Posted on 18-Feb-2012

Retrospective: Flashback

SNES sci-fi classic (total) recalled

By Tom Sykes for computerandvideogames.com

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You might remember Flashback as "that platform game with the great animation", just as you might remember Another World as "that infuriating platform game with the great animation". But while it has much in common with Delphine's other side-scrolling art-'em-up, Flashback is equally indebted to classic science fiction.

Like Total Recall, the game begins with an amnesiac hero. Conrad B Hart wakes up in a dense tropical jungle with only a gun, a personal shield device and a holocube to his name. Later on he takes part in a Running Man-style game show known ominously as Death Tower (or less ominously as Cyber Tower in the SNES version). The plot, which we won't spoil, is relayed via a few brief cutscenes and a thimbleful of text, but the result is no less than the best sci-fi thriller on the SNES.

HART TO HART

You might not think so to look at it. While it resembles a platformer, Flashback, like Another World, is more accurately an action-puzzle game, closely modelled on the original Prince Of Persia. But Flashback is infinitely more playable than Delphine's first foray into the world of motion capture animation, as it doesn't rely so heavily on teeth-scrapingly repetitive trial and error.

In its place is a bigger focus on adventure game mechanics, such as finding and using items, having brief conversations with people, or - if they prove unresponsive - gunning them down.

The combat was always our favourite part. Ready Conrad's handgun and he'll enter Badass mode, in which he shimmies across the background with the practised caution of an FBI agent, or pulls off what can only be described as the world's first cool roly-poly. Pull the trigger on an enemy and you won't witness family-friendly laser bolts but a brief flash of fire, before your opponent crumples into a heap. As a platform game, Flashback is the polar opposite of Super Mario World.

In the end, though, it's a hard, lean, action-packed story about one man in an awesome jacket against the world. In the '90s, that was all you needed - and there's something to be said for the game's no-nonsense approach all these years later.

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computerandvideogames.com

Tom Sykes

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metallicorphan on 18 Feb '12 said:

I loved this game,i loved the Rotroscope animation,but can't remember p**s all about the story

must of had it for the SNES,not sure why but i always remembered it as a Speccy game,although those graphics are way too good for a Speccy game
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ricflair on 18 Feb '12 said:

Will always be an Amiga game to me, but this is from Nintendo Gamer I suppose.
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casshern09 on 18 Feb '12 said:

This and Another World are some of my all time fav games. Really superbly crafted.
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KesMonkey on 18 Feb '12 said:

The first time I stayed up all night (until 7am) to play a game, it was this one, on the Mega Drive. I preferred it to the Amiga version simply because of the Mega Drive controller's multiple buttons. If I remember correctly, the SNES version was slightly lower resolution than the Amiga and Mega Drive versions, but it may have been more colourful. A truly epic game.
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veato on 18 Feb '12 said:

This was the first game I ever pre-ordered (Mega Drive version). I still like it just as much today!
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Laughlyn on 18 Feb '12 said:

great game. at the very beginning where you have to pick up and chuck a rock to distract the enemy, it was unheard of back in them days on a console. i never got to finish it sadly but it was a truly great adventure.
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Gooner Rhyle on 18 Feb '12 said:

This was AWESOME. Loved the fact that you needed to get work in order to progress, using some pretty sophisticated (for the 16bit gen) storytelling techniques. However...I could never figure out how to plant the explosives at the end of the game and thus never finished it! BALLS!
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freds1 on 18 Feb '12 said:

Shhhh, I'm reminiscing.
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verynaughtyboy on 18 Feb '12 said:

This game is one of my all time favourites. I own it on both the Mega Drive and the SNES. Funnily enough it seems to run a little bit smoother on the Mega Drive, at times the SNES version is a bit sluggish.
I remember the first time I saw it. It was on some short-lived video game show and the animation was absolutely stunning and far beyond anything I'd seen before - it had the same impact as the first time you saw Mario 64 running.
Great story too, palpable atmosphere, amazing-for-the-time cut scenes, great sound (SNES possibly slightly superior) and having to do jobs to earn enough credits to enter a game show so you could get back to earth was brilliant.
The teleporter was an amazing gadget and... actually that's enough talking about it, I'm off to play it. Now which format will I choose...!? (yes I'm being smug!)
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MrPirtniw on 18 Feb '12 said:

I absolutely loved this game on the ol' megadrive. Had to download it again last year and play it again. The animation is fantastic and it's got a good mix of platforming, puzzles and action- great atmosphere too.
Don't make 'em like this anymore.
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dandare69 on 18 Feb '12 said:

this game was amazing back in the day - definitely one of my fave mega drive games ever
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Riffxxx on 18 Feb '12 said:

I hear the remake is gonna be a first person shooter
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MrPirtniw on 19 Feb '12 said:

I hear the remake is gonna be a first person shooter
Don't even... just- just don't.
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freds1 on 19 Feb '12 said:

I hear the remake is gonna be a first person shooter
*Cough* Not a remake, but still...
'Tube vid
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redcastle on 19 Feb '12 said:

used to play the demo to this on my Dads humble Macintosh Performa. i was only able to play and complete the full game about 5 years ago using a MegaDrive emulator on my Nokia N97 !! Sadly that was my last phone with buttons, in an age of touch screen phones, emulation is sadly very difficult without buttons. I'd love to see this on the PSP or a HD remake on PSN/Live
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redcastle on 19 Feb '12 said:

I hear the remake is gonna be a first person shooter
The third part 'fade to black' was the first ever third person shooter, just pipping tomb raider. Its super hard and terrible looking but I've still got it. First person is pointless, its a perfect game as is. just needs a higher resolution and improved sound for todays market(downloadable game of course).
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Flamestrike on 19 Feb '12 said:

Flashback is without question one of the most astonishing games ever created.
I had it for the Amiga, (the definitive version), and played it over and again.
I've now got it on my Android phone and - crappy touch screen joy-pad aside - it remains as entertaining as ever.
Simply brilliant game.
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Windowlicker79 on 19 Feb '12 said:

I loved this game,i loved the Rotroscope animation,but can't remember p**s all about the story

must of had it for the SNES,not sure why but i always remembered it as a Speccy game,although those graphics are way too good for a Speccy game

lol no not the Spectrum. Maybe you're thinking Amiga? Because it was available on that.
They really need to get an HD remake of this released. It could look amazing!
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WHERESMYMONKEY on 20 Feb '12 said:

I hear the remake is gonna be a first person shooter
The third part 'fade to black' was the first ever third person shooter, just pipping tomb raider. Its super hard and terrible looking but I've still got it. First person is pointless, its a perfect game as is. just needs a higher resolution and improved sound for todays market(downloadable game of course).
Its just a shame that fade to black was almost unplayable. A HD remake of Flashback would be great though. Or somekind of remake, Just not an fps. Third person action game. Now that'd be just dandy.
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Kinslowdian on 20 Feb '12 said:

I bought a Blaze Portable MegaDrive last year which can ROMS from an SD Card, this was the first thing I downloaded, sadly Another World wont boot up on it.
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gillri on 20 Feb '12 said:

Flashback is without question one of the most astonishing games ever created.
I had it for the Amiga, (the definitive version), and played it over and again.
I've now got it on my Android phone and - crappy touch screen joy-pad aside - it remains as entertaining as ever.
Simply brilliant game.

I seem to remember the Megadrive and SNES version being smoother and having better cotnroller
but then again the SNES owned everything in the 16-bit era
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Windowlicker79 on 20 Feb '12 said:

Flashback is without question one of the most astonishing games ever created.
I had it for the Amiga, (the definitive version), and played it over and again.
I've now got it on my Android phone and - crappy touch screen joy-pad aside - it remains as entertaining as ever.
Simply brilliant game.

I seem to remember the Megadrive and SNES version being smoother and having better cotnroller
but then again the SNES owned everything in the 16-bit era
I've got it on the SNES emulator on my SE XPeria Play. Still play it all the time
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humanhand on 21 Feb '12 said:

Yeah I just put it on mine too for PSP... effin sweet!
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scouse106 on 21 Feb '12 said:

It will always be an Amiga game to me, ran smooth of a hard drive and those graphics. Actually played this again last year on a snes emulator and it's still a awesome game.