Flashback: Expert Difficulty, No Damage, No Saves, No Wall Glitch (SEGA Genesis/Megadrive)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ส.ค. 2019
- During my Flashback deep dive I did a short while ago, I mentioned as the game works on a strict grid system, and it's control mechanics are SUPER exploitable, it's probably possible to do a 'No Damage' run. Recently I thought "Why not?" So after MANY hours practice and numerous failed attempts, here it is. Lets break this game apart!
*Please Note* Even though this is a single playthrough, I recorded the footage in three chunks just in case my computer died again. For whatever reason OBS decided to record the middle (Levels 3-5) chunk slightly darker and with a yellowish tint. Cheers OBS!
Also, if you'd like to watch my other Flashback videos you can check them out here:
• One of the greatest ma... - เกม
You're an absolute genius at this game. I enjoyed this vid from first to last and it really helped me complete the game on expert difficulty. Thankyou
Hey thanks, I really appreciate that. I've been playing Flashback since 92 back on the Amiga, but I'm STILL learning new ways to break it. Glad I could help.
I replayed this game for the first time in about 20 years, finally got past level 2 because I'm no longer 6 years old- I was stuck on that final mission on level 2 for ages, very comforting to hear that it is in fact difficult and I'm not just bad lmao
This was a great listen and learning about how the mechanics and all the animation priority works, I accidentally found out about quick draws but had no idea how it worked. Such a great game and a no-hit run just blows my mind.
27:50 Excatly what's burned into my mind about the first time playing the game: "Where the heck goes this card..." *boom*
Amazing run! Also thanks for all background information on how the game works.
As a modern programmer I'm always impressed how they managed to put together such a masterpiece of a game with the limits of past technologies like the Sega Megadrive. I cannot imagine writing all this in (I assume) assembler plus all the beautiful graphical work.
Thanks I really appreciate that. I wish I knew more about how this mechanically but the ports can vary pretty wildly in some places. If you're into the differences I have a playlist on my channel where I play the entire game with each level being a different port, I also look at the Flashback 3 prototypes and break the original Amiga demo too. Thanks for watching.
Great guide! Using some of your tips I was able to finish final level of 25 aniversary version on expert : THX!
Awesome! Glad I could help.
This was a wonderfully competent run. Even with the mistakes the majority of the run is very high level gameplay. Excellent commentary too. Well done!
Thanks I really appreciate that. I have plenty more Flashback content on my channel if you're interested.
Great video!! Im playing Flashback since snes era, is my favourite game.
Tip:
In the last level, when you are fighting the giant heart-thing, you can trap the 3 morphs in the "save room" by luring him into the highest platform and using the teleport into the heart room.
But that mastery on the game is impresive. Cheers
Thanks! I really appreciate that. That's the thing I've always loved about Flashback, it's so manipulatable, and because each port has it's own little quirks and oddities, I love trying to figure out different approaches. If you're interested I have a Flashback playlist on my channel where I play through the game with each level on a different port, plus unreleased versions of the game, and also the 1992 Amiga demo (which you can REALLY break).
Thank you! You made me suffer a little less in the latter levels...
I know exactly what you mean, those last few screens can be rough.
50:12 "This might be the easiest but also most difficult level". 🤯
Thanks a lot for the video. I hate all the wall glitched ones.
Thanks I really appreciate that. When I was making this video I hoped I could help make the game seem a little easier for at least one person, I'm glad it did.
really nice work man! Had a blast watching this :-)
Thanks, I appreciate that. I have a Flashback playlist on my channel where I play the entire game one port per level, also a couple of prototypes and the original amiga demo.
Incredible Job! Tnx for that! :)
I appreciate the commentary being recorded separately. It allows you to get it right, edit edit edit!
Great job BTW!
Thanks I appreciate that. Yeah, this was an utter nightmare, I had never recorded an entire playthrough of a game in a single sitting before. I spent the week before practicing each level until I could do each one without getting hit. At first I decided to record the commentary live. I got shot in level 4. I was gutted. I started again and I got shot in level 3. Really gutted. When I watched back the footage all you could hear was my daughter talking and singing and my neighbours shouting at each other. I can't record with me windows shut because it gets too hot in here.
After that I decided to record the audio separately. On my next run OBS crashed on level 5 destroying the entire video file. Pretty much thought about forgetting the whole thing.
The next day I decided to record again but this time I would stop and start OBS twice during the run incase it crashed again (level 1&2, then 3,4&5, then 6&7), even then it STILL managed to screw up, level 3,4&5 are yellowed, I have no idea why, all I did was press stop and start recording! I hate OBS.
After I had the run finally recorded I did the commentary one night when my daughter was asleep and my neighbours had shut up.
I'm glad I was able to do it, but if I ever do a full play through again, I would ABSOLUTELY do a separate commentary track, its waaaaay easier and means you don't have to worry about background chatter and keeping commentary fresh everytime OBS decides to crash and you have to start again.
Thanks for watching!
@@jonnyboy1925 hahaha wow, what a chore man. Well I hope you stay safe through these hard times and kick some more ass!
Fantastic commentary. This game never seems to run out of things to talk about during a playthrough. I know the voice was recorded afterwards, but was it in one take while watching the video? I can't imagine talking this competently and consistently for over an hour without scripting or editing, but I guess that's practice. Very good explanations and gameplay.
I don't think many people have beaten Flashback without getting hit and without wall glitches, especially on Expert. There are currently 0 no-glitch Expert speedruns on the speedrun site (I might give one a shot), and even if there were, the best route takes damage at a couple parts to save time (e.g. on the 4th floor of Death Tower, running into the landmines to explode them reduces enough lag to be faster than jumping past them). Plus speedruns that don't use wall glitches tend to be at the mercy of the Morphs' randomness depending on how fast you want to be, since it takes more time to trap/isolate the Morphs than it does to get hit once or twice.
I haven't seen the glitch at 1:29:33 before, where the bomb dropper goes through a wall. I've gotten the trolley droid, exploding mouse, and ball to go through walls just for fun, so it seems that every enemy that doesn't walk on legs has some way to get it through a wall. This is the first time I've seen someone make use of it, though.
Thanks! Yes I had just finished a retrospective look at Flashback, it's ports, remake, and cancelled sequels on this channel, during which I joked that because the AI and mechanics follow strict rules you could probably get through the game without being hit. Then I was suddenly laid up in bed sick. While I was bed bound I still had my raspberry Pi hooked up and decided to kill time by seeing if I could actually do it. Turns out I was right. After MANY failed recording attempts, I was at home with my toddler daughter and just decided to give it another go before I had to go to the shops. Did the run in one go but recorded it in three chunks on OBS because my pc is junk and likes to blue screen. Had to record the voice over later when she was in bed and the neighbours weren't screaming at each other (also there are wild parrots that live outside my window, which is less fun than it sounds). The best thing to come out of it was hearing from people who love the game, so it was worth it. Thanks for watching!
Great run.
Thanks I appreciate that!
What a video!
just got the game on switch oh the memories (i had mega drive version) also
Fantastic video mate! On level 2 there is a photo booth to put a coin into... was this ever used for anything? Thanks In advance
I found out that Flashback was originally supposed to be a licensed videogame futuristic sequel to Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather". No, really. Paramount obviously went "errr...nope". I assume that the reason level 2 of Flashback is so incredibly different and bigger than the rest of the game is that it was what was left of that project? I assume the photo booth was a remnant of a scrapped mission. Maybe at some point you needed to get a photo for a work I.D or a passport? Guess we'll never know. Thanks for watching!
@@jonnyboy1925 Thanks so much for replying your flashback videos are so good!
I actually thought the beginning of this video was an ad
The only thing I promote on this channel is self-belief and hand sanitization. Thanks for watching.
That shooting the door thing around 1:15:30 feels really unfair.
Yup totally agree. Here's thing though, remember back in 1992 when this game first released it was completely the norm for the developers and publishers to have phone numbers for premium rate help/tip lines printed on the back of the manual. You ever play a classic zelda game and about 3 quarters into the game you meet a 'puzzle' that when you get told the answer you were like "How the hell was I supposed to figure that out?" You weren't, you were supposed to buy their magazine. The internet put that to bed thankfully.
I bought the PS4 version recently. Remember playing this game in 1994 on SNES, but never completed it as I was only 5 years old and didn't fully understand level 2!
27 years on and I finally completed the game and on expert difficulty! I was determined not to use youtube as it's a retro from my past that I wanted to do the retro way! I was running around for hours trying to suss out what the hell I did with that door! "What the hell have I missed?!?! Where the hell do I go?!?!" Eventually, got the hump and shot it! Then had the hump even further when it opened!! 😂😂😂
Had to save it many times and really struggled to get through those last 2 morph bastards!! Thought I'd have a look at a playthrough and you've made it look soooo much simpler!! I spent hours running back and forth charging my sheild up in order to beat it! Managed it in the end, but with great difficulty!
@@seanreeder5784 What matters is that you did it, and now you can put that 27 year old demon to rest. Well done!
I cleared this out in the 90s on expert level, not sure about the damage.
Just bought this game on Xbox One. It was on sale for 4 bucks from the second summer sale so I couldn't go wrong. I hear mixed things about it though but it looks like a pretty decent game and I never got to play it back in the day. I am confused about which version the remaster is based on. Any expert insight on the matter would be appreciated.
Hey, better late than never! The 25th anniversary version is a solid version of Flashback and strangely it isn't actually a port, it's made from the ground up using assets ripped from later versions of the game, probably the 3DO or the CDi versions. So here's the thing, older ports of Flashback vary WILDLY, they all share the same name and levels, but all have their own little quirks, cutscenes, soundtrack, pallet swaps, inventory system, menu screen etc. If your after the original experience I'd suggest the Megadrive/Amiga version. The only versions I would advise to actively avoid at all costs is the SNES/Xbox 360 ports.If you're interrested I actually have a playlist on my channel where I play through the entire game with each level being a different port, I also look at the abandoned sequel prototypes, the dodgy 2013 remake and break the original demo.
@@jonnyboy1925 nice I'll check those out. Pretty interesting concept using a a different versions levels progressively. I'll say I've never heard of that. I also managed to get another world which was also on sale. Apparently these 2 games have common history. Anyway thanks fo answering my question.
Also if this game out on the CDi them that would mean that system had a good game. One is still better than none.
@@hermanherman5834 LOL. Yeah the CDi version is the outlier in it's library. Another World was the game that Delphine made their name with before Flashback, it's good but has 'issues'. It was made in the era of arcade games like Dragons Lair so it has LOTS of super cheap one hit deaths and tons of moon-logic 'puzzles'. Don't feel bad about using a guide, it's just one of those games. Flashback is mechanically much tighter, but where most people check out is when they go into it thinking its a platformer, the thing to remember is that it's a puzzle game that just happens to involve platforms. There is an invisible grid over the screen that the characters have to stick to, exactly like Prince of Persia. Also the auto run and auto jump controls are needed to get past the first screen of level 2. I explain it in the videos on my channel better than I can here. Good Luck!
What do you think about the sequel game Fade to Black?
Thanks for watching! I bought it for the PC when it released and I remember it being clunky and pretty difficult, however I did like the flat shaded polygons, it made it look kinda like Tron. I had a quick look at the PS1 version a few years back, it's not bad at all. Once I've finished my current project I might make do a video on it.
@@jonnyboy1925 YES, clunky and difficult is also how i experienced the game. I had it on the PS1. Still enjoyed it a lot , eventhough it had it's shortcomings. The original i had on the Mega-Drive and is one of my favourite games of all time. Maybe the favourite. I enjoy your videos , so thank you for them👊
You totally failed most important thing: forgot to put clothespin on your nose. Because of it your voice does not sound nasty. Watch letsplayers videos - they not only play awful, they also sound awful.
Lol, thanks. Next time perhaps.
@@jonnyboy1925 also, did you ever shot polizei in that underground warehouse on Earth? I hit once when travel down on elevator. It's when he jumps down to the right from edge of the wall, and you cannot shoot through it.
@@user-rv9vw5ef9e Yes, however it only works on some versions. It really helps because it takes him out instantly, but for this run I wanted to show how to get rid of him in a way that works 100% on any console version.
1:16:03 this part of the game was the most annoying and hard for me, I died here so many times. I didn't realize how to deal with this alien
Yeah this guy sucks, the enemies is this game all have different little quirks depending on the port, once you sus them out you can waltz right past most of them. Thanks for watching!
@@jonnyboy1925 do they really behave differently in some ports? I thought the ports are different in terms of some sprites/cutscenes only. Can you recall some example?
@@S33YouInH3ll Happy to! There are very little content changes in the game (other than stuff like the Bar in level 2 changing to a Cafe in the SNES port, because y'know Nintendo) So most of the differences are tied to in the timings and framerate. The Amiga port ran at a solid 24 fps so it's pretty consistent as far as timings and tricks, although some of the later enemies start to act a little strange for some reason? The Mega Drive port is for my money, the best port, although when an enemy is encountered they remain moving and searching even off screen for the duration of the level. As I found out if you don't kill the enemies the console begins to run out of memory and the game starts to chug (the devs probably hoped nobody would do that). The modern ports to PS4 and Xbone are pretty great, although the timings for quite a few of the tight tricks are very different (probably due to the faster consoles). Lastly the SNES port. WOW. It is SHOCKINGLY bad! The framerate is all over the place making it an actual nightmare to time anything. Avoid the SNES port.
@@jonnyboy1925 wow. So detailed response. I agreed, SNES port is probably worst one