Danger lurks around every corner...but it's worth the risk!

U.S. Game Front

Another Flink on the Amiga CD32

Hey Flink...Mickey Mouse Would
Like To Have A Word With You...

Ah, The Misadventures of Flink...it was one of several Sega CD titles that was mostly overlooked by the masses. The Sega CD tried to have such a strong emphasis on FMV games at the time that you sometimes forget about the games that weren't mostly unimpressive movie games. There were some exceptions to the FMV games, but they were far and between, and most people just wanted to play a traditional action game, platformer game, roleplaying game...or just a regular game in general. While the past is the past, we can't do much these days other than look back and see what the Sega CD did RIGHT. While Flink isn't a ground breaking Sega CD title, it kinda reminds me why I bought one in the first place.

"Disaster strikes Imagica Island and Wicked Wainwright's taken over! He's kidnapped the four island leaders, separated them, and has them under the watchful eyes of the Demon Guardians. Excited by his newfound control, he's gone absolutely crazy! He's casting dark clouds of smoke across the land, bringing unpleasant weather and much sadness to the people of Imagica. In a huge panic, the islanders appoint Flink, an apprentice wizard, to challenge Wicked Wainwright and to force the Demon Guardians to release the island leaders. Locate the leaders, bring their powers together, and help make Flink the full-fledged wizard he's always wanted to be!"

The plot is more or less straightforward. You'll go from stage to stage swinging from vines, dashing through valleys and caverns, swimming through water and evading unfriendly characters. Eventually, you will encounter Wainwright and put an end to his diabolical plans. During the course of the magical adventure, you'll gather ingredients for making spells and find lots of hints and treasure. Graphically, Flink is pretty amazing and it makes me yearn to have seen more of what the Sega CD was truly capable of. The environments are highly detailed as well as the enemies and the game has excellent animation. From the great detail of the forests, the swaying water, or the way Flink moves, everything is spot on and gorgeous and it's pretty safe to say that the game is one of the most beautiful looking titles on the Sega CD. The sound is also excellent, and takes full advantage of the Sega CD's audio capabilities. Each track fills me with intrigue, and the designers did well with the soundtrack. In conjunction with the graphics, the audio sucks you right into Imagica Island.

The gameplay in this game is mostly standard platforming fare, though there's nothing wrong with that. After all, if it ain't broken, don't fix it. Flink's movements take a little getting used to because he has a brief walk cycle before he starts to pick up speed and run. This may throw some people off. Flink will collect all kinds of ingredients that he must use to conjure a variety of different spells. He must mix three ingredients in the proper sequence however, or else he'll fail in his attempts. Even if you know a spell, you can't make it until he has the proper scroll first. He can use spells to defeat his enemies (as well as to grow plants, create a shield, and numerous other things), though he can also jump on them and toss them, or grab objects and toss those at the enemy. Flink tosses foes very suspiciously like Mickey does in the Capcom Mickey Mouse games for SNES and Genesis (Ex: The Great Circus Mystery). Flink dies in one hit, unless he has some magic energy in his bottle. It doesn't really matter how much, so long as he has some, and if he's hit, he has a chance to grab some of the floating magical energy back. In this regard, he's nearly unstoppable, just like a certain famous blue hedgehog.

Don't think the game will be easy though...Flink has many tricky platforming segments, and the game is a tad bit lengthy. What's worse is that you can't save or use passwords, and that's not good, especially since this game brags about its 55+ levels (though each level is very short). This game is for very patient gamers who are gluttons for punishment. Still, given the people who made this game (primarily only four people), this game is very impressive and a lot of effort went into it. This game is an above average action/platformer game with impressive graphics, great sound, and numerous levels and abilities to keep you occupied. It's one of best Sega CD releases and best of all, it can easily be squeezed into just about anyone's budget.

- Written by Vyse the determined -