Flashback: The Quest for Identity (DOS)

Flashback: The Quest for Identity
Also known as: Flashback (EU) Developer: Delphine Software International Publishers: Strategic Simulations (US), U.S. Gold (EU) Platform: DOS Released in US: 1993 Released in EU: 1993 This game has unused areas. This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused cinematics. This game has unused items. This game has unused text. This game has regional differences. This game has anti-piracy features.

Flashback: The Quest for Identity is a French (and slow) cinematic platformer game with plenty of references to old movies, with 24 FPS gameplay action, and almost full-screen cutscenes made of vectors. It is the spiritual successor to Out of This World. It has a reboot just called Flashback.

To do: There's a lot of objects placed in inaccessible rooms.

Unused Text

Meeting Cutscene

The meeting cutscene has its shares of unused text (which went used in the CD version with the 3DCG cutscenes).

English	French	German	Italian
Like thousands of others before it, we will soon dominate this system.	COMME DES MILLIERS D'AUTRES AVANT LUI, CE SYSTEME TOMBERA SOUS NOTRE DOMINATION ABSOLUE.	WIE TAUSENDE ANDERER VORHERWIRD DIESES SYSTEM UNTER UNSERE TOTALE HERRSCHAFT FALLEN.	Come già migliaia di altri prima di questo, presto domineremo anche questo sistema.
In a few hours our victory will be...	DANS QUELQUES HEURES NOTRE VICTOIRE SERA...	UNSER SIEG WIRD IN EIN PAAR STUNDEN...	Fra poche ore la nostra vittoria sarà...
What is it????	QU'EST-CE QUE C'EST???	WAS IST LOS????	Cos'è stato???

Gameplay Text

Text that doesn't need to be displayed for the most part.

English	French	German	Spanish	Italian
TIME IS UP	LE TEMP EST ECOULE	ZEIT ABGELAUFEN.	TIEMPO CONCLUIDO	TEMPO SCADUTO
There's a place for the card.	IL Y A UN EMPLACEMENT POUR LA CARTE.	DIE KARTE HAT EINEN PLATZ.	HAY UN LUGAR PARA LA TARJETA.	C'è una fessura per la scheda.
CHEMICAL	PRODUIT CHIMIQUE	CHEMIE-PRODUKT	PRODUCTO QUIMICO	PRODOTTO CHIMICO

Unused Credits Text

BY
PROGRAMMING
ART WORKING
MUSIC
SOUND FX
STORY
MAP DESIGN
BENOIST ARON
PHILIPPE CHASTEL
PAUL CUISSET
FREDERIC SAVOIR
PATRICK DAHER
THIERRY LEVASTRE
DENIS MERCIER
THIERRY PERREAU
CHRISTIAN ROBERT
FABRICE VISSEROT

Here's how it would have looked like:

PROGRAMMING
BY
BENOIST ARON
PHILIPPE CHASTEL
PAUL CUISSET
FREDERIC SAVOIR


ART WORKING
BY
PATRICK DAHER
THIERRY LEVASTRE
DENIS MERCIER
THIERRY PERREAU
CHRISTIAN ROBERT
FABRICE VISSEROT


MUSIC
BY
FABRICE VISSEROT


SOUND FX
BY
BENOIST ARON
PHILIPPE CHASTEL
PAUL CUISSET
FABRICE VISSEROT


STORY
BY
PAUL CUISSET


MAP DESIGN
BY
PAUL CUISSET
PATRICK DAHER
DENIS MERCIER
FREDERIC SAVOIR
FABRICE VISSEROT

These are also present in the Jaguar version.

Unused Icon

Icon ID: 0x19

It is unknown what it is for.

For easier access, edit \DATA\LEVEL1.PGE, at offset 0x58, change 0x01 to 0x19. Then run the game and check the Holocube.

Unused Item

This chemical item teleports you to the job center when taken, likely to be a leftover of the 6th mission, as only 5 terminals of 6 are used. This item does not add up to your inventory as well.

You can access the item like the video by changing the following bytes from \DATA\LEVEL2.PGE:

• 0x1A35: 0x3F to 0x10
• 0x1A3B: 0x14 to 0x00

Unused Cutscenes

ASC

ID 0x00

ID 0x01

ID 0x02

CARTE

METRO

ID 0x00

ID 0x01

SERRURE

Unlike the others, this filename is not listed in the executable.

OBJET - ID 0x00

This one is unfinished, this image stays only for a few frames. It seems to be the cutscene for when you pick up a stone.

Development Strings

Most strings are in French, even in the English version.

Initialization

Flashback, PC Version (C) 1992 Delphine Software International

ATTENTION Ce programme exige une carte VGA 

Variable Test (French version only)

<Variable test = %d>

VRAM-related strings (French version only)

Debordement VRAM !
End: %x, @VRAM:

Data Loading

chargement bank (mbk)
chargement piège (pge)
chargement palettes (pal)
chargement collision (ct)
ouverture map (map)
chargement map sprites (sgd)
chargement sprites caracteres (spc)
chargement positions des banks pour sprite_car (rp)
chargement animations (ani)
chargement objets (obj)
chargement des textes (tbn)
chargement des icones (icn)
chargement des sprites (spr)
chargement des offsets spr (tab)
chargement de la font (fnt)
chargement du texte (txt & bin)
chargement des commandes (cmd)
chargement des polygones (pol)
chargement des sprites monstre (spr)
chargement des indices sprm (off)
chargement buffer demo

No Room Error (French version only)

Pas de salle !

Runtime Error

<<NMSG>>

R6000
- stack overflow

R6003
- integer divide by 0

R6009
- not enough space for environment

run-time error

R6002
- floating-point support not loaded

R6001
- null pointer assignment

Regional Changes

This game had a few regional changes between USA and Europe, mostly about mentioning SSI or not.

Logo Scene

USA	Europe

Title Screen

USA	Europe

Anti-Piracy Screen

The Anti-Piracy had a significant change between the European and US versions.

USA	Europe

Both forms required you to search on the instruction manual. The European version had you search a shape and find the code along with it, and the US version has you locate the word in the manual.