So, here we are, waiting — honestly, not sure how long — for maybe a new game. Yeah, like, maybe those remasters will drop next April, or who knows, maybe we’ll just be twiddling our thumbs for even longer. But hey, Ecco the dolphin fans are hanging in there. Weird how a game about a sidescrolling dolphin can get such a cult following, right? Though to be fair, if you’ve ever tried getting through those early challenges without rage quitting, hats off to you.
Ecco: Defender of the Future — that third-person, or is it third-dolphin, 3D piece? — it’s got that eerie yet cozy vibe happening big time. Annunziata didn’t even touch that one, yet it somehow clings to that game’s OG spirit. Spooky sounds, things lurking that make your heart jump, and a learning curve that feels like climbing Everest with your fins. The whole design? A hit, for sure, but also just a reminder of one of my life’s eternal let-downs: I, too, shall never be a dolphin.
But listen up, Annunziata wasn’t just spinning stories from thin air. “I dreamed of a game where life as a dolphin is real,” he told Xbox Wire or something like that. I mean, a dolphin’s about as close to human as a whale, right? Sort of makes sense, I guess.
The dude’s got some big thoughts for a big-brained dude. Anyway, he figures gamers (and he should know) usually carry around some smarts — “higher IQ kinds,” he said, and have this big love for making real-world stuff happen. And yup, he’s throwing a nod to the game’s vibe on ocean care, a thing perfectly in sync with his whole Pacific Islander connection.
Picture it: a culture growing with the ocean over who knows how long, us humans working with the ecosystem instead of just taking from it. Annunziata thinks we’d sync up with ocean rhythms. Seems like a thing we should all be rooting for, right?
So the remasters are coming — Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco: Tides of Time — loaded with Annunziata magic and the OG crew. But don’t bother holding your breath, no actual dates are out there yet for these, or the mysterious new Ecco game. It’s like waiting for the tide, maybe. Patience, I guess.
