What was this old PC 2d platformer game with a big brain for a boss?

Question

I'm looking for an old game, which I don't remember much from. It was a 2d platformer/shooter/action game of some sort, and I'm certain of the following characteristics:

• it was a PC game, or at least available for PC, before 1995 (and possibly, before 1993 or earlier)
• it had at least some plot (quite unusual for action games in that time)
• it had a modern or futuristic setting
• the game (or at least a chapter) started with the player listening to the dying words of an npc.
• there were a number of trapdoors, and some secret areas could be reached, or dangerous areas avoided by clever rolling/falling through one trapdoor and quickly avoiding falling through the next one.
• the end boss was a giant brain, with moving pieces of bulletproof glass protecting it, and good timing was needed to shoot it when vulnerable.
• after that "brain" was defeated, the player was informed, that there is a "backup brain" or something, deep underground (in the core of the planet?)

This game was quite advanced for its time, but strangely I did not find it in any hall of fames list.

It might be that after the defeating of the last "brain" thing, the player escaped by a helicopter or small spacecraft, while the planet(/continent?) was exploding. Of this I'm not sure, because I might confuse this memory with the ending of Contra.

Answer

The full title of the game you're looking for is Flashback: The Quest for Identity. A truly excellent game that changes location several times, with each new location providing new kinds of challenges (be they puzzles or enemies).

Flashback is in many ways a sequel to Out Of This World, one of the first cinematic gaming experiences.

While I don't know of Flashback winning any gaming awards, Out Of This World definitely did. I think Flashback was up against much more serious 3D games when it was released and they stole most of the spotlight.

Additional Note: Heart of the Alien can also be considered a sequel, but was far from widely available and was made by a different company. More of an "I stole yer IP!" than anything, really.

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