawing just happened to be also used as the image for the pterodactyl in the first Ecco videogame lol.

a reply to: peacefulpete

I remember how crazy sci fi and HARD it got in the later stages, some of those levels were mind blowing tbh, and as a kid I just thought were cool and weird, but as I got older I realized it was a bit more than just crazy levels.

originally posted by: valiant
a reply to: peacefulpete

I remember how crazy sci fi and HARD it got in the later stages, some of those levels were mind blowing tbh, and as a kid I just thought were cool and weird, but as I got older I realized it was a bit more than just crazy levels.

Yep and I love the coincidence that Ecco has that indirect connection to
BILLY MEIER and his fake pterodactyl photo.
He was only showing a blurry version of a drawing that was also used for the pterodactyl in the first Ecco game.

I never played that but I did play Ecco for the Sega Genesis. I also had one of the original black and white Gameboys. It's amazing how far technology has come in such a short time... We went from that to some video games that look indistinguishable from real life. I can't even imagine what another 20 years is going to be like. By the time I'm old enough to be in a nursing home I'll probably be able to plug my brain into a virtual reality simulation that's just as realistic as real life.

OK I figured I'd post images for the Billy Meier thing.

First here is Billy Meier's supposed photo of a real pterodactyl:



Now here is the drawing that it seems to obviously be a blurry version of:



Here's the book that it's from:



And here is the SAME image from that book, used for the pterodactyl in Ecco:

originally posted by: peacefulpete

originally posted by: IgnoranceIsntBlisss
a reply to: peacefulpete

Lookup "Sega Genesis emulator".

Haha I meant that the LCD games of Ecco are practically unknown.

The Genesis games did see a moderate presence and popularity.

The game gear edition(s) are excellent as well.

originally posted by: trollz
I never played that but I did play Ecco for the Sega Genesis. I also had one of the original black and white Gameboys. It's amazing how far technology has come in such a short time... We went from that to some video games that look indistinguishable from real life. I can't even imagine what another 20 years is going to be like. By the time I'm old enough to be in a nursing home I'll probably be able to plug my brain into a virtual reality simulation that's just as realistic as real life.

Haha cool but what we really need is a real-life Holo-Deck from Star Trek. It's an empty room that creates imagery and physical form of any objects and people etc. that you want.

So in the show they would do things like recreate the Old West and visit a saloon, and goofy stuff like that. But you can imagine how people would use it in real life lol. wink wink

originally posted by: 3n19m470

originally posted by: peacefulpete

originally posted by: IgnoranceIsntBlisss
a reply to: peacefulpete

Lookup "Sega Genesis emulator".

Haha I meant that the LCD games of Ecco are practically unknown.

The Genesis games did see a moderate presence and popularity.

The game gear edition(s) are excellent as well.

Yes the first Game Gear Ecco game is great! Very bright colors exclusive to that version and nice music. Excellent game.

I think the second Ecco game on GG was a disappointment though. The colors seemed washed out and dull.

a reply to: peacefulpete

it's amazing isn't it? How artists can be inspired by real life glimpses into the past or future? Like all those Simpson's & Family Guy retro active "predictions"? Obviously the artist was inspired by this important moment in history when a man travelled in time. Angels or aliens or the akashic records or whatever you need to believe in, put the image in the artists mind. He Did goof* it up just a tad, in a few places, like he drew 2 fish so close to each other in mid air instead of a snake as seen in the Billy photo.

And even if you don't buy that explanation, I'll just say it was the Mandella Effect.

I'm just kidding, but I wanted to share that explanation with you that I heard once long ago. Ok it was about 3 yrs ago. Not all that long in Billy Years.

originally posted by: 3n19m470
a reply to: peacefulpete

it's amazing isn't it? How artists can be inspired by real life glimpses into the past or future? Like all those Simpson's & Family Guy retro active "predictions"? Obviously the artist was inspired by this important moment in history when a man travelled in time. Angels or aliens or the akashic records or whatever you need to believe in, put the image in the artists mind. He Did good it up just a tad, in a few places, like he drew 2 fish so close to each other in mid air instead of a snake as seen in the Billy photo.

And even if you don't buy that explanation, I'll just say it was the Mandella Effect.

I'm just kidding, but I wanted to share that explanation with you that I heard once long ago. Ok it was about 3 yrs ago. Not all that long in Billy Years.

Haha a little confusing but I love how Billy Meier got busted by the Ecco videogame and the book which inspired both the Ecco games and Billy's fake photo.

It's one memorable example of why I consider the guy discredited.

a reply to: peacefulpete

Wow I never knew those existed. Seems like it'd be hard to play. I remember LCD games. I had one of those 100 in 1 type ones with a bunch of different block games. But oh god ecco the dolphin. That's probably one of the most frustrating games i've ever played that along with the original Prince of Persia were probably the hardest Sega games I owned. I'm not sure if i've ever actually beat ecco...I don't think so. I did enjoy it though. I always liked the lonely wandering atmosphere of it.