Review for Flashback. Game for Mac, Amiga, Super Nintendo, Sega MegaDrive (Genesis), 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Sega CD and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 31/12/1992
It could happen to anyone: one day you are having a beautiful morning enjoying the mundane lifestyle of 2142, the next you discover that an alien race has infiltrated mankind and is dumping your memories on a holocube before moving on to your capture. The incredible journey of Conrad B. Hart started with development for Mega Drive di Flashback, which, however, ended up debuting first on the Commodore Amiga passing through any console of the time and then landing on PC, and even on mobile.
A full 25 years later, Paul Cuisset's 16-bit masterpiece gets a new version on Nintendo Switch. Is it worth saving humanity again or must all this remain a Flashback?
The game opens with the escape of Conrad from captivity and, after a daring chase, the aliens shoot down thehoverbike di Conrad on the artificial jungles of Titan and presume him dead. A confused and amnesic Conrad stands up after the accident and this is where your epic sci-fi journey begins. The first decision to make, however, is how you want to play: theoriginal experience from 1993 or l 'deluxe update of 2018?
We specify that by "update" we do not mean a kind of "improved remake": both versions are based on the most faithful reproduction of the original game. These are exactly the same rotoscopic characters moving in the stunning hand-drawn backgrounds that you played a quarter of a century ago.
Differences from the original
The difference lies in the use of in-game tutorials, redone music and sound effects and a number of different graphic filters that also simulate the noise and static interference of whoever was playing on an RF cable and of course the game will always be displayed in a Relationship of 4:3, as it was originally designed - it might seem silly to the younger generation of gamers, but veterans will likely appreciate this choice a lot. Just like many of its 16-bit counterparts you will find that even playing cautiously, Flashback su Nintendo Switch is often relentless, drawing parallels with Prince of Persia with little missteps or leaps that send Conrad into an assortment of premature deaths. Unlike the Prince, Conrad carries a gun with infinite bullets, but his personal rechargeable shield sadly isn't. So you can die not only from poorly coordinated parkour, but also from shooting enemies.
In the original game dying was equivalent to an immediate loss of progress to inexorably return to the last save point but in this 2018 release you have the possibility to rewind your progress to a point before your fatal mistake; having said that, rewind Flashback seems a bit of a cheat especially in function of the fact that this cheat is unlimited, but only if you choose to play in "Easy" mode and, like any other extra, you can activate it or not from the menu at any time during the playthrough. If you want to enjoy the original challenge, skip this modern luxury completely.
Game buttons
The controls are the same as the original and it will take some time to get used to the three button scheme used in the Mega Drive version of the game. The D-Pad or l 'left analog is used for the movement: "A”Is the action button for running, jumping and interacting with objects on the screen; "X " allows you to use items from your inventory (which you can open with "+") is "Y”Allows you to take your powerful pistol out of the holster. A note: the shot was mapped to "ZR”And we often find ourselves succumbing to very stupid deaths because we try to shoot with the wrong button. Once your movement and shooting improve, you should easily be able to prevent the alien invasion.
Graphics
There is little to say about graphics and sound that wasn't already written in 1993: everything appears to conform to the 16-bit standards of the 90s, and age does little to steal the audiovisual merits of Flashback on the Nintendo Switch. We can't even call them dated.
Performances
The performance of Flashback su Nintendo Switch they are impressive. If you feared it was a port of the rom for Super Nintendo (a version that is sadly remembered for hitting the figures of a single frame during the shootings in the final stretch of the game) rest assured that this is a smooth game. 24 FPS from start to finish. We hope a quick patch is soon in the works for the only problem encountered: using the new enhanced sounds we found that one in three shots fired from the rifle is silenced, as if firing blanks instead of repeating, as one would expect. Nothing but a small smudge in an otherwise excellent package.
In conclusion, we can say that Flashback on Nintendo Switch is the definitive edition of a truly special science fiction video game, which has already proved to be a 16-bit classic several times. If you were too young to play it the first time, this package will give you the best possible way to experience it with current hardware. For veteran players, Flashback has lost none of what made it special all those years ago.
The game is available on the Nintendo store for € 19,99.
► Flashback is a Platform-Adventure game developed and published by US Gold for Mac, Amiga, Super Nintendo, Sega MegaDrive (Genesis), 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Sega CD and Nintendo Switch, the game was released on 31/12/1992
