Walkthrough/FAQ - Guide for Ecco The Dolphin: Defender of the Future

Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future
Walkthrough/FAQ
by Xythar

  =====================================================================
  || Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future (DC) Walkthrough v1.23 ||
  =====================================================================

Copyright (c) Xythar ([email protected]) 2002

This walkthrough is for private personal use only. You may not make
money off this walkthrough in any way or reproduce it in any other form
than its current electronic form. As an exception, you may print a hard
copy for personal reference purposes provided you do not use it to make
money in any way, shape or form. If you wish to use this walkthrough
on your site, email me for permission first.

Currently, the sites that have permission to post this FAQ are:
GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com)
Caverns of Hope (www.planetdreamcast.com/cavernsofhope)
Cheat Happens (www.cheathappens.com)
IGN (www.ign.com)

If you see this FAQ on any site not on this list, please notify me.

Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future is a trademark of Appaloosa and
Sega Enterprises.

There will be minor spoilers ahead in terms of chapter/level names, some 
events, and such. However, Ecco: DotF does not focus on storyline, nor 
does it (IMO) have a very good storyline. So I personally wouldn't care
about reading spoilers.

This is version 1.21 of the FAQ, last updated 7th April, 2002. This FAQ is
written for the Dreamcast version of Ecco: DotF. While I expect that most
will also be correct for the Playstation 2 version, I haven't played the
latter myself and therefore give no guarantees as such. If there are any
changes that affect the game to the point of this walkthrough being
incorrect (so *not* stuff like the new map and compass, and not stuff
which is merely added like the vision crystals) email them to me at
[email protected], please.

This walkthrough is split into several sections. First is a general info and
tips/strategy section, as well as the game's controls. The next section
contains minimalistic hints for each of the levels. If you are stuck but don't
like to have the answer spelled out for you, hopefully they'll give you a
nudge in the right direction, although in some cases there isn't much that
can be said without saying what the crystals have already told you. The next
four sections after that walk you through the game in intelligence-insultingly
specific detail.

Revision History
v1.23
*Made a slight change to an apparently incorrect section of the Four Ways to
Mystery walkthrough (near the end).
*Added permission for IGN to post this FAQ.
v1.22
*Added tips for Process That Never Ends in the PS2 version.
*Added Blades in Motion boss strategies.
*Clarified how you access the secret levels in the PS2 version.
v1.21
*Several minor errors corrected.
*Added permission for Cheat Happens to post this FAQ.
v1.20
*Walkthrough is complete. Finito. Done. Finally. :)
v1.05
*Walkthrough is complete up until the end of Powers of Levitation.
*Added permission for Caverns of Hope to post this walkthrough.
v1.00
*Walkthrough is complete up until the end of Man's Nightmare. More will be 
added as I play it in the game, which I haven't beaten yet.

                            ========================
                            || TABLE OF CONTENTS  ||
                            ========================

1) Game Tips and Controls
2) Game Hints
     2a) Isle of Tranquility Hints
     2b) Man's Nightmare Hints
     2c) Dolphin's Nightmare Hints
     2d) Domain of the Foe Hints
3) Walkthrough: Isle of Tranquility
     3a) Aquamarine Bay
     3b) Perils of the Coral Reef
     3c) Trial Without Error
     3d) Four Ways of Mystery
     3e) Perils of the Coral Reef - revisited
     3f) Trial Without Error - revisited
     3g) Up and Down
     3h) Roaring Forces
     3i) Atlantis Lost
4) Walkthrough: Man's Nightmare
     4a) Shrine of Controversy
     4b) Master of Forgotten Skills
     4c) Process that Never Ends
     4d) Blades in Motion
     4e) Perpetual Fluidity
     4f) Obscure Ways to Terminus
     4g) Sleeping Forces of Doom
5) Walkthrough: Dolphin's Nightmare
     5a) Anguish of Dearth
     5b) Entrapment
     5c) Anguish of Dearth - revisited
     5d) Caverns of Hope
     5e) Lair of Evil
     5f) Powers of Levitation
     5g) Hanging Waters - Part 1
     5h) Ice and Fire
     5i) Hanging Waters - Part 2
     5j) Abyss of Inferno
     5k) Hanging Waters - Part 3
     5l) Mutaclone
6) Walkthrough: Domain of the Foe
     6a) Chance of Reckoning
     6b) Hatchery
     6c) Seeds of Poison
     6d) Transfiguration
     6e) Heart of the Foe
7) Acknowledgements

                     =============================
                     ||  GAME TIPS AND CONTROLS ||  
                     =============================

Just a few pointers. I'll add more as I think of them.

*Charge at schools of fish to eat them and gain health back. Some are 
harder to catch than others, and some restore more health than others.

*Charging repeatedly is faster than pressing the A button repeatedly, but
harder to control.

*The best jumps are done by charging. Get close to the surface of the 
water, aim, and press B - rather than swimming down and accelerating 
upwards.

*Good news or bad news? Bad news is that you'll die a lot. Good news is
that you've got unlimited continues, and you generally restart not far
back. I wish more games would do this.

*If you're fighting sharks (one or more), you need to use hit-and-run 
tactics. Wait for one to come at you, and when it's close sonar it and
immediately charge it. Swim off, get your bearings (getting disoriented
in combat is very, very easy) and charge it again. If you stick around
after hitting it, you'll end up looking all around trying to figure out
where it is, and it will probably hit you unless you're quite skilled at
using L and R to look left/right. Of course, usually the best idea is 
just to avoid them, but sometimes you have to kill them or need to so 
they'll stop harassing you (I hate sharks..)

*Some fish (they're yellow and orange, I think) harm you if you try to eat
them. However, if you get poisoned by a jellyfish or something else (your
health meter will turn purple and decrease constantly and you'll move
painfully slowly) they will cure the poison.

*Tail-walk by swimming up until your nose is just poking out of the water
surface, then pressing A repeatedly.

*Remember how the game saves. Your progress in a level is *only* saved 
when you complete it, which means you should never play Ecco unless you've
got at *least* an hour to spare. More for the longer levels. However, I'm 
pretty sure (from observation) that it also saves collected vitalits and
powers (I assume songs also) but don't rely on it.

Here are the controls:

X: Sonar. Your sonar is used for many things - to talk to other dolphins, 
attract turtles and fish, push manta rays around and stun sharks (once the 
appropriate songs have been learned) and also to trigger some switches and
otherwise manipulate many objects, bring up the map (hold the button down) 
and "tractor beam" crystalline rocks in several levels of Man's Nightmare 
(double tap the button and hold.. it's kind of weird and doesn't seem to 
work sometimes for whatever reason O_o) When out of water, this button 
causes Ecco to make a cute (but useless) sound.

Analog stick: Controls the direction Ecco is facing. It uses inverted 
"flight sim" controls in that up makes him face down and down makes 
him face up.

A: Swim forward. Each press corresponds to a pump of Ecco's tail. Press 
rapidly to increase his speed, then hold the button down and he will 
continue to move at that speed until you let go.

B: Charge. Gives Ecco a quick boost forward - useful for travelling 
quickly, jumping out of the water, and attacking *some* enemies.

Y: "Modifier" button. When pressed with left and right, Y executes quick
turns. When pressed with down while moving, Y functions as a brake, and
when pressed with down while standing still, Y swims backwards. When
pressed with up while moving, Y causes Ecco to perform a corkscrew-like
spin for as long as the button is held. When pressed with L or R, Y causes
Ecco to roll left or right.

L and R: Looks to the left or right of Ecco while in the default camera
mode. L looks left, R looks right, and both together look behind. As 
they're analog triggers, you can rotate the view by varying amounts, 
depending on how far you press them. If you're above the water's surface,
they cause Ecco to roll instead.

D-pad: Any button on the D-pad changes the camera angle. Tap it to switch
between the default camera angle which is always behind Ecco, and a more 
"free" camera angle. Hold it down to switch between the default camera 
angle and one positioned above the water's surface (I can't think of much
use for this O_o). In either alternate camera angle, L and R cause Ecco to
roll instead of looking around.

Start: Pauses the game and shows the menu. Press X and Y together on this 
screen to temporarily hide the menu, but keep the game paused.

Finally, this walkthrough does not cover the game's two secret levels (as I
didn't do them) or vitalit locations (as I didn't look for them). All the 
secret levels get you are vitalits, and vitalits aren't really that
necessary - you should find enough in plain sight to win, and vitalits you 
collect *only* extend your health meter as long as you remain in the
chapter they were collected in (chapter meaning Isle of Tranquility,
Man's Nightmare, etc..).                         

                              ================
                              || GAME HINTS ||
                              ================

                        -----------------------------
                        | Isle of Tranquility Hints |
                        -----------------------------

AQUAMARINE BAY: Perhaps it's behind the verdant rock?

PERILS OF THE CORAL REEF: That which can hurt or save you can also shield
you. To gain its assistance, accomplish another's dream. Taunt the jaws of
death with what would halt the lesser, and its weakness is its size.

TRIAL WITHOUT ERROR: Not much can be said that is not already told. Look
behind the guardian.

FOUR WAYS TO MYSTERY: The creature within the tunnel of a crimson glow may
shield you from death. The tunnel of yellow does not aid your quest.

PERILS OF THE CORAL REEF REVISITED: More can now be accomplished from your
position of arrival. After the power, do what has been done already.

TRIAL WITHOUT ERROR REVISITED: The power can pass the mouth of stone. Look
where you previously did not have to go.

UP AND DOWN: Break the stone of pain with sound. A song which you learnt long
ago will finally show its use. That which previously shielded you now shields
what you need. The unused song's creature should be attacked, and dropped.

ROARING FORCES: Pass death by, hidden from view. The hunter must become the
prey.

ATLANTIS LOST: Those which are shattered may be restored by the view of
manmade illusion. Once restored, all may be entered together to reach great
heights.

                          -------------------------
                          | Man's Nightmare Hints |
                          -------------------------

SHRINE OF CONTROVERSY: The shrine may only be opened by the aid of three.
Two may be won over through the tunnels in the rock, the last requires
a clockwise rotation. He who helps without the need to prove yourself will
shield you from that which would deter your advance.

MASTER OF FORGOTTEN SKILLS: The dots show the sequence. Your goal is to open
the door with that which of there is many, but only one is suitable.

PROCESS THAT NEVER ENDS: The one will yield through your touch of the smaller
one, and likewise will the two yield through your touch of the smaller two.
The two will also yield to that which the one does not. To begin, seek he
who can be seen but not touched. To leave, collection and destruction is the
key. Your song, when doubled and held, allows manipulation.

BLADES IN MOTION: Sound has the power both to shatter and provide
illumination. Strike the beast in the underbelly.

PERPETUAL FLUIDITY: Sorry.. I don't even understand this level well enough
myself to write a proper hint for it. I'd recommend checking out the full
walkthrough below.

OBSCURE WAYS OF TERMINUS: They are tall, but still may be overcome. The
furthest is your goal.

SLEEPING FORCES OF DOOM: The onion must be peeled. Those who would take what
you would use must be stopped, above all.

                        -----------------------------
                        | Dolphin's Nightmare Hints |
                        -----------------------------

ANGUISH OF DEARTH: Ride the predator while concealed.

ENTRAPMENT: Lay low and concealed to open new paths. The front window is your
entrance.

ANGUISH OF DEARTH REVISITED: The invisible death in the tunnel is not unlike
a deadly laser beam. And the principle for avoidance remains the same.

CAVERNS OF HOPE: Your song possesses a multitude of uses, from conversion to
encouragement to dislodgment.

LAIR OF EVIL: Enlist the aid of the attacking enemy to open a new way. Brand
yourself, then trick the enemy to aid you to brand yourself higher in rank.

POWERS OF LEVITATION: Eight are to be activated. Four in the spokes of the
wheel, one in the exploited life, three lay deep.

HANGING WATERS PART 1: Your ability to bounce higher is looking up. If you
can't go through it, try going over it.

ICE AND FIRE: Lead it to the opposite.

HANGING WATERS PART 2: Jump only where the two impenetrables are further
apart. Look to the outside environment for the ice.

ABYSS OF INFERNO: Let's play ball.

HANGING WATERS PART 3: Sing to, then find your avian friend.

MUTACLONE: Break the yellow, attack the many, and lead the enemy to yellow.

                         ---------------------------
                         | Domain of the Foe Hints |
                         ---------------------------

CHANCE OF RECKONING: Seal spouts. Present the vision with sound, and attack.

HATCHERY: Interfere with the hatchery's operation. Close what should be open,
and turn on what should be off. Then attack the manipulator.

SEEDS OF POISON: Upwards. Open your way with the power of sound.

TRANSFIGURATION: The sound lies in the cave filled with danger. It must be
used to destroy the lonely rock for more sound, which breaks the many rocks.
Become the prey and see red.

HEART OF THE FOE: When green meets red, your chance to strike is apparent.
Make haste.

                          =========================
                          || ISLE OF TRANQUILITY ||
                          =========================

                             ------------------
                             | Aquamarine Bay |
                             ------------------

This first level is extremely easy and seems to be mainly to allow you a 
chance to get familiar with controlling Ecco. So do so. There's a dolphin
who will explain the controls to you, and several others playing fish
fetch. I didn't try fish fetch (it's for a vitalit) so I can't really 
comment on it. Now, face away from the rock wall at the start with the  
closed gate (which I assume leads to Atlantis, but it doesn't matter as you 
won't use it). Straight ahead are some sharks in the distance, but you 
can't reach them or vice versa (due to one of those invisible walls that 
are so commonplace in the ocean.. *rolls eyes*) so head to your right 
instead until you reach the whale and her baby. Talk to them a few times, 
then just swim and jump for a bit. 

After a while you'll see a cutscene (I'm not sure what triggers it..
probably just time, but swim around to different areas if it doesn't happen
for you). Now go back and talk to the mother whale to find out her baby is 
missing. From the mother, turn around so she is at your back and then head 
forwards to the rock wall. A little to your left, you'll see a pile of 
rocks with one green one at the bottom. In the middle of the pile of rocks 
is a fairly large and obvious hole which you can enter to get behind the 
pile, where the baby whale is. Talk to her to find out she's stuck (no 
kidding) and leave. Go back to the start of the level (to your left as you 
leave the pile of rocks), where the dolphins with green stripes were 
playing fish fetch. Talk to one of the dolphins and they will accompany you
back to the pile of rocks (try tailwalking when they're following you ^_^) 
and with their help, you will be able to move the green rock out of the 
way, releasing the baby whale. After the baby and mother are reunited 
(awwww) talk to the mother, and as she says proceed to the waterfall, which
is back along the rock wall. End of level.

                        ----------------------------
                        | Perils of the Coral Reef |
                        ----------------------------

Hear that? That's the near *vertical* learning curve hitting you in the face. 
For the second level, they throw at you something that would be more in 
keeping with the difficulty of a level quite a bit later in the game. This 
level isn't particularly exciting, but it *is* difficult especially since 
you'll probably still be getting familiar with the game. Good luck.

From the start, head forward and through the gap in the rocks. Watch out for 
the shark. You don't have the Song of the Shark yet, so you can't sonar them 
to stun them. This means you can't attack head-on without being damaged, but 
on the other hand there are plenty of fish around. Head to the left (watch 
out for the other shark) and you'll come across a dolphin who has lost his 
brother. Look up and to the left (tailwalk if necessary) and you should
see a gap in the wall you can jump through. Do so (remember, charging
near the surface of the water is the best way to jump - see the tips
section) and you'll end up in an area with about 3 sharks and the dolphin's
brother, who wants you to rescue his turtle from the sharks. Kill all the
sharks (might take a few tries - check the tips section for help with shark
fighting but bear in mind you can't sonar them yet) and the grateful dolphin
will teach you The Song of the Turtle, although you won't need to use it for
quite a few levels yet.

Jump back over the wall to his brother who you met before, who will teach you 
The Song of the Shark (so now you can stun sharks and attack them head on). 
Now, return once again over the wall to the area where the 3 sharks were and 
where the dolphin and his turtle are. Now, continue forward from here until 
you reach a more open area. It should contain a large rock in the middle, then 
ahead of that a shark, then another large rock. Near this last large rock, 
you'll see a shark to the back, and a dolphin chasing a red fish around and 
around the rock. Catch the fish he's chasing (it's best to wait in its path 
and charge when it comes past) and the dolphin will teach you the Song of 
the Fish, which makes certain schools of fish follow you, but you'll lose 
them if you move too fast.

Now, go to the back of this area, and look to the right. You should see the 
entrance to a tunnel, with jellyfish floating in the opening. This tunnel 
leads to the next area, but partway through there are some piranhas. You may 
be able to make it if you just charge through as quickly as you can (and 
restock on health from fish in the next area) or you can find a school of 
poison fish (the yellow and orange ones - there's some at around the entrance 
to this area, and some on the other side of the second big rock), sonar them 
to get them to follow you, and proceed back to the tunnel and through it - 
but don't move too fast, or you'll lose them. When the poison fish are with 
you, the piranha will not be able to damage you. Either way, proceed through 
the tunnel to the next area.

Now comes the hard part. See the great white shark? That's the first boss
fight. But to start off with, he'll ignore you. So take this time to get
familiar with the simple area you're in, and particularly the rocky pillar
in the middle with two smallish holes in it. What you need to do is to get
the shark stuck in one of those holes. Firstly, sonar the shark to get its
attention. Then swim like mad, through one of the holes, leading it through
to get stuck. This isn't as easy as it sounds (mainly because if the shark
catches you, you are dead), and will probably take a lot of tries, but stick
at it. Once the shark is trapped, charge his head and you will receive the
Power of Vigor. When the Power of Vigor is activated by collecting the
appropriate crystal, it will power up your charge attack for a limited time,
killing most enemies in one hit and allowing you to overcome strong currents.

The shark will now free itself. You have two options at this point - you can 
either kill the shark by charging it six times WITH the Power of Vigor active 
(H-A-R-D) for a vitalit, or you can hightail it out of there. I recommend the 
latter, but do as you wish. When you leave, you should use a different tunnel 
to the one you came in by, unless you want to brave the piranhas again. The 
entrance is on the right wall, but the one you want is one of a group of two 
tunnels next to each other in a corner of the area. Enter the one on the left, 
and a current will pick you up and you will end up near the start of the 
level. Go straight forward from here, past three sharks, and you'll end up 
where the dolphin looking for his brother was (only he's not there now, he's 
with his brother over the wall). Jump over the wall, and continue forward, 
and as before you will soon reach the large area with two large rocks in the 
middle and the dolphin chasing a fish around in circles.

Just before the second rock, there will be an opening to your left. Go that
way. There are two dolphins here who can give you some useful information.
Proceed forwards a bit. You'll see how the open area basically branches into
three ways to go. The rightmost way (not the cave in the right wall) is half
blocked by a rock. Go this way. Proceed forwards, watching out for the three
sharks along the way. At the end, there will be a glowing white thing with
bubbles coming out of it, and a current pushing you away from it. Collect the
Power of Vigor crystal on the floor here (you'll need to charge to reach it)
and then charge through the current into the glowing white thing - or rather,
the tunnel behind it. End of level.

                          -----------------------
                          | Trial Without Error |
                          -----------------------

This level's a bit of a break after the difficult second level, and shouldn't
take you long at all. From the start of the level, go forward to an open area
with several sharks. Kill them if you like, but be aware that there is a Power
of Vigor under the arch-shaped rock that is ahead and a bit to the right as
you enter, and while powered up with it you can kill them with one charge
instead of three, which is very useful. After killing the sharks (or not),
enter the cave to the right of the arch-shaped rock, and proceed through it to
another area (remember to use the map if you get disoriented inside the cave).
There's something like four or five sharks all in this area, so stay on your
toes. Avoid them for now and quickly swim past to the other end, where there
is a gap between the rocks. Swim through, and talk to the dolphin. Before
going back to kill the sharks, though, swim to the very back of this area, to
the far left corner. Just above the water here, tucked away in a little alcove
is a Power of Vigor crystal. Jump slightly out of the water and snag it to 
make your sharkicidal task *much* easier. After you've dealt with all the
sharks, the dolphin will leave for the first area.

Return there also, by going back and through the cave. Go straight ahead 
as you leave the cave) to the arch-shaped rock, collect the Power of Vigor
under it, and continue ahead to a spiky rock formation, where the dolphin
from before waits. One of the rocks there can be pushed over with the Power
of Vigor, so do so. Now head down to the cave of the octopus. He's in front
of the entrance to the next level, and if you try to swim past him he'll grab
you and throw you back, damaging you (and he also shoots out damaging ink when
you get near him). So how to get past? Talk to the dolphin, who came down with
you and has a plan. The dolphin swims up to the octopus to distract it, and
while the octopus holds the dolphin, quickly swim behind it into the small 
opening. End of level.

                          ------------------------
                          | Four Ways of Mystery |
                          ------------------------

OK, so this one's a bit harder, but still quite manageable. And the music
rocks. This level's mostly in caves, so you'll often have to find bubble
vents to breathe. Anyway, head forward and you'll soon reach the level's
central room. Four passageways (the "four ways of mystery") branch off from
here, although you'll only need to go down three to beat the level. Each
passageway can be identified by the different coloured glowing crystals at
points throughout it. Firstly, go to the middle and pick up the spiky star
thing to be able to use the Power of Air, which temporarily doubles your air
meter. Now, go back to the level entrance, which is identifiable as being a
wide passageway that contains a current that pushes you back.

Facing into the main room, head along the left wall, passing between the
large rock pillar and the wall. Keep following this wall around. You'll soon
reach a small tunnel in the wall - ignore this and continue following the wall
around (it's the yellow crystal tunnel). Remember that there's a bubble vent
around the middle of this area if you run low on air. Continue to follow the
wall around, passing the crystal to your right, until you see another tunnel
(it's higher up than the other one, so keep an eye out) which you should go
down.

A short way down this tunnel, there will be a barrier with a smaller hole in
it, with a Power of Air crystal in the hole. Remember here, as it will be
useful when you go down the other tunnels, but for now take the crystal and
proceed down the tunnel you're currently in. As you proceed down, watch out
for the polyp/anemone things stuck all over the walls - charge through them to
avoid being hurt (if you don't know what they look like, there's about four on
the floor of the tunnel directly after the Power of Air crystal). Very shortly
after this, there is a moray eel that will pop out of a hole and damage you,
so watch out (I don't think it can be killed) and proceed on.

You'll soon reach a glowing purple crystal, showing this to be the purple
crystal cave. If you sonar the crystal, it will refill your health and air.
At this point, you can go left, right or forwards. Go left, and proceed along
the twisty tunnel, watching out for all the anemones. When the path branches
off to the right, just continue forwards (watch out for the moray eel a
little further along) and continue until you eventually reach a larger cavern
with a water surface above you and a dolphin swimming around. Talk to him, and
he'll teach you the Song of the Ray.. if you bring him a particular fish. And
guess where the fish is? That's right, back in the main room *groan*.

So, refill any health you may have lost by eating the fish, and head back.
Again, ignore the branching tunnel, which will now be to your left. When you
reach the purple crystal, sonar it to restore your health and air, then turn
right and continue out of the tunnel. Now, you need to find the fish. The fish
you want is a fast, blue and yellow fish that swims around the rock pillars in
this room. Be warned that if you continue along the wall past the tunnel you
just came out of, you'll soon reach the exit tunnel - guarded by an extremely
large moray eel that will instantly kill you if you get too close, so be
careful. Once you have the fish, head back along the purple crystal tunnel as
before, and give it to the dolphin. He'll teach you the Song of the Ray, which
is used to push manta rays around. Head back through the tunnel to the main
room yet again (as before) and go back to the large level entrance tunnel.


This time, follow the *right* wall around, and you'll soon come to another
tunnel in the wall. Enter this tunnel. (If you don't have it, be sure to
collect the Power of Air crystal from the start of the purple crystal tunnel
first). Head past the moray eel right at the entrance and continue until you
reach a glowing red crystal and a branch to the right. Ignore it and continue
forward, sonaring the crystal if necessary. You will eventually reach an open
area with a water surface, similar to before, except it contains jellyfish,
a couple of sharks and a manta ray. Kill the sharks if possible, and sonar
the manta ray into the tunnel you came in from, following after. You have to
keep sonaring it all the way, because it's always trying to go back to where
it was and you need to push it along. Keep heading along the tunnel, again
ignoring the branch off, and pushing the manta all the ray (da-dum) to the
main area.

Once you've pushed it sufficiently into the main area, the ray will stop
trying to go back and will swim around the main area instead. Now, the final
challenge is to sneak past the giant moray eel by using the ray as a shield.
Refill on air or collect the Power of Air from the purple crystal tunnel,
Sonar the manta ray towards the eel and exit tunnel (which is to your *right*
as you leave the red crystal tunnel) and as the ray passes under the eel,
quickly swim under it and into the tunnel. Proceed down the tunnel and after a
while, you'll come across a pile of rocks blocking the tunnel. Push one of the
top rocks forward and out of the way. The tunnel will slope downward, so push
the rock that you pushed out of the way down the tunnel and follow right
behind it to make it past the current. When you reach the bottom, the path
will split left and right. Go left, sonar the blue crystal when you reach it
to restore health/air, take the tunnel to the right until you reach another
fork, then go left again. Continue until you reach *another* fork, and this
time go right. Continue to follow the tunnel until the end of the level.




                    ----------------------------------------
                    | Perils of the Coral Reef - revisited |
                    ----------------------------------------

No, your game isn't glitched. You'll have to quickly revisit the second and
third levels to take care of some unfinished business, but what you have to
do is quick and easy. You'll start off in a yet unexplored cave area of level
2. Touch the spiky thing to learn the Power of Sonar, then proceed forward,
collect the Power of Sonar crystal and use it to break the rocks to the left
of the green fence-like barrier. Now proceed ahead and you'll be back in the
main area of level 2. Turn right immediately as you leave the cave, and you'll
see the half-blocked passage that you took earlier to go to level 3. Do so
again.

                      -----------------------------------
                      | Trial Without Error - revisited |
                      -----------------------------------

Now, you're back to where you were before, but with one important 
difference - you have the Power of Sonar. You'll also need to go to a
different part of the level (yes, you could go there also on your first visit,
but you couldn't do anything there without the Power of Sonar). From the start,
go ahead to the open area, and head to the far end of the area. There will
be a path in the far left corner of the area. Go down the path to end up in
a smaller area (with hammerhead sharks - beware, they take more hits than the
regular sharks) where you should take the only other path out (it's in the
same direction as the one you used to enter, but more to the left - check
the map and you'll see what I mean).

Continue along, and watch out for the sharks (which are dangerous and
annoying) and the jellyfish (which will poison you, and antidote fish are
quite rare around there). Continue on past a big rock in the middle of the
path, and past  a rock shaped uncannily like a crocodile's head with a crystal
next to it, until the path forks in two. Take the left fork first, and pick up
the Power of Vigor crystal. Now take the right fork, use your powered-up
charge to overcome the current, and pick up the Power of Sonar crystal. Now
quickly return to the crocodile's head rock, and use the Power of Sonar to
blast it open, revealing the entrance to the next level.

                               ---------------
                               | Up and Down |
                               ---------------

PS2 VERSION OWNERS, READ: I had mentioned this above, but it wasn't
noticed by some people, so I've moved it down here - the guide says how
to access the secret levels below, but in the PS2 version, you can ONLY
get to them if you return to this level after beating the game. Kay?

This level's pretty short and simple. As you enter, you will be in a round
cave with a large red rock in the centre. This rock will damage you if you
touch it, so don't. Take the spiky thing right in front of you to learn the
Power of Endurance - you can then collect a Power of Endurance crystal from
an alcove to your right from the entrance, which temporarily doubles your
health. There is also a Power of Air crystal in an alcove ahead of you from
the entrance. In an alcove to the left of the entrance (and forward a bit)
there is a crystal and a hole leading downwards with a current preventing
you from going down there. So go out to the main room, and charge at the
brown boulder lying on the ground nearby so as to knock it into the alcove
with the crystal. Knock it into the hole with another charge if it isn't
falling down already, then follow behind it to get past the current, pick
up the Power of Sonar crystal and leave.

(Secret Level: You might notice a temple-like structure below. Swim down
there and use the Power of Sonar on the glowing light in each of the four
"stone pylons". This will open the entrance to the optional 2D secret 
level "Passage From Genesis" below you, but the level itself is not 
covered in this guide. Sorry.)

Whether you did the secret level or not, leave the hole with the Power of
Sonar, then shoot the large red rock in the middle of the first area with
the Power of Sonar several times to break it up and reveal the underwater
geyser underneath. Ride the current upwards - through a tunnel filled with
rock pillars, rocks and steam that damage you. For some reason you're
poisoned as you enter, but if you manage to get the Power of Endurance
crystal that is right at the start (and I strongly advise you do) it will
be cured. Once you finish the "ride", you'll be in the upper section of the
level.

(Secret Level: Collect all the glowing purple crystals and take them to the
glowing hoop in the water. Some are underwater and some are above it and
must be jumped to, but all are in the upper area of the level and all are 
easy to see except one which is hidden behind the wooden fence-like barrier
leaning against one wall. Doing this will cause a glowing light to appear 
in the rocks above the surface of the water, behind the hoop. Jump to it 
to enter the optional 2D secret level, "Pathways from Nowhere". The level 
itself is not covered in this guide, sorry.)

After the secret level (or not), jump down the waterfall. If at any point
you need to get back up, jump up into the middle of the waterfall and you'll 
enter a secret passage which leads to the middle of the little speed 
sequence you did before, but at least you don't get poisoned this time. 
Anyway, ahead of you in the area at the bottom of the waterfall is an 
easy-to-miss ray lying on the sand. Sonar the nearby turtle until it is in
position above the ray, then charge the turtle to make it fall down on top
of the ray, causing the ray to swim away temporarily. Quickly grab the 
spiky-thing that was hidden under the ray to learn the Power of Stealth. 
(How they expected people to work this out on their own, I'll never know..)
Now, head to the little stone structure that is ahead of you as you face
away from the waterfall. There's a Power of Stealth crystal behind it.
After taking it, turn to your left (your left while facing the wall, that is)
and proceed up the incline, then down into the deeper area. Go into the cave 
at the side of the wall here, and proceed through. (In case you were 
wondering, if you don't have the Power of Stealth your way is blocked by a
mirror reflection of you.) End of level.

                             ------------------
                             | Roaring Forces |
                             ------------------

This level's short but annoying. You'll enter in a pool full of sharks
that just love to make your life miserable while you try to pick up what you
need before the next part. Fortunately, if you head forwards and right a bit,
just to the left of the waterfall is an underwater rock spire on top of which
is a Power of Stealth crystal. Collect this immediately, and the sharks won't
be able to see you. You can kill them if you like, but there's two normal and
two hammerhead sharks, and the hammerhead sharks take six hits each, so it
will take a while (and don't even *try* without the Power of Stealth).
Anyway, the tunnel you need to take this area is directly opposite the one
you came in by, on the other side of the room. But don't enter yet! It's
guarded by yet another blasted giant moray eel that will snack on you if you
try to enter - unless you have the Power of Stealth. Before entering, though,
it is *highly* recommended that you collect the Power of Endurance crystal
behind the waterfall (you'll need to jump to get it, and it may take a few
tries) and the Power of Air crystal that is in a little alcove in the wall
that is to your left as you enter. Get them or you'll probably regret it
later (I learnt this the hard way >_<) then enter the moray eel's tunnel
with the Power of Stealth active (you can collect it again if you think you
might be running low).

However, the Power of Stealth wears off just as you pass the eel, and it's
not going to let you get away that easily, unfortunately. The eel will now
give chase and fire lightning at you as you swim through tunnels away from
it. I'm kind of sick of just about every game with an action element
incorporating little races like this.. anyway, sprint along the passage as
fast as you can, try to zigzag a bit to avoid the lightning, and make sure
you don't hit anything as if the eel catches you, you're dead and you'll have
to restart the level (and all the sharks will be back if you killed them).
I wouldn't advise trying to jump out of the water at the open bits, because
of the possibility of getting stuck and the eel catching you. If you took the
Power of Air crystal, you should have more than enough for this part.

After you reach the end and successfully elude the eel (might take a few
tries) you'll be in a room with buttons on the wall. *Don't* eat the fish
unless you're poisoned, and instead charge attack the two buttons the
pictured dolphins are pointing to (the very topmost and very bottommost
one, I think) to open a small gap in the rocks above you. Continue. When
you reach the crystal, don't miss the bubble vent on the ground right before
the barrier with flower-like holes in it. Swim through to a room with a
strange glowing light in the centre. Watch the fish swimming around the
outside of the room. When it gets reasonably close to the grate at the
other side, touch the light then touch the fish to turn Ecco into a fish.
Then swim through the grate. End of level.

                              -----------------
                              | Atlantis Lost |
                              -----------------

The architecture in this level's buildings is impressive, to say the least..
This level's easy. Go forward and talk to the Guardian (that's the crystal
pillar, if you weren't paying attention in the intro) to learn you need to
find the five crystals in this level. These are glowing purple crystals, the
same as those you found to open up the secret level "Pathways from Nowhere".
There are five buildings around the Guardian in a circle. The central and
largest one has a crystal on top of it, but you can't get it yet. So head
behind it, into the deeper water and past the broken hoop like objects.
Head along the bottom of the trench until you see a hole leading downwards
with a strong current keeping you from entering (it's just about directly
below the lowest hoop) then look for a rock on the ground behind you (it's
easy to see) and push it down the hole. Instead of following it down, just
wait until it reaches the bottom, when it will cut off the current. Go down
the hole, and in an alcove in the wall on the way down is a crystal. Take it
back to the Guardian, and a hoop will appear above the water. Ignore it for
now.

Go back to the trench but don't go down it this time. Swim past it to an area
behind it with several tall rock formations, then go left to the shallower
water. When there, if you look carefully to your right you should see the
sparkle of another crystal in another shallow pool separated from where you
are by a sandbank. Jump out of the water and into the shallow pool to
retrieve the crystal, then jump back and return to the Guardian with it.
Another hoop will appear above the water - again, you can ignore it for now.

Now, go back to behind the main building again. This time instead of heading
for the trench, look a little to your left. See all those rocks strewn across
the sand? Go to the left of *those* and you should see a channel with some
slanted rock pillars leaning across it. Enter the channel, watching out for
the large numbers of jellyfish, and follow it a short distance to the end
where another crystal is hidden behind a rock. Take it back to the Guardian.
Another hoop will appear as before, ignore it.

Now for the fourth crystal. Head to the end of the good old trench, to where
the shallow water you found the second crystal in is. This time, go just
right of that to the area with several rock pillars. Swim to the far end of
the area, and you'll see a Power of Sonar crystal. Take it, and go back a bit
to where the dolphin is. Fire powered up sonar blasts at the blocked gateway
to open a hole you can swim through, and inside is the crystal. Guess where
you should take it, and what will appear afterwards? Yep.

However, this time you get to actually use the hoop, as well as the others.
Jump through all four hoops that are above the water surface (separately)
and each hoop will open one of the four smaller buildings in this area.
Sonar the weird crystal/cage thing in each (don't ask) then enter the main
building and sonar each of the four glowing spheres (ditto). Now return to
the trench (yes, again) and swim to the bottom. The previously broken hoops
are now fixed and ready. Position yourself in front of the bottommost hoop,
then swim up through it, and through all the others. They will speed you up,
and as you break the water's surface (*don't* charge this time) you'll do a
large jump. Hopefully, you'll sail over the main building and will be able
to grab the last crystal. If not, try again and aim differently. Once
you have it, take it back to the Guardian (REALLY?!). End of level.

Now you'll see two cutscenes in a row, and then it's onto..

                            =====================
                            || MAN'S NIGHTMARE ||
                            =====================

                          -------------------------
                          | Shrine of Controversy |
                          -------------------------

This level's great - the sheer size of it is amazing and the clusters of
jellyfish are beautiful. You'll start off in front of what I assume is the
Shrine of Controversy itself, although why it's called that is probably
anyone's guess. As the crystal hints, the overall objective of this level
is to open the Shrine and retrieve the Labour Harness within. To do this,
you'll need the assistance of three dolphins in the level, so let's start.

Swim down a short way from the start until you see a strange structure with
a green light and bubble vent on top, and a weird looking dolphin swimming
around in front of it. This is the guard of the Movers (one of the dolphin
sects) but you won't be able to gain his trust, rather that of the Prime
Mover who you will meet later. Remember this particular depth, as this is
basically where the three sects live. 

Look to your left (facing away from the wall) and you should see a blue light
in the distance. Swim towards it and you'll find it's on the roof of another
building (with a bubble vent) and another dolphin swimming around the front.
If you talk to him, he'll mention something about a circle - he is the member
of the Circle sect. Keep talking to him and he'll say some cryptic background
information, then tell you to test yourself on the "circle of pain". Now swim
downwards a short while until you see a valve leaking a toxic liquid below.
Turn the valve one full turn in a clockwise direction (you lose health
constantly while over it, so leave and eat some fish if you get too low)
by pushing the handle around with your nose and once it is shut off, return
upwards and talk to the Circle dolphin. He'll agree to accompany you to the
shrine above, so take him to the front of the shrine (with the statues).

One down, two to go. Go to the Circle area (with the blue light), face away
from the wall, then follow the left wall until you reach another structure.
(Check out the clusters of glowing blue jellyfish along the way..) This area
has a light blue light (as opposed to the Circle's dark blue) and is also
different to the others by the pipe in front of it and the red-coloured ring.
Talk to the dolphin here, the last member of the Crimson. Talk to him a few
times until he mentions that he'd talk more if you "were of the Crimson".
Swim just below this area - directly below it, there is a circular orange
opening in the wall. Swim into it, and through the tunnel until you reach a
cavern with a pool of red liquid. Swim into it, and.. instant Crimson!
Return to the Crimson dolphin, who will now follow you to the temple after
you talk to him a few times. Again, lead him to the front, and he'll start
swimming around the top. Now for a Mover..

Go back to the Mover's area with the green light. The dolphin there is as
unfriendly as ever, so swim down a bit instead. You should see another orange
opening in the rock wall - ignore it and go further to the left to find
another (left while facing towards the wall, not away from it). There's a
young Mover swimming around in front of it. Talk to him once and he'll say
a couple of things then swim into the opening. Follow behind him to overcome
the current, and follow him to a cavern. The Prime Mover is here, and you'll
have to fight her. Avoid her sonar blasts and hit her about four or five
times to win (it's a hell of a lot easier than the first boss). There's a
bubble vent at the bottom of the cavern in case you run low on air. Once
you've beaten the Prime Mover, talk to her and she will leave through a
tunnel. Leave also through the same tunnel (no need to follow behind, there's
no opposing currents) and you'll come out of the opening under the Mover
area. Talk to the Prime Mover here, and she will follow you. Lead her back to
the shrine (front, again) and the three dolphins will now open it together.

Enter the shrine, and receive the harness. This will allow you to operate
some machines with your sonar. Now, swim down to the very bottom of the level
and look for a round metal door-type thing with a glowing light in its
centre. If you have trouble finding it (and you shouldn't) it's a fair
distance below the Crimson area. Sonar it, and it will pull out of the wall
to reveal a railcar. Sonar the railcar to open it, then enter it. Notice that
the Mover kid is coming along for the ride.. End of level.

                       ------------------------------
                       | Master of Forgotten Skills |
                       ------------------------------

After quite a nice looking cutscene, you'll be in a very nice looking level.
This level basically focuses on a classic block-pushing puzzle, except you're
using minecarts. It's also got the music from Four Ways to Mystery, which of
course is a plus. Anyway, on the bottom area of this relatively small one-room
level, there is a jumble of carts which you will deal with soon, the locked
exit door, and a bubble vent that will help (while there is a water surface
above it's much quicker to visit the vent when pushing the carts around).
The Mover kid will also follow you around and provide comments and hints.

Before you can push the carts around, you need to lower the forklift. Swim up
to the top of this area, collecting the helpful Power of Air crystal in a
window midway up (there's also a Power of Endurance crystal in a tunnel like
object, but don't even bother getting it because it's pretty much useless in
this level) and when you reach the top, you should see the large crane and
a small device floating near it that resembles a traffic light. Sonar the
"lights" on the device in the order bottom, top, middle (ie one dot, two
dots, three dots) 

Now, the forklift will be lowered to ground level, and can be used to push
those carts around. The carts are colour-coded, but to make sure there is
no confusion I will also number them in this laughable excuse for an ASCII
diagram:
          
     *****        
       
  /---\
  |   |                             1 = yellow and gray cart
  | 1 |                             2 = yellow and black cart
  |   |   /-----------\             3 = long light blue cart
  |   |   |     2     |             4 = long yellow cart
  \---/   \-----------/             5 = green cart
              /---\                 6 = full red cart (this is the one you 
              |   |                     have to move to the gate)
              |   |                 7 = pink/purple cart
  /----------\|   |                 8 = orange cart
  |     3    || 4 |     FORK
  \----------/|   |/---\LIFT        FORK
     /---\    |   ||   |            LIFT = where the forklift starts
     |   |    |   ||   |
     | 6 |    \---/| 5 |            ***** = the exit gate
     |   |/---\    |   |
     \---/|   |    \___/
          | 7 |/-------\
          |   ||   8   |
          \---/\-------/

Note: Not exactly to scale because I suck at ASCII diagrams :)
Obviously, you'll need to be facing the correct direction so the gate is 
where it's marked as being for the diagram to be correct.

To operate the forklift, go to one of the four sides of it and sonar it. It
will move away from you. Sonar it again to make it stop. If it moves into the
end of a cart (ie not the side) it will grab the cart, and you can then move
it backwards and forwards but not sideways - so horizontal facing carts only
move horizontally and vertical facing carts only move vertically. To make it
let go of the cart, just sonar it from the side instead of the front/back.

You're aiming to move cart 6 up to the gate and through. While the puzzle
is pretty simple, here's the lowdown anyway:

1) Push cart 7 up a space, so it's right next to cart 6.
2) Push cart 8 right one space.
3) Grab the bottom of cart 4 and pull it down as far as you can (err..)
4) Grab the left side of cart 3 and push it as far as you can.
5) Push cart 6 up, between carts 1 and 2 and through the gate.

See? Easy. As cart 6 passes through the gate, the gate will open, so quickly
go through as well. End of level.


                         ---------------------------
                         | Process That Never Ends |
                         ---------------------------

Not the best level in the game, but it's manageable. The Mover kid's here too.
Go forward along the tunnel you start in, past the cart. When you reach a more
"open" area, down and to your left are a crystal and a bubble vent. Continue
forward and take the right hand tunnel, *not* the one the track you're
swimming along turns to enter. Go along this tunnel past an unhelpful dolphin
and under the currently inactive crushers. If you need air, take one of the
turnoff tunnels to the left for one of many small rooms with a bubble vent
*and* water surface (seems redundant O_o) and two switches, which you won't
be using yet. After passing under two crushers, look around through the glass
wall of the tunnel you're in, to see a dolphin. Sonar him through the glass,
and he'll start the crushers up and they'll trap you in. You can sonar the
switches in the small rooms connected to the main tunnel to temporarily open
the crushers but the easy thing is to simply kill yourself on a crusher, and
you'll reappear outside the tunnel with the crushers still moving. As you have
unlimited lives in Ecco, this is probably the best thing to do.

Swim around the area to find another Mover (I found him by continuing forward
without entering either tunnel) and then talk to him, and talk to the kid
Mover. He'll suggest the three of you go back and push the cart near the
start. So with them following you, go back and return to the entrance tunnel,
get behind the full red cart, and get pushing. After you've pushed it forward
a little, a machine will pick it up and dump it into a pile of rocks to the
right, and rocks will now be on the conveyor belt. Now, enter the conveyor
belt tunnel (the right hand one you were in before) and proceed to the
first crusher. To get past it, look for the branchoff to your left and
take it to the small room with air and two switches on the ground. Touch
the switch with one gear on it, then quickly swim through the grinder and
through the one after that before they close. To get past the next grinder
(which consists of two grinders as opposed to the grinders before which were
one) wait for a rock to reach it (which will force it open for a moment) and
quickly charge through. When you reach the next (double) grinder, instead
of going through it right away back up a bit and take the branchoff tube.
Touch both switches, quickly swim through the double grinder (it will be
open, you don't need to wait for a rock) and the single grinder after that. 

Continue past the lasers that turn the rocks into crystals, and now it's time
for the stupid part. Charge all the crystals to knock them down into the room
ahead. If you get low on air, proceed into the room and jump out of the water
at the top. Just watch out for the crushing piston in this room. Now, I'm
still not sure exactly what you're meant to do here, but keep positioning
crystals over the very centre of the room (either by pushing them there or
tractor-beaming them by double tapping and holding the sonar button - the
tractor beam is easier and safer but it has a tendency to make the rocks
go through the floor O_o) After a while, and possibly after a number of
crystals have been crushed by the piston, the floor will open up. The first
time I did this level it took ages, and the second time it happened before
I'd even moved any of the crystals.. so go figure. O_o Anyway, when the
planetary alignments or phases of the moon are such that the floor opens for
you, swim down and into the tunnel. End of level.

UPDATE: I've gotten lots of emails saying how to get past this room - however,
what they refer to isn't in the room at all in my version. Therefore, I assume
that the easy way is only an option in the PS2 version, but I'll say it here
anyway since most people seem to have the PS2 version in the first place.
Apparently in the PS2 version, there are two 'crystals' or 'glass bubbles'
on the room's walls. What I'm told you have to do is move one of the shiny 
rocks (referred to as crystals before, but we'll call them rocks now to
avoid confusion) close to the crystal on the right wall, which should be
glowing. Apparently a laser beam then hits the rock and makes *it* glow, and
you then need to put another rock next to that one, which will then be hit
by the laser beam. If you put a line of rocks like this all the way to the
other side so that the laser beam reaches the crystal on the left side of the
room, the floor will open. Allegedly.

Thanks to all those who emailed me with this, specifically ChibiStarStealer,
Russ Trudeau, Edward Nigma, Chris Dragon and anyone I mistakenly didn't
mention.

                            --------------------
                            | Blades in Motion |
                            --------------------

Bah, I hate this level, and it's possibly the hardest yet in the game.
From the start, go down the hole below you to another good old conveyor belt,
and follow it a short way to a larger area. Watch out for sharks and fight
the current to the other end of the room. Take the Power of Sonar crystal
that is above the second-last horizontal pipe near the ceiling (you'll have to
jump to get it) and continue into the opening. You'll now be in a ring-shaped
room with a pair of turbine blade like barriers circling it. Follow around
the way they are going, but look in the inner glass wall for a crack. When
you see it, quickly sonar it several times (with the Power of Sonar) to make
a hole which will allow you to enter the inner area (if the Power of Sonar
runs out you'll have to go back to the previous room and get it again).

Grab the Power of Air crystal that is here, and go down. You'll come across
the first of five fan blades. In each one, you have to go through the hole
in the barrier, and time it so that you don't get sliced in the process. It's
not particularly hard, so this shouldn't cause much trouble. A good idea is
to use your charge to travel through the holes quickly. After making it
through all five, refill life on the fish if necessary, be sure to pick up
the Power of Sonar crystal, then proceed downwards and enter the tube.
Shortly after entering, there will be a crack in the ceiling. Sonar it with
the Power of Sonar several times as before to make an opening to an area
outside that section of the tube, where you can refill on health and air
and pick up another Power of Sonar crystal and a Power of Endurance crystal.
When you're ready, go back into the tube and proceed.

Just a little way further along the tube you will see another crack, this
time in the floor. Break it as before with the Power of Sonar, and go through
the hole to another outside area. (If you continue along the tube, you just
end up in a dead end that kills you, so don't.) Now from here, go the only
way, through a one-way door. You'll end up in a room with a bright light
in the middle. As you approach it, it will disappear and you will have to
fight an irritating crayfish boss. Remember, there are fish around this area,
and a bubble vent on the ground.

The boss will retreat into a hole and come out a little while after. You can
get advance warning of this by watching the small green eels in this room -
they'll swim lower when the boss is about to come out. When the boss DOES
come out, swim around like crazy and hope he doesn't catch you (still happens
too often for my liking >_<) and when you get a chance, charge the whitish
blue plate on his underside. You need to do this three times to win, but it's
difficult to hit him - if anyone's got a better strategy, please do tell, as
about the only advice I can give is to try and position yourself under the
hole he's come out of (you can get a better attack from there). If he grabs
you, hammer the charge button. Usually he won't kill you but he will do a lot
of damage and you'll need to refill your health on the fish if you're to
survive the next grabbing. Good luck.

UPDATE: Well, I've been sent strategies. Here's a few of them.

Steven Bennett said:

"heres a helpful hint on avoiding the giant crayfish boss in "blades in
motion" the fish swim to a place in the arena where the boss can't reach in
the PS2 vertion so if you stick with the fish you are safe."

Jason Lomeli said:

"(Usual disclaimer: it worked for me, your mileage may vary.)

Suggested strategy: Lurk at the bottom of the room, near the rocks, looking
upward. The hole from which the boss emerges seems to be immaterial, as it
did not attack me even when emerging from the hole nearest to my location.
At full extension, the boss's chest plates will be almost directly over the
pile of rocks, a practically straight shot for a charge. Lather, rinse, repeat."

Kevin Brown said:

"I've found a somewhat easier way to defeat the boss in the "Blades in Motion" 
level.My strategy was to watch the school of fish to see were the monster was
coming out (they would swim to the opposite side of the cave). Then catch an
eel with the sonic beam, and wait for the monster to come out of the whole.
While it is out direct the caught eel into the monster and it will eat the eel.
While the monster is busy eating swim under it's bottom and charge it's belly.
I had to do this three times. *NOTE* This strategy worked for me while I was
playing the Playstation 2 version of the game, I never tried it on the Dreamcast
version, but I think it should still work."

Thanks to all those who sent strategies. Now back to your regularly scheduled
walkthrough...

Once you've beaten him, he'll leave and make your exit path. So go down there.
Now, for the *other* annoying part of the level (groan). Yippee, another
pipe, although this one is metal, not glass. Refill any necessary life on
fish, and air on the bubble vent. Now, go to the end of the pipe that is
*furthest* from the fish (the end with a yellowish sphere right there,
not the one which slopes upwards first) and sonar the sphere to light it.
(Be warned that touching a sphere, lit or not, will damage you). Now look up
and light the sphere directly above you. Also look down and light the sphere
below you (there's a bubble vent near that sphere but you shouldn't need it)
then go back the way you came into the first pipe with the bubble vent and
fish.

Now comes the tricky part - navigating quite a lot of airless tunnels with no
Power of Air when you really need it >_< Fill up on air on the bubble vent
(all you're getting for a while) and go the other way down the tunnel, in
the direction of the fish. Go up the slope, and then light the sphere right
in front of you. Ignore any paths to the left or right and continue past it
to another sphere. Light it and continue past it again to a third sphere.
Light this sphere, then take the tunnel to your left. Proceed forward and
light the sphere, then take the tunnel to your right and proceed forward.

Light the sphere you will reach, proceed past it and light the next sphere,
then proceed past it and light a third sphere. Now, backtrack to the previous
sphere, the second one out of the three you just lit in this tunnel. When
you're at it, take the path downward and follow it along until you come to
another sphere, which you should light (duh...) Proceed past the sphere, past
the fish, then the tunnel will slope down to another sphere and... AIR! And
not a moment too soon, either.. Refill your near-empty air meter, light the
sphere, and go back up. Go back along the tunnel until you come to a sphere
that you lit just before, then continue past it and follow the tunnel until
you reach another sphere. Light it, and take the tunnel to the right.
When you come to another sphere, light it and head upwards. Follow the tunnel
for a short distance, then go through the door and continue onwards. End of
level.

                           ----------------------
                           | Perpetual Fluidity |
                           ----------------------

The most hated level in the game by many, this level is extremely
complicated. Switches abound that open/close doors, change the water level,
or both. The goal is to have the right combination of switches set that will
raise the water level high enough for you to enter the exit tunnel, but keep
enough doors open for you to get there. Because this level is so complex,
make sure you follow these instructions exactly or you'll be in trouble.

From the start, go forward and enter the opening, taking the Power of Sonar
crystal as you enter. Use it to blast away the red stuff in the tunnel, and
proceed through. When the walls turn transparent, talk to the dolphin outside
the tunnel if you like, but either way continue along, charging to get past
the fan blades, until you reach another room. Avoid the weird egg-shaped
things and their red laser beams here, and refill on air from a bubble vent.
(For some reason these ones refill your air really slowly.. O_o). Now enter
the only other opening in this room, which is higher up on one of the walls.
Follow this tunnel past a crystal and a fanblade to a room with a shark and
some scaffolding around the left hand side of the room. Get within the
scaffolding immediately and the shark will not be able to reach you.

From within the scaffolding, sonar the red switch on the far wall. This will
cause a tunnel to open (the tunnel is NOT what you see above the switch,
which is merely an indicator) on the wall to your right. Quickly charge out
of the scaffolding and into the opened tunnel, then go through the tunnel
past some fan blades and exploding laser beam egg things. You'll enter a room
with some sharks. It's too difficult to fight them off, so immediately look
to your left and make a dash for the white-rimmed tunnel there (you may wish
to refill on air by jumping out of the water here first). You'll see your old
friend the Mover kid through the transparent wall of the tunnel as you enter.
Proceed through the very short tunnel past another crystal to another room.

Now you're in a relatively danger-free room - there are only a few laser eggs
and the crayfish die in one charge. Refill health on the fish, and air by
jumping out of the water. When you're ready, sonar the red switch on the wall
and the water level will rise. Now you can access another white-rimmed tunnel
that is higher up than the one you came in by. Enter the tunnel, fight the
opposing current by charging and go through past fan blades and electric
wires (you can collect the Power of Sonar crystal on the way but you don't
need it) to a room with two sharks and a switch. Ignore the sharks and switch
however and instead immediately leave through the red tunnel that is directly
below where you came in. On the way, you can talk to the Prime Mover through
the transparent portion of the wall to learn something.. interesting.

Continue through the tunnel and you'll be in another room. Take the Power of
Endurance crystal, refill your air by jumping out of the water, and then
sonar the switch in this room. Leave this tunnel by the tunnel you came in
by (easy to spot, since the only other tunnel is above the water's surface
and inaccessible :) ) until you're back in the room with the two sharks and
the switch. This time, sonar the switch once and leave the room through the
green-rimmed door near the surface. Do all this fairly quickly, or the sharks
will kill you (although the Power of Endurance will help). Go through the
tunnel, then in the next room look down and to your right to see another
switch. Watching out for piranhas, sonar it and leave through the green door
opposite the one you came in by (facing away from the switch, it's to your
right).

Proceed through the tunnel into the next room. Dodging sharks and piranhas,
quickly sonar the switch here and go back the way you came to the previous
room (which has piranhas but not sharks) and sonar the switch again (it
should now be red). Leave through the higher green-rimmed door (the other
shouldn't be open, anyway) and as you enter the next room, go to the white
rimmed door which is directly ahead of you and up a bit, near the water's
surface. Fight the current and go through the tunnel to the next room. See
the white-rimmed door in front of you? Don't enter it. Look down a bit, and
you should see another white-rimmed door - but it's closed, and isn't the one
you want. Instead, look to your left and down further, and you should see
another white-rimmed door behind a crystal. Enter that one.

Go through the tunnel, past the Mover kid to the room with a shark. Quickly
look to your left and up. See the yellow tunnel that you couldn't access
the first time you were here because the water level was too low? You should
be able to reach it now, so enter it before the shark eats you. Go through
the tunnel past the fan blade and laser eggs to yet another room. Enter
the white-rimmed tunnel directly across the room and fight the current past
another fan blade or two until you reach another.. room.. (don't worry, this
one's the lucky last) Sonar the switch in this room to raise the water level
(watch out for piranhas, again) then take the Power of Sonar crystal and
blast away the red stuff blocking the entrance of the newly reachable tunnel.
Enter the tunnel and charge past the fan blade. End of level.


                        ----------------------------
                        | Obscure Ways to Terminus |
                        ----------------------------

Complicated name, simple level. As you enter, head forwards until you reach
the other end of the room you're in. To your left should be a red-rimmed
tunnel, the only one in this room that is open. Enter it. You'll be picked up
by a strong current. "Go with the flow" until you reach a slightly larger
area than leave the current (if you stay in it you'll just end up back in
the first room) and look to your left. This largish room is separated by
about five tall glass barriers, and you'll have to jump over each. Easier
than it looks, really. Just swim over until you're *above* the current
(it won't pick you up if you're near the surface). Now aim up at the top
of the barrier at about a 45 degree angle and press B. You should go sailing
over the barrier and land in the next "section" of the room. The current here
will also take you back to the main room, so swim until you're over it but
not in it (as before), and aim and charge (as before) to jump the next
barrier.

Now do this another three times, and you'll be at the other end of the
room. There are two currents here. Enter the one closest to the wall (not
the glass wall you just jumped over, the "room boundary" wall) and follow it
along until you reach another room. Leave the current at this point, and
enter the tunnel to your right. End of level.

                        ---------------------------
                        | Sleeping Forces of Doom |
                        ---------------------------

This "boss" level is kind of weird and stupid, and I didn't like it much.
However, it's easy when you know what to do. The main and only room of the
level is a circular room with two bubble vents on the floor (remember to
visit them when your air gets low), a spherical core in the centre and four
snakes on the sides. A strong current whirls around the room at a medium
height - but it can be avoided by swimming to the top or bottom of the room,
and the effect can be lessened by swimming to either side. Lots of crystals
are fed into the room and are picked up by the current. The core is multi
layered, with each layer being separated into segments. Your ultimate goal
is to strip away all the layers from the core. To do this, crystals must hit
the core - each crystal will knock out one segment.

You can sonar the crystals to knock them straight into the core, but it
usually isn't necessary as many will hit it by themselves. What you should
definitely devote your attention to are the snakes, which will grab crystals
and use them to *restore* the core, undoing your work. So, you should move
around the room with the current, and whenever you pass a snake that is
holding a crystal, sonar the crystal to knock it out of the snake's grip.
You're given plenty of time to knock the crystal out and it's not the end of
the world if one or two snakes heal the core anyway, so this shouldn't be too
much of a problem.

The snakes will eventually die off one by one. After they're all dead, you
can sonar some crystals into the core to speed the process a bit. Once the
core is gone, swim down into the hole in the floor it was protecting. End
of level. You'll see another cutscene, and then it's the next chapter.

                          =========================
                          || DOLPHIN'S NIGHTMARE ||
                          =========================

                            ---------------------
                            | Anguish of Dearth |
                            ---------------------

Ah, back in the seas.. but all is not right. Colourful level, this. In case
you're wondering, "dearth" means hunger or famine, making the title perfectly
fitting in that the dolphins in this level are starving. This level is pretty
short and easy, anyway. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Right in front of you as you start there's a Power of Air crystal. Take it if
you like. You can also talk to the dolphins and crystals in this "village"
for information. To get on with the level, however, proceed forward past the
Power of Air crystal until you reach the rock wall, then look slightly to
your left to see a pathway leading onwards. Follow it and you'll soon reach
a dead end. Look to your right, and you'll see a pile of rocks blocking your
way. However, aim just above the rocks and charge, and you can jump over them
through a narrow, hard-to-see gap (might take a try or two) into the next
area.

Now, just as you enter there's a small school of fish to your right. If you
like, you can get the Power of Sonar crystal that is a little further on in
a more open area, use it to break the pile of rocks then sonar the fish and
take them back to the dolphins in the "village", but it's not necessary.
Regardless, your next destination is in this area, so proceed past the small
school to your right (unless you already took them away, in which case they
obviously won't be there :) ) into a more open area with more fish (which you
can use to refill your health). As you enter the open area, take a right,
past another three schools of fish, until you reach a rock wall with a groove
along it. Go left a short distance until you reach another wall, then get
inside the groove and follow it left until you see a hidden Power of Stealth
crystal.

Take the crystal, then leave the groove in the wall but continue along the
way you were facing when you were following the groove (ie, left from where
you were before you entered it) until you come to a big fish. With the Power
of Stealth, wait until it opens its mouth to eat some smaller fish, then swim
inside its mouth and it will carry you past the new Evil Dolphins (tm) to the
next level.

                              --------------
                              | Entrapment |
                              --------------

The Clan (aka Evil Dolphins (tm)) are everywhere on this level, so do your
best to avoid them or they'll attack you. You'll start off in an open area
with a few Clan around. If they see you, it's best to run off by charging
(you can outrun them) as the Shark Song doesn't work for obvious reasons,
making them fairly dangerous. Don't forget to use your map to check their
positions. From your starting position, follow the left-hand wall around
and you'll soon come to a closed gate. If you check your map here, you'll
notice tons of Clan behind the gate. If you turn around so your back is to
the door and look ahead, you'll see a small valley in the ground with a
Power of Stealth crystal in it. Take it.

Now, stick around in the valley and watch the door. It should eventually
open. I noticed that when I left the valley and waited around in front of the
door, one of the Clan still saw me even with the Power of Stealth (O_o) so
make sure by hiding in the valley, as the door only opens after a certain
amount of time passes without you being seen. When it opens, pick up the
Power of Stealth crystal again to refresh it, and proceed through.

In this next area, there is a circular prison-type structure in the middle.
Your Power of Stealth won't last much longer, so don't rely on it and quickly
head around to the back of the structure, which is relatively Clan-free. You
should see a window-type opening in the back of the structure. If, facing
this, you turn right and follow the wall of the structure around, you can
look through a smaller window to see an imprisoned Resistance dolphin being
tortured. Now you'll have to go back to the front of the structure, unfortun-
ately. There are about two Clan around this area, so watch out. There should
be another window-like thing at the front of the structure - follow the wall
of the structure from it to the right, and a short way along you should see
a circular button-like thing sticking out of the wall, around where the roof
of the structure begins. Charge the button, and it will open the window at
the front of the structure for a short time.

I'm not entirely sure how this part works, really. It's the window at the
front with the circular panel with what looks like a fan drawn on it, the
panel being what opens. But almost all the times I pressed the switch, it
didn't open at all no matter how fast I got there. I think that if a Clan
sees you, the door closes, so you might want to go out and collect the Power
of Stealth again (there's a switch near the gate which opens it) and do it
that way. In any case, the door into the structure doesn't stay open for long
so charge there as fast as you can.

Anyway, once you're inside you'll be in a room with some fish, a bubble vent,
and an acrobatically-inclined Clan you should dispose of (he takes quite a lot
of punishment). There is a closed door to your left, and an open one to your
right. Take the open one (obviously) to a chamber with a bubble vent, a
switch and a closed door. Sonar the switch, which will temporarily open the
closed door in this room. Go through it while it's open to end up in another
room which is, well, exactly the same. Sonar the switch, enter the opened
door.

You'll enter a tunnel which will fork. Take the right fork. Now you're in a
room with *two* switches (ooh, variety!), a bubble vent, some fish and
another Clan acrobat you should take out. Sonar both switches, and turn
around. On the wall opposite the window, there are two doors. You came in
through the left-hand one, so take the right-hand one, which leads back to
the first room. However, now a new door has opened - as you enter the room,
turn around to look at the door you just came out of. Enter the first door
to the right of the one you came out of, and follow the tunnel to another
room.

Bubble vent, fish, Clan, switch, door, monitor-like object. Go behind the
monitor to get a Power of Endurance, then kill the Clan if you like (I didn't
bother), sonar the switch, and leave through the now-open door to the left of
the monitor. Follow the longish tunnel to the room where the Resistance
dolphin is held. Now, you need to charge each of the four cables (where they
connect to the wall) three times to free the dolphin. The Clan here will try
to sonar you, but if you got the Power of Endurance you should be able to
shrug it off. However, I don't think there's an air source in this room, so
you may have to return to the previous one to refill on air if you get low.

There will be a cutscene in which you and the Resistance dolphin will escape
from the prison and through the gate, back to the first area of this level.
Now, hug the right wall. Whenever you see a plant with four tendrils and a
large, yellow bulb on top, sonar it and the Clan will start to swim around it
(like moths around a light, heh) and ignore you, which is quite helpful. Lead
the Resistance dolphin along the way, hugging the right hand wall as before
(sonar him to start him following you, and to make him wait where he is) and
if you sonar all the yellow bulb plants along the way the Clan shouldn't pose
a problem. Just don't go too fast, or he can't keep up.

Keep following the wall, past the gate you came in by, until you reach a
tunnel. You'll have a brief conversation before entering the tunnel (and Ecco
will learn the Song of the Plant) then enter. End of level.

                     ---------------------------------
                     | Anguish of Dearth - revisited |
                     ---------------------------------

So, now you're back here for a bit, with more to do. Seeing how easy the
first visit here was, you could call this the "rest" of the level.. :)
Swim down this passageway, filling up on air on the bubble vent. Watch the
ground carefully. When you get close to the first of several plants on the
floor which looks like a yellowish brown bulb, STOP. There's invisible
strands of stinging seaweed or something in this level, and you've got to make
them show up with smoky stuff in the water (just like laser beams.. heh..)
Sonar the bulb, and you'll be able to see the seaweed. Carefully avoid it and
make your way down the passage, sonaring more plants as you go. This part is
fairly tough, so good luck. Remember, whenever you see another bulb, stop
completely and don't move until you've sonared it. After about five or six
bulbs there will be a "break" area where there is no seaweed. Take this
opportunity to stock up on air, then continue through more seaweed.

Once you finally reach the end of the seaweed, there will be a little more
tunnel then you will end up back in the dolphin "village". But now they're
under attack by three sharks. I bet you were missing shark fighting, hmm? :)
Kill all the sharks, but beware - they're more aggressive and intelligent
than regular sharks. Common tactics won't work as well against them, because
they follow you around and often attack from above or below instead of coming
straight at you. You're still faster if you charge a lot, so get some
distance between you and the shark, quick turn (Y and left/right) then sonar
it when it's reasonably close, but not too close (otherwise it'll have swum
above/below you) then attack.

After killing all three sharks, go talk to the dolphin who hiding inside one
of the shell buildings (easy to find if you check your map). He'll push aside
a nearby boulder, revealing a hole. Swim down the hole. End of level.

                            -------------------
                            | Caverns of Hope |
                            -------------------

Another neat cave level, much like Four Ways to Mystery. Start off by heading
forward past the crystal. Follow the tunnel and very soon you will come
across a dolphin in the distance throwing rocks at you. Dodge the rocks
(easiest if you swim all the way to the left) and when you get close enough
sonar the dolphin to tell him you're on his side. Then he'll stop. Further
along, there will be an opposing current you should charge repeatedly to get
past and another rock-throwing dolphin. Again, sonar him when he's in range.
Continue to the end of the tunnel to an air pocket where you can jump up and
refill your air, then turn back and look for a turnoff to your right (check
the map if you have trouble seeing it) and then proceed along the parallel
tunnel which leads back the way you came (but in a different tunnel). Don't
miss the Power of Endurance crystal near where you enter the second tunnel.

As you go down this tunnel, you'll encounter another current and another
rock-throwing dolphin to sonar. After that, you'll encounter both again..
and once more. Then you'll come to an air pocket which you probably need by
this point. Swim up to near the surface of the water, then over the rock
wall. Now, aim upwards at the green rock wall ahead of you, and press B to
jump over it. Swim down and you'll come across another dolphin to sonar -
now continue on your way down the tunnel, taking the Power of Air crystal on
the way. Yet another current, yet another elite Resistance member.. You know
the drill. Fortunately, that's the last one - the tunnel will now open up
into a larger cavern with a bubble vent near where you enter that you should
remember.

Head forwards and to the left. When you see some greenish-yellow globes, look
behind them. You've found one of the dolphin trait spheres! But wait.. great,
now the Clan are here. Go forwards a bit in the cavern, and one of the
dolphins will ask you to follow him. The dolphin will head over to the pile
of crystals. Charge at the Clan that try to attack him, and the dolphin will
open the crystals up. Now for the tricky part. The dolphin will start to swim
down the passage. As he does, Clan will attack him. You have to charge at the
Clan before they can hit him, which will make them retreat. If the dolphin
gets hit by a Clan, he will get scared and start to go backwards. Quickly
swim after him and sonar him to get him going in the right direction again,
preferably before he's gone too far. There's a Power of Air crystal near the
start - get it if you can, but it's manageable even without it, just keep an
eye out for bubble vents. There's also another later along anyway.

After a while you will reach a wall of crystal, and the dolphin will open
it for you. Fill your health on the fish and take the Power of Air crystal,
because it's time for a boss fight. Now, despite what the crystal says, it's
possible to kill the boss just by charge attacking it a lot. However, you may
as well do as the crystal says, because it's a hell of a lot quicker and
easier. Specifically, swim down to the bottom of the cavern you're in.
(There's a bubble vent down here if you need it.) Go over to around where the
boss is, and you should see a Power of Sonar crystal around the bottom of the
cave. See the large spikes hanging above where the boss is swimming around?
As the boss passes under one, sonar it. It'll fall and impale him, and that
one hit is all you need. Either way you defeat the boss, it'll leave and make
your exit at the same time, just like the crayfish.

Go in there, and go forward as far as you can. Then look up a little, and
enter the tunnel there. Follow it along until you hit the water surface in a
small well. Charge out and you should jump into a larger pool. Now just head
into the opening and follow the tunnel. End of level.

                            ----------------
                            | Lair of Evil |
                            ----------------

From the start, go forward but not as far as the crystal. Instead, look to
the right and enter the red opening, and swim through the tunnel. You'll end
up in a room with a crystal and a strange creature swimming around with a
trail of bubbles behind it. These bubbles refill your air as do those in the
next room, which you should now enter. Avoid the two Clan here and enter the
red opening. Go down the tunnel, charge past the lasers and continue. Go
through another set of lasers, and you'll be in another room with a Clan who
says something when you enter as well as some fish and a bubble vent. Don't
attack the Clan - instead, look to your right to see a closed door with a
glowing red symbol on it. Wait in front of the door and when the Clan gets
close to it, it will begin to open. Quickly enter the door and enter the blue
tube inside, which will propel you away.

Do the same for the next four tubes (the fifth won't work) then proceed
forward (ignore the door to your left) until you reach a room dominated by a
large octopus-like machine in the middle, which also contains a bubble vent
and a crystal. Looking forward as you enter, you should see three switches
around the front of the machine (not the one on the wall, you can't use it
yet). Sonar the left switch, and the shell will open. Sonar the right switch,
and a red ball will drop into the shell, which will close and then open
again. Now enter the shell, position yourself above the red ball, then turn
around so you're looking back at the tunnel you came in by, and you should be
able to see a single small orange switch on a pole. Sonar it and the shell
will close, branding Ecco with the mark of the Clan.

Now go back through the tunnel you came in by, using the tubes again until
you come back to the room with the talkative Clan (who isn't fooled :) ).
As you enter, turn right and enter the white-rimmed opening. Follow this
tunnel, again using the small tubes to speed through it, and don't miss the
Power of Air crystal on the way. You should come out in a room with a glowing
blue bubble vent. There are several doors in this room. Look at the wall to
your left - you should see two doors both with red symbols. The one on the
right has a green symbol being held out in front of it - take this door.
Follow the tunnel to a large room with a lot of fish. Go straight ahead and
you should see a Clan. Talk to him and you'll tell him the branding station
is jammed. He'll tell you to follow him, so do so.

Follow him through the tunnel he enters, past several sets of laser beams,
to another room. He'll stay in front of a door and tell you to enter it and
fix the machine. Enter the door and go through the longish tunnel to a big
room with lots of fish, a few bubble vents, and some spinning blades on the
ceiling. You'll notice the far one is stuck. From the entrance, look left
and you'll see a glowing green star-shaped object on the wall. Sonar it and
it will turn red and shut down the blades. Take the Power of Sonar crystal in
the middle of the room and use it to break away the strand of... whatever
that is blocking the blade. Finally, shoot the glowing red star which will
turn back to green and start the blades up again. Go back the way you came.

When you get back to the room with the "friendly" (gullible, rather :P) Clan
fill up on air if necessary and enter the red-rimmed tunnel across the room.
Go down the tunnel, collect the Power of Air crystal from the doorway to your
right as you reach it, and then a bit further along collect the Power of
Endurance crystal from a doorway to your left. Continue along the tunnel and
when you leave you'll be in the level's second big room (the one with two
Clan in it). Like you did before, enter the open red-rimmed doorway and go
through the tunnel, charging past the two sets of spinning lasers. You'll
end up in the room of your good friend the talkative and suspicious Clan, so
avoid him and quickly enter the door to your right marked with the red symbol
as before (except you don't need him to open it now ^_^) and go down the
tunnel, again using the tubes.

You're now back in the branding machine room (you'd have thought they'd guard
such an important machine better, wouldn't you? O_o) except now the wall
switch (which controls what level of clearance mark you get) will work. Sonar
the switch until it's set to the level 3 symbol (recognisable as having three
"swirly" lines coming into it, as opposed to two (the only symbol you could
get at first) or four) then brand yourself as before - sonar the left switch
then the right switch, then enter the machine, get on top of the red ball and
sonar the switch you can see. You can pick the level 4 symbol instead if you
like, but when I did that it gave me a level 3 instead.. which is weird, but
it doesn't matter as all you need is a level 3.

Now leave the room again, through the tunnel, taking the tubes. Back to the
talkative Clan room. Go back out through the red rimmed tunnel (which is to
your left as you enter) and charge past the two sets of laser beams in the
tunnel again. You'll end up back in the second room, the one with two Clan
(who, by the way, won't attack you and are apparently in awe of your newly
branded rank ^_^) then take the door with a red symbol and a green symbol
glowing in front of it which is to your right as you enter. Go through the
weird twisty tunnel into a large area. There are some large semitransparent
pipes in this area (not the "flowing" ones, larger than those) around the
top. One has a glowing open end - enter it and follow the pipe. End of level.

                         ------------------------
                         | Powers of Levitation |
                         ------------------------

Argh, I *hate* this level. Hate hate hate it. It's SO damn confusing... so
forgive me if my instructions aren't crystal clear. Go forward through the
tunnel, then follow what looks like a long ribcage or something. From there,
go straight forward and a bit to the left until you reach the large metallic
balls that are chained together or something. Go left, and follow this area
around until you see a crystal. Take the entrance into the building which is
directly below it.

Now, go dooown. Nearly all the way, a door will open in the wall of the pit
you're descending. As the pit otherwise ends in a dead end, I suggest you
take it. Now swim down this passage. Doors similar to the one that let you
into the prison in Entrapment will open as you swim along the passage. Go
straight along the passage until a room with a bubble vent and a Clan. Talk
to the Clan, who will say something about conducting a tour of the factory.
The Clan will then leave, so follow her. She will leave through the tunnel
with the weird doors, and then leave the building. Try to follow as close
behind her as you can, but don't actually touch her or she will notice you and
stop. She will eventually enter a tube sticking out of the sand in another
area, and you must quickly go through the door before it closes (which is why
you need to be following right behind). It's tricky, and may take a few tries.

Once you enter, you'll see an interesting scene and learn what you need to
do. Firstly, the engineer. To reach him, leave the pipe and head away from the
pipe area. Swim between the two fin-like metal plates to get back to the
chained balls area, then head left to where the crystal is. The engineer is
here. Talk to him and he'll ask you to start the main power couplings. Go
back into the entrance with the crystal above it, down the pit, and take the
gate to the side. However, as you pass through the first weird door (which
was oddly now permanently open for me O_o) go right. Go through the weird
door here and turn right at the first chance you get. Go through the weird
door here and sonar the switch on the wall to activate the first coupling.
You may need to sonar the switch a couple of times - if there isn't a beam
in the room from ceiling to floor, the coupling isn't activated. Now go back
to the main passage and continue along it. The next chance you get to turn
right, again turn right, sonar the switch to activate the coupling, and fill
up on air from the bubble geyser. Then return to the main path.

Next chance you get to turn right, do exactly the same thing as you've now
done twice to activate the third coupling. Return to the main path, and it's
one more turnoff to the right and a fourth coupling to activate. After this,
continue to follow the main path and you'll pass through a weird door - you
are now back at the start. Now, turn left, and proceed ahead that way. You're
now back on the path with the two original weird doors, which leads to the
room where the Clan member who was on your side was. However this time,
shortly before passing through the second weird door (which was again
permanently open for me) turn right and follow the passage. When you reach one
of those common points where you can turn left and right, this time just go
straight forwards (for once) until the next intersection. This time, turn
left.

Here's where the security chief is. He's somewhat sharper than the other Clan
and will notice who you are as soon as you enter. (If you instead find a Clan
who tells you to see the engineer, you've missed the turnoff. Try again and
watch carefully.) The security chief will attack you. Sonar him if possible
to freeze him, and charge attack him about 5 or 6 times to win. (Remember
that there's a bubble vent at the back of the room if you're low on air).
After he's down, charge the switch (it should be blue) and leave the room.

Now, turn left and continue. Go through the door (if it won't open, go back
to the security chief's room and make sure the switch is blue) to end up in a
room with two whales wired up to something. Talk to both whales, then turn
around and leave. Just go straight forwards all the way back until you reach
the weird door, then go through it, turn left and start swimming upwards.
This leads out of the generator's entrance (the one below the crystal,
remember), however we can't go there quite yet :( Up this tube there are a
number of windows on the inside wall. The first you will come to while heading
upwards (ie the lowest) is missing glass, and you can enter through it to
reach the core of the generator. There are three fan-lookalike openings in
the floor here. Go all the way down one, sonar the switch to turn it blue,
and that will start up... whatever that is. Repeat for the other two.

You're practically there. Go back into the window you came in by (the one
with no glass) and swim upwards. Instead of taking the opening that leads out
of the generator, continue swimming upwards until you end up in a ring-shaped
tube around the core. There's a machine here that two Clan are already hooked
up to. If they're not, you're in trouble as you missed a coupling. Did you:

1) Activate all four couplings in the ring-shaped area so that a beam was
created in each?
2) Talk to the whales and gain their help?
3) Swim down all three fan shafts and sonar the switches so that they were
blue?

That's the eight couplings.. Anyway, when the two Clan are hooked up to the
machine, get in the spare harness between them. You'll now see a cutscene
where you activate the HANGING WATERS! End of level.. woohoo!

                       ---------------------------
                       | Hanging Waters - Part 1 |
                       ---------------------------

This is it, the Ecco the Dolphin feature piece. Longest, hardest, but also
coolest level in the game, the definite favourite of many. It's so long it's
split into three parts, with three bosses (each in their own levels). I
imagine they did this to give the player a break, as you can then restart
from whatever part you were up to if you stop playing. But anyway, on with
the walkthrough! That is, after you pick up your jaw from the visuals :)

To start off with, head forward along the water tube. If you like, you can
jump to the water sphere on your right (might be some good practice) but all
there is there is a crystal with a decidedly unhelpful comment. Instead, you
need to continue along the water tube. Right ahead is a barrier blocking the
whole tube. If you approach it, you'll be damaged and knocked back. So what
to do? Remember, you don't need to stay IN the tube. Jump over the top of the
barrier (swim up to the top of the tube, then aim and charge.. it's difficult
because of the current, so you might need some practice) and then jump over
the top of the other million or so barriers along the way.. *groan*

When you reach the end of the tube, you'll fall out and end up in a pool
with some fish. Restore health if necessary. Now, look around. You'll see
bubbles rising up to the surface, then leaving the surface as globes of
water (??) which rise upwards. You need to ride these up. Specifically,
you're aiming for the next tube - as you left the tube, you fell in a 
"gap" and the rest of the tube is ahead from there. It's got a weird
swirly thing on the end for some reason. So, jump into one of the globes
of water as it leaves the surface, jump to the next closest, and work
your way up until you can get a clear jump at the tube. It might take
quite a few tries..

When you get inside the next tube, continue along past some weird currents
(just charge..) until you land in another pool. Now you have to jump up more
water globes, but fortunately these stay still instead of rising. Jump to the
one closest to the water surface, then aim and jump to the next. Now look at
the next globe. This is darker and wobbles. This is a gelatinous globe that
will bounce you, so jump on *top* of it and bounce to the next water globe.
Now, do the same again with the next set of a bouncy globe and water globe.
Now, look ahead to the series of three bouncy globes. Aim carefully, bounce
off the first two, then as you hit the third pull back on the control stick
to aim up and bounce higher, hopefully into the next water globe.

Now look to the bouncy globe and water globe. Land on the bouncy globe, and
pull back on the control stick as before to bounce higher to the water globe.
Now jump into the above tube with the swirly thing on the end (you can jump
through the swirly thing, it won't do anything..) and proceed along it. It
will soon fork into two - take the left fork. When you reach the ringed end
of the tunnel, charge out to jump to the water globe hanging inside the
turning cage thing (if you just keep swimming to it you'll fall). Sonar the
switch inside and look to your right to see a new water tube appearing. Jump
to it (tricky jump, make sure you're as close to the edge of the globe as
possible before charging..), turn left and continue along it.

Bear in mind that a short way along there's a break in the tube (hard to see,
but watch for the ring around the edges of the tube) which you'll need to
jump. Go along it for a bit and it will end (careful not to fall) and two
tubes with water will be ahead (ie, it forks, but with a gap you better watch
out for). Jump to the left one and continue. A strong current will blow you
along the tube, so be careful not to fall and follow it to the end, where you
need to jump into a hollow, water filled rock through an opening in the side.

Go to the bottom-most opening here (it's behind a strand of seaweed as you
enter) and jump out into another tube which you should follow until you see
another tube frothing at the end. Jump to it, and start charging repeatedly
to get along it (although I wasn't even sure which direction I was travelling
in at this point.. :) ) until you reach a fork of tubes. Take the left one.

Again, you'll need to jump from the end of the tube to an encaged globe of
water and sonar a switch. Again, look right to see a tube materialise. Again,
jump to it. Again, the jumping is hard. :) I think you can actually go back
and take the right fork and jump to it from there (probably easier) but
that's just so.. unstylish. Now the tubes split into three. Jump to the
right hand tube and swim past a weirdly shaped, rotating rock. When you reach
the second, watch out because it will block the tube you're in at times and if
you hit it you will be damaged. Wait for it to get out of the way and slip
through. The third rock is the same, but harder. Once you're through them all
you'll come to a switch.

Sonar the switch and it will create a section of watery tubing ahead of you
and a little below. Which is good, since the tube you're in ends about now.
Jump to the new section (watch out, it will disappear after a short time) and
go the short distance you can along it, then sonar the switch you can see.
This will create another section of tubing above you, so jump to it. Again,
this tube (and all the other switch activated ones in this section) also
disintegrate after a time, so don't dawdle.

Go along the tube, sonar the switch below you. This will create another tube
below you which you should jump to. Sonar the switch above you, another tube
appears above you, jump to it.. yada yada yada. (The last couple of jumps are
pretty tricky and may take a few tries). Jump from this section of tube to a
thankfully more permanent part. Continue along until you're pushed back by a
current, then jump to the tube below you and follow it.

This tube now has a strong current blowing you along (and some sharp turns)
so be careful not to fall out. When it reaches the end you'll be able to jump
into another tube to your left. Follow it to a water globe. Look to your
right, at the really huge water globe with a pool below it. Jump to the lower
(small) water globe you can see, and from there to the pool below the huge
globe. Now, swim up the trunk of the large tree type thing. It's now the end
of the first part of Hanging Waters - and the start of the first Hanging
Waters boss fight!

                            ----------------
                            | Ice and Fire |
                            ----------------

This boss level is your fight against quite a... hot tempered dolphin who
seems to have quite a... cold personality. But dreadful puns aside, this boss
fight is reasonably difficult. First things first, around the top of the
chamber is an area you should definitely remember. It has the room's only
school of fish, and only air supply. The air supply takes the form of a hole
leading out of the water sphere (you can't break through the walls.. surface
tension?). DO NOT jump high out of this hole, or you'll end up sailing clear
out of the level which is not a good thing.

There's a big blob of lava or something on the level's ceiling, and a block
of ice on the ground. The boss will start off fiery. Lure him down to the
ice, and he will temporarily revert back to a normal Clan dolphin. Now is
your chance to charge attack him, so do it quickly. Take advantage of the
time he takes to transform into an icy dolphin to refill your health and air,
then lure his icy incarnation to the lava at the top.

Again, he'll temporarily change back (which is when you hit him) then change
back to the fiery dolphin. A good strategy to get him in the lava/ice
(especially the lava) is to lead him up one side of it, then swim to the other
and he should swim into it. The camera can make this fight tricky, so get well
acquainted with the L and R triggers to look around, and Y + left or right to
quick turn.

After four hits, the boss will die, and you'll leave the sphere. Then, BOOM!
:) End of level.

                       ---------------------------
                       | Hanging Waters - Part 2 |
                       ---------------------------

Now you're back for the second part of Hanging Waters. Beware, because it's a
hell of a lot harder than the first part. To start with, you'll be back in the
pool below the Ice and Fire boss fight sphere. Enter the tunnel in the wall.
Follow it along. There will be a point where it looks like it's caved in, but
you can squeeze through. A short way through, it will end with a hole in the
wall through which you can jump to a hanging water tube. So do so.

This tube's got a strong current which will whisk you along it alarmingly
fast. This makes it tricky to navigate and you may fall out a few times. When
you reach the other end, jump to the next tube. This one has a barrier right
ahead and you can't jump over it because of an opposing current. So what to
do? Look down to see two more tubes. Jump to the one directly below you. Now
go along the tube until you get close to the barrier (not too close) and jump
over to the other tube, ahead of the barrier in that one.

Go along this tube until you're close to the next barrier, then jump to the
tube above and to your left (difficult jump, get close to the edge and aim
fairly high). Now go along it until you're close to the barrier, then
carefully aim. You're aiming to jump to the first tube to your right,
*between* the two barriers you can see ahead of you. Once you make it, jump
into the next tube to the right, beyond the barrier and continue along the
tube. Further along the tube there is a barrier (which you should see)
however, you won't be able to jump properly if you go to it. Here is why.. 

The tube to your immediate left which you have to jump to in order to be able
to reach your goal (the tube to your FAR left) has a series of barriers
dividing it into "segments". Most of these segments are small and if you try
to jump into one, the current associated with the barriers will fill the
whole segment and will whisk you through a barrier and out of the tube before
you can do anything (believe me, I learnt that the hard way over many, many
attempts >_<). Instead, look back a bit on the segmented tube. You'll notice
that further back, the barriers are further apart. You're aiming to jump into
the far left tube after its single nearby barrier.

To do this, jump into the middle of the immediate left tube's last
"long" segment (as opposed to the "shorter" segments with the barriers closer
together). From here, you should be able to jump to the far left tube and
just make it past the barrier. If you do, swim forward right away so the
far left tube's barrier doesn't suck you through it. That would be a real
pain. This part in general is fairly tough, and you go back a fair way if you
die. So it might take a while - keep at it. Just remember that at least you
didn't waste at least half an hour trying to jump into the wrong segment >_<

When you're finally in the far left tube past its last barrier, it's time to
move on. Soon a current will pick you up and whisk you along the tube. If at
all possible, DO NOT fall out here or you'll be all the way back to the
start of the difficult tube-jumping exercise before.

Now you've reached an octopus. Yes, an octopus. It's in a fairly displaced
location from where you'd normally expect to see an octopus (or a dolphin,
really :) ) but it doesn't seem to mind even though it's stuck in the middle
of 3 water tubes. Well anyway, you won't be able to go down any of those
tubes until the octopus is dealt with. Which, needless to say, isn't easy.

Go forwards a bit (remember, the ring marks the end of the tube) and jump
into the water sphere just in front of you. Now turn left and enter the tube
there. This is another "speed current" tube which is pretty tricky to do, but
on the bright side you'll return back here when you die instead of having to
do all that jumping again. Whoo. As the tube plunges down, look for a water
globe and jump out into it. From here, jump into the hole in the rock.

Go through a short rock passage until you end up in a shallow rock pool with
an opening on either side. Take the one which is to your left as you enter,
and jump out and into the water sphere. Sonar the switch here and look up to
see a cone of water being formed (remember that the cone, like tubes formed
by pressing a switch, will disappear after a short time). Jump up to it, and
swim up and into the tube.

Swim along the tube until you reach a switch, which you should sonar to make
a tube appear ahead of you. Jump into this tube, and look to your left. On the
rock which forms part of the landscape here, you should see a strange thing
which looks like several pillars of ice between two rocks. Sonar it and back
at the octopus, one of the tubes it is across will disappear. Get the idea of
how to get the octopus out of the picture? But first you'll need to find more
of those ice.. pillar.. things. But don't spend too long admiring the view,
because the tube you're in will disappear soon..

Jump to the water globe ahead of you in the distance. Now jump to the one on
your right. Yes, all the way out there. Aim fairly high and you should make
the distance. Go for the next sphere ahead of you (same rules apply). Don't
enter the rock, rather jump to the sphere down and to your left, then to the
one straight ahead. Then to the one ahead of that. Now you'll need to bounce
off one of the darker bouncy spheres, so aim for the top of it and don't
forget to pull back on the control stick as you bounce. With a bit of luck
you'll make it. Now it's two bouncy spheres. As you did before, bounce
normally off the first, but pull back on the control stick on the second, and
hopefully you'll make it across. Now there's one more bouncy jump, and it
isn't easy. There isn't much more strategy than pulling back as you bounce
off the only bouncy sphere, though. Good luck.

Once you're there, look at the rock face to your left and sonar the ice
pillar thing to turn off the second water tube holding the octopus up. One
to go. You should see a tube twisting around close by (not the one in the
distance) which you should jump to. Beware the current. A short way along
the tube, you'll see another tube alongside you. Jump into it.

Watch out for this tube's current too, and take the rollercoaster ride until
it dumps you in a water sphere right by an ice pillar thing, which you should
sonar. Heh, heh.. bye bye octopus. Now jump into the open end of the tube to
your left. You're back in the tube you were in before.. again, watch out for
the current, and this time instead of jumping to the other tube, just stay in
this one. Keep going (you'll be launched into another tube at one point) and
you'll eventually be shot into the water sphere in the area where the octopus
was. Before you can go across, the tubes must be reactivated. Fortunately,
reactivating them is as simple as sonaring the nearby ice pillar thing. Phew.

Jump into the leftmost tunnel, and make sure you're entering a tunnel
the octopus was guarding, as opposed a tunnel full of barriers. The tunnels
you want to enter have brown ringed ends - the ones you don't have yellow.
(well, that's just due to the lighting actually, but it works). Follow the
tunnel, jump the gap to the next, which of course has a current. Take the
ride along to another of those hollow water-filled rocks. Go through the
opening at the bottom of this rock, being sure to land in the tube below when
you fall out of it.

Ahead of you are a couple of tubes emptying out (where's the water coming
from? O_o) and you shouldn't jump into either, as you'll be emptied out too.
You can't see the next tube because it's obscured by the foam of the water
pouring out of them, so you'll need to make a leap of faith to it. If you
die you only end up back inside the rock anyway. When you make it to the tube
follow it along and jump out the end to end up in another pool-below-the-big-
globe. As before, swim up the tree trunk. That's the end of this part of the
level (phew!) and the start of another boss fight!

                           --------------------
                           | Abyss of Inferno |
                           --------------------

Now you're up against another of the Clan Great Ones, like the Clan you
fought in the previous boss level, Ice and Fire. However, this Clan prefers
to attack you by charging the red balls hanging around the arena and knocking
them into you. Therefore, this battle is a whole new ballgame (yes, I have a
whole stash of awful puns just for Hanging Waters bosses) but don't worry,
because it's easy, easy, easy.

Firstly, if you need to refill on air, there are three tubes up the top that
spit out bubbles. Swim into the area where the streams of bubbles converge
to fill up. For health, there's a school of fish swimming around the bottom
of the arena.

Anyway, as the crystal says, the boss's attack on you is the same as the one
you use on him. When the red balls appear, you simply need to charge attack
them and hit them into him. The reason this is so easy is because the boss,
when he's about to hit one into you, unwittingly lines himself up for the
perfect shot on your part. Just follow him around, wait until he's ready
behind one of the red balls, then just charge it into him before he charges
it at you. Simple. (I wonder if it's meant to be that easy or if it's a
design flaw?) Anyway, after three or four hits the boss is out. Another
complimentary BOOM!, and it's back to Hanging Waters.

                       ---------------------------
                       | Hanging Waters - Part 3 |
                       ---------------------------

So now you've made it to the final part of this gigantic level. Fortunately,
there's nothing particularly hard about this section and I'd say it's the
easiest of all three. You deserve a break after the second anyway. Swim down
a bit and look for a path you can take. This will lead to another area in the
rock. Swim to the surface, and look for a small hole in the wall to the right
as you enter. Swim through to end up in another pool. Jump into the water
globe you can see here, and swim into the tube.

Follow the tube to another water globe. From here, look down and a bit to the
left and jump to the water globe you see down there. Jump to the water globe
to your right, then turn around to face the globe you just jumped from and
jump to the one just below it, behind the foliage. From here, jump to the
next one down. Now jump up to the top water tube. The current will whisk you
along until you reach another one of those water-filled hollow rocks.

Swim up to the highest opening, and jump out and into the tube. Yet another
tube with a current.. when it forks, take the top fork and you'll end up in
a water globe containing a switch which you should sonar. Now jump back into
the tube you came out of, and work your way back against the current (charge
a lot) until you reach the fork. This time take the bottom fork (the quick
turn, Y+left or right, will be handy here) and it will lead to a water globe.

Bounce on the bouncy globe and land in the next water globe (hopefully). Now
do the same for the next bouncy and water globe combo. And do it once more on
the third bouncy and water globe set. Now jump into the tube (the one you
made by sonaring the switch), go along it and jump into the water globe you
can reach from the other end. Now, don't jump to the tube right in front of
you - instead, jump up high to the one above it. Follow this tube a short way
and when you reach the (yellow ringed) end, look to your right and jump to
the water globe you see there.

Look down and to your left and jump down to the next globe below you down
there. Sonar the switch in this globe then jump down to the next globe down,
then jump from there to the tube the switch just created, swim to the other
end of the tube and jump to the globe you can reach from there. From here,
look right to see a bouncy globe. No, you don't have to bounce diagonally to
the other bouncy globe you see off to one side. There's a water globe behind
the nearest bouncy globe to you, but it can be difficult to see. So bounce
straight off the bouncy globe, into the water globe behind it.

Now turn right, bounce off the bouncy globe there and hopefully land in the
water globe at the other end. This globe has another switch.. sonar.. it.
Now look to your left to see another hollow water-filled rock with a tube
leading into it. Jump into this tube, and from the tube into the rock. Now,
look through the bottommost window in this rock (at least I think it's
bottommost.. it's hard to work out up and down in these..) to see a large
bird just outside the window. Sonar it and it will fly away.

Now leave through the opening you came in by (easy to spot, it's the only one
you can see a tube to jump to outside of) and jump into the tube. Follow it
in this direction, jump to the next tube when it ends, and jump to the next
tube when *that* ends. Follow this one along, and when you reach the end
jump out and into the water globe. Turn around to face the tube you just
left, and now jump into the tube right below it. This tube, as per usual, has
a current so let the current take you to the end of the tube, where the bird
from before is perching.

Sonar the bird and it will pick you up and after flying around for a while
(awesome view.. also looks kind of cute ^_^) it will drop you in a pool that
is right at the top of the level. Now just swim into the water vortex thing.
END OF LEVEL!! Oh, except for that "last boss of the chapter" thing.

                               -------------
                               | Mutaclone |
                               -------------

Now it's just you vs the big cheese of the Clan him/herself. Again, an acqua-
intance with the area - fish are swimming around near the top, bubble vent is
in the middle of the floor, and take note of the glowing yellow arch thing. To
start off with, the boss will be behind a yellow protective shield, shooting
spines at you like a bloody machine gun. So try not to get hit, and instead
concentrate on breaking the large yellow egg-like objects at the bottom of
the arena. Two charges will break each, but beware - when one is broken, it
gives off a smoke that will reverse your controls for a short time. (I've
never managed to NOT touch the smoke, either..) Refill your health whenever
it gets low and charge around everywhere to make it hard for the boss to hit
you.

Once you break the shield, the boss will split into three and all three will
shoot spines at you. But it's no use splitting hairs over it (that's the last
abysmal pun, I promise) as all you have to do is hit each fake (the left-hand
and right-hand ones) once and then hit him once. Now he'll chase you. Lead
him through the glowing yellow arch. He will be stunned when he goes through
it for a moment, and you need to charge attack him then. Of course, the
yellow arch will reverse your controls, which makes the above more difficult
than it sounds. Good luck. Four hits at this stage is what it takes to beat
him. When you win you'll see another cutscene, and then it's time for the
game's final chapter to unfold..

                           =======================
                           || DOMAIN OF THE FOE ||
                           =======================

                           -----------------------
                           | Chance of Reckoning |
                           -----------------------

While this is the game's last chapter, it's far shorter than any of the
others. As you start this level, go forwards past the two hint crystals
(don't miss the Power of Endurance crystal) to end up in the Queen's area.
Yes, that's the extent of this level.. she's right there. And rather robotic
looking to boot, but there you go.

But before you can take her on, you need to block the three whirlpool things
in this area. Two are in front of the Queen. To block each one, just charge
attack the nearby rock and knock/push it into the whirlpool (don't fall in
yourself, whatever you do). There is an unkillable Foe guarding the left-hand
vent which will shoot stuff at you, so you'd be advised to look at the rock
face near it to find a Power of Stealth crystal which will allow you to roll
the rock in unbothered. It's a bit harder than it looks, though.

Once you've done those two, the third is behind the Queen. Firstly, look to
the right of the Queen, and pick up the Power of Sonar inside the arch-shaped
rock. Now, go behind her and use a sonar blast on the darker coloured rocks
around the whirlpool to make an opening you can roll the rock into. There's
an annoying shark in this area, so you may want to go back and get the Power
of Stealth, then kill him with it active (powered sonar blasts work well).

Now, the queen will shoot laser beams and stuff at you, so you'd be well
advised to go back and collect the Power of Endurance again. First rule here,
is to stay away from her tongue. If she eats you, it's a one shot kill. Get
the Power of Sonar crystal, then sonar one of her eyes so that it stops
glowing. Then charge attack it. Do the same for the other eye, and a third
eye will open in the back of her head. I don't think you need to sonar this
one, so just charge attack it (it's harder to get at than the others, but not
too bad). Once you've eliminated all three eyes, a hole will appear in the
ground near her with bubbles coming out of it. Swim down it. End of level.

                               ------------
                               | Hatchery |
                               ------------

This level even beats the previous one for smallness. The room you're in
right now is all there is. First things first, there is air and food in a
small area to the left, but it's protected by a forcefield. You have to wait
until the moving tentacle thing lowers the forcefield, then go in and refill
on air and health (try not to touch the forcefield). Then, wait until it's
lowered again and leave. Of course, there has to be a damn shark in here, and
what's more it just comes back if you kill it. Grrr... still try to kill it
if possible (Song of the Shark, remember) because at least then it's gone
for a bit.

The object of this level is to dispose of the tentacle. To do this, you have
to use the two switches here to mess it up. They're both in the area with the
shark (of course.. >_<) and they're quite hard to see.. more like little
square indentations in the wall than anything else. They're located in
alcoves on opposite sides of the room, and you sonar them to activate them.

The one to your left (on the same side as the fish, anyway) will toggle the
forcefield around the fish (for a short time.. you may be able to get in
there yourself, but I prefer to just wait for the tentacle to open it) and the
one on the right will open/close the garbage chute the tentacle drops the
eggshells into. Watch the tentacle for a bit. You'll see that it picks up eggs
and drops them in the incubation holes in the end of the room. When all the
holes are full (I think) it reaches for the fish, and drops them on the eggs
to feed them. (Don't get too close to the eggs yourself or YOU'LL be lunch..)

After this, some of the eggs will hatch. The baby Foe will swim out, and the
tentacle will then pick up the empty eggshell, and drop it in the chute. What
you need to do is press the left (fish forcefield) switch when it reaches for
the fish, and press the right (garbage chute) switch when it goes to drop an
eggshell in the garbage chute. Doing either of these with the right timing
will cause the forcefield around the tentacle to lower for a very short time.
When the forcefield is down, quickly charge attack the base of the tentacle.

Here's what your basic attacking pattern should be: Kill shark, then wait in
the area with the switches and watch the arm. If you see it reach for the
fish or the chute, quickly sonar the appropriate switch and hit it. Now, get
into the "fishtank" (either by waiting, or sonaring the switch yourself) and
refill on air. Wait until it opens, then charge out, eating fish on the way.
Now repeat, including killing the shark which will be back by now. This
level's a real pain because hits are hard to get and go back to zero if you
die, but keep at it. After you've hit the tentacle three times, it will be
destroyed. Now the forcefield around the "fishtank" is destroyed, so refill
health and air if necessary. Swim to the area where the shark is/was and the
switches are, and look at the pillar-like object at the end. Swim into the
small hole right at the bottom, and then upward. End of level.

                             -------------------
                             | Seeds of Poison |
                             -------------------

Now you're inside the Queen. Ewww.. At the bottom of this chamber, look all
around for many little alcoves in the wall. These contain four very well
hidden vitalits (*snicker*) as well as a crystal, a Power of Sonar crystal,
and a bubble vent. There's also some fish in the middle of the chamber. Take
the Power of Sonar crystal, and swim upwards through the opening in the
ceiling.

Swim up through the passage the eggs are coming down out of (I don't actually
want to think about where you must actually be.. yech) until you reach the
part at the top they are coming out of, but you cannot enter. Sonar it to
blast it open. A nasty Foe will start attacking you like crazy, so get out of
there by charging like mad and refill on health/air back in the first room.

Now, collect the Power of Sonar crystal again and go back up until you reach
another blockage. Again, break it with a sonar blast and run from the PO'd
alien, then refill health, air and your Power of Sonar. Do this on the next
blockage, and the one after that. End of quite a short level.

                             -------------------
                             | Transfiguration |
                             -------------------

Here it is, last "real" level in the game. I TOTALLY hate this level. It's
incredibly annoying and also kind of freaky. From the start, go right and into
the cave in the rock. Go along it and try not to get grabbed by the Foe
hanging from the ceiling (easier said than done) until you reach the Power of
Sonar crystal. Take it and leave. You should probably kill the ceiling Foe,
but they take three sonar blasts each so you'll have to keep going back and
refreshing it. Anyway, whether you kill the Foe or not (I recommend you do)
make sure you leave the cave with the Power of Sonar.

Now, go straight ahead from here, to the far side of the Queen's body. You
should see a medium-sized rock laying on the ground. Hit this about four
times with the Power of Sonar, and it will break open to reveal.. another
Power of Sonar. This, however, is useful because now you don't have to go
into that cave every time to get it.

If you need to fill up on health/air, remember that above the (hint) crystal
there is an alcove with a water surface and some fish. Just watch out for all
those damned Foe shooting stuff at you. Anyway, get the Power of Sonar from
the rock you opened. Now, go back to the other side of the Queen to the
crystal (easy to see from a distance) and look to the right of it to a large
arch-like stone. Kill the Foe hanging from it with three Sonar blasts, then
swim under the arch and break all the rocks on the ground here.

One of them contains the metamorphosis power. Now, here's the hard and very,
VERY annoying part. Firstly, get the Power of Sonar and go around killing all
the sharks and swimming ray-like Foe. However, all you can do to the shooting
Foe (also known as "%$!$%@%!@%") is stun them temporarily. Firstly, check
where you are meant to go after you morph to a fish. It's the small glowing
red place on the front of the Queen. Now, stun as many of those shooting
bastards as you can, get the morphing power and touch the fish near the rock
which you broke open for a Power of Sonar crystal, and swim up to your red
goal. You'll swim faster if you hold A rather than tap it, BTW. Of course,
the problem is that if you're hit in fish form, you turn back. Which makes
this part really, really frustrating at times. Once you finally make it to
the red thing, that's the end of this irritating level.

                            --------------------
                            | Heart of the Foe |
                            --------------------

This is it - the final boss. For a final boss, it's relatively easy, but it's
no walk in the park either if you're not careful. Something to note about
this level is that there are no fish around (who has fish in their ribcage?)
and air is very limited (more on that later).

The basic structure of the "room" is the beating heart in the middle, about
six tubes around the edge of the room that spit out green blobs, and rising
blood at the bottom of the room. The object is to sonar the green blobs
(which explode and damage you if you touch them, so watch out) into the heart
which will stop it beating for a moment - which is when you charge it. Your
main threats are the rising blood and your air supply. When the blobs are
released, they have a coating which disappears and a few bubbles rise
upwards. This is your *only* source of air, and it's generally more trouble
than it's worth to get. It barely fills your meter at all, and you're likely
to get damaged and/or waste time (possibly spending more air than you get, and
definitely allowing the blood to rise higher).

Position yourself under whichever tube is spitting out green blobs at the
time - only one does at once. Don't just wait under one, because you just
won't have the time. As a blob passes in front of you, sonar it to hit it
into the heart, hit the heart, and repeat. Do it quickly, or you'll run out
of air or barring that, drown in the rising blood. You need to hit the heart
a fair few times to win (something like seven or eight times) so it can get
pretty dicey. Good luck. Once you've hit it enough, YOU'VE WON! Enjoy (or
not) the somewhat anticlimactic ending, and the credits roll.
Congratulations.

                                   FIN :)

                           ======================
                           || ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ||
                           ======================

Appaloosa for making an excellent and beautiful game.
CJayC for running a great website and hosting this FAQ.
The Ecco DotF guides at IGN and Gamepro, for helping me when *I* was stuck.

Until next time..
                                             --Xythar Darkmoon, Master Magus

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Other FAQs by Xythar
Diablo II: Lord of Destruction: Amazon FAQ
Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future: Walkthrough/FAQ
Super Smash Bros. Melee: Secrets FAQ (Spoiler Free)
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