PS2 Backlog Committee

Alright izzy, was going to say Shenmue, Risen, Xenosaga or Baldur's Gate...but f*** it, Ecco the Dolphin. Maybe you can make sense of that game enough to make it through the series. Plus, it's probably one of the least taxing in terms of time. Forgive the delay, life and all !

crimson_tide wrote: ↑Fri Feb 07, 2025 8:12 am Alright izzy, was going to say Shenmue, Risen, Xenosaga or Baldur's Gate...but f*** it, Ecco the Dolphin. Maybe you can make sense of that game enough to make it through the series. Plus, it's probably one of the least taxing in terms of time. Forgive the delay, life and all !

Seriously though, thanks for guiding me with your wise(?) judgment. And it was a surprise! I wasn't expecting that to be the pick. I'm excited! And other than Out of the Park Baseball, my plate is open, so I'll start with the original on Genesis (and maybe play the Sega CD version too) as a side dish. And then I'll continue on with the exploration of this series as time marches on. Thanks again!

Edit: And I'll report my findings in order to facilitate the research project.

So, yeah, I did say I was going to pick myself, but I also said I'd consider the suggestions. The thing is, my HEART wants to do the VanillaWare games, but my HEAD says I'm too easily distracted. I know there's no set time to complete them, and they don't have to be done back-to-back...still, I'd like to finish them in some kind of reasonable timeframe. On the one hand, there's a lot of variety going that route. Hrm. Then the other problem is there are a couple of games unrelated to all of this that I had lined up - Granblue Fantasy RE:Link and then Xenoblade Chronicles X. So...yeah. At some point, when I'm ready to start, I'll make a decision and post it here.

Ok crim. I've finally taken a healthy bite of the first Ecco the Dolphin. And I'm intrigued with what I've experienced, if still a bit trepidatious. I really enjoy the presentation. The idea of being a dolphin - such a mysterious and delightful creature - is very appealing. And there are moments where it has been fun just swimming around and breaching the surface - that liberating feeling. But it's also a bit more puzzle-centric than I was expecting or knew going in. And there are some limitations and restrictions on that sense of freedom i was hoping to enjoy in the form of this avatar. But the music is good and the pixel/16-bit graphics are enjoyable. I'm still figuring out this whole thing. But there is an enticing mystery surrounding Ecco's (and dolphins in general maybe) origin which is a cool question the game is posing and is pushing me forward with curiosity. I'm still pretty early on (I think), but I can't render a verdict or anywhere close to one yet. Thanks again for picking this for me. I look forward to completing this and then (eventually) sampling more of this series.