Now I understand why dolphins leap into the air they're just so happy that they're not drowning

I think it's safe to say that Dark Souls has been the Ecco the Dolphin of ARPGS

As a kid, I honestly thought this game was just a sandbox game where you swim around and explore.

To be fair, I never actually quit playing Ecco. I kept playing it up until the sega was eventually packed away. I just never got past the first level.

I think the saddest thing about this game is how amazing the soundtrack is, but virtually no kid got to hear it at the time due to how brutally difficult the game is.

The spritework is absolutely incredible

The 90s was wild, good times

The noise he makes when taking damage is forever burned into my brain. Very unsettling.

they expected you to read the instruction manual

Real dolphins can hold their breath around 30 minutes.

They also only sleep half their brain at a time so they can keep getting air

I never even came close to passing the very first level

5:00 You have to lift the block slowly.

As a kid in the 90's, I quit Ecco because of the lack of direction and lack of what your character can actually do. It was overly difficult at the time.

2 years later Rare just said FK it... a monkey can breath underwater and here is a chill soundtrack.

It's an accurate representation of the sea

This is one of those games that you do what you can, play till your maximum stage, and just quit and play something else.  Kind of like Tetris and Pacman TBH.

That octopus use to give me a panic attack when I was a kid

I never played Ecco, I played Ecco 2 Tides of TIME...and I rented That Block Buster.  Good imes.

As a kid I spent hours just swimming around at the start of the game, just playing with my dolphin friends.  The lights, noises, and complete change in the atmosphere really scared young me, so I never even tried to beat it.  Rock on, though.  Ecco is anything but an easy game to beat.  Good job, man.

Beat this way back in the 90s, and man. The music for Ice Zone is still stuck in my head. Final level and boss were really unsettling, too.