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The Japanese love dolphins. Especially with chips. But the worldwide success of Ecco The Dolphin on Megadrive signals that they suspended the advice of their palates for an even yummier gaming experience. At Mean Machines, we were similarly impressed with Novotrade's first game, lavishing abundant praise and a 96% rating. Wisely Sega have chosen Novotrade to pilot the Master System through the treacherous waters of conversion. The spirit and essence of Ecco is retained in the basic gameplay, but the layout and sequence of levels has been changed. Saving the world from space aliens is still the hidden presmise, thoough.

Ecco communicates using sonar beams directed at other sea mammals (not fish - he just eats them!). The Sonar beam also triggers puzzle switches and, together with the swim button, becomes a weaon. Arguably its most useful function is providing a circular map of the surrounding cavern.

Ecco's gameplay garnered praise for its originality. It's a combination of puzzle solving and learning to control the dolphin's fine controls. The Master System Ecco is just as flexible as the original twists, leaps and somersaults are all possible.

Progress in Ecco is controlled by Glyphs, mysterious crystalline prisms which block the underwater caverns. 'Key Glyphs' provide a hidden signal that empowers Ecco to remove other locked prisms. A few glyphs provide essential information when Ecco 'talks' to them.

This delightful conversion is even more appealing in that it adds a game style to the Master System's large catalogue that it didn't previously have.

There's no other 8-bit equivalent for Ecco in terms of depth, detail and enjoyment. The dolphin handles beautifully, and the newly designed level layout starts to test the player much more immediately.

This looks much like the Game Gear version, but I felt that the screen area was just too small to play satisfactorily on the handheld. On the other hand, this is subaquatic bliss.

Master System owners have had a bit of a rough time of it recently, but this conversion of Ecco should more than make up. Ecco is a massive game full of depth and fresh ideas, and in addition to all this it's completely original - including the layout of the caverns!

Master System owners fed up with their current collections, should get it now.

Graphics 90%
P. A great dolphin sprite, especialy with Ecco's range of movement.

Sound 81%
P. Some great dolphin songs and sound FX.

Playability 92%
P. Immediately taxing, for minds as well as fingers.

Lastability 90%
P. A large game with many engaging surprises.

Value For Money 92%
P. One of the best produced products of the year. It's a buyer's market.

Overall 92%
In its way, just as stunning on the Master System as it was on the Megadrive. A sweet song of the sea.