Turrican Anthology Volume 1 review

A trio of 16-bit series entries, a director’s cut, and a single-stage score attack await Turrican fans who didn’t already purchase Flashback. Between the duplication of titles across the previous collection, splitting the anthology across two volumes, and an exorbitant price point, justifying a purchase might be far harder than any of Turrican’s boss battles.

At the time of Turrican’s release, the Commodore 64 had been in the hands of developers for eight years. The result was an incredibly diverse software library. But few titles authentically captured the frantic feel of arcade games. Sure, there were some decent ports. But largely, the aging hardware struggled to render a swarm of on-screen sprites. This is especially true for games that scrolled in multiple directions.

In 1990, Manfred Trenz bucked the trend. Turrican borrowed the multiple weapon loadouts from Data East’s Psycho-Nics Oscar while adding the kind of expansive, vertical biomes found in Nintendo’s Metroid. The result was a technical showcase, with the game’s gun-toting, bio-engineered protagonist sending out showers of projectiles to exterminate marauding foes. Turrican’s five worlds felt wonderfully precarious, with enemies who would swarm you, spikes that could impale you, and plenty of pits that threatened to swallow our hero. As such, it’s hardly surprising that the property received a succession of sequels and remakes.

Turrican Anthology Volume 1 bundles three of the series’ outings along with a single-stage score-attack culled from Mega Turrican (aka Turrican 3: Payment Day). While it’s a solid port with a few agreeable extras, the premium price tag might limit interest. Let’s take a closer look at the games in the compilation.

Turrican

Instead of including the original Turrican, the anthology opts for the Factor 5’s 1990 Amiga port. This isn’t too surprising, since this iteration is fundamentally superior, boasting Chris Hülsbeck’s stellar synth-driven soundtrack. While not everyone will agree, I do miss the scratchy voice samples of the original, which instructed players to “shoot or die” before laughing maniacally.

Fortunately, no changes were made to Turrican’s robust arsenal. Similar to Metroid, you can transform into a steel orb called the ‘gyroscrope’, rolling resistantly through treacherous areas. You also have access to a limited number of smart bombs that will destroy all subordinate on-screen enemies as well as energy lines that incinerate any foes on the same vertical level. Meanwhile, your main gun has unlimited ammo. While it emits a weak succession of beams at first, collecting some of the numerous power-ups that fly by or are hidden around each stage can augment your firearm.

Then there’s the Plasma Rope, which is (optionally) mapped to the right analog stick. It can be rotated around Turrican and the rope’s reach is extended with power-ups, making it the most useful weapon in the game. Coupled with a super-powered jump and a mildly generous energy meter, the protagonist is well-equipped to take on planet Alterra’ numerous hostilities. If the flying foes and creative bosses won’t humble you, the protruding spikes and plentiful pits just might. The sole issue here is the game’s difficulty. There are a few spikes that could thwart progress. Just as bad, the final boss fails to put up much resistance.

Turrican II aka Turrican II: The Final Fight

Turrican’s critical and commercial success led to the inevitable sequel. Again, the inclusion in the Volume 1 compilation is the superior Amiga version. But hardcore series fans might want to seek out Manfred Trenz’s own Commodore 64 follow-up. It arrived later and lacks the fidelity, a rich color palette, and visual wizardry. You’ll notice small blemishes like your projectiles obscuring environmental elements like waterfalls. But it’s widely considered one of the technical summits of Commodore 64 gaming, with feats like rendering multiple layers of parallax scrolling.

Delving into the follow-up reveals many of the same strengths as the first Turrican. Again, you’ll have a gratifying toolbox of powerful weaponry to battle adversaries. These are essential as Turrican II periodically places generators that produce a barrage of enemies. Meanwhile, your basic gun receives a new firing variant where projectiles rebound off the environment, while the Gyroscope can lay down mines. The game’s trio of side-scrolling shoot ‘em up style stages offers another interesting distinction. It’s a far better inclusion than the jetpack digression from the first title. While film tie-in Universal Soldier for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive recycled most of Turrican II, you won’t find the horizontally-scrolling segments.

Turrican II’s biggest change is a massive increase in the size of stages. Exploration and scouring each stage for hidden power-ups was already a fundamental strength in the first Turrican. With the sequel, it’s been exponentially enlarged with levels that feel truly labyrinthine. Pleasingly, the Switch port permits players to reconnoiter the level, and even scrutinize different layers. With a downward press of the right analog stick, you can view a scalable map of each stage. It’s a massively convenient feature that can be used with each game in the anthology.

Super Turrican

The version of Super Turrican included here is the SNES version. Woefully, Turrican creator Manfred Trenz gets snubbed again. In 1992, he released a European-exclusive NES game that remixed elements of the first two Turrican titles. It also delivered some interesting tweaks. The game timer was removed, a run button was added, and the gyroscope’s maneuverability was enhanced. Woefully, you’ll have to seek that out on your own, as it’s not included here. Maybe I’m a bit entitled, but if a person’s going to spend seventy dollars on the volumes, they should probably have access to every Turrican title ever coded.

With that out of the way, the SNES iteration of Super Turrican isn’t bad. Sonically, the game’s output is a bit hushed and lacks the moodiness of Chris Hülsbeck’s work. Instead, it’s oddly upbeat and cheery, mirroring the game’s vibrant color palette.

One of the biggest changes is that the Plasma Rope is nerfed. Now, it’s a Freeze Ray, temporary immobilizing enemies. But it’s also a liability. Iced foes will plummet to the ground and turn grey, but if you touch them you’ll take damage. But on the upside, Super Turrican occasionally showcases some sprite transformation effects. When you first meet the old Iron Fist boss, it’s standard size. But once provoked the adversary will swell with anger.

During production, Super Turrican was scaled back by the publisher. Originally intended for a 6MB cartridge, enemies and an entire world were removed to cram the game into a 4MB cart. Super Turrican Director’s Cut, which was originally included with the Analogue Super Nt console is included here, restoring most of the missing content and reorders the stages. Agreeably, it’s available on the Anthology. But know that the Director’s Cut brings some visual glitches that weren’t in the original game.

Finally, there’s the first stage of Mega Turrican. While I appreciate a good score attack (see Summer Carnival ’92 and ’93) the inclusion in a premium-price compilation feels like a tease. But do seek the Genesis/Mega Drive title out. The Plasma Rope functions like a grappling hook, offering an obvious nod to Bionic Commando. There’s also an inventory of movie references from the ‘80s and ‘90s, making for an engaging and amusing action title.

Conclusion

The ability to view layered level maps and rewind the game help to reduce the frustrations associated with the trio of titles found on the compilation. Pleasingly, the ports include copies of the original manual, which is a nice supplement for series fans, even if some of the information, such as control scheme details, are no longer relevant. When it comes to visual options, players can change the aspect ratio, apply filters, tweak shaders, and remap buttons. The only blemish in the package is requiring players to complete a game before cheats are unlocked.

But as a package, Turrican Anthology Volume 1 doesn’t fare as well. Between the duplication of titles found in the Turrican Flashback Collection, splitting the compilation across two volumes, and the lofty price tag, the collection seems fated to falter. And that’s a shame because Turrican deserves recognition as one of the standouts of ‘90s-era gaming.

Turrican Anthology Volume 1 was played on
Switch with review code provided by the publisher.