Proto:Ecco: The Tides of Time (Genesis)/Ecco II Beta X11/Early and Unused Text
This is a sub-page of Proto:Ecco: The Tides of Time (Genesis)/Ecco II Beta X11.
To do: There's definitely more to cover. |
Text in lowercase is written as such internally; in-game it all renders with the uppercase font.
Contents
- 1 Level Names
- 2 Home Bay
- 3 Teleport Rings
- 4 Trellia's Message
- 5 Future Dolphins
- 6 Future Asterite
- 7 The Song That Splits the Stone of Time in Two
- 8 Door Glyph
- 9 Four Islands
- 10 Horrible Creatures
- 11 Orca Flashback
- 12 Asterite's Plea
- 13 Globe Hunting
- 14 Big Water
- 15 Asterite Fully Restored
- 16 Vortex Defeated
- 17 Miscellany
Level Names
To do: there are more level names that may or may not actually correspond to used levels in the final, and i may have mixed some up as i cannot easily compare levels without sonar maps available |
Almost every level name is different from the final in some way, barring Home Bay, The Eye, and Gravitorbox.
Proto | Final |
---|---|
Corall Reefs | Sea of Green |
Deep Horizont | Deep Ridge |
Collect | Sea of Birds |
Spiral | Secret Cave |
Shark | The Hungry Ones |
Globeholder | Globe Holder |
Between A Times | Two Tides |
Broken Glyph | The Lost Orcas |
Medusa Tube | Vents of Medusa |
Four In A Row | Four Islands |
A Maze-Ing | Maze of Stone |
Dark Stage | Sea of Darkness |
Medusa Entrance | Trellia's Bay |
Upstair | Skyway |
Asterite Cave | Asterite's Cave |
Bird Walk | Eagle's Bay |
Flying Bird | Fin to Feather |
Giant Medusa | Tube of Medusa |
Autocamera | Aqua Tubeway |
Fastcamera | Sky Tides |
Csigaboss | Moray Abyss |
Asterite Ide | Asterite's Home |
Atlantis00 | Atlantis |
Big-Bug | City of Forever |
Fishmorph | Fish City |
Future01 | Black Clouds |
Entrance | Vortex Future |
Vortex on Earth | Lunar Bay |
Vortex Entrance | Dark Sea |
Autovortex | New Machine |
Second01 | Inter |
Second02 | Innuendo |
Second03 | Trans |
Stomach | Inside |
Sarlac | Vortex Queen |
Big Whale | Big Water |
Attack | The Pod |
Home Bay
Proto | Final |
---|---|
IT IS GOOD TO BE BACK IN THE COOL WATERS OF EARTH. |
IT IS GOOD TO BE BACK IN THE COOL WATERS OF THE EARTH. |
A "the" was added before Earth.
Teleport Rings
Proto | Final |
---|---|
THE SEA IS FILLED WITH TELEPORT RINGS MADE ONLY FOR YOU BY THE ATLANTEANS. |
THE SEA IS FILLED WITH TELEPORT RINGS MADE ONLY FOR YOU BY THE ATLANTEANS. SWIM THROUGH THEM AND THEY WILL TAKE YOU GREAT DISTANCES. |
An additional line about how the teleport rings work was added.
Trellia's Message
There are two versions of Trellia's message in the prototype: a near-final draft, and an unused variant found earlier in the ROM. Interestingly, elements of both managed to sneak their way into the Game Gear port.
Proto | Final |
---|---|
I AM TRELLIA AND YOU ARE ECCO, MY ANCESTOR. |
I AM TRELLIA AND YOU ARE MY ANCESTOR. |
Trellia figures Ecco already knows his own name in the final version.
Trellia's Other Message
Proto | Final |
---|---|
I AM TREILLA, I AM BEAUTIFUL, YOU ARE MY ANCESTOR. |
I AM TRELLIA AND YOU ARE MY ANCESTOR. |
In addition to being vain, Trellia in this unused text cannot spell her own name right.
Proto | Final |
---|---|
I AM WHAT YOU WILL EVOLVE TO WHEN THE EARTH IS MUCH OLDER. |
N/A |
Some extra exposition that was trimmed out.
Proto | Final |
---|---|
I EXIST IN THE FUTURE OR ONE POSIBLE FUTURE. |
I AM FROM THE DISTANT FUTURE, OR ONE POSSIBLE FUTURE... |
Proto | Final |
---|---|
THER IS ANOTHER POSSIBLE FUTURE FOR EARTH, A MUCH DARKER FUTURE... THE VORTEX FUTURE. |
THERE IS ANOTHER POSSIBLE FUTURE: A DARK FUTURE, THE VORTEX FUTURE. |
Grammar and punctuation fixes.
Proto | Final |
---|---|
YOU ARE THE STONE THAT SPLITS THE STREAM OF TIME IN TWO. |
I AM HERE TO TAKE YOU TO MY PRESENT, YOUR OLD FRIEND WISHES TO SING TO YOU... |
Trellia reveals the consequences of reckless time travel to Ecco. In the final game, the Asterite in the future says this line instead.
Future Dolphins
Proto | Final |
---|---|
GIANT TUBES OF WATER CONNECT ALL THE SEAS OF EARTH. NOW THE OCEAN IS NOW CONSCIOUS, IT FEELS AND THINKS... |
GIANT TUBES OF WATER CONNECT ALL THE SEAS OF THE EARTH. NOW THE OCEAN IS CONSCIOUS, IT FEELS AND THINKS... |
The redundant "now" was removed, plus another added "the" before Earth.
Proto | Final |
---|---|
LIFE ON EARTH IS IN PERFECT HARMONY. |
LIFE ON EARTH IS IN PERFECT BALANCE. |
Arbitrary one-word change.
Proto | Final |
---|---|
META-SPHERE CREATED BY THE ASTERITE TO CHANGE YOU INTO ANOTHER LIFEFORM. FLIGHT-SPHERE CREATED FOR YOU BY US, THE ATLANTEANS, TO HELP YOU SAVE THE EARTH. |
THE METASPHERE WAS CREATED BY the ASTERITE TO CHANGE YOU INTO ANOTHER LIFEFORM. |
Most interestingly, a whole lot of exposition about the various glyphs, rings and spheres was trimmed down to a single mention of the metasphere, although the text about the "flight-sphere" is actually used in the Game Gear port.
Future Asterite
Proto | Final |
---|---|
HELLO MY LITTLE SINGER, IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU AND FEEL YOUR THOUGHTS AFTER SO LONG LISTEN TO ME CARFULLY, WHEN YOU SAVED YOUR POD THE VORTEX QUEEN FOLLOWED YOU TO EARTH YOU MUST RETURN TO YOUR TIME AND STOP THE VORTEX BEFORE THEY TAKE ROOT UPON THE EARTH THERE ARE TWO POSSIBLE FUTURES FOR EARTH AND ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT THE DARK VORTEX FUTURE. YOU ARE THE STONE THAT SPLIT THE STREAM OF TIME IN TWO. AND ECCO, YOU MUST SAVE MY LIFE, I WILL SHOW YOU MY MEMORIES... |
HELLO MY LITTLE SINGER, IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU AND FEEL YOUR THOUGHTS AFTER SO LONG LISTEN TO ME CAReFULLY. WHEN you SAVED YOUR pod, the VORTEX queen followed you to EARTH YOU MUST RETURN TO YOUR TIME AND STOP THE VORTEX BEFORE THEY TAKE ROOT upon THE EARTH THERE ARE TWO POSSIBLE FUTURES FOR EARTH AND ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT THE DARK VORTEX FUTURE. YOU ARE THE STONE THAT SPLIT THE STREAM OF TIME IN TWO. AND ECCO, YOU MUST SAVE MY LIFE. I WILL SHOW YOU MY MEMORIES... |
Grammar and punctuation improvements. Carfully yours, the Asterite.
The Song That Splits the Stone of Time in Two
Proto | Final |
---|---|
SING THIS SONG IF YOU WANT TO BREAK A ROCK. |
use this song to shatter the stone. |
Reworded a bit.
Door Glyph
Proto | Final |
---|---|
GLYPH IS OPEN... HAVE YOU GOT THIRTY SECONDS TO SEARCH FOR YOURS GLYPH. |
THE GLYPH THAT IS A DOOR IS OPEN FOR A SHORT TIME. |
The amusing broken English here was fixed up for the final version.
Four Islands
Proto | Final |
---|---|
SO YOU ARE THE HERO, ECCO... THERE ARE SONGS OF YOUR GREAT SPEED AND STRENGTH... HERE, I AM THE FASTEST SINGER... IF YOU ARE REALLY THE SINGER ECCO YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO BEAT ME IN A RACE ACROSS THE FOUR ISLANDS IF YOU WIN, I WILL SHOW YOU THE SECRET EXIT. |
N/A |
Proto | Final |
---|---|
HERE, I AM THE FASTEST SINGER... YOU ARE SLOW FOR A HERO OF THE SEA. MAYBE YOU CAN FIND THE SECRET EXIT YOURSELF, SLOWLY. |
N/A |
Proto | Final |
---|---|
YOU ARE TRULY THE FASTEST SINGER IN THE SEA... FOLLOW ME AND I WILL SHOW YOU THE SECRET EXIT. |
N/A |
The dolphin you have to follow in Four Islands doesn't have anything to say in the prototype, but there are unused strings suggesting you would've had to race him instead.
Horrible Creatures
Proto | Final |
---|---|
HORRIBLE CREATURES ATTACKED MY POD... I SWAM AWAY WITH THE LITTLE ONES AND NOW THEY ARE LOST... PLEASE ECCO, FIND THE LITTLE ONES, THEY ARE ALL THAT I HAVE LEFT. |
HORRIBLE CREATURES ATTACKED MY POD. I SWAM AWAY WITH THE LITTLE ONES AND NOW THEY ARE LOST. PLEASE, FIND THEM. |
The orca's plight was toned down a bit in the final version, and an extra line instructing the player what to do.
Orca Flashback
Proto | Final |
---|---|
HELLO ECCO, I AM HAPPY TO SEE YOU BUT I FEEL THE PAIN OF SORROW. PLEASE LET ME SING MY MEMORIES TO YOU. |
thank you, ecco...now my child is safe... I have seen the death of the asterite... listen to my memories... |
The dialogue of the orca who shows the cutscene of the Asterite's death was changed to be more specific about it.
Asterite's Plea
Proto | Final |
---|---|
...FIND... ...GLOBES... |
FIND... ...GLOBES |
The final has less excessive punctuation.
Proto | Final |
---|---|
...NO WAY TO THE DARK... ...MACHINE... ONLY DOWN THE STREAM... |
...NO WAY TO THE DARK... time MACHINE... ONLY DOWN THE STREAM... |
The extraneous ellipsis was replaced with a clarification about the type of machine.
Globe Hunting
Proto | Final |
---|---|
YOU MAY NOT PASS YET, BECAUSE NOT ENOUGHT ASTERITE GLOBES. |
YOU MAY NOT PASS YET, you must rebuild the asterite. |
Half of this sentence was rewritten.
Proto | Final |
---|---|
FIND THE TELEPORT TO ASTERITE AND COME BACK. |
N/A |
This weird line simply never made it to the final game.
Big Water
Proto | Final |
---|---|
GO TO THE LEADER HE CAN HELP YOU. |
THE LEADER CAN HELP YOU. |
This whale's dialogue was shortened a bit.
Proto | Final |
---|---|
I FIXED YOUR PROBLEM. | I will help you my little cousin. |
The whale leader himself had his line completely rewritten, probably because he says this before he busts open a wall for you.
Asterite Fully Restored
Proto | Final |
---|---|
YOU AMAZE ME AGAIN LITTLE ONE... NOW THAT I AM WHOLE AGAIN I CAN GIVE YOU THE POWER YOU NEED TO STOP THE VORTEX QUEEN AND... I WILL TEACH YOU A POWERFUL SONG TO SUMMON YOUR BROTHER SINGERS... YOU WILL NEED HELP WITH THE MANY VORTEX DRONES. |
YOU AMAZE ME AGAIN, LITTLE ONE... NOW THAT I AM WHOLE AGAIN, I CAN GIVE YOU THE POWER YOU NEED TO STOP THE VORTEX QUEEN AND... I WILL sing A POWERFUL SONG TO SUMMON YOUR BROTHER SINGERS... they WILL help you with the MANY VORTEX DRONES go now and stop the Vortex menace. |
The newly-repaired Asterite's call to action was reworded in the final version.
Proto | Final |
---|---|
LET'S GO TOGETHER AND DESTROY NEST OF EVIL VORTEX... MY FORCE BE WITH YOU. |
N/A |
Like the early Trellia dialogue, this obvious placeholder string also exists separate from the used text.
Vortex Defeated
Proto | Final |
---|---|
YOU ARE GREAT. WE ARE FREE. THE TIMEMACHINE IS OUR PROBLEM. |
Once again you are the hero of the sea... You have saved your kind... you have saved the asterite... and you have saved the earth's future. songs of your courage will echo in the waters of the earth forever. I am proud to be your pod mate. |
The touching message of Ecco's victory from his fellow dolphins is a lot cheaper in the prototype, nor is it followed by the credits. It's also another case of something the Asterite would tell you in the final being attributed to someone else in the prototype.
Miscellany
These strange strings are located between the teleport ring and early Trellia dialogue. What they correspond to in the final is currently unknown as all the strings between the teleport ring and stone song text were removed, though they appear to suggest Good Future-related contexts.
Proto | Final |
---|---|
THE GLYPH WITH THE KEY SONG IS BROKEN BUT I REMEMBER IT WELL... LISTEN AND LEARN... |
N/A |
Proto | Final |
---|---|
YOUR HOST GAVE YOU A HELP TO REACH HIM KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE SKY. |
N/A |
Proto | Final |
---|---|
SEARCH YOUR OLD FRIEND THE ORCA, HE KNOWS MORE THAN YOU THINK. |
N/A |
Proto | Final |
---|---|
WELLCOME TO OUR FUTURE ! YOUR HOST IS WAITTING FOR YOU, HURRY UP, BECAUSE YOU CAN STAY HERE JUST FOR A LIMITED TIME. |
N/A |
There is no timer on how long Ecco can stay in either future.
Proto | Final |
---|---|
THIS SONG CAN FREE UP THE ENERGY FROM THE STANDING OBJECTS... USE THIS SONG TO REACH THE TOP OF THE SKY. |
N/A |
A key glyph in Skyway blocks the way to Sky Tides; maybe this is referring to that?
Proto | Final |
---|---|
YOUR TIME IS OVER IN THE FUTURE. YOU WILL BACK TO YOUR PRESENT. I GIVE YOU A SPECIAL GIFT. |
N/A |
Proto | Final |
---|---|
THIS IS A MOST DANGEROUS WAY, I NEVER SEEN ANYBODY, WHO'S BACK FROM THERE. |
N/A |
The following strings appear to be early Asterite dialogue.
Proto | Final |
---|---|
HELP ME. | N/A |
Proto | Final |
---|---|
COLLECT MY GLOBES. | N/A |
Proto | Final |
---|---|
I NEED TO BE COMPLETE TO GIVE YOU THE FORCE, ...BUT I'M STRONG ENOUGH THE REAGAIN YOUR POWER. |
N/A |
Proto | Final |
---|---|
UNBELIEVABLE HOW YOU REACH THIS REAL HIDE PART OF THE SEA. I'V SEEN WHAT REALLY HAPPENS WHEN THEN ENEMYES COMES. |
N/A |
Proto | Final |
---|---|
I CAN KEEP YOU IN MY MEMORY, IF ANY TROUBLE HAPPENS COME BACK TO ME. I'M THE ONLY ONE, WHO CAN HELP YOU. |
N/A |