EcoQuest 2: Lost Secret of the Rainforest

Last updated: January 13, 2026

Overview

EcoQuest 2: Lost Secret of the Rainforest is an educational adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line in 1993 as the sequel to EcoQuest: The Search for Cetus.¹ While the official title screen displays simply “Lost Secret of the Rainforest” without the “EcoQuest 2” designation, the game is commonly referred to by both names.² Released as part of Sierra’s Discovery Series—marketed with the promise “Your child will have fun AND your child will learn. GUARANTEED!”—the game shifts its environmental focus from the ocean depths of the original to the endangered rainforests of South America.²

The game stars Adam Greene, now slightly older and fully capable of communicating with animals, as he journeys through lush jungle environments, mysterious caverns, and ancient ruins atop mist-covered peaks.³ Players must navigate the real-life dangers threatening the rainforests while encountering endangered animal species, rare flora, and remote native cultures.³ The educational content is woven throughout the gameplay via an innovative “Ecorder” device—a tricorder-like tool that Adam uses to learn about the things he encounters during his journey.¹

Unlike its predecessor, which was co-designed by Jane Jensen, Lost Secret of the Rainforest was designed solely by Gano Haine, as Jensen had moved on to create the Gabriel Knight series.¹ The game takes its environmental message seriously but packages it in an engaging rather than preachy manner, balancing adventure with genuine educational intent better than many of its contemporaries.⁴

Game Info

Developer: Sierra On-Line¹ Designer: Gano Haine¹ Producer: Cheryl Sweeney¹ Publisher: Sierra On-Line (NA), Coktel Vision (EU)¹ Engine: SCI1.1⁵ Platforms: MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, PC-98⁶ Release Year: 1993 Series: EcoQuest / Sierra Discovery Series⁷ Protagonist: Adam Greene Sierra Lineage: Core Sierra

Story Summary

Adam Greene and his father Noah, a doctor of ecology, travel to the town of Iquitos in Peru to meet with the Ecology Emergency Network.⁶ Their mission is to establish contact with a native tribe known as the Grove People and help them set up a local economy using sustainably harvested natural resources, preventing the government from misusing their land.² Upon arrival at the airport, Adam must clear customs using his passport and immunization card—the latter having slipped inside his passport.⁸

At the docks, Adam encounters suspicious characters, including employees of a man named Maxim Slaughter who has bribed the Customs Official.⁸ After some luggage goes missing and Adam’s father becomes occupied with Nicanor from the Ecology Emergency Network, a pair of friendly river otters lead Adam on an unexpected journey deeper into the rainforest.⁹ Adam is lured by a mysterious call from the heart of the jungle, where he discovers that the Forest Heart—a massive, magical tree that protects the Grove People—is dying.¹⁰

The Forest Heart reveals to Adam that she once had a sprout to replace her, but it did not survive, meaning another must be found somewhere.¹⁰ Adam’s quest takes him through the indigenous village, where he must help numerous villagers with their problems before gaining access to the shaman.¹¹ He assists a potter whose baby was stung by a bee, helps resolve a quarrel between two young men, and gathers ingredients for a healing poultice.¹¹ The village contains a great hut where a storyteller tells tales to children, while weavers, hunters, and gardeners go about their daily lives.¹⁰

Adam’s journey eventually leads him to be kidnapped by a goon working for Maxim Slaughter, who runs a camp filled with disturbing trophies including a jaguar-skin rug, stuffed gorilla hand, zebra-skin covered box, elephant foot stool, and a mounted rare dolphin.¹² With help from Paquita, a talking bat who becomes Adam’s sarcastic companion throughout the adventure, he must escape the camp and continue his quest to find the lost City of Gold, where the remedy for the Grove People awaits.¹³ The game emphasizes themes of the dangers of selfishness and greed, contrasting with humanity’s ability to live in harmony with nature.¹

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

Lost Secret of the Rainforest uses a fully mouse-driven version of the SCI1.1 engine, similar to Space Quest IV and King’s Quest VI.¹⁴ The game features Sierra’s classic icon interface with some modifications, providing intuitive point-and-click controls that allow players to examine, interact with, and talk to objects and characters.¹⁵ The interface includes standard adventure game cursors for walking, looking, touching, and talking.

A key innovation is the “Ecorder” feature, represented by a bat symbol in the icon bar.¹⁵ Clicking this icon provides players with random factual information about rainforest ecology, essentially functioning as a portable encyclopedia that encourages learning through gameplay.¹ The Ecorder can be used to scan and record information about flora and fauna encountered throughout the journey.⁹

Structure and Progression

The game progresses through several distinct areas, each presenting unique challenges and environments:

• Iquitos: The opening town where Adam clears customs, explores the docks, and witnesses suspicious activities before being separated from his father.⁹
• Rainforest: The lush jungle environment where Adam first encounters talking animals and begins following the call of the Forest Heart.⁹
• Village: The Grove People’s settlement where Adam must help numerous villagers with their problems to gain the trust needed to meet with the shaman.¹⁰
• Camp: Maxim Slaughter’s camp where Adam is held captive and must escape with Paquita’s help.¹²
• Cave: Underground areas that Adam must navigate during his journey.⁹
• Flooded Forest: A waterlogged section of the rainforest presenting unique traversal challenges.⁹
• City of Gold: The ancient ruins where Adam must ultimately find the solution to save the Forest Heart and the Grove People.⁹

Puzzles and Mechanics

The puzzles in Lost Secret of the Rainforest revolve around understanding ecosystems and respecting nature, with mistakes sometimes having harsh consequences to reinforce the idea that actions matter.⁴ Many puzzles involve helping villagers—gathering ingredients for a poultice, catching butterflies with sweet drinks, and resolving interpersonal conflicts.¹¹ The game includes a copy protection puzzle near the Grove People section requiring players to reference the game manual to identify face paint patterns.¹⁶

Inventory management plays a significant role, with Adam collecting items like a clay cup, bark cup filled with sap, seed pods, and a special branch from the Forest Heart.¹¹ The camp escape sequence features timed elements where the goon will catch Adam if he’s in the wrong place too long, requiring careful planning of movements.¹⁷ Unlike the first game, these tightly timed sequences can be jarring and require repeated attempts.¹⁷

The game cannot be lost or rendered unwinnable, following the more forgiving design philosophy of Sierra’s educational titles.¹⁴ However, the puzzles are somewhat harder than the predecessor, with certain sequences requiring precise timing or thorough exploration to find obscured exits.¹

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Lisa Young, writing for Compute! magazine, offered a mixed assessment: “Although the game targets children age 10 and older, young users may find some of the problems frustrating; however, the thrill of solving a difficult problem is rewarding and may encourage them to continue.”¹ The review acknowledged the game’s educational value while noting its potential difficulty for younger players.

According to Pelit magazine, the game is somewhat harder than its predecessor and places more emphasis on the dangers of selfishness and greed, as opposed to the broader environmental blight depicted in the first game.¹

Modern Assessment

Adventure Gamers rated the game 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as “a qualified success; the positive aspects still outnumber the negative, but the weaknesses noticeably hinder the experience.”¹⁸ The review praised the “luxuriant, colorful graphics” and “varied and captivating musical score” with “some good, intelligent puzzles,” while criticizing the “often uninspired” writing, “predictable plot without any real twist,” and gameplay that “feels a bit stretched from time to time.”¹⁸ The verdict concluded: “Less enjoyable than its predecessor, EcoQuest 2 is still a good edutainment title for children and a fair choice for adventurers in search of a less demanding adventure.”¹⁸

The Adventurers’ Guild blog provided an extensive retrospective, noting ambivalence about the game despite wanting to like it: “A sequel nearly always struggles to live up to the bar set by its original. What carries over tends to constrain the sequel rather than letting it be its own thing.”¹⁷ The reviewer struggled with several arbitrary puzzles and found the timed camp sequence tedious, requiring multiple restarts.¹⁷

MobyGames user reviews are generally positive, with one calling it “a truly magnificent game which comes close to perfection” and “one of the best adventure games I have ever played.”¹⁹ Another reviewer praised the game’s emotional approach to education, noting how the music contributes to atmosphere—shifting from disquieting when Adam first lands at the empty village to happy ethnic music when people return.¹⁵

Aggregate Scores:

• MobyGames: 7.7/10 (32 ratings)⁶
• Abandonware DOS: 4.00/5.00 (42 votes)⁴
• MyAbandonware: 4.41/5 (62 votes)²⁰
• GameFAQs User Average: “Good” (19 ratings)³

Development

Origins

Lost Secret of the Rainforest emerged from Sierra’s commitment to the Discovery Series edutainment line, which already included titles like Mixed-Up Mother Goose, Castle of Dr. Brain, and the original EcoQuest.¹³ The first EcoQuest: The Search for Cetus had sold respectably on the strength of Jane Jensen’s writing and its “save the dolphins” pitch.¹³ Sierra sought to continue the franchise with a new environmental focus, selecting the endangered rainforests of South America as the setting for the sequel.²

The game designer Gano Haine took sole creative control for the sequel, as co-designer Jane Jensen had departed to create the Gabriel Knight series.¹ Haine was simultaneously working on the project while navigating Sierra’s busy development environment, which included high-profile visitors like Daryl F. Gates, to whom she reluctantly provided orientation on Sierra’s development tools.²¹

Production

Development took place at Sierra On-Line’s headquarters in Oakhurst, California, with Cheryl Sweeney serving as producer.¹ The programming team was led by Bob Fischbach and Doug Oldfield, while the art direction fell to Arturo Sinclair and Andy Hoyos.¹ The game was built on Sierra’s SCI1.1 engine, the same technology powering other contemporary Sierra adventures.⁵

The game’s educational content was developed in consultation with ecological experts to ensure scientific accuracy.³ The “EcoNews” booklet included with the game provided supplementary reading material on rainforest conservation, complete with coloring activities and word searches to extend the educational experience beyond the software itself.¹⁵

Development Credits:⁶

• Director: Gano Haine
• Producer: Cheryl Sweeney
• Designer: Gano Haine
• Programmers: Bob Fischbach, Doug Oldfield
• Artists: Arturo Sinclair, Andy Hoyos
• Composer: Dan Kehler
• Sound Design: Orpheus Hanley

Technical Achievements

The game featured VGA graphics with beautiful, mostly realistic scenery depicting varied terrain from South American towns through rainforest environments, native villages with magical trees, remote camps, and ancient ruins.¹⁵ The variety of locations made the game more visually diverse than its underwater predecessor.¹⁵

The music, composed by Dan Kehler, contributed significantly to the game’s atmosphere.²² The soundtrack dynamically shifted to reflect story moments—slightly disquieting when Adam senses he’s being watched, sad when reaching the dying Forest Heart, and energetic ethnic music when the village comes alive.¹⁵ The audio supported multiple sound configurations including General MIDI for enhanced quality.¹⁹

Technical Specifications

DOS Version:²³

• Resolution: VGA (320x200, 256 colors), also supports EGA, MCGA
• Audio: PC Speaker, AdLib, Roland MT-32, Sound Blaster, Pro Audio Spectrum, PS/1 Audio Card, General MIDI, Thunderboard, Disney Sound Source, Microsoft Sound System
• Media: 4 3½” floppy diskettes
• Minimum CPU: Intel i286
• Minimum RAM: 4 MB

Windows Version:⁵

• Platform: Windows 3.x (16-bit)
• Note: Does not work on 64-bit versions of Windows

Version History

Version	Date	Platform	Notes
1.0	1993	DOS	Initial floppy release6
1.0	1993	Windows 3.x	Windows 16-bit release6
1.0	1993	PC-98	Japanese release by Sierra On-Line Japan6

SCI Interpreter Versions:⁵

Game Version	Interpreter	Type	Notes
DOS	SCI1.1	SCI1.1	Standard release

Technical Issues

The Windows 3.x release does not function on 64-bit versions of Windows.⁵ The DOS version requires DOSBox or similar emulator to run on modern Windows systems.⁴ A “somewhat but not quite” copy protection system exists where players must create a facemask using patterns documented in the manual; this can theoretically be brute-forced, and the game directory contains all alternative solutions.²⁰

Easter Eggs and Trivia

• Slaughter’s Initials: The villain Maxim Slaughter’s pillow is monogrammed with “MAS,” later revealed to stand for “Maxim A. Slaughter.”¹²
• Trophy Room: Slaughter’s bedroom contains numerous grotesque animal trophies including bunny slippers made from real bunnies, reflecting the game’s anti-poaching message through dark humor.¹²
• Forest Heart Comparison: The magical Forest Heart tree bears resemblance to another giant tree encountered in Quest for Glory 3, suggesting some idea-sharing between Sierra development teams.¹⁵
• Point System: The game awards extra points for thorough exploration and talking to everyone, though the game can advance without collecting all points.⁸

Voice Cast

The game does not appear to include full voice acting, following the standard for Sierra’s floppy-based adventure releases of the era.⁶

Legacy

Sales and Commercial Impact

While specific sales figures are not documented in available sources, Lost Secret of the Rainforest has maintained a dedicated following among adventure game enthusiasts and those who played it during childhood.²⁴ The game’s educational content made it popular in school and library settings, extending its reach beyond typical gaming audiences.

Collections

The game has appeared on various community wishlists for digital re-release, with GOG.com’s community wishlist showing 892 votes requesting the title.²⁴ As of the research date, the game has not received an official digital re-release through major platforms like GOG or Steam.

Fan Projects

Multiple fan-created walkthroughs and guides have been produced over the years, including comprehensive FAQ/Walkthroughs hosted on GameFAQs by authors Tom Hayes and odino.⁹²⁵ The Let’s Play Archive features a complete playthrough with commentary.¹⁶ The game is supported by ScummVM, which enables cloud save functionality on third-party storage services.⁵

Related Publications

• Game Manual: Included with retail release, contains copy protection answers for face paint puzzle¹⁶
• EcoNews Booklet: Supplementary educational material with coloring activities and word searches, included with game¹⁵

Critical Perspective

EcoQuest 2: Lost Secret of the Rainforest represents an ambitious attempt to continue Sierra’s environmental education series in a new setting, though critical consensus suggests it falls somewhat short of its predecessor’s charm. The game arrived during the peak of edutainment software in the early 1990s, when publishers believed interactive entertainment could effectively deliver serious educational messages to young audiences.¹³

Classic Gamer Hub argues the game is “borderline essential” for those who believe adventure games can be “classrooms wrapped in point-and-click ribbons,” while acknowledging it has been “hiding in a fern-cloaked alcove” compared to higher-profile contemporaries like King’s Quest VI.¹³ The introduction of Paquita the bat as a sarcastic companion added personality to the educational content, though the game’s earnest environmental messaging occasionally feels heavy-handed by modern standards.¹³

The game’s emphasis on consequences for environmental destruction—whether through gameplay mechanics or narrative—predated the modern era of environmentally-conscious gaming by decades. However, its legacy remains somewhat obscured, overshadowed by Sierra’s more commercially successful adventure franchises and the eventual decline of the edutainment genre in the late 1990s.

Downloads

Download / Preservation

• Internet Archive – MS-DOS Version²⁶
• Internet Archive – Alternative Upload²⁷
• MyAbandonware²⁰
• Abandonware DOS⁴

Manuals & Extras

• Abandonware DOS – Walkthrough⁸

Series Continuity

Lost Secret of the Rainforest is the second and final game in the EcoQuest series, and also part of the broader Sierra Discovery Series of educational titles.⁷ While maintaining the protagonist Adam Greene and his father Noah from the original game, the sequel shifts the setting entirely from underwater environments to the South American rainforest. Adam retains his ability to communicate with animals—a power established in the first game—but now applies it to rainforest creatures rather than marine life.⁶

The game shares thematic DNA with EcoQuest: The Search for Cetus in its focus on environmental protection and the impact of human greed on natural ecosystems, but the specific story and characters (aside from Adam and Noah) are entirely new. No sequel followed Lost Secret of the Rainforest, making it the conclusion of the EcoQuest storyline.⁷

• Previous: 1991 - EcoQuest - The Search for Cetus

References

Footnotes

1. Wikipedia – Lost Secret of the Rainforest – release date, credits, designer info, reception, Pelit quote, Compute! review ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵

2. The Adventurers’ Guild – Game 124 Introduction – plot summary, Sierra Discovery Series, title variations ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. GameFAQs – Lost Secret of the Rainforest – game description, user ratings ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

4. Abandonware DOS – EcoQuest 2 – user ratings, genre tags, DOSBox requirements ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

5. PCGamingWiki – Lost Secret of the Rainforest – engine info, Windows compatibility, ScummVM support ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

6. MobyGames – Lost Secret of the Rainforest – platforms, release dates, credits, Moby Score, alternative titles ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

7. Wikidata – Lost Secret of the Rainforest – series info, publication data ↩ ↩² ↩³

8. Abandonware DOS – Walkthrough – customs puzzle, immunization card, Nicanor, Slaughter’s men ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

9. GameFAQs – Guide and Walkthrough by T_Hayes – game areas, plot summary, river otters ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

10. The Adventurers’ Guild – Concerned – Forest Heart, village inhabitants, sprout quest ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

11. The Adventurers’ Guild – Determined – village puzzles, poultice, butterfly catching ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

12. The Adventurers’ Guild – Escape – Slaughter’s camp, trophy room, MAS initials ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

13. Classic Gamer Hub – EcoQuest 2 Review – Discovery Series history, Paquita description, critical analysis ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

14. Wikipedia – EcoQuest: The Search for Cetus – series info, unwinnable states, SCI engine ↩ ↩²

15. MobyGames – User Review by Nowhere Girl – graphics, music, interface, EcoNews booklet ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

16. Let’s Play Archive – EcoQuest 2 Update 12 – face paint puzzle, ceremony sequence ↩ ↩² ↩³

17. The Adventurers’ Guild – Final Rating – puzzle criticism, timed sequences, overall assessment ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

18. Adventure Gamers – EcoQuest 2 – review score, pros and cons, verdict ↩ ↩² ↩³

19. MobyGames – User Review by Tomer Gabel – gameplay praise, General MIDI ↩ ↩²

20. MyAbandonware – Lost Secret of the Rainforest – user rating, copy protection note ↩ ↩² ↩³

21. The Digital Antiquarian – Chief Gates Comes to Oakhurst – Gano Haine reference, Sierra development context ↩

22. TV Tropes – Dan Kehler – composer credits ↩

23. Sierra Wiki – EcoQuest 2 Technical – system requirements, audio hardware ↩

24. GOG.com – Community Wishlist – wishlist votes ↩ ↩²

25. GameFAQs – Guide and Walkthrough by odino – walkthrough data ↩

26. Internet Archive – MS-DOS Version – game preservation ↩

27. Internet Archive – Alternative Upload – game preservation ↩