I have never known as deep nor introspective a mammal as Ecco (or his buddies), though in Ecco II they seem to have let up on the pot smoking a bit (see Ecco 1 review). I don't know which game is harder: this or the original Ecco the Dolphin, but who cares, because this game isn't so much about working towards an ending as it is swimming around and looking at all the pretty graphics.