I recently did a review that in terms of mechanics, was very similar to the old Prince of Persia games, that game was Nosferatu, and although it was quite inferior compared to the game it was inspired by, overall, it was a title that could be enjoyed quite easily. Again today I will talk about another videogame with mechanics very similar to Prince Of Persia, but this time it is a really good title, even much higher than the one mentioned before, because besides having a graphic style that is exceptional today, its story and how it develops is really good, because it is a game that has a lot of inspiration from movies and that can be seen both in its plot and in the way the events happen.
Today's Retro Review is about: Flashback: The Quest Of Identity.
Flashback: The Quest Of Identity is a game full of action, adventure, science and aliens. And at the same time, it has great features similar to the movie Blade Runner, the inspiration in the universe that that movie presents is quite visible, so Flashback, has elements of cyberpunk.
But let's talk a little bit about the history of this game. Flashback: The Quest Of Identity, features Conrad, who is a scientist who over the years has been studying molecules. One day after conducting an experiment, he realizes that something dark is happening within the world society, since undercover among the crowd, aliens have taken the form of normal people, even these aliens have managed to occupy great political positions, all this in order to destroy the planet Earth.
However, these aliens become aware of the discovery of the protagonist and kidnap him, erasing his memory and locking him in a prison, but Conrad, suspecting that the aliens would do something against him when he discovered their plot, before his kidnapping, sends fragments of his own memory to a friend, and from a technological device records a message for himself, with instructions and explanations of everything that happened (very intelligent on his part, and not very intelligent on the part of the aliens by not killing him). Once in prison, Conrad manages to escape and now finds himself in a jungle on another planet from which he must escape, but first, he must find the device that contains his message and then go to recover his memory, and of course, avoid the destruction of his planet. Without a doubt this game is a total adventure, in the purest style of a movie.
The graphic aspect of Flashback: The Quest Of Identity is exceptional, very cinematic and quite colourful, from those games that have aged really well. Your graphic style and art is very similar to another video game that I reviewed before (more than 1 year ago), that game is: Another World. As far as I know, this game was ported in different consoles, I played the Mega Drive version (in emulator) and it looks a little better than the Snes version, in the Mega Drive version the animations have a better fluidity of movement. But in general terms, both versions look very good.
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This game is quite cinematic, and that can be seen in the way the events happen throughout the adventure, but mostly because of the cinematic scenes, which were very well done and in a way transported you to that futuristic universe, as well as helping you to go deeper into the story.
The artistic style is great, as it combines minimalist elements with settings full of details, with very striking colours. And just like Prince of Persian, our protagonist moves quite naturally, so that sometimes it feels like an animated film. Undoubtedly one of the best retro games, both in its graphic aspect and its artistic style.
When I say that this game is very cinematic, I don't just mean the aesthetics, the way it tells the story or the way it shows the kinematics and events, but also the musical aspect, it maintains those typical characteristics that we can see in movies. The soundtrack of Flashback: The Quest Of Identity is brilliant, composed in such a way that it fits very well with the style of the game. It's a soundtrack that won't be heard all the time during this adventure, but will be heard at key moments in the game, just like in a movie. The sound effects, likewise, sound great, and are a key part of a good immersion in the gameplay.
Video Author
Flashback: The Quest Of Identity is a union of several videogame genres, as it can be classified as a videogame of the genre of: adventures, platforms, action, exploration and puzzles. A union of genres that creates a highly recommended title that is fun to play even today.
Our main character, as you might expect, can perform a large list of actions such as: jump, run, hold on to certain parts of the stage and also attack using a game weapon, but when he has the weapon in his hands, the above-mentioned movements will be limited, since being in "attack mode", Conrad will only be able to perform maneuvers on the ground, that is, spin, walk and logically, shoot.
But Flashback: The Quest Of Identity is a game that will make you think a lot, since one of its strongest points is the resolution of puzzles that you will encounter throughout this adventure. It won't cost us anything to learn how to control our main character, the control is quite easy and very intuitive, however, in terms of difficulty level Flashback: The Quest Of Identity, has a curve of difficulty a little high, but despite that, it is not a game that comes to frustrate us for not being able to complete a certain objective, as this title knows how to reward you when we can overcome a certain obstacle, so that when we achieve it, the satisfaction we can achieve is very great.
Flashback: The Quest Of Identity is really a video game gem that deserves to be recognized, one of those games that has aged really well, both graphically and in terms of plot, maybe in terms of mechanics it's already a bit obsolete, but it's still a very enjoyable game.
