Flashback Legends: The 2D Sequel Delphine Left Unfinished
Flashback is one of the best-known French games ever made. Paul Cuisset designed it at Delphine Software in 1992 as a cinematic platformer with rotoscoped animation, in which agent Conrad B. Hart wakes up on Titan in the year 2142 with his memory erased and discovers that shape-shifting Morphs have infiltrated humanity. Guinness World Records has listed it as the best-selling French game of all time. A 3D follow-up, Fade to Black, came in 1995.
A different sequel was also planned, and it went the other way: back to 2D, on Nintendo's new handheld. Flashback Legends (sometimes written Flashback Legend) was a Game Boy Advance project from Delphine and Adeline Software International, aimed at a 2003 release.
At a glance
- Series: Flashback (Delphine Software, 1992)
- Developers: Delphine Software International and Adeline Software International
- Planned release: 2003, never published
- Prototype build: dated 21 June 2002
- Languages here: the original French build and an English fan translation
Why it was never released
The project was cancelled when Delphine went bankrupt at the end of 2002. The company had been removed from its parent group that December, was sold to Doki Denki in 2003, and that owner shut down in July 2004. The unfinished game was later leaked online and has circulated as a prototype ever since.
What it is
The prototype keeps the series' cinematic platforming: searching cells and cards, charging enemies and timed escape sequences, with a brighter look that echoes the 16-bit original. It is a work in progress rather than a finished game.