Certain games in each generation inspire reactions of awe and excitement, because they push the envelope in graphical technology, gameplay ideas or perhaps both. One such game in the 16-bit era, arguably, was Flashback. It had a cool telling of a sci-fi memory-lost tale combined with smart puzzles, awesome environments and decent action.
Of course, you can play it on Nintendo Switch through the rather good re-release, and it's pretty faithful to the original rather than being a remake. In a bit of surprise announcement the publisher of that re-release, Microids, has announced that a full named sequel is in production and is due next year (as pointed out in the comments section, there was a sequel called Fade to Black that passed this writer by in 1995).
Yes, we know, it doesn't specify platforms, but we'd hope that the success of the Switch hardware will keep it in the thoughts of the publisher and development team.
30 years after the original, we'll finally get Flashback 2.
Comments (43)
“ 19 years after the original, we'll have a sequel” wasn’t Fade to Black on PS1 the sequel?
The first Flashback came out in 1992, so I don't know where this "19 years" number comes from.
This blows my mind! Hope it's good.
"If You're Not Hyped Ask An Older Relative": jokes on you Nintendolife, you are the substitute older relative that I go to for hype guidance.
@FragRed @mechayakuza You are both correct! I shall update (I'd never heard of that sequel so genuinely had no idea it existed)
So did Overwatch steal the Flashback logo or die Flashback 2 steal the Overwatch logo?
@Slowdive I bought that Ubisoft remake on sale not long ago. It was absolutely awful. How did they screw it up so badly, and thats just the animation let alone atmosphere and terrible voice acting/dialogue etc. Totally ruins the original.
Wow, i am hyped. Still love the first one.
@FragRed I thought it only were on PC. Also thought it were Flashback 2 back then.
Flashback were some kind of sequel to Another world. I played both on AMIGA when they were new.
Correction. Flashback is 29 years old.
There was also a third game Flashback Legends for GBA, unfinished but with a relatively playable prototype floating online. I wonder if they'll be revisiting something from it or go back to the drawing board, possibly even branching away an alternate continuity before FtB events. Otherwise, why even call it a 2?
Please be good, please be good, please be good.
This is great news! Absolutely pumped for this!
Love Flashback, and quite liked its stylish sequel Fade to Black (despite its difficult controls and awkward camera). I am buying this for sure, but wish they would have numbered it properly as Flashback 3.
@Slowdive I always thought that and I’m sure that’s deliberate considering how big Uncharted was at the time. Must have launched around the time of the third game. It makes me wonder though since Paul Cuisset was heavily involved in the remake, is he someone who understands how modern games are made?
I'm not super hyped, but I'm sure interested...
Flashback was fun. Played it on the 3do in days long past.
Always had a thing for the Prince of Persia style , heavily animated characters and initially clunky controls that became satisfying once mastered.
I remember a print ad for the original SNES Flashback that said it was CD quality on a cartridge. I loved cinematic games like this one, Another World (aka Out of This World), and (to a lesser extent) Heart of Darkness. I had a hard time playing Fade to Black. I hope Flashback 2 is a return to 2D.
I'm 33 and I can't recall anyone ever mentioning Flashback. I don't think this game found the same success/cult status in the US.
Yeeeeees.
but.
I loved karateka , and the sequel was awfull.
And... microids...
@Bret
There was a little buzz about it back when it released, especially due to the graphics and cutscenes. I bought it for Sega CD back then. But yeah I don't think it was necessarily a big seller, other than being on multiple consoles at the time.
I had only play the Sega Genesis and Super NES versions of Flashback so if this sequel is anything like those I would definitely check it out.
I think this is either going to be good (likely not great) or just disappointing, but I'm sure a bunch of don't-know-better types will lap it up either way....
First game I ever double dipped. Had it on the Megadrive. Did a weekend job at a picture framers to help pay for it. Then bought the rather brilliant Delphine Soft collection on the Amiga 500 I inherited from my brother. Amazing game. Have Fade to Black on PlayStation sitting in my spare room.
@ThomasBW84 It's still not correct. If Flashback 2 is releasing next year, it will be 30 years since the original Flashback released. Fade to Black would have released 27 years ago (next year).
@Ventilator glad I'm not the only one who remembers this on the Amiga! Another world was great aswell!
@Troopage They should really call that game Fade to Black II: Flashback 3 as the Sega Dreamcast version was already called Fade to Black: Flashback 2. Having this game called Flashback 2 would confuse fans of that version as most would think this is either a remake or a reboot of that.
I can only hope that it's good! I played the original on pc when it came out, had very fond memories of it, and have since got the SNES, Genesis, and Switch releases. I didn't play the remake, since it just looked awful, and it sounds like I made the right choice.
Who is developing it...? People involved in the original game hopefully.
I was really disappointed the Switch release didn't include the SNES version I grew up with!
@Ghost_of_Hasashi Yeah, that would be better. Or maybe this entire time Microids was really saying that they are working on a Fade to Black: Flashback 2 remake. I'd really like that since I never knew about it before and a quick search online says that it's an early 3D title and is clunky to play.
Well, this article went well...
Not sure where I was getting the years figure from at the end, last article at the end of a long day and all that.
Corrected now, 30(!) years since the original Flashback!
I had played on PC without sound / music if I am not mistaken when it had been released because it required a sound card and we didn't have any. Great game for its time!!! Fade to Black was a sequel which was not very good. I am hyped for the proper sequel!! I wish it will be again 2D or 2.5D. And just not be so short in length as the first one. Thanks.
Pretty sure I played it back in the day (I'm one of the older relatives).
Tried it again recently on Switch for 99 cents. Didn't get very far as the control and movement just weren't happening.
We'll see if/how the sequel turns out.
Oh this is exciting! For any fans of this kind of cinematic platformer vibe, be sure to check out Olija.
This is a surprise and I'm excited. Loved Flashback. Hopefully it's not like the remake.
My memories are an epic intro sequence, followed by a game ruined by the ability to run through walls.
I am the older relative and I'm not hyped. I never even heard of Flashback until the 2018 version came out.
Mildly interested, maybe. Will wait for reviews.
@ThomasBW84 @FragRed @mechayakuza Don’t forget about ‘Another World’ which was a spiritual relation / related game also.
Even my older relative isn't hyped
I'm interested at least. It took me until the Switch version of Flashback to finally get a 2nd chance at beating it, so this will be interesting. Never played Fade to Black but I had heard of it.
This reminds me, I need to look into the Blizzard Collection to play a similar styled, but unrelated, game called Blackthorne that I never finished back in the day...
@PushMyGran1986 Cool. I remember everything on Amiga including all hardware.
Love the original, except for the part where you have to put the keycard in the correct slot to stop the meltdown. Forgot there was more than one place to put it.
Got damn good at timing those jumps though.
@Slowdive I agree with 100% of the points made. Well said.
I played and loved the original back in the 90s and I'm not hyped for a few reasons.
The original game aged badly, all it had for it back then was the cinematic presentation but it's been totally mastered by other games today.
There have been a sequel in 1995 and a remaster a few years ago. Fade to Black was a fine game back then, but it aged even worse than the original game. And the remaster was a disaster.
I don't want to put shoot the ambulance but everything Paul Cuisset has touched in the recent years was underwhelming to say the least.
So ask another old guy to get hyped. I wish Paul Cuisset and his team good luck though. Prove me wrong guys, it would be great if the game turned out great. But I'm a bit sceptical as it is.
Tap here to load 43 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...