Ecco the Dolphin is a series of action-adventure video games developed by Appaloosa Interactive (previously known as Novotrade International) and published by Sega. They were originally developed for the Mega Drive/Genesis and Dreamcast video game consoles, and have been ported to numerous systems. The story follows the eponymous Ecco, a bottlenose dolphin, who fights extraterrestrial threats to the world. The games are known for their high difficulty level. Ecco was created by Ed Annunziata, who also produced Chakan: The Forever Man, which was also released in December 1992.