Ecco the Dolphin

Ecco the Dolphin is an action-adventure game released in 1992, originally exclusive to Europe. It was originally designed by Ed Annunziata and developed by Novotrade International for the Sega Mega Drive. It was successful enough to spawn a series of sequels and be ported to several consoles.

The central character, Ecco, is a bottlenose dolphin controlled by the player through a progression of aquatic levels.

Story
The game begins with Ecco as he and his pod are swimming in their home bay. One podmate challenges him to see how high into the air he can jump. When he is in the air, a waterspout storm forms and sucks up all marine life in the bay, except Ecco, leaving him alone in the bay. Ecco must then search for his pod - a long and arduous journey that will require him to make new friends and evade the dangers of the sea.