Ecco the Dolphin swims onto iPhone

The latest retro Sega title to get the iPhone treatment is deep sea adventure Ecco the Dolphin, originally released on the Mega Drive in 1992.

Set 55 million years in the past, when we were all fish or monkeys or sloshing about in the primordial sea or whatever, the game lets you take control of Ecco, a bottle-nosed dolphin with a penchant for finding treasure, decking sharks, and getting eaten by pterodactyls.

Of course, dolphins are mammals, not fish, so you’ll need to head back to the surface routinely to stay alive. This is just one of the many things that made getting through Ecco the Dolphin’s 25 giant levels so bloody difficult back in the day.

The game comes to iPhone and, much like Sonic and Golden Axe, features virtual representations of the Mega Drive’s controller slapped on the iPhone’s touchscreen. They do things like jump, swim, and telepathically transmit messages about hidden glyphs to other sea-soaking mammals.