This article has a talk page!This page details pre-release information and/or media for Ecco the Dolphin (Genesis).
Dolphin was the working title for Ecco the Dolphin during development. Created by Novotrade International, Dolphin was shown off at various trade shows during 1992-93, and in promotional materials Sega would give publications in their press kits. These early glimpses showcase a variety of changes not present in the final versions or any known discovered prototypes.
1992 Spain VHS#
In 1992, a VHS from Sega titled Lo Nunca Visto de Sega Presentando Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was circulated around Spain to various magazines, showcasing upcoming in-development titles. Among the games seen is Dolphin, showcasing a few notable differences:
Immediately noticeable is the color of the water gradient, which features a much more prominent shade of purple than the final. Other pre-release screenshots show a similar color gradient, indicating this is likely an actual palette change and not a result of video compression.
An unknown shelled enemy or perhaps food source is shown suspended in the water near the beginning of the video. This object appears similar in appearance to a piece of background art in The Home Bay, where it is embedded in rock. A similar object can be seen sucked up into the Vortex tornado in the beginning of the game, but this specific object is never seen floating in the game.
In the final game, this cave entrance is blocked by round boulders stacked in an arc. Ecco pushes a spiraled conch shell onto these rocks, which cause them to break away. In this footage, the barrier is instead made of the conches. The footage does not show what object would be used to break these instead.