When Ed Annunziata teased a new Ecco the Dolphin game and remasters back in May last year, it felt like a “we’ll see” situation given how long the franchise has been dormant. Today we finally have details. A&R Atelier has officially announced Ecco the Dolphin: Complete, a package that bundles together every version of Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco: The Tides of Time alongside a brand-new contemporary Ecco game built for the modern era.
Ecco the Dolphin: Complete is being built by original members of the Ecco development team, reunited after more than 30 years, including creator Ed Annunziata along with members of the original composition, art, and programming teams. The package covers the 8-bit Master System era and the 16-bit Genesis and Mega Drive generation of classics, preserved as the “immutable” originals, with the new contemporary title weaving the history of the franchise together into a single unified experience.
There are some modern features layered on top too. Ecco the Dolphin: Complete includes built-in speedrunning support, achievements, and leaderboards, plus meta quests that span across the original games and the new title. There’s also a custom course feature that lets players and creators chart their own path through any combination of levels from any game in the franchise and share them with the community, which should give speedrunners and challenge-run fans something meaty to mess with.
A&R Atelier hasn’t announced platforms or a release date yet, but the studio is directing fans to eccothedolphin.com for early preview access and community updates. It’s also worth noting that the “Complete” branding is a bit of a stretch, since the package doesn’t appear to include Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future, the Dreamcast-era 3D entry that Annunziata wasn’t involved with. For longtime fans of the original 2D games, though, a remaster package handled by the actual people who made them is great news, and the addition of a brand-new entry from the original team is something to look forward to.
