I knocked out Flashback: The Quest for Identity last night. (I emulated the Sega Genesis version on my PSP.) I respect the game immensely. The rotoscoped animation remains stunning; the game offers quite a challenge; and the story is compelling (if a bit derivative). Some of the design choices, however, are a bit antiquated. First, the levels are enitrely too long, and I am not sure I would have made it through the game using passwords. (I just do not have the time and play the game for the hours required to get through a level.) Rather - and to avoid "cheating" - I applied save states at the points in the game that allow you to "save" your progress within each level. (You restart from these points if you die, but if you turn off the game, you have to go back to the beginning of the level.)prfsnl_gmr wrote: Here is my list for summer 2014:
1. Dragon's Lair
2. Final Fantasy Tactics
3. Flashback: The Quest for Identity
4. Halo 2
5. Jumping Flash! 2
6. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
7. Military Madness
8. R-Type Delta
9. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
10. Virtual Boy Wario Land
If someone else were playing this game for the first time, however, I would recommend that he or she apply save states more frequently. Each level generally consists of one very long section where you are not allowed to save followed by a shorter section with frequent save points. Death comes quickly - and unexpectedly - in this game, however, and the game's detailed animations mean that basic actions like moving between platforms take some time. Accordingly, the game often requires you to replay tedious platforming sectionss repeatedly just for another attempt to survive an action sequence or avoid a death trap. This makes certain sections of the game unnecessarily frustrating. Likewise, the game does not let you view a screen before you enter it - i.e., there is nothing equivalent to Metal Gear's binoculars - so, an enemy, ledge, pit, or trap at the edge of a screen can result in an immediate, unexpected death (which is particularly frustrating if you have to spend 15+ minutes working your way back to where you died).
In sum, I enjoyed parts of the game, and I am glad that I played through it. I think that I prefer the developer's "Out of This World" series, however, and I do not think I will be coming back to this game any time soon.
.....
I am now about half-way through Jumping Flash! 2, and I will probably beat that game before the end of the week. Like its predecessor, Jumping Flash! 2 is very colorful, easy, and fun. I will draft a more detailed anlysis when I complete it, and once I am done, I will probably move on to some shooting with either Halo 2 or R-Type Delta (or both).
Finally, there have been some great discussions in this thread, and I am really enjoying them. Please keep it up!
