Ecco 2 Prototype

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Level 8 Overview: "Sea of Crabs"

  This level's final incarnation is unknown, but it is one giant crab placeholder. Tethercrabs, Mobile crabs, Magic Arms, you name it. There's also some odd reversible currents.  


 
The name for this level isn't exactly gramatically correct. The others are named "First stage", "Second stage", etc.


Here is where you begin the level, with no visible rocks or surrounding creatures. As you swim upwards, you hit the surface and can clearly see you're in what would become the Good Future.


As you swim toward the surface you will encounter a number of sharks. They all have complete sprites, but this one is odd. You can pass right through it! Even charging and charge-sonar'ing it does nothing. It shows up on sonar like the rest. Bizarre.


Jumping into the air out of view of the water surface, the palette does not corrupt and mess up the background like in Level 7.


Toward the middle of the level we find this block of stone. As Ecco nears it, 4 smoothly-slithering snakelike creatures made entirely of placeholder crabs drift out in different directions. They each travel off in diagnols toward the corners of the levels.


They'll continue up all the way to the surface... Even right out of the level. Where the hell is it going?


This orca is hanging out near the surface. Talk to it and it will relate to you the video of the Asterite being broken apart by the Vortex Queen. There are quite a few differences there, check them out on the General Differences page.


There's another Magic Arm here, like in Level 7. It behaves exactly the same way, too. And here's ANOTHER Magic Arm, with a different tail segment style. It behaves in the same fashion, however.


The future-style plants lead up to a cave with a Magic Arm in it. They are about the same as the final version.


If the Magic Arm is charge sonar'ed to produce a pulsating tail segment, but the Magic Arm is destroyed before it can throw it, the tail segment will freeze in place where the Magic Arm was. This glitch is present in the final version as well.


Now on to the enemies. I call it the Sea of Crabs for a reason! These superintelligent Crabs on Strings are able to very effectively dodge your attacks and almost seem to predict your movements. Two direct hits with charge-sonar will take them out.


These Tethercrabs can't detach from the rocks they are attached to. They will still try to damage you, but fail. They're quite effective at dodging your attacks despite being immobile. Here's another Tethercrab in another location.


The Tethercrabs attack in pairs in numerous places from different angles. The Tethercrabs are usually of different types. Note the different tail segment sprites.


This mobile crab has an absurdly long tail and is quite effective at whipping you with it. It's a good thing it can't damage you. Ecco will just blink instead of actually taking any damage.


This rope made of Crab-on-a-String tail segments moves fluidly and just gets in the way like the one in Level 7. They can't damage you, but will make Ecco blink. They don't appear in the final version at all.


This baby orca is circling back and forth near the rope above, quite oblivious to the mobile Crab-on-a-String in very close proximity. It ignores the orca. if you talk to the Orca, it won't say anything, but it will absorb the sonar and swim off expecting you to follow. It doesn't take you anywhere useful really.


This is basically where the baby orca takes you. This seems like it should be an exit but it doesn't work.


Here's a sonar map of the level. The crab-placeholder creatures actually show up as crab icons, which is unusual. They usually show up as a yellow hazard marks. Perhaps they are not using the same algorithms or not defined as the same creatures.


 




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