Flashback

Flashback
Download Flashback and unravel the mystery of your past in this groundbreaking cinematic platformer! Navigate a futuristic world, uncover a sinister plot, and reclaim your lost memories. The truth is out there – play now!
a game by U.S. Gold, and Delphine Software
Genres: Action, Adventure/RPG, Arcade Classics, Puzzles & Words, Platformer
Platforms: PC (1993), Sega GenesisGenesis, SNESSNES, Sega CD, 3DO, Atari Jaguar
Editor Rating: 8.5/10, based on 13 reviews, 15 reviews are shown
User Rating: 9.0/10 - 4 votes
Rate this game:
See also: Action Adventure Games, Action Games, Quest Games, Jaguar Games

Like an episode from the Twilight Zone, Flashback takes you on a mind-blowing journey into the future. You wake up in an Artificial Jungle with one small problem...you have no memory! However, the answer to that mystery only opens the door to many more.

Control Your Destiny

Your journey of self-discovery progresses through seven challenging levels, ranging from an Artificial Jungle to an alien world of Morphs. You must shoot it out with bad creatures, out-think booby traps, decipher alien technology, and develop strategies. In the end, only cunning and timing will get you back home.

ProTips:

  • Timing is key here! When you trip the Laser Cannon, duck, then immediately jump to the ledge above you.
  • Jump over this electrified floor to reach the elevator.
  • You'll find the Teleporter on the elevator deck. Be sure you leave a Stone on the Elevator Activator.

As for comparisons between the SNES and the Genesis versions, they are virtually identical. The SNES sounds are a bit better, but the Genesis offers better overall speed.

Luckily, Flashback is one of the most enjoyable games to play on any system, and the controls help make it that way. No real tough control pad sequences to remember here. However, you can make your character do a variety of unique things: run, broad jump, draw and holster his gun, and even do an incredibly lifelike combat roll.

When you come to a ledge, don't be quick to jump down. Some ledges have steeper drops than others, which can mean instant death. Climb down to check it out first, then drop if necessary.

Flashy Graphics, Flashy Sounds

On the SNES, you still get Flashback's impressive overall graphics. The animation is so fluid, you'd swear that the characters are real people. This goes for the creatures as well, especially the evil Morphs who roll around like blobs, then assume a humanoid shape to attack. Slick rotoscoped cinematic sequences bring the story line to life. The only minor drawback in Flashback is the noticeable slowdown when multiple characters appear.

  • Throw a Stone to the right and the guards will go to investigate the noise. When they do, they will activate the Laser Gun, which will in turn eliminate the guards.
  • Shoot this joker as soon as you get near him. If you don't get him first, he'll wait till you pass him and shoot you in the back.

You won't want to pass on this 16-bit version's first-rate sound, either. From the sound effects of Morphs rolling on the ground to the roar of gunshots, the audio pumps. In addition, the musical score does an excellent job of creating mood, alerting you to danger, or applauding success.

Flashy Stuff

Flashback has all the ingredients of a 16-bit classic: great graphics, extraordinary animation, cool sounds, and adrenaline-pumping action. The only bad thing to say about this game is that it's so addicting, you won't have time for anything else.

Download Flashback

PC

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Genesis

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • Game modes: Single game mode

Player controls:

  • Up, Down, Left, Right - Arrow keys
  • Start - Enter (Pause, Menu select, Skip intro, Inventory)
  • "A" Gamepad button - Ctrl (usually Jump or Change weapon)
  • "B" button - Space (Jump, Fire, Menu select)
  • "C" button - Left Shift (Item select)

Use the F12 key to toggle mouse capture / release when using the mouse as a controller.

SNES

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • Pentium II (or equivalent) 266MHz (500MHz recommended), RAM: 64MB (128MB recommended), DirectX v8.0a or later must be installed
Sega CD

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
3DO

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Atari Jaguar

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP

Game Reviews

If you're ready for a peek at the likely future of Genesis gaming, then flash forward with Flashback. This awesome action/adventure game mixes solid, complex game play with outstanding action and wraps them up in magnificent, never-before-seen graphics.

Brought to the States by U.S. GOLD, Flashback was designed by Delphine Software of France, the creators of Out of This World. If you thought Lester Chaykin was shakin', wait till you join Conrad Hart on his epic, futuristic, mystery adventure.

What's the Matter?

Conrad is a Galaxias Bureau of Investigation agent-in-training. For his graduation project, he designs some high-tech glasses that reveal the molecular density of living beings. Using these special specs, he notices that several high-powered officials, including military strategists, politicians, and multimillionaires, are extremely dense (and they dress badly too). Unluckily for Conrad, someone's watching him. A freaky Billionaire Boys Club kidnaps him and erases his memory. Conrad's only salvation is the Holocube, a memory recording device that he had the foresight to keep with him.

ProTips:

  • After you pick up the Stone in the Jungle (Level 1), jump straight up. You'll find 10 credits.
  • When you find the Magnetic Cartridge, use the Energy-Generator to charge it. Later on, you'll need a fully charged Cartridge to activate a laser bridge.

Thanks for the Memories

As Conrad, you must find pieces of your memory bit by bit and solve the mystery of the weird looking rich folks. Your search takes place across six, multi-scrolling levels, including a wacked out TV game show, a cyberpunk nightclub, and several far out planets.

Flashback is basically a run and gun game, but that's like saying Madonna's basically a woman. This is not a pick-up-and-play-me game. You're going to have to read the manual to learn the controls, because Conrad has more moves than Michael Jackson. He climbs through levels like the Prince of Persia, crouches, somersaults; pistol whips bad guys, and pulls his gun out of his front pocket so smoothly you'll swear you're watching "Cops". You get into intense shoot outs with bad guys of all shapes, sizes, and planetary origins, but you also bust your brain cells trying to figure out how to use objects and move past obstacles.

Part of the game's intrigue has to do with the assortment of objects you can find. You start out with a Gun and a Shield. Then, much like a role-playing game, you have to search for important items, such as ID cards, Credits (money), a Magnetic Cartridge, Force Fields, and more to help you get past the obstacles.

Do a shoulder roll under the small laser sphere in Level 3. When it stops firing, stand up and blast it.

You'll need help, too, because Flashback is fierce. There are three difficulty levels, but even on Easy you'll meet your doom often. You mainly get tripped up by traps such as Disintegrators, Electrified Floors, Landmines, and Falling Mines. However, even if you fall too far, you're a goner. On the plus side, there are Energy-Generators placed throughout the levels that will polish your Shield back up to its original shine, and game save boxes that keep you running. If you fail, however, you won't mind starting back at the beginning. This game plays like a great comic book reads.

You'll get so entrenched in the intoxicating story line that you'll want to finish the game just to see how it turns out.

On Level 3, the Death Tower TV Show, the first goon won't make the first move. Pistol whips him to get him mad, and then take him out while he's rocketing through the air.

Mind-blowing Visuals

You've never seen a Genesis game that looks as amazing as this one! Like Out of This World, Flashback's graphics are based on polygonal pix produced with rotoscope technology that incorporates and digitizes film footage of live actors. However, Flashback takes the pix to another level. Although Conrad is a little sprite, his movements are fluid, smooth, and unbelievably lifelike.

Not only are the graphics superb during game play, there are great-looking pass-the-popcorn cinematic sequences throughout the game. Even the backgrounds look outrageous.

  • Beat the blue blob men in the Secret Base of "Paradise" (Level 5) by somersaulting away from them while they're in the blob state. Then turn and shoot 'em. You'll have to do this till you're dizzy.
  • Right after you shoot, quickly raise your Force Field to block your opponent's shots.

A Musical Note

Flashback's sounds are a monster. The great music shifts subtly with the mood of the on-screen action. Just like in a good movie, this helps to keep the tension high. The sound effects sound real. There's a realistic thud when Conrad lands from a leap. Jungle noises give you the creeps. Gunfire makes you wince.

  • Grab the Mechanical Mouse from the platform above and place it in front of the blinking wall switches on the ground below. It will open the metal door on the middle platform.

You'll love Flashback

Flashback is as close to a no-brainer as they come -- get it! It's as fun to watch as it is to play. Just in time for Valentine's Day, you'll love this game. Don't let the bad guys break your Conrad Hart.

Prince of Persia may have reinvented the platform genre with its realistic motion capture techniques and a dash of swordplay, but it wasn't entirely alone. Several years later a little beauty emerged from France that certainly upped the ante. Calling itself Flashback and featuring a pistol-toting scientist, Conrad B Hart, it would provide an even stronger link to the action/adventures of today.

The game was created by the now sadly defunct gallic outfit Delphine, producers of Flashback's ace older brother Another World. Stealing wholesale from cyberpunk sources such as Total Recall and Blade Runner, the plot saw you escaping from prison with a wiped memory, lost in a hostile futuristic jungle on Titan. Your crime was that you had discovered malevolent aliens masquerading as citizens, and for this knowledge they wanted you dead.

Flashback was beautiful in its day. and you could happily spend hours just rolling around and shooting the greenery while coo-ing at the pretty graphics. The story, meanwhile, was dark as hell and packed with revolutionary RPG elements previously unheard of in the platform genre. In the New Washington levels, for example, you needed money for forged identity papers so you took on jobs from a recruitment agency that saw you delivering packages, guarding scientists and wiping out mutant infestations. Another level saw you competing on a Running Man style game show called Death Tower, fighting your way through a deadly maze under the close scrutiny of countless TV cameras.

Flashback provides a neat stepping-stone between the mindless action of yesteryear and the involving cinematics of today. Fade To Black, its 3D sequel, may not have had the same magic touch, but the aftershocks from Conrad's adventures can still be felt throughout modern gaming.

What can I tell you about Flashback that you wont have gleaned from the intro? Not a lot basically - and I really wish youd followed my advice and skipped to the final paragraph. Still, youre here now so I suppose Im stuck with you. Sorry to sound so rude and all that, but I cant actually think of much more to tell you. Apart from maybe the plot, I suppose. So here it is.

Conrad Hart, agent with the Galaxia Bureau of Investigation, made a discovery while testing his latest piece of equipment (a Molecular Density Analyser). He found that certain key individuals had a molecular density so high that they couldnt possibly be human. He told all this to his chick, Sonya and they decided to reveal all to the world government. But Sonya then mysteriously disappeared. As did Conrad. As youll have guessed, they had been kidnapped by space aliens.

Conrad was taken to Titan by the space aliens, and his memory was wiped. But even though he now couldnt remember where he was, who he was and why he was wherever he might possibly be, he still knew one thing: which was he had to escape. And he did. Grabbing a hoverbike, he made a dash for it. In hot pursuit were two space aliens. They shot Conrad down onto the surface of Titan and left him for dead.

And this is where the game starts: Conrad regains consciousness and youre in control, discovering things as you go along (seeing as youve lost your memory).

Rhubarb

So what else? Well, probably the most sensible thing to do - seeing as you should already have the basic idea - is to compare Flashback directly with Prince of Persia. So Ill just briefly drop into schizo mode and ask myself some questions about the two games:

Has Conrad got as many moves as the Prince in Prince of Persia?

Yes, easily.

Are they the same as the Princes?

In the main, yes: for instance all the walking, running, jumping and climbing moves couldve almost been digitised from Prince of Persia.

So what moves are different?

Well, Conrads got a gun instead of a sword, so obviously theres an animated getting his gun out move: and another when he fires it (spent cartridges shoot out, and theres some recoil). On top of that, he can inch forward with his gun readied for action (sas style), fire from a crouching position, and also roll along the floor, again with his gun readied for action when he springs back into a crouching position. Oh, I nearly forgot the other new gun move which is used when Conrads too near his enemies to actually shoot them: i.e., the pistol-whip.

More waffle

Are there any other new moves? Apart from all the stuff with the gun?

Not strictly speaking, but all the so-called normal moves - the ones that are similar to Prince of Persia -have been tarted up. For instance jumping into a wall makes Conrad fall over onto his back, rather than just stop dead. (Unlike the Prince from Prince of Persia.) And there are loads of other neat little touches like this.

Is the animation speed and detail better or worse than Prince of Persia?

Better. Much better... in fact its possibly too fast on higher end pcs (although I suppose you can always turn the turbo switch off).

What about the action? The fighty stuff?

Theres as much as you want, because Flashback contains three difficulty levels: easy, medium and hard. Mind you, easy really is too easy, even for someone with the reactions of a sloth - you could finish the game in one long sitting. Besides, on the hard setting not only do you get more nasties coming at you but you also get different nasties: ones you wont see on the easy setting.

Youre suggesting that I play this game on hard then.

In a word, yes.

If I buy it, of course.

Of course.

So the whole things set on Titan?

Aaaah. Now the answer to that is no, but if I tell you exactly where Conrad goes after Titan, Id be giving too much away. Ive already spoiled level 1, after all - what with the map and everything.

Suffice as to say that Flashback is pretty massive, with five totally different locations in all: some of which are very clever.

What do you mean, clever'&

Flashback has actually got a which unfolds as you progress (far more so than Prince of Persia), and you can (to a limited extent) interact with some of the other characters. To explain why I said clever Ill have to spoil a bit more of the game and tell you that after leaving the jungles of Titan you find yourself in Titans main city, where theres a hell of a lot to do, heaps of people to talk to and a brilliant continuation of the storyline. To travel around the city, however, you need to use the tube train network. Yup, theres a fully functioning metro.

You might be told (for instance) that you have to go to a certain location and apply for a work permit; so down to the subway platform you trot, where (after having studied the route map) you actually wait for a train. There are other clever bits too, but Ill leave them for you to discover should you buy the game.

More rhubarb

Prince of Persia 2 has got loads ofcut scenes. Has Flashback?

Yes, and unlike Prince of Persia 2 theyre fully animated. (Manga style.)

What about the control system? Is it horribly nightmarish with an analogue joystick, or what?

Youll very probably opt for the keyboard mode, but even so, the control system in Flashback still takes ages to get to grips with. The jumping and leaping parts are simple enough, but the trouble arises when using the gun... the spacebar is used to both draw your weapon and re-holster it, while the shift key is used to fire it. Sounds simple enough in theory, but in practice its all too easy (especially in panic situations) to draw your gun and re-holster it I without having fired a shot. Result? Usually death.

Are there pick-uppable items?

In abundance. Cash, keys, useful bits of hardware and so on. Unlike Prince of Persia you have an inventory box (called up with the tab key). You can select certain items and use them (for instance, using a stone will make Conrad throw it in the direction hes facing... I unless hes crouching, in which case hell simply "put it on the ground).

So all in all, Flashback is pretty smart?

Yes. Great graphics, great sound and loads of addictiveness. Move over Prince of Persia, basically.

The final paragraph

Welcome to the final paragraph (which you can skip if youve come the long route). Flashback is just like Prince of Persia, but set in the future: think of it as being a cross between Total Recall, The Running Man and the tv series V and youll be about there. The animation on the main sprite puts the Prince of Persia sprite to shame, and the same can be said of the animation of all the other characters in the game. The backdrops and sound are, at certain times, better too. Whats more. Flashback has much more of a plot than Prince of Persia: theres an unfolding storyline, and even interaction with some of the characters you meet along the way, although this is fairly limited. (That is, the ones that arent trying to kill you: the only interaction you have with them is of the shooting/running away variety). By the way, your character has an inventory box meaning you get the chance to use all the things you find usefully scattered about. The atmosphere in the game is brilliant: it's all very involving, and once you get the nightmarish controls sorted youll be hooked. Flashback is about the same size as Prince of Persia 2, but somehow feels much larger (if youre playing on the hardest difficulty setting). To sum up all I can say is that Flashback sticks an index finger in the air and shows Broderbund what they could have done with their recent Prince of Persia spnuel (but didnt).

Flashback, the exciting action/adventure game, makes its way to the 3DO, and 3DO owners should give this one a try. If you're unfamiliar with Flashback (shame on you!), here's the deal: you start the game with no memory and a loaded gun. You need to run, jump, roll, crouch and shoot your way to the truth about your ugly predicament, and stop an alien conspiracy along the way. The sound wasn't completed on the version we tested (and all the text was French!), but it was impressive nonetheless. The cool, movielike interaction scenes (bottom of page) have to be seen to be believed!

THE GOOD

As good as the cartridge versions were, this 3DO version just destroys them all with more vivid graphics.

THE BAD

Unfortunately, once you beat it and know all the secrets, there's not much replay value.

THE UGLY

Ugly? Maybe the fact that you can pistol-whip the enemies to death. Heck, shooting them is more fun.

You've lost your memory, and now a bunch of aliens are after you. Why? You must find out. Flashback wowed everyone when it broke graphic barriers on the Genesis, and now this excellent cart is for the Jaguar. The terrific cinema displays in this version are the smoothest that you'll find anywhere. They look really good. Essentially, it's the same game, but if you don't have any of the other versions, it's something to pick up. Flashback won't disappoint you. It's a great adventure.

You have stumbled onto an alien plot to take over the Earth. Knowing that you are aware ot the plot, the aliens erase your memory. Now you're lost in the middle of a jungle. Somehow you must regain your memories and stop the aliens from doing any more damage.

Flashback was a hit on all of the earlier systems. It's got a great plot combined with intense action. The cinemas are also first-rate.

Now the Sega CD has this great game, and there have been a number of improvements. The cinemas are better than ever and the game play has been tweaked.

If you're in the mood for some great adventures, Flashback should more than whet your appetite. Look for this one soon.

People say:

8

Flashback is always a fun game, no matter which system it's on. The Sega CD version is virtually identical to the cart. The music has been improved and the cinemas have been redone. They look pretty good, but they seem way too dark to me. Flashback has a long, intricate quest and a great story If you don't already have the cart, I highly recommend picking this one up. It's one of the better Sega CD titles.

7

If you own the Genesis version, then you already own the Sega CD version. Unless you really want those cool cinemas and good tunes, the game is the same. And that's not bad at all. The animation has always been superb and the game is just a blast to play Having to actually use your brain while playing a game these days is rare, but Flashback is there with the prefect mix of action and adventure.

7

Flashback for the Sega CD is virtually the same as its cartridge counterpart, except that it has improved cinematic animations. It's a cool game with great character animations and a fantastic world to explore The futuristic theme is pretty cool. too. I just think that upgrading just for the new cinemas isn't anything to write home about. It's a good game, but I'd be just as happy with the cartridge version.

8

Flashback on any system is a great game but if you own the cart I can't recommend the CD. The music and cinemas are an improvement but only marginal. The game itself is very fun using both brains and reflexes to solve an intricate story The animations and character movements are exceptional and worth playing just to watch the guy move. If you haven't already gotten the cart this is one CD worth the money.

  • Theme: Action

It wasn't your fault. You stumbled upon an alien plot to enslave the Earth. What else could you do, but try to save your home planet? Flashback is the adventure of trying to stop an invasion of alien forces on an unsuspecting populace.

You start off in a jungle, unaware of who you are, or how you got there. Along the way, you'll find clues as to who you are, and how to stop the alien forces. Your investigations will take you to the deadliest places around. With scenes like a killer game show, and a neo-utopian city, you are bound to find adventure.

For those who were astounded by Out of This World, and mangled by Flashback for the Genesis, this cart will be a sure pleaser, especially if you don't have the Genesis version.

  • Theme: Action
  • No. of Levels: 6
  • Release: 1st Qtr. '94

People say:

9

This is a great Action/adventure cart unlike anything else. It has the same smooth animation that made the Genesis version so cool. The graphics appear to have been touched up a bit. While it moves a bit slow at times, the awesome plot more than makes up for it. My only peeve deals with the game being vague in what you're trying to do at times. If you like cyberpunk stuff, this is for you.

8

Flashback may be an old game, for Genesis owners anyway, but it's still fantastic nonetheless. Incredibly realistic animation and superb sound effects really draw you into the game. Even though there is a hint of slowdown at times, Flashback is a fast-paced game. The music is drastically improved over the Genesis version, too. The one drawback is that once you beat it, you always know how to beat it again.

8

Flashback is one incredible adventure game. This is everything the Genesis version is and more. The graphics are rich in color with some beautifully drawn backgrounds. Why do the cinemas slow down, anyway? While the pace can be slow at times, the tasks that you must accomplish turn this into a very involving Action/adventure. I totally dig the smooth animation of the main guy. A must buy!

8

You have to check out the rich color and intense graphics of this game. Finally this game shows what the Genesis can really do graphically. Also the animation is near perfect. Some people may get bored with the adventure aspect but if you're into it, the game is interesting throughout. There are lots of tough puzzles to solve and excellent backgrounds at every scene. Even if you're into the other genres I'd still get it.

  • Theme: Action/Adventure
  • Available: 1993
  • Levels: 6

U.S. Gold has really struck it with Flashback, their new action/adventure release for the Genesis!

You are special agent Conrad in charge of Molecular density analyzer glasses. These technologically advanced glasses enable you to see aliens posing as humans. The evil aliens have discovered the invention and have erased your memory! Hide out in the jungle, but keep your weapons close to you in case...

Cool cinema intermissions add to the life-like animations in your quest. This is more than just an action game, though - you'll have to use your brain to survive and remember the past. Can you do it?

People say:

9

Hot on the heels of OOTW is a superior sequel that takes the style of the original and cranks it up a couple of levels. You get a similar search-destroy-escape mission, with graphic intermissions laced throughout that are so intense they don't seem to belong on a home machine. Casual pace, but completely rippin'!

8

Flashback is incredible! The story line really grabs your interest and the cinema displays are very detailed. The shining point of Flashback is the awesome animation throughout the entire game. While there really wasn't much music, the sound effects really helped the tone of the game. It's kind of a short adventure, though.

9

A definite must-have cart for Genesis owners. This cart has it all! A cool story line sets the mood of the game as you play along. The graphics are absolutely awesome! The animation is liquid smooth and cinema displays are present throughout. The game play is topnotch, sort of like OOTW crossed with Prince of Persia.

9

Flashback is one of the best games ever made for the Genesis! The action is non-stop, and it really feels like you're playing a movie! My only suggestion is that you get a joystick, because the generic Sega controllers aren't precise enough to handle the diagonal motion necessary for some of the specialized techniques.

Enter Conrad, a special agent in training who has developed a new device known as the ultra-compact molecular density analyzer (Whew!). However, these glasses allowed Conrad to notice that several humans were not what they seemed to be. These alien forces have now caught wind of Conrad's ability, and it's a race for your freedom and life!

Flashback has taken the animated adventure genre to new heights! It takes the ultra-smooth character animations (Prince of Persia) and puts them in a challenging-thinking-type action game (Out of This World) to create one of the best playing carts in a long time.

The characters are animated so smoothly that they seem lifelike. The backgrounds are graphically outstanding and appear almost real. The quest is unlike the typical adventure game as it requires constant thinking and decision making in order to solve problems that you encounter along the way. Throw in cool cinema intermissions and Flashback becomes an incredible gaming experience that breaks new ground in the areas of action and adventure!

As the story is told, research scientist Conrad was preparing his thesis about the transmutation of matter. Wearing a special set of glasses, the scientist was able to view matter directly in order to analyze it. However, he happened to notice that many top-ranking officials at his plant had a structural density beyond that of a normal human being. This is because they were aliens from another world studying Earth and making plans for domination.

This tragic observation turned Conrad into a prisoner where he must use all his natural abilities to escape this trap and blow the lid off this cover-up. Your escape will take place over six huge stages where a stolen space bike and a gun are your only hopes for survival. Incredible animation is made possible by the detailed rotoscoping technique!

If you thought Out of this World was out of this world, then get set to flash forward to Flashback, a new Genesis game that U.S. Gold is set to bring to the States. Delphine Software of Paris, France, the creators of Out of this World, also programmed Flashback. It looks like they're out to redefine the graphics standards for action/adventure games!

Déjà Vu

Conrad Hart is a budding scientist, who's studying material transmutation. Using his compact magnetic resonance analyzer glasses, he can see the magnetic spectrum of any object or living creature. When he turns his high-tech gaze on Earth's high society, he finds out that they're indeed high -- high on molecular density!

These aliens disguised as politicians, military officials, and multi-millionaires kidnap Conrad, erase most of his memory, and dump him in the jungles of the planet Titan. The only thing Conrad remembers when he wakes up is that he must escape!

If you enjoyed Out of This World, then you'll go ballistic over this awe- some-looking, six-level adventure that blasts through Earth, other worldly planets, and even a murderous TV show. Like Out of this World, Flashback features great, polygonal graphics, but these are even better. Delphine rotoscopes pix of real people and flashes them on-screen at 24 images per second. The effect's so real, it's scary.

When our hero pulls himself up ledges, runs, jumps, and crouches, it looks like an animated movie. In fact, Conrad's moves are so life-like that when he whips out his gun from under his coat, you'll run for cover. However, he needs all the firepower he can muster to protect himself from extraterrestrials who want to make him lose his memory -- FOREVER!

Flashback: The Quest for Identity, or simply known as Flashback, is a video game published by US Golding in the United States and Europe, and by Sunsoft in Japan. The game was developed by Delphine Software and programmed by the same team which programmed Future Wars. The game is listed as the best-selling French game of all time, and this is also written in the Guinness World Records Book.

The game was released in 1992 by Amiga, and then was made available for Acorn, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, MS-DOS and Super Nintendo, all of them in 1993. There were also several CD-ROM versions made available over the time, mainly in 1994 and 1995.

The game offers similar features as Prince of Persia, with fully hand-drawn backdrops and rotoscoped animation. This technique featured in Flashback uses more complicated methods of first tracing video images onto transparencies.

The story happens in 2142, with Conrad B. Hart, the main character, being an agent for the Galaxia Bureau of Investigation. He attempts to recover his lost memory and save the world. He discovers a plot involving aliens, who try to destroy the Earth. Conrad uploads a copy of his memory to his friend Ian, in case it will be erased. The erasing happens as expected, when Conrad is kidnapped by the aliens, but he recovers it from his friend a bit later on.

Over the course of the game, he finds Ian being in danger, but kills the corrupt cops and gets his memory back. Conrad returns to Earth thanks to Jack, whom he finds in a bar, but needs to have 1500 credits first to pay for the process, which he can get by getting a work permit and completing jobs.

After he reaches Earth, he fights several corrupt cops and then manages to reach the alien's hideout. He then has to fight different aliens in order to get to fight with the Bosses. He teleports to the planet of the aliens, explodes it with an atomic charger, and then manages to luckily escape from there. The game is considered a cinematic platformer, which is played by levels. Conrad can jump, grab onto ledges, climb, use elevators and drop onto lower levels. He has real strengths and weaknesses, making this game very realistic. There are a total of seven levels in the game.

Flashback: The Quest for Identity was a very popular game back when released. As stated before, it is the best-selling French game of all time. Over the time it received very good feedback from press, critics and users. GameSpot critics rated the game with 8.0, while the users rated it with an overall of 8.5 out of 10 from 165 votes.

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    Andy said on Forum:

    This is a good mind bender of a puzzle/action game it never gets tired and always has you coming back for more!. Beautiful environments edgy music that makes you think what is around the next corner really help build the feel and mood and atmosphere of the game. The only down point is there are no checkpoints so you have to start right from the beginning if you get killed which really annoys you on a hard level, But other than that it's a must for puzzle fans.

    If you like it try out Out Of This World also made by Delphine and on this site too and it's just as good!...