                   <Ecco The Dolphin Frequently Asked Questions>
                               < Version 1.5>
<By Aleksandr Berland and various other contributors listed in section IX>



    This FAQ is the product of various contributors and myself. It is
freely distributed as long as the credits are kept with the document.
Give it to friends, put it at a ftp sites, etc.

     Thank you for cooperation, Aleksandr Berland.

If you have new codes, advice, I'd love to hear from you.
 Write me at:
  BCcJ@psuvm.psu.edu ----- Now onto the goodstuff........

      The FAQ is divided into these sections as followed:

       I. Ecco Storyline
       II.. Ecco Control
       III. Levels
       IV. Objects, enemies, and allies
       V. Questions Answered
       VI. Quirks
       VII.  Codes
       IIX. Miscellaneous Junk
       IX. Credits/Disclaimer

I. StoryLine from Booklet:

     Life was an adventure for Ecco, the young dolphin. The Ocean
seemed endless, with rolling breakers to race through! At high
speed, Ecco could burst through the waves, leaping through the air
---- almost flying! Then with a deep gulp of breath, Ecco would
plunge down into the blue depths, where  shelled ones hid in the
 coral crannies on the ocean floor.

     Ecco knew that dolphins couldn't breath underwater. Fish and
coral stayed below the waves. But Ecco's kind needed air. This was
a puzzle, and Ecco wanted to learn the answer.

     The ocean was full of songs. There were easy ones that came to
Ecco naturally. These were the songs for calling dolphins and other
singers of the watery world. There were new songs that took time to
learn. These songs could open the Shelled Ones and scare off Hungry
Ones who roamed near the dolphins' home. And then there were songs
about just being alive and free!

     The dolphins also had sad songs about stinging jellyfish,
swift currents and rocky walls that trapped singers deep under-
water. But the best ones were the proud, powerful songs about
teeming schools of fish that filled the oceans and were good
to eat, and about submerged, air-filled caves where a smart
dolphin could breath.

     Five bright marks shone on Ecco's sleek head. No other
dolphin had these silvery spots. When the air was dark, the
family sing that Ecco's markings matched five shining points
far up in the sky. The song said that Ecco was special, a
favorite of the ocean. Or maybe it went on, the markings were
just for looks, the way some fish had spots. But the broad
sky of the dryside also held a hidden terror. One day it
attacked, without warning ---- a huge gust of swirling wind
like a churning whirlpool of air and water. It tore all life
from Ecco's Home Bay.  Singers and shelled ones and even the
small fish were ripped, helpless, twisting in fright, into the
high nothingness beyond. And then they vanished!

     Only Ecco remained. In the flash of one leap, Ecco's safe
home, full of life and song, had become strange and silent.
Everything had changed.

     Now Ecco must fight to stay alive. Deadly hazards fill
the wide oceans outside, but Ecco must find the lost dolphin
pod. From the rip tides of the southern gulfs to the frozen
chill of northern seas, Ecco must search through sunken worlds
where razor teeth and poison stingers lurk in the dark depths.

     Ecco, all alone, faces a treacherous quest to save the
family. Only by fighting to survive can Ecco rescue the singers
of the sea, and end a disaster that threatens the entire world.


II. Ecco Control

  Start Button ------ Skips the opening sequence or the
     demo games and goes to the title screen.
     Exits the title screen and goes to the submerged cavern.
     Exits password screen and starts the quest from your
     password's level.
     Exits the Echcolocatation map and returns to quest
     Pauses a game during play; resumes a paused game

     To Turn off music, pause the game and press A.
      Unpause the game.

  D Button ------ Controls Ecco's direction of movement. Need
                  I say more?


  Button A (sonar)-----sends out Ecco sonar
           (blue shield like projection)
       Button A held until the sonar returns, will cause the
       sonar return as Echolocation and a map of the general
       vicinities will appear.

          Echolocation Map

   Orange circles- prowling enemies or dangerous objects
   Bubbles-Air pockets and energy sources
   Mini Glyph- Glyph
   Orange Blocks- barriers moveable rocks and shells


          More about button A ----- can be used as weapon or
          to talk to other other dolphins or organisms. Also
          to clear message screen or any text screen.

          Sonar as a Weapon

            After the Lagoon Level , as a reward for rescueing the
            two dolphins, pressing B and then A will kill jellyfish,
            Damage other enemies etc. (Note: On Lagoon Level, after
            the two dolphins ONCE, the "special power" granted can be
            used any level after it.) The "special power" does not
            always have an effect on all enemies.

      Facing the huge vortex head at the end, the sonar can be
      used to damage it. (More info on defeating it on Levels section)

Sonar and Glyphs

 Glyphs can contain "permission" to get by a tunnel blocked off
 by another glyph. The finding of the key glyphs is usually the
 main objective of the levels. Finding them on specific levels
 is discussed in the Levels section of the FAQ. Send sonar to a
 glyph and 6 things can happen:
                   1. It will give you information
                   2. It will give you permission to pass another glyph
                   3. If you have the "permission" from the key glyph,
                      it will by(barrier glyph)
                   4. It will open a passage somewhere else
                   5. It wil make you invincible for a short period of
                      time and then when over, it will restore your
                      health/air


    Button B (charge)-----  Makes Ecco "dart" through the water
    for brief moment at a faster speed than usual.
    It can be used in a few ways:

       1. By "darting" at an enemy, you will kill it, or damage it
       2. You can use it to build up speed.
       3. You can use it to jump higher into the air if used at
          right time
       4. See Sonar As a Weapon


     Button C (speed swim) ----- Used to build up speed mostly
and for jumping.  When wanting to build up alot of speed, keep
hitting C rather than B or just holding C down. The faster Ecco
is going the more spectacular a jump will be.




     This Concludes ECCO CONTROL


     Part III. LEVELS


    The game starts out with Ecco in a tunnel. Going Right will
start a new game. Going Left will take you into the Password Menu.

     Password Menu

    To enter a password buttons C and B add highlighted letters
to the password. Choose the arrows to go back and fix mistakes.
Press Start when the code is complete.

                      Conditions:
      Normal- means that the air is there
      Abnormal- Means that the air is not there,
      but should be(in section Quirks read why)
      Normal2-means that the air is not there,
      but it shouldn't be anyway

  Note 1: Combinations of 'N' and "A' can get you practically
  any level
  (it just happens that many codes are combinations of 'N' and 'A' )
  Note 2: There are, of course, other codes for each of the levels,
  in each of the "conditions", but the best of efforts has been put
  in to give you all the codes that are known.
  Note 3: Normal game processes don't always work if you begin on
  certain levels  while  invincible or use a code for no air. They
  will be discussed in Quirks.
  Note 4: To Begin a new game with No air bar, for a password enter:
                            LIFEFISH.


Tropical Levels
1    Submerged cave-No code- go right to begin game in Ecco's Home
                          Bay, or left to enter a password
2    Ecco's Home Bay-No code-  Jump as high as you can to begin the
                            game.
3    Unamed First Level-No Code-You will meet an Orca
4    Undercaves-ANNAAAAA-Normal-LEVELSCT-Abnormal-Octopus on this level
on

5    The Vents-AANNAANN-Abnormal-AANNAANN-Normal - You only have
                                       to rescue the dolphins once.
6    Lagoon- VTXTVIAG-Normal-SHARKFIN-Abnormal-Octopus on
     this level
7    Ridgewater-XSGMLFBY-Normal

8    Open Ocean- YGMXLFBE-Normal-KHDBVRIS-Abnormal- just a
     whole lotta' sharks
Ice Levels
9    Ice Zone-YPPMOFBI-Normal-XRGQXRIX-Abnormal
10   Hard Water-ANAANANN-Abnormal-ANANANAN-Normal
11   Cold Water-IOOOOOOO-Normal-LNXHXRLB-Abnormal-HUGE
     blue whale

12   Island Zone-AANNAAAA-Normal-DVJLURIC-Abnormal
13   DeepwaterI-GKBQLFBY-Normal-OEWSURLC-Abnormal-1st
     encounter with the Asterite

Atlantis Levels
14    Marble Sea-AANAANAA-Abnormal-XYZTNFBG-Normal
15    Library-GFYXNFBU- Normal
16    Deep City-AANNNNAA-Abnormal-AANNNNAA-Normal
17    City of Forever-NAAANANNA-Normal

Prehistoric Levels
18    Jurassic Beach-MDEBRCBO-Normal
19    Pteradon Pond-PIDFRCBZ-Normal
20    Origin Beach- AAAANNNN-Normal
21    Trilobyte Circle-DETSWCIY
22    Dark Water-AAAANNAA-Abnormal-NNAANNAA-2nd ecounter
      with Asterite-you have to fight it
23      Return to DeepWater- EQAAKNLC-Normal
24      Return to City of Forever-ZBPIGPLD-Normal2
     Return to Ecco's Homebay-No Code Known
25      The Tube-FIVEPODS/KUVEKMLK-Normal2
26      The Machine-NNNNNNNN
27      The Last Fight- NAAANAAA



Here's a list of the levels for the SegaCD version of Ecco.


Submerged Cave         no code
Undercaves             EREBBANO
The Vents              UDFINLDL
The Lagoon             QZJTNLDS
Ridge Water            ITCXPWNY
Open Ocean             YRVAQWNJ
Ice Zone               UDZEUWND
Hard Water             YHUTTWNU
Cold Water             OGNXTWNG
Open Ocean             IBPTRWNR
Island Zone            KMTPQWND
Deep Water             SUJTPWNM
Volcanic Reef          CEDMRWNV
Ship Grave Sea         CMPITWNN
Wreck Trap             MNWETWNB
Sea of Silence         SKIMTWNY
Deep Gate              IJBQTWNK
Marble Sea             OYABSWNO
The Library            KUFMSWNW
Deep City              EXTESWNZ
City of Forever        UVMISWNK
Jurassic Beach         EPVPVTNE
Pterandon Pod          OQCMVTNT
Origin Beach           KMHXVTNB
Trilobite Circle       UNOTVTNP
Dark Water             OYOIXTNL
Deep Water             CSFFAEBJ
City of Forever        ETVEMSNN
beginning              ????????
The Tube               WUYTJENH
The Machine            AZTIJENA
Last Fight             ???????

Here are instructions for levels that people seem to have trouble with:

 The Vents: You need only rescue the dolphins once EVER, after that
 you can just leave, by going to the farest tunnel down to the right,













====


   Objects:
Glyph- crystals that help Ecco on his journey
     Glyph 1: Glyph gives info
     Glyph 2: Glyph gives permission to pass another or
              bounces "key" sonar back
     Glyph 3: Blocks passage until permisson is granted
              or "key" sonar is obtained
     Glyph 4:  Makes you invincible and then restore energy/air
     Glyph 5: Moves something

Energy Clam or Shelled Ones- Shelled creatures which Ecco
 'sings' to and they release Bluish energy bubble to restore
  Ecco's life bar.

Fish- Any harmless colorful/tropical fish that restores Ecco's life bar--To
get them, dart through a school of fish with Button B.

Ancient Energy Plant- Pulsating plants that restore Ecco's life bar when
Ecco 'Sings' to it. Found in the Prehistoric Levels.

Urchin ring- Strange hoop of urchins that can be used to break through
rock and other barriers.  To move it, use sonar. There IS a time limit. They
can be gold or maroon.

Loose rocks- Can be used to fight upward currents. Push into the passage
in which there is a current, and go down with Ecco's nose to it.

Loose Blocks-Same thing as above. Usually Green or Red. Also can be
used to get through chains in the Atlantis levels

Statues- Similar to Glyphs/ sing to it to use
1. Make you invincible for a short while and then restore Ecco's
energy bar completely.
2. Grant Access somewhere
3. Open someplace

Spikes- Anything that looks sharp is most likely harmful--see enemies

Air Pockets- Places in underwater caverns, where there is an air source.

Cone Shell-Glowing spiral-cone shell that can be use to break barriers

Time Machine- In the City of Forever, machine that takes you back 55
million years. To get to work move to the middle of the machine between
the two Disc like structures and use your sonar. It should bounce back at
you and you should begin to spin.

Transport Circle- In the City of Forever, circle found in small room that
was opened by singing to the statue. Will take you to the Time Machine.

This portion will be completed in the near future.
		

Enemies			Levels found on		Hits to kill
	Damage % Ecco		Notes
Jellyfish
Jellyfish
Blowfish
Blowfish
Shark
Shark
Sucker Plant		6 & 13			doesn't die	O%   swim
diagonally with C to escape
Octopus			4,6, & 12			doesn't die
Spiked Shell
Spikes
Glyph creatures
Diamond things
Bad Energy Clam
Bad Ancient Plant	prehistoric levels
Crabs
Giant Ice Crabs
Coelcanth fish
Trilobyte
Volcano Plant
Moving Ice Blocks
Moving Rocks
Moving Platforms
Nautilus
Asterite
Lightning
Small Vortex
Large Vortex
Blue Balls
(does anybody know some proper names for the enemies on The Tube
level?)

Allies			Levels			
Orca
Fellow Dolphin
Blue Whale
Asterite


V. Questions Answered

Here are some common questions asked:

1(q) How do begin the game?

1(a) Sorry for those of you who are more clever, but this is a common
problem.
The answer is, in Ecco's Home Bay (when you go left in the submerged
cave)
To build up speed until you can jump about to the top of the screen. You
will Know when it happens

2(q) How do I rescue dolphins?

2(a) Alright, when you find a dolphin, swim in front of it. It will jerk
unnaturally to follow you.  Return it to the Dolphin who asked you to
rescue in the first place. YOU CAN ONLY RESCUE ONE DOLPHIN AT
A TIME!

3(q) How do I beat The Vents?

3(a) To beat The Vents, rescue the dolphins only ONCE....EVER!!!! Once
you've done this once whenever playing this level, just go far right as
possible, and use the rock to fight the current until you come to a Glyph.
Turn Right Just before it. You are outta' there!

4(q) On the Ice Levels, How do I get anywhere?

4(a) In the Openings to the air in the ice, jump up, and onto the ice. Ecco
should slide on his stomache.

5(q) I am stuck at the beginning of Deep City, what do I do?

5(a) That wall to the right that is seemingly impassable is NOT! You must
jump over it, and it may take a while, but you CAN get over.

6(q) Is there a secret passage in The City of Forever or do I have to jump
over all those walls?

6(a) No secret. There is a passage though, find the statue on the upper
right hand corner, across from the glyph on the far left hand side of the
screen. Sing to it and it will say "Access Granted" and then go down to
where there was a passage blocked off with the green wall, and it has
disappeared!  Go in and find the purplish ring and swim into it. You should
be right below the time machine. Go up to it. Don't worry about all the
mazes to the right, just go up to the machine and sing to it.

7(q)How do defeat the Asterite on Dark Water?

7(a)  Hit  *4* globes of the same color. If you hit one of a different color,
you start over again It is very difficult without cheating.

8(q) How do I beat the Giant Vortex Head?

	8(a) Step One: Use Sonar and shoot at it's eyes until they pop out
(both of them)
Step Two: Dart at it's jaw. On the third time it will seem like it popped out.
WRONG! It's still there. You'll have to keep hitting it for a while. Make
sure you don't get sucked in. Doesn't matter if you're invincible, once
you're sucked in you die either way. If you are invincible, your shadow will
just float around a bit. And that's no good! Step Three: When the jaw is
finally off, go up to the middle of the big 'ol forehead of this
sucker and nail it a coupla' times. You Have Beat the game!


VI. Quirks

There are alot of quirks in Ecco the Dolphin. Here are some of the ones I
noticed before:

1. Swimming in strange places-like in rock during a normal game This has
happened:
A. after meeting the asterite for the first time., sometime you can just swim
straight up into the rock!
B. After defeating the asterite if you are invincible, and you are on an
abnormal level if you go straight to the right into the niche, you will swim
into the rock. Also, almost everything, except for Ecco and a few other
things is in sort of a negative coloring. Over by the spikes you can swim to,
go to the top spike and then downl to the left hand side of the depression.
You can leave the rock from there. Jellyfish are orange, coelcanths are
pink, blue and white, and a wait till you see the sky! It is pretty cool
looking! Have Fun!
		
VII. Codes

      Code for Invincibility

		At the title screen for any level (if one doesn't  come up, kill
yourself) press A and Start. This should start the level with the game
paused. If it doesn't kill yourself, and try again. Press A and Start again.
Ecco should jerk to a different position. Go to an enemy and lose
all your energy. If you don't die once you've lost all your energy, it worked.
If you do...... try it again. If it doesn't work after a few tries, go to the
Last
Fight and try it. It should work, it always seems to work on different
copies. Now, try again on another level. It should work.
		
		2. In The Machine, if you are invincible, if you get sucked in too
often, the screen will be permanently red (until you reset) and Ecco just
keeps swimming nowhere, weaving between things.

      The really cool code!

     For an options menu during a game, turn Ecco left and right and pause
him while he is facing you. Then Enter: Right, B, C, B, C, Down, C, UP.
Ecco and all other characters should disappear and the options menu with
these options should appear:
			
Stage Number...................0 to 27 (as labeled in LEVELS)
Sound Number.................0 to 65 (if you press B, you will hear that
numbers sound, if you press A, you will hear that number's music)
Music Tempo....................-120 to 120
Message Number............0 to 54
Unlimited Life..................0 to 1 (on or off)
Teleporter X...................0 to 999
Teleporter Y...................0 to 999

Every option is literal down to Unlimited Life. The Teleporters explained:

The X and Y are positions in the level. These coordinates in the level can
be recorded.  You can warp to that position with those numbers.
 Warning: You can enter correct settings  from before and end up inside
rock. Sometimes you can swim out of it and sometimes you can hardly
move. If you can move, enter the code and set the x or y off a little.
A little playing around and you can get into places you might have a hard
time doing normally. As stated above, the coordinates aren't always
reliable.

Also strange things can happen, and with the x and y settings off  , and the
Stage number set on a certain level, you won't always get to that level for
instance, here is code:

CODE FOR PLAYING IN THE BEGINNING SEQUENCE (before the
picture of Ecco-the title screen)

In the Options menu, set the Stage Number to 10. The Teleporter X to 99
and Teleporter Y to 2. Press Start and you will go into the beginning
sequence. Other numbers around the ones given above can take you there,
with slight differences. The ones given are the best found so far. Also, the
password given, won't take you anywhere.





Most Wanted Codes

I. Debug Code
II. Color code (there is rumored to be a code in which you can change
color definition- from normal to negative(like the quirk in Dark Water) or
change the darkness shades like when you go back in time.

III. Access of Password memory
IV. Play as enemies/allies
VI. Hidden Levels?
VII. Change beginning examples of play
-------------------------------------------------------------------
IIX. MISCEALLANEOUS JUNK

Info/ Contributions I'm looking for:

I. In the Really cool code (options menu)  a chart etc. of the X and Y
mapping stuff
II. Do the passwords I gave work?
III. Other Codes?
IV. Rumours
V. Suggestions/contributions etc.
VI. Do you like this FAQ? If so a letter suggesting that I am cool to to
owner of this FTP site is totally acceptable(if an FTP site is where you
found it)
VII. Dib I any make Misteaks?
IIX. If you think it'll help.....it just might!

HINTS:

I. If you are looking on how to beat a level and it isn't in what seems to be
the obvious places, look elsewhere! Info Is scattered everywhere!
II. Don't get fed up with a level....there is always a way out! Also there is
TWO reasons why I did not include instructions for EVERY level:

1.It's very hard, maybe in an updated FAQ!
2. Ecco is meant to be challenging, don't ruin your interest in the game by
simply cheating, or turning to me for help(I will help though, if you ask)
3. I had something else to say, but it slipped my mind. Oh, Well...later!

	
About Ecco's Life Bar:
There are  5 grey rectangles at the upper left hand corner representing
Ecco's life meter.
It would take 5 hits from the first jellyfish to get one block missing.
3 for the next..
2 for the third
Another 2  for the next one.
And finally 3 more to kill Ecco (althought Ecco can *sometimes* stay alive
for a VERY short while with no energy left)



IX. Credits/Disclaimer

People who have contributed to this document so far have been:
Aleksandr Berland (Most of it)
David Ryan
Eric Thorell
And I'd like to thank the folks at newsgroup rec.games.video.sega
My sources have been: The Ecco Booklet
and Secrets of the Sega Sages (Someone sent me some info, but did not
include where he got it from, so I am guessing this is where it's from)
If anybody has some corrections/objections please don't be mad, the best of
efforts for accuracy have been mad, so just write to me about your
problem(s) and we'll work it out. Thank You!
