I was hanging around Abaondonia during lunch today and spotted they have a copy of Flashback for PC DOS. I don’t think I’d ever played this particular release before (1994) as I was probably still rocking the Commodore Amiga at the time. I do recall playing the later PC CD-ROM edition though with it’s 3D rendered intro similar to that on the 3DO and other CD based consoles of the time. I didn’t realise until I gave this one a spin today, was that the DOS port contains and extended version of the classic vector intro. And cool it is too unlike a certain scene from an ‘enhanced’ classic…Remember folk, Han shot first!
Game-wise, it’s pretty much plays the same as all the other versions out there and under DOSbox with CPU cycles set to around 8000 and it looks pretty slick.
If the midi soundtrack isn’t to your liking though , how about these two samples from the OST CD?
So, it’s looking like its turning out to be an all Flashback weekender! This time around, I’ve got it running on the Dreamcast of all systems!
Sadly, there wasn’t an official port of Flashback released on the almighty Dreamcast, but some clever boffin has produced one based on the REminiscence Project – http://cyxdown.free.fr/reminiscence/
‘REminiscence is a rewrite of the engine used in the game Flashback from Delphine Software. This program is designed as a cross-platform replacement for the original executable and uses the SDL library’
Playing Flashback on the DC is also a great way to test out a piece of kit I’ve had in my drawer for ages now and have not really had much use for it until now.
This is my Dreamcast SD adaptor, a cool little addon that came out a few years ago that allows you to run Dreamcast software directly from an SD card. No more loud CD noise!
I brought mine quite cheaply off eBay and they’re easily available if you fancy giving one a go yourself. I’ve heard of a few problems with the Dreamcast reading certain brands of SD cards and I’ve only every used Sandisk cards myself and these seem to work out o.k. The SD card needs to be formatted as Fat32.
You will need two bits of software to get this running (plus any homebrew apps/games you wish to run). The software is called Dreamshell and you can pick it up at most DC sites. Here’s where I got mine from –
Once you’ve unpacked the archive, copy the entire DS folder to the root of your SD card and then burn the .cdi image to a blank CD. I’ve used ImgBurn @ x4 speed for mine.
Insert the SD card into the adaptor and place the adaptor into the Dreamcast’s serial port at the back. – It’ll only fit one way but be careful when inserting the adaptor, mine was a bit flimsy!
I’m not going to fit much on a 2Gb but it’ll do for the odd bit of hombrew BOR.
Insert the Dreamshell boot CD and switch on the Dreamcast.
After a a while you’ll have an O/S type interface on screen with various tools for doing all manner of funky stuff. There’s plenty of documentation about Dreamshell on the web but for me, I’m just interested in going to the File Manager, browse the contents of my SD card and launching the Flashback image. Navigating around the O/S is a bit of pain with the joypad and would be better if used with the DC keyboard etc (which i don’t have at the moment) The analogue stick doing a pretty good job as an emulated mouse pointer and after a bit of practise it doesn’t take to long to get used too.
Flashback on the Dreamcast!
It plays just like any other version of Flashback I’ve played before except one thing…the Dreamcast joypad isn’t exactly the most ergonomic of pads especially after coming directly from using the 3DO pad. However, it’s Flashback….on the Dreamcast….Hell yeah!
Back from a shopping expedition with the ladies, Mrs StiGGy opts for the tactic of detraction when entering the house…in other words, dangle the latest Retro Gamer Magazine (#118) with that awesome Flashback cover in front of me in a pitiful attempt to mask the shopping backs behind her…..it worked…Woot Woot Flashback!
I shouldn’t complain really, i tried it myself…..once….maybe i should have picked something smaller for my first attempt instead of a full size arcade cabinet 🙂
Here’s a scan of the magazine, although the edges are slightly chopped off as the magazine must be slightly over A4 and that’s about all my scanner can take.
As well as the main cover feature, I’m looking forward to a chillin out with the articles listed at the bottom left ‘Flight of the Amazon Queen – The two best friends who took on Lucasarts’….and did a mighty fine job too and ‘Mastertronic, The Media Kings That Made Budget Games Cool’……and saviour for me and my mates who’s paper route wages couldn’t always allow us to buy the big budget hits all the time.
Unlike the past few weeks where the summer sun has been unnaturally scorching hot, today’s drizzle means stopping indoors and putting ones feet up. I’ll put the kettle on then!
Incidentally, if you can’t get hold of Retro Gamer Magazine where you are, it’s well worth checking out the (often discounted) digital editions which are available for a variety of platforms.
A few days ago, a friend of mine uploaded a picture of this months Retro Gamer Magazine which he gets early due to having a subscription (something i need to think about).
It features Flashback:The Quest for Identity on the cover and as soon as i saw it I thought woohoo, I love that game! Maybe the article inside was prompted by news of the modern remake that’s currently in the making – sadly, only for Xbox 360 owners so that’s me out 😦 ).
I must have played Flashback on my Amiga so many times that I doubt the floppy disks still have any data on them through wear! It’s a truly awesome game and back in the day, I’m guessing just like everyone else, was simply blown away by everything the game had to offer. It’s highly polished vector intro/cutscenes, big budget movie style soundtrack, rotoscoping and cyberpunk sci-fi visuals were like nothing that had come before since ‘Another World’.
Usually these days, if I don’t have the Amiga on the desk then I’ll play Flashback on the Megadrive as the extra buttons on the controller can often come in handy instead of using stick/keyboard control likes on the Amiga. Still the Amiga was the first version I played it on and it’s on that platform that I’ll always consider Flashback as being my favourite. Flashback on the Amiga is four disks of happiness!
Any…ho, after seeing that magazine cover , I thought I’d check out eBay to see if I could locate a copy of Flashback on the Panasonic 3DO. It’s been ages since I’ve had the ol’ FZ-1 out of its box and I’d heard that on the 3DO, Flashback is particularly good.
Hmm, not sure about the top part of the cover though, the bottom half is very Bladerunner-esq so that’s gets a big thumbs up from me.
After finding a copy of the game at a rather bargain Buy it Now price (semi-tatty box) it arrived this morning almost on cue after finishing the housework (Yup, jobs out the way first is the StiGGy way!).
The familiar intro has had a bit of a makeover and is looking rather cool in its modern (for the time) 3D rendered guise. Good as it it, it does seems rather short though and I much prefer the original vector animation. On the flip side, the in game cutscenes are fantastic especially the charging station and scene were you meet Ian and sit in the chair to regain your lost memories…Conrad finally talks!
I’m a bit of fan of the main menu music on the Amiga which simply rocks compared to the Megadrive and SNES version but on the 3DO, I think we have a contender for a new favourite here as it’s just superb. Maybe the other CD based consoles that have a Flashback port (Sega CD/CDI) are as good?
Graphically, its seems pretty much about the same as the Amiga version far as I can tell and not really anything different..maybe a few extra frames of animation on the characters perhaps?
Set up and ready to go. I was concerned at first that it might not run though as the CD was pretty scratched. So far so good although I apologise for the crappy picture, it’s a bit bright in here this afternoon.
Right, come on Conrad, we’ve got a lot to do.
<an hour later>
Well, I’m four levels in now and truely loving this port…I think even more so that the Amiga….shh, tell no one. I’m sure that if you have a Panasonic 3DO console you’ve already got this in your collection tucked neatly between RoadRash and Nighttrap (seriously!)…but if not, zip on over to eBay right now and see if you can track down this gem of a game.
Will Conrad B Hart make a return to our computers sporting some new HD threads? Well lets hope so as it would certainly make my year if he did and i’m sure for the many other Flashback fans out there too.
Disappointed when the so called prototype sequel on the GBA surfaced? Yup, me to, but there’s hope yet.
From Eurogamer.net
The 1992 platforming adventure classic Flashback appears to be getting the HD treatment with Flashback Origins.
According to French site Gamalive, Origins will be developed by the original game’s creator Paul Cuisset at his studio VectorCell, with Ubisoft on publishing duties.
There’s even a image too, although its unclear if this is simple a fan made image or not.
Original –
Purposed remake –
Well, I for one will be following this story very closely and if anyone as any further information, please feel free to run and jump about (rotoscope style) and shout it out to the world 🙂
Until then, I can only dream, hunt out my FB Amiga discs again and drool over these amazing fan images by artist by tetedebug
StiGGy's Blog 