I ran into the looping problem after getting free from the driftnet while running the game under win98 on a p2 450. I've managed to get out of that looping thing by saving the game just before you have to flee from the manta then putting the game speed to maximum until just after the manta knocks you out of the way once you are free from the net. Then return your game to normal speed and continue on your way to saving the whale. For some reason... playing the game while playing at the normal speed the manta only knocks you a short distance away and it throws you into the loop. You should get knocked to about the bottom of the screen.
Hope that helps.. it worked for me anyway. Happy playing!
