Star Trek: The Next Generation: Future's Past

Overview

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Future's Past is a 1994 Super Nintendo adventure game with ship combat and top-down shooter "away mission" sections. It is based on the sci-fi TV show of the same name, featuring the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise D in the 24th century. Rather than base the game on one of the many episodes of the show, a story was created especially for this game and its Sega Genesis equivalent Star Trek: The Next Generation: Echoes of the Past.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Future's Past was released simultaneously with the nearly identical, yet much better regarded, Sega Genesis version Star Trek: The Next Generation: Echoes of the Past. The biggest difference between the two is that the bonus level in the Genesis version, which is unlocked through a laborious process, is made to be the first level in the SNES version. This added level makes the beginning of the SNES version bafflingly difficult. Further, the inclusion of this level in the SNES version created plot incongruities which were corrected by eliminating the ability to use certain away-team members in certain levels. However, the difficulty of these levels does not adjust itself for this fact and again renders the game a controller-thrower.

Gameplay

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Future's Past centers around the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D. From here the player can scroll left or right to choose what they would like to do. For example, they can access the computer which provides access to Star Trek lore, both specific to the game and not, or can access navigation, or provide access to the briefing room and a run down of the current situation; etc.

Over the course of the game's story the player is given objectives usually involving navigating to a planet, choosing who will be in the 'away-team', and completing mission-objectives. These objectives involve moving the away-team, each member of which can only be controlled one at a time, through a top-down maze and flipping switches to open doors; not unlike many dungeon crawlers of the time.

The plot centers around the Enterprise searching for some kind of time-machine. The game's antagonists are the Romulans and a non-canon species called the Chodak.