Ecco Jr.
From Sega Retro
| Ecco Jr. | |||||
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| System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Virtual Console | |||||
| Publisher: Sega | |||||
| Developer: Novotrade | |||||
| Sound driver: GEMS | |||||
| Genre: Educational | |||||
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Ecco Jr. is an spin-off of the Ecco the Dolphin series, aimed at younger children. It was released in 1995 for the Sega Mega Drive, though a similar Sega Pico title named Ecco Jr. and the Great Ocean Treasure Hunt! was also made available.
Ecco the Dolphin had been a huge success for Sega and Novotrade, but both it and its sequel are often regarded as very challenging and often confusing video games meaning they are unsuitable for the young market. Despite this, Ecco was bought with young children in mind, which prompted the creation of Ecco Jr. which would attempt to appeal to a younger audience with the extreme difficulty removed. Unlike other games in the series, it is impossible for Ecco (or his friends) to die, and the focus is placed on completing simple tasks and on educational material about dolphins.
Despite the lack of gameplay value for older gamers, Ecco Jr. has been re-released as part of the PlayStation 2/PlayStation Portable title Sega Mega Drive Collection and Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection (where it saw its first European release). It was also released as part of the Wii's Virtual Console service (where it saw its first Japanese release).
Production Credits
~In-game credits~
Producer: Ed Annunziata
Assistant Producer: Marianne Arotzarena
Developer: Novotrade Interactive
Technical Director: László Mérö
Software Director: Attila Bús
Consultant: Don Walters
Main Artist: Eszter Páris
Main Programmer: József Bánsági
Programmer: László Zsiga
Artist: Edit Matis
Music: Andy Armer (DMP), Gábor Foltán, László Fazekas
Programming Aid: Balázs Pápai, Gyöngyi Mezei
Hardware Support: Lajos Szabó
Lead Tester: Christine Watson
Assistant Lead Tester: Sean Doidge, Sean McInnes
Testers: Chrisi Albertson, Rachel Bristol, Dana Green, Richie Hideshima, Jeff Kessler, Jeff Martin, Edward Riel, Adrien Szabó, Vera Mérö
Special Thanks: Sarah Rome, Whitney Rome, Andrea Eszterhai
~Other credits~
Product Manager: Chrissie Huneke-Kremer
Assistant Product Marketing Support: Eleni Koros, Clint Dyer
Manual: Carol Ann Hanshaw, Neil Hanshaw
Manual Art: Brian Ransom
Special Thanks: Sarah Rome, Whitney Rome, Andrea Eszterhai, Christine Bertoglio, Charlie Altekruse, John Gillin
Physical Scans
| Mega Drive, US |
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 Cover
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 Cart |
| Mega Drive, AU |
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 Cover
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| Ecco the Dolphin series | |
|---|---|
| Ecco the Dolphin (3D) (1992) | Ecco: The Tides of Time (1994) | Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future (2000) | |
| Spin-offs and others | |
| Ecco the Dolphin (LCD) (1994) | Ecco Jr. and the Great Ocean Treasure Hunt! (1994) | Ecco Jr. (1995) | Ecco the Dolphin CD (1995) | |
| Unreleased | |
| Ecco the Dolphin (32X) | Ecco the Dolphin (Saturn) | Ecco II: Sentinels of the Universe | |
| Ecco the Dolphin related media | |
 |
Ecco: Songs of Time (1996) |
 |
Ecco: The Tides of Time Official Strategy Guide (1994) | Official Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future Perfect Guide (2000) |