Flashback: The Quest for Identity (DOS)

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Description

The year is 2142. The player takes control of Conrad B. Hart, a man who has lost his memory. After barely escaping from hostile aliens, Conrad's bike crashes on an unknown planet. Conrad finds himself in the jungle, and from that moment on his quest for survival and his lost identity begins.

Flashback: The Quest for Identity incorporates elements of platforming, shooting, and problem-solving. The game can be described as a "cinematic platformer" (commonly referred to as Prince of Persia-style), following a design philosophy that was also manifested in Delphine Software's previous work, Another World. Compared to that game, Flashback focuses more on platforming and exploration of large levels.

While a large bulk of the gameplay is dedicated to running, jumping, and shooting enemies, there is also a considerable exploration element in the game, as well as some puzzle-solving. The player navigates Conrad through platform structures, performing various moves. It is possible to simply jump or do a longer run-and-jump, run, climb, hang off ledges, and pick up objects lying on the ground.

To defend himself, Conrad can shoot enemies with his gun and also use various objects (such as stones) to harm or distract them. Crouching and rolling are possible (and often essential) moves that can be executed during combat. The gun has unlimited ammunition; however, shields that Conrad uses to protect himself from attacks are depleted when he is hit, and can be recharged at special stations. Though most environments in the game are hostile, there are a few locations that are devoid of enemies. The player is usually required to talk to characters, gather information and complete tasks in an adventure-like fashion in these areas.

Most of the versions utilize cutscenes with polygonal vector graphics. The CD versions replace those with pre-rendered 3D animations. The Sega CD version also features voice-overs.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "פלאשבק: זיכרון גורלי" -- Hebrew spelling
• "Flashback (Enhanced CD-ROM)" -- Macintosh CD-ROM title
• "Flashback" -- In-game title
• "フラッシュバック" -- Japanese spelling

Part of the Following Groups

• Flashback series
• Game Center CX challenge games
• Games made into comics
• Genre: Cinematic Platformer
• Theme: Amnesia

User Reviews

NOT a sequel to Another World, but an excellent action game with adventure !	Yeba (65)
a real hit!	Boston Low (90)
Stimulus	Gennady Panfilov (5)
Classic game with awesome graphics for its time!	Andrew Dunn (11)
A hugely underestimated game.	helm lehm (13)	unrated

Critic Reviews

WIZ	Sep, 1993		100
PC Games (Germany)	Sep, 1988	88 out of 100	88
PC Joker	Aug, 1993	86 out of 100	86
ASM (Aktueller Software Markt)	Sep, 1993	10 out of 12	83
Play Time	1993	81 out of 100	81
Adventure Classic Gaming	Dec 25, 1999	4 out of 5	80
Power Play	Sep, 1993	77 out of 100	77
PC Games (Germany)	Jul, 1995	77 out of 100	77
PC Player (Germany)	Jun, 1993	59 out of 100	59
Computer Gaming World (CGW)	Oct, 1993	Unscored	Unscored

Forums

Topic	# Posts	Last Post
HELP!!_Flashback:Can't do fourth mission	2	beetle120 (2420) Aug 25, 2009

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Flashback appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Release variations

A bargain bin CD-ROM version of the game was released with new cinematic sequences. This version of the game came only in a jewel case (no box).

Technology

One of the materials in the box of Flashback is a coupon for a rebate on a Gravis Gamepad and a note to "try Gravis' Ultrasound 16-bit sound card." This is ironic because, amongst Gravis Ultrasound enthusiasts, Flashback is notorious for being incompatible with the GUS.

Programmers might be interested in the fact that Flashback is one of very few games that used a screen mode with a width of 256 pixels. This implies that the address of a pixel on the screen could be comfortably stored in a 16-bit register, say AX. The X-coordinate could then be manipulated through AL, and the Y-coordinate through AH. This might have contributed somewhat to Flashback's impressively fluent animations.

Awards

• Amiga Joker
  • Issue 02/1994 – Best Genre Mix in 1993 (Readers' Vote)
• Electronic Gaming Monthly
  • May 1993 (Issue 46) - Game of the Month (Genesis version)
• FLUX
  • Issue #4 - #10 in the "Top 100 Video Games of All-Time" list
• GamePro
  • 1993 (Vol. 6, Issue 2) - Action/Adventure Game of the Year (Genesis version)
• Retro Gamer
  • September 2004 (Issue #8) – #65 Best Game Of All Time (Readers' Vote)
  • Issue #37 - #15 in the "Top 25 Platformers of All Time" poll

Information also contributed by Brian Hirt, Robert Schmidt, Apogee IV, PCGamer77, and Big John WV

Related Web Sites

• Flashback on Wikipedia (Wikipedia article of Flashback)
• Manomio: Flackback (official game website for the iPhone version)