The Misadventures of Flink

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The Misadventures of Flink
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Mega-CD
Publisher: Sony Electronic Publishing (Europe) VIC Tokai (US)
Developer: Psygnosis
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Official in-game languages: English Français Deutsch English Français Deutsch Español Nederlands
Release Date RRP Code EU 1994-11-11 T-113046-50 UK 1994-11-11 £39.9939.99 T-113046-50 AU 1994 $89.9589.95 US 1995-02 $59.9959.99 T-23055 EU 1994 T-113055-50
Non-Sega versions Amiga CD32

The Misadventures of Flink, or simply Flink is a Sega Mega Drive and Sega Mega-CD platform game. A working title for this game was Troll.

There was a North American Mega Drive version planned, but it was scrapped.

Story

The evil wizard Wicked Wainwright has captured the four leaders of peaceful Imagica Island. He has transported their spirits into four hidden crystals and scattered them throughout the island.

The apprentice wizard Flink embarks on a quest to find the four crystals, which he can use to open the gateway to Wicked Wainwright's lair and save the island from him.

Gameplay

Map

Creating spells

The game is a side-scrolling platformer similar to the likes of Super Mario Bros. 3. The player controls the wizard Flink. Stages are selected from a map screen. At the end of each world is a boss, which Flink must defeat to rescue one of the island leaders, who usually rewards Flink with a spell. Stages can be revisited after they have been completed to collect items or access previously inaccessible areas with new abilities, and this is necessary in some parts of the game to proceed.

Flink moves with and and kneels with . He jumps with ; he jumps higher when the button is held longer. He swims with . He can slide down steep slopes with . He can pick up items with and throw them with again. Some items must be picked up from a kneeling position with +. Enemies are defeated by jumping on their heads, by sliding down slopes, or by throwing items at them. He can grab ropes and vines with when jumping in front of them and climb them with and . He can enter doorways with .

Flink gathers ingredients by exploring the stages. He acquires Spell Scrolls by finding them in stages or by rescuing leaders. These scrolls describe the spell and present a recipe for creating them. Spells require three ingredients in a particular order; the recipe typically provides the ingredients but only the position of one of them, so the player must experiment to learn the correct order for the other two. If Flink gets the recipe wrong, the concoction blows up in Flink's face and the ingredients are wasted. The player can read the spell scrolls, select a spell, or create a spell through the pause menu with  START .

After selecting a spell, Flink can cast it with . Casting spells costs magic energy, which is indicated by a bottle in the corner of the screen; if Flink does not have enough magic energy to cast the spell, the bottle flashes. Flink can acquire more magic energy by collecting it from enemies after they are defeated or finding magic potions.

If Flink is hit by an enemy, he loses all of his magic energy, which scatters from him similar to the rings in the Sonic the Hedgehog games. He has a limited amount of time to collect his magic energy again. If he is hit without having any magic energy, he loses a life.

Items

	Treasure Chest
	Jump onto a treasure chest to open it and release an item. Some chests are locked and require a key to unlock. Flink can pick up and throw chests at enemies after they have been opened.
	Magic Energy
	Replenishes a very small amount of magic energy. Released from enemies after they are defeated or from Flink after he is hurt.
	Small Potion
	Replenishes a small amount of magic energy.
	Large Potion
	Replenishes a large amount of magic energy.
	Information Scroll
	Provides the player with a hint if Flink picks it up.
	Spell Scroll
	Provides a recipe for creating a spell.
	1-Up
	Gives the player an extra life.

Spells

Flink acquires new spells by finding Spell Scrolls and mixing ingredients to create the spell. He can then cast the spell with , which costs magic energy.

	Magic Key
	Keys are found as items and do not require mixing ingredients or using magic energy. Flink can use this spell to unlock treasure chests with padlocks by jumping on them. Each key can only be used once.
	Quick Grow
	Flink can cast this spell while standing on certain plants to make them grow, which lets him reach hidden areas. This spell is acquired in the Forest. Its ingredients are Magic Leaf, Eagle's Feather, and Silver Ring.
	Lightning Bolts
	Calls forth lightning bolts that attack enemies on screen in random locations. This spell is acquired by defeating the Forest boss. Its ingredients are Diamond Ring, Eagle's Feather, and Diamond Ring.
	Demon
	Summons a demon that follows Flink and attacks nearby enemies. It defeats 5 enemies before disappearing. This spell can be cast twice to summon a larger demon that can defeat 10 enemies before disappearing. This spell is acquired in the Village. Its ingredients are Gold Ring, Magic Mirror, and Magic Necklace.
	Spirit Bomb
	Shoots an energy bomb that seeks out nearby enemies. This spell is acquired in the Village. Its ingredients are Eagle's Feather, Gold Ring, and Magic Leaf.
	Shrink
	Shrinks Flink so that he can enter the Old Apple Tree in the Village. This spell is acquired by defeating the Village boss. Its ingredients are Magic Mirror, Magic Necklace, and Magic Amulet.
	Dust Devil
	Conjures several tornadoes, which sweep across the screen and attack enemies. This spell is acquired in the Old Apple Tree. Its ingredients are Magic Leaf, Silver Ring, and Eagle's Feather.
	Ghost
	Turns Flink into a ghost so he can enter the Clouds. This spell is acquired by defeating the Old Apple Tree boss. Its ingredients are Skull, Goblin's Tooth, and Magic Root.
	Shield
	Encircles Flink in three magic energy balls, which protect him from harm. Each energy ball dissipates when it hits and hurts an enemy. This spell is acquired in the Mountain. Its ingredients are Diamond Ring, Fairy Tear, and Gold Ring.
	Platform
	Creates a small cloud platform for Flink. This spell is acquired by defeating the Clouds boss. Its ingredients are Eagle's Feather, Tiger's Eye, and Eagle's Feather.

Stages

Forest

	Stage 1
	Stage 2
	Stage 3
	Stage 4
	Stage 5
	Stage 6
	Stage 7

Village

	Stage 1
	Stage 2
	Stage 3
	Stage 4
	Stage 5
	Stage 6
	Stage 7
	Stage 8

Old Apple Tree

	Stage 1
	Stage 2
	Stage 3
	Stage 4

Mountain

	Stage 1
	Stage 2
	Stage 3
	Stage 4
	Stage 5

Clouds

	Stage 1
	Stage 2
	Stage 3

Volcano

	Stage 1
	Stage 2

Versions

The Mega Drive and Mega-CD versions are mostly identical, but the Mega-CD version has a few additional stages, some changes to the in-game credits, a CD audio soundtrack, and two additional languages in the latter not present in the cartridge version (Spanish and Dutch).

Production credits

• Henk Nieborg: Ideas and game-concept, drawing all graphics in the game, designing and editing all 62 levels.
• Greg Duddle: Fantastic hardware and financial support, and keeping us informed of what's going on.
• Matthias Steinwachs: Composing the entire soundtrack.
• This game was developed in 9 months time. There are 62 levels with 94 different enemy tactics plus 5 end-of-world monsters and 10 spells. 13 music tracks and approx. 50 different sound-FX can be found in the game as well.

Source:

In-game credits

Magazine articles

Main article: The Misadventures of Flink/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Game Players (US) #0802: "Vol. 8 No. 2 February 1995" (1995-0x-xx)

Artwork

• 

  US Mega Drive prototype box art 1

• 

  US Mega Drive prototype box art 2

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source GamesMaster (UK) 80

	80
Based on 1 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 60 Consoles + (FR) 95 Computer & Video Games (UK) 81 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 60 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 10 (RU) 70 Games World: The Magazine (UK) PAL 82 Joypad (FR) PAL 94 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 83 Mega (UK) PAL 75 Mega Force (FR) PAL 95 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 76 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 78 Player One (FR) 91 Play Time (DE) PAL 84 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 80 Sega News (CZ) 94 Sega Power (UK) PAL 69 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 89 Todo Sega (ES) 90 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 89 Video Games (DE) PAL 82

	82
Based on 21 reviews

The Misadventures of Flink

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega-CD version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score GamePro (US) NTSC-U 68 Gamers (DE) PAL 60 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 83 Mega Force (FR) PAL 90 Next Generation (US) NTSC-U 50 Player One (FR) 92 Video Games (DE) PAL 82

	75
Based on 7 reviews

The Misadventures of Flink

Mega-CD, US
Cover
Disc Manual

Mega-CD, EU
Cover
Disc Manual

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 bef9a4f4 MD5 4b6da602b30589b18be136f60b8000b2 SHA-1 f37518380d3e41598cbff16519ca15fcb751de57	1MB	1994-07	Cartridge (EU)
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	474,045,600		CD (EU)	T-113055-50