Ecco the Dolphin (Genesis)

In Ecco the Dolphin, you control a dolphin with some unusual marks on his head. After a waterspout, his pod vanished, and he was left to roam the seas in search of it. After talking to an orca and a blue whale, he was told to visit the Asterite: a wise creature made of spheres. The Asterite is eager to help, but is missing some of his globes. Ecco is sent to the past to retrieve the spheres, and does so by kicking them out of the past Asterite's body. Hence, the Asterite only lost his spheres because he told Ecco to remove them in the first place. After that, Ecco is sent back to the past, now with a new power, and is sucked along with his pod to face the evil Vortex race. Yes, there are paradoxes, time loops and alternate timelines, but that's the least of your problems, given that the game is hard and usually ready to scare you.

The stuff on this page is about the US version, except for the Japanese version's section.

Debug menu
In game, turn to either side and pause the game while Ecco is facing the camera. Then, press Right, B, C, B, C, Down, C, Up. A screen titled "The Dolphin" will appear, and you'll be able to change some settings.


 * Stage number: Goes from 0 to 27. Change this and press Start to be sent to the corresponding level. Some of them are meant to be used in cutscenes and might freeze the game.
 * Sound number: Goes from 0 to 65. A sound test. Choose a number, and press A to listen to the song with that number, and B to listen to the sound effect with that number.
 * Music tempo: Goes from -120 to 120. 0 is the default value, and plays the current song at normal tempo. Other values just add or remove BPM to the normal tempo of the song. Some values will work incorrectly for some songs.
 * Message number: Goes from 0 to 54. Choose a number and press A or B to view that message. 22, 31 and 32 are empty and 43 gives you invincibility.
 * Unlimited life: If set to 1, your damage and oxygen meters will not decrease.
 * Teleporter: Change the X and Y values, and when you press Start and you will be teleported into that place. It will be canceled if you choose out-of-bounds coordinates. If you get yourself inside a wall, there'll be no way out, as you can't turn around to face the camera and perform the cheat again.

By changing address, one can change the options below the visible ones. The values for them (at least for the first 3) are, and. Changing their values may cause you to go to different stages.

Unused music
There are some unused songs in the game, accessible through the debug menu.

14
Sounds like it could belong to an island-related level.



18
Sounds like it could be used in levels that are mostly played in deep waters.



19
A bit similar to 18, but this one sounds like it belongs in the ending.



Ancestors
In the top left and top right corners of Origin Beach are 2 glyphs, hidden inside the walls. If you use your sonar on them, you'll get the following messages:

Left (27): We hear song in the ocean! We hear our kind in the sea! Never have we heard songs in the sea!

Right (28): You sing our song under the waves Who are you? Could we sing in the sea? Could we live in the sea? Perhaps we will try!

Ed Annunziata said that this was the answer to a question put on earlier in the game, "Why do dolphins live in the sea?". These glyphs were meant to be ancestors to Ecco, but due to time constraints, they were simply moved out of the way.

There are also other unused messages, without a source:

10
Great winds of water pulled me here - now I am lost... Please help me to pass the current below

11
Thank you... I will give you a song to confuse the jelly fish

14
The Hungry Ones will not let me surface for air...I am afraid

17
Some shells will eat through stone

21
The Asterite is very deep... Fill your lungs Swim fast

33
I will see you again young singer Good luck!

41
I give you a song to open the next glyph

Unused graphics
A turtle with 4 animation frames exists in the game. It can be seen by going to address on the ROM, and replacing that  with a,  or. By doing that, start a new game and go check the unique shell under the entrance to the next level. It should've been replaced with the turtle. That little dot on the corner is meant to exist.

Japanese version
The Japanese version has several interesting changes.

Misc.
The SEGA logo screen has a sound of Ecco using his sonar. There's only silence in the US version.



The main "menu" has signs telling you that to the left is the password screen, and to the right is where you start a new game. These are absent in the US version.

In the password screen, if you write an incorrect password, the sound of the Vortex Queen munching on you plays. Nothing plays in the US version.

When you pause, the word "PAUSE" appears in the middle of the screen, and the song's tempo gradually decreases until it stops. When you unpause, the tempo gradually returns to normal. In the US version, 2 blinking bars appear, parallel to each other vertically, forming the classic "pause" symbol. The music keeps going like normal.

When the Vortex Queen eats you, instead of being taken to the Machine again, you're taken to a smaller, easier and not-auto-scrolling level called The Stomach. This uses a unique theme (read below). This level also features sprites for jelly fish that would later be used in Ecco: The Tides of Time.

On the fight with the Queen Vortex, you only need to drop her jaw twice, for a total of 8 hits. In the US version, you need to drop it 3 times, for 12 hits total. Before the ending credits, a few messages appear in Japanese.



"The sea is throbbing with life and filled with the song of joy again. That sound is from the many distant stars. However, upon looking at the blue light of the stars, you see five stars glittering from the cosmos over there. To the side of Pegasus, there is a small constellation, shining brightly. That is Delphinus."

Debug menu


The debug menu doesn't overlap the current screen. Instead, it fades to black and changes the background to a regular ocean backdrop. And when you leave, the music continues where it left off, whereas the music goes silent in the US version.

The first option also starts with the value 0 instead of your current level number. When you try to view a message, the game shows it to you (in Japanese, obviously), and quits the debug menu, instead of staying on it. This version also adds 2 extra messages, as the number can go from 0 to 56.

Unique songs
There are 3 songs that are only used in the Japanese version. However, these can still be heard in the US version's sound test.

This theme plays in Cold Water.

This wacky theme plays in Open Ocean.

This one plays in the extra level, The Stomach.