Flashback (video game)

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Flashback: The Quest for Identity

Developer(s)	Delphine Software International
Publisher(s)	U.S. Gold
Designer(s)	Paul Cuisset
Platform(s)	3DO, Acorn Archimedes, Amiga, Apple Macintosh, Atari ST, Atari Jaguar, CD-i, FM Towns, MS-DOS (floppy disk & CD-ROM), NEC PC-9801, Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega CD, Super NES and platforms supported by REminiscence
Release date	1992
Genre(s)	Cinematic Platformer
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ELSPA: 11+ ESRB: K-A (6+) USK: 16+ VRC: MA-13

Flashback, released as Flashback: The Quest for Identity in the US, is a cinematic platformer developed by Delphine Software of France, a now defunct company, and published by U.S. Gold in United States and Europe, and Sunsoft in Japan. The game is listed in the Guinness World Records as the best-selling French game of all time.^[1]

Flashback was initially released for the Amiga in 1992, then ported to MS-DOS, Acorn Archimedes, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and Super Nintendo in 1993. CD-ROM versions of Flashback for the 3DO, Apple Macintosh, Atari Jaguar, CD-i, FM Towns, MS-DOS and the Sega CD were released during 1994 and 1995.

Originally advertised as a "CD-ROM game on a cartridge", the game features fully hand-drawn backdrops, and the player character Conrad's animation is rotoscoped, giving his movements a fluidity unusual for its time, similar to that of the earlier Prince of Persia. The rotoscoping technique of Flashback was invented independently of Prince of Persia, and used a more complicated method of first tracing video images onto transparencies.^[1]

Flashback is often mistaken for a sequel to Another World, an unrelated Delphine game written by Eric Chahi that also uses rotoscoped animations.

A two-track CD soundtrack was released featuring music inspired by the game, but not directly from it.^[2]

1 Storyline
- 1.1 Levels
2 Version differences
3 Sequel
4 References
5 Related software
6 External links

[edit] Storyline

The game details the journey of Conrad B. Hart, an agent for the Galaxia Bureau of Investigation, and his attempts to recover his lost memory to save the world in the year 2142. Fitting into the cyberpunk genre, there are government conspiracies, bleak world views, and cybernetic enhancements, all squeezed into the dystopian society the game presents. The game also seems to borrow themes from certain films, e.g. the deadly spheres in Phantasm, and many of the dystopian themes developed in Blade Runner. The story is also somewhat reminiscent of They Live, including glasses that allow one to see aliens and an interplanetary transporter and Total Recall featuring an amnesiac protagonist following guidance from a pre-recorded message of himself before his memory erasure.

The game begins on the moon Titan progressing later to Earth and then an alien spaceship.

During one of his investigations, Conrad discovers a plot to take over Earth involving aliens called Morphs who disguise themselves as government officials. Conrad records a holocube for himself and makes a copy of his memory as a precaution against it being erased. As he feared, the Morphs eventually kidnap Conrad and erase his memory but he manages to escape and is left disoriented on Titan.

The player sees himself in the holocube, ordering him to travel to Earth. He eventually regains his memory (in the titular 'flashback') and finds out that the people he used to work for have killed his girlfriend to make sure no one would report Conrad missing. In the end, he foils the aliens' plans, once and for all, but at the cost of having to go into suspended animation in space and hope that he is picked up by someone. The sequel, Fade to Black, has Conrad being picked up by his old enemies.

[edit] Levels

Titan Jungle
New Washington
Death Tower (Cyber Tower in the SNES version)
Earth
Earth Base
Alien Homeworld
Alien Homeworld Continued

[edit] Version differences

By default, the MS-DOS version has an extended introductory sequence and more minor cut scenes than the Amiga version (such as when picking up items). In the Amiga version the user can see these scenes by enabling them (although with few seconds of delay every time the animations load) or by playing the game entirely from the hard drive. The game was originally released on 3.5" floppy disk for MS-DOS. Re-releases on CD-ROM for systems such as 3DO, CD-i, Jaguar, PC and Sega CD featured redone cinematics with new graphics as well as audible dialogue throughout and new sounds and music.

In North America, the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo and Sega CD versions featured a Marvel Comics comic book within the manual in order to explain the initial story. The PAL Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo releases (there was no Mega-CD version) omitted the comic and instead featured a textual prologue.

[edit] Sequel

A sequel, named Fade to Black was produced by Delphine Software International in 1995 for the PC and PlayStation.

A full polygonal 3D game, it resulted in more slow-paced gameplay and lack of platforming comparing with Flashback, generating mixed reviews from critics who felt that it was too different from the original concept of the series.^{[citation needed]}

A third game in the series, Flashback Legends, was in development by both Delphine Software International and Adeline Software International for a planned released in 2003. As opposed to Fade to Black, it was going to be a 2D side-scroller game similar to Flashback, but without transition of non-scrolling areas. It was targeted exclusively for the Game Boy Advance.^[3]

The game was cancelled when the company went bankrupt and ceased operations in the end of 2002. However, a prototype ROM was leaked and spread over the net at some point. It features all 16 levels with minor glitches and only one music track for the entire game. Despite its apparent multi-language options, the beta can only be played in French with an English Main Menu and In-Game Menu options.^[3]