Flashback: The Quest for Identity (SNES) Playthrough

A playthrough of U.S. Gold's 1994 cinematic action-platformer for the Super Nintendo, Flashback: The Quest for Identity.
Played on the normal difficulty level.
Conrad Hart, a secret agent who has lost his memory, has just awoken to find himself being hunted by the police on a foreign world. Following the trail of clues, Hart discovers that he has stumbled into the crosshairs of the "Morphs," a shape-shifting race of beings who plan to infiltrate and ultimately take over human society. As Hart, it's your job to find out what's going on and to make it back to Earth to warn everyone before it's too late.
Flashback is often likened to Out of this World/Another World ( • Out of this World (SNE... ), and it's easy to see why. Both games were initially released for the Amiga by French publisher Delphine Software, and both are sci-fi themed platformers that feature smoothly rotoscoped animation, vector-based 3D cutscenes, and Prince of Persia-like ( • Prince of Persia (NES)... ) control schemes.
The games are not related, however, and they're not nearly as similar as they first appear to be. Out of this World is a character-centered adventure that's shaped by its evocative set-pieces, a grounded sense of place, and its otherworldly vibes.
Flashback, on the other hand, feels more like an action film moonlighting as a video game. It's not interested in subtlety, nuance, or character arcs. Like the movies it draws upon for inspiration - namely Schwarzenegger classics like Total Recall and The Running Man - Flashback is all about high energy violence. The North American release's manual even went so far as to include a fourteen-page Marvel mini-comic to set the stage.
Hart has a full stuntman's complement of moves at his disposal. He leaps, rolls, climbs, and shoots like a pro, and much of Flashback's fun comes from learning how to choreograph his moves fluidly and effectively in combat. The controls pose a steep learning curve, and the game is overall quite difficult, but if you have the requisite patience, it's a satisfying challenge to overcome.
I can't say as I'm a fan of the presentation - the art style doesn't appeal to me at all - but I can certainly understand why people heap praise on it. It's a handsome game.
It took me a long time to warm up to Flashback, but I'm glad I finally gave it a chance. I didn't love it, but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
_____________
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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[@thecunninlynguist]

rented this a good amount. i was blown away by how "advanced" it looked, lol.

[@Baximus]

When it came to these kind of games, I always loved this one the most.

[@Sakuyita2.025_comentarista]

The gameplay and scenes of this game really make you play a classic science fiction movie ✨

[@cstevens82]

I love this game as kid. Good game

[@indrachaudhari7874]

I still remember its ad on comic books pages, "First CD-ROM game in a cartridge."

[@Steelflight773]

I loved this game and others that shared the style like Blackthorne.

[@NintendoComplete]

These guys must've really loved Schwarzenegger movies, huh?

[@Dorian_Scott]

_"The First CD-ROM Game On a Cartridge"_ as one of the advertisements for this game said.

[@JohnnyOTGS]

I know this predates Matt Damon playing Jason Bourne, but it was also inspired by The Bourne Identity too.

[@hawk66100]

@@JohnnyOTGSThis game came out long before The Bourne Identity 😂

[@christopherthibeault7502]

@@hawk66100 The Bourne Identity came out before The Parsifal Mosaic. The Parsifal Mosaic came out in 1982. They didn't even adapt The Parsifal Mosaic to film--I don't think--but they made a franchise out of Bourne. (I'm referring to the books, of course. Don't "at" me over which movie adaptation came out when.)

[@bigduke5902]

​@@JohnnyOTGSAre you as dumbstruck as I am by the two comments below yours?

[@whysoserious-vt4hf]

I want to buy a sega just to play this again. This game was ahead of its time when it came out and I loved every second of playing it.

[@cmplx82]

Loved this game as a kid!

[@dominicchester0328]

I remember renting this game as a kid! Man I miss the 90’s.

[@lonewanderer7926]

Amazing to think that back in the 90's we thought this cutscene animation style was so advanced and realistic. Though, I will admit, it does still look pretty cool even by today's standards.

[@christopherthibeault7502]

My brothers appreciate a little cinema in their games. One went so far as to replicate or make little tribute cartoons of Conrad in Mario Paint. In one, he tossed a burnt match over his shoulder, accidentally igniting and blowing something up, so he turns around to watch while enjoying a smoke. (It was done more or less as a nine-panel storyboard rather than a fluid animation--we really couldn't do that in Mario Paint even if we tried). So, "cool by today's standards" is being far less than generous. Regardless, I could never figure these kinds of games out. I was real close to beating Blackthorne--I'm not sure if I beat Sarlac--but the level of particular precision required of these games pretty much throws me off. There has to be some leniency somewhere or flexibility. The one issue I got is that cinematic games often have but one ending and, worse, one avenue to get there, so much that it isn't even "get good scrub". Now, to be fair, I always liked the stark cel-shading and like graphic effects like in Out of This World and Flashback because it's something that practically nobody tries outside of flash animation (it is a vector-based method, after all). Yet, it not only has a charm, but is also somewhat economic. Out of This World got ported everywhere pretty much intact precisely because it occupied so little actual space on a disk. For a cinematic experience, that's exemplary.

[@Juan_Pablo_81]

01:42:42 I remember coming to this site several times and losing many times because I didn't know what to do... it was frustrating, as well as being difficult. suddenly and out of nowhere I activated 'up together with the button', haha ​​it was an elevator and I hadn't realized. I will never forget that moment in my video game life.

[@jessebrown5715]

I loved Delphine Software's 2 major releases! I rented Flashback sooooo many times and only ever got to the gameshow.

[@Dorian_Scott]

Both are great, but I always preferred Flashback. The gameplay was a little more forgiving and I think it had a better story than Out of This World.

[@princessoscar3089]

HOLY SHIT I FINALLY FOUND IT!!! ALL I ever remembered of this game was random ass memory of the first like 5 minutes of that jungle area and not knowing where to go and giving up playing it forever lol...holy shit. xD I started to wonder if it was even REAL!

[@twig4590]

Welcome home friend.

[@solarflare9078]

Better than your usual Tiertex offerings, but not good enough to stand up to other ports. In fact, have you noticed every port of this game that was made by Tiertex has Conrad in a red shirt as opposed to a white one?

[@ReenoMoon]

4:06 hey.. I didn't get a stone there

[@AzurGamer81]

I can see a lot of Total Recall, The Running Man and a hint of Blade Runner in this game.

[@christopherthibeault7502]

For a game called "The Quest For Identity", Conrad spends about one and one-eighth of the next level on said quest. If they remade this game all "modern audience" style, they would be good sports by interspersing cinematic flashbacks that provide contextual hints and inspiration to the player when Conrad trips over portions of the environment or examine key spots in the environment or objects, like a literal mystery whose fog must be pierced. This game would also use every last bit of peripheral material such as that Marvel comic (I sort of wish that was made into a series because I would actually hunt that shit down--I was into the Nintendo Power magazine comics just the same) to flesh out the world as best they could beyond the bizarre visual panache of the original game. Well, it would if I were a member of the core development team.

[@bigduke5902]

Of all the games that fit this particular bill, Flashback was THE game I knew I could never, ever hope to convince a single person I knew was good.

[@oxygeninterface]

why is that?

[@bigduke5902]

@@oxygeninterface Most of my comments here are anecdotes based on my personal experience with video games through school K-12. Most of the kids I knew growing up who played video games could never, ever have dealt with anything even remotely out of the ordinary and I learned early not to even try sharing anything off the beaten path with them, Flashback especially. Because it looks like Contra but plays nothing Iike it I had zero confidence anyone I knew would be able to deal with that.

[@oxygeninterface]

@@bigduke5902 seems like the kids you knew were nothing more than hard-hearted reptilians incapable of hearing the voice of reason; not unlike the ones portrayed in this game. some might say that's ironic, but it's really quite the reflection on human nature.

[@sobesons]

Better on Sega Genesis 🫵🏻

[@SandroWalach]

The sound design at 04:25 is a chef kiss, if the chef has been dug up.

[@Dorian_Scott]

I'll preface this by saying that I absolutely *LOVE* this game. It was ahead of its time due to its cinematic storytelling on a *CARTIDGE BASED SYSTEM,* the stealth point & click style gameplay, the rotoscoped character animation and its sporadic music placement that really added to the game's overall atmosphere.... But this particular version of the game feels incomplete. It's missing some songs, SFX, and is plagued with slowdown. Would strongly recommend the Sega Genesis version over this SNES port.

[@mnemonichotpocket]

Like that c64 "impossible mission" or whatever

[@kascnef]

This was like out of this world

[@JuraIbis]

I would just like to say that my friends and I in college pirated the CD Darkstone for PC so much that we single handedly destroyed Delphine Software and I'm deeply sorry.

[@ChadLPN]

Seven minutes in and this man hasn't wasted a single step. WTH

[@ChadLPN]

13:40 OH! so close.

[@alexh2790]

This is definitely a case where the Genesis version is superior. The cinematics are very choppy on the SNES compared to the Genny.

[@solarflare9078]

It was made by Tiertex, so no surprise the MD port is better

[@alexh2790]

@@solarflare9078 Wow, this is actually pretty solid considering they did it 😋

[@guidadiehl9176]

I think the MegaDrive version has a little extra content too, iirc. Mostly minor stuff, like some additional credits which you can find in the first level. The music is also better, but that's not uncommon.

[@Dorian_Scott]

@@solarflare9078 Actually, Delphine developed both the SNES & Genesis ports.

[@solarflare9078]

@Dorian_Scott Some sources say the SNES, 3DO, and Atari Jaguar ports were all made by Tiertex. It’s rather believable, as they all have similarities to each other, like Conrad in a red shirt.

[@spoonshiro]

Never did get very far in this one. It looks cool though

[@MegaKnuckles777]

Wow, I was wrong about the ending because I wasn't paying attention to the story at the time I beat it. I always thought he blew up the earth for some reason. 💀

[@atiagooqkinguliaalu4027]

You cant tell me it was that easy to get that holocube... lmfao T_T took us like soo many tries and hours

[@SFuruli]

Watching this to experience the story. 🙂 What turned me away from this game (both as a child and adult) were the controls. They just feel so delayed. Shame that, because Flashback is great otherwise.

[@IamN0-1]

It play very similar to Blackthorne

[@ihsyed786]

👍🏼👍🏼

[@AndyGoth111]

1:32:34 interesting glitch at lower left

[@julesgamergourmand]

The best version is on Megadrive or Super nes ?

[@alexh2790]

Genesis by a country mile.

[@Trevelyan2]

I 2nd that. I really hated this port due to the choppy visuals and lack of using any of the SNES’s power. Genesis did what Nintendidn’t on this one.

[@NintendoComplete]

The game was designed specifically for the MD, so yeah, that version definitely wins.

[@Dorian_Scott]

Sega Genesis without a doubt. Not only does it *_play_* smoother than the Super Nintendo game, but the cutscenes also run at a higher framerate. It's also uncensored.

[@SAYAJINLENDARIO2512]

Bro you qre insane

[@ElectronEntanglement]

How do you make the jump at minute 4:30? My Super Nintendo will not let me make it.

[@ElectronEntanglement]

Just figured it out. You have to let go of the run button (y) once you’re airborn. Never gout out of the jingle when I was young. Playing it in bed right now on the original system I had growing up. Still works. This game was tough if you were like 12 years old.

[@thefeleza]

And it ends like this? Where's the sequel? Is it Mass Effect?

[@JohnnyOTGS]

The game may be visually stunning, but once you get into it, it's just another Prince of Persia clone. 😓

[@hawk66100]

This video would be a lot cooler if there wasn’t an ad every 5 minutes. It really breaks the immersion and authenticity.