Super Turrican

The Good
Turrican. A fantastic, yet underrated series in the United States. Very sad too, for this is one of my most favorite games ever, and was one to redefine scrolling shooters. It became a big hit on the Amiga systems, more specifically it was the sequel from the first game, Turrican II, that made the series what it is today, thanks to the works of Factor 5 and the oh so talented music composer, Chris Huelsbeck for giving the game it's memorable music and style of gameplay that is some of the best seen and heard in video game history to this very day! Turrican is everyones favorite man-in-armor hero, and action packed adventure with killer music makes the experiance a dream come true. To give the basic rundown, you are a part of the U.S.S freedom force trying to rid the all-time evil and enslaver of the universe- The Machine. You are equipped with your Turrican assualt suit and unique powers. As the lone warrior, you jump into the fray against the evil hordes of the Machine.

Finally, Turrican has made his way to the SNES, and he's brought the classic Turrican trilogy from the Amiga days with him in every aspect. The gameplay is incredible, and the graphics are the best seen in any Turrican game ever! Turrican can morph into a ball and lay land mines, send wave lines that destroy everything on the screen, use his ice gun in 360 degree angles freezing any enemy from any distance, and ofcoarse blast his foes into oblivion with his vast array of weapons. One being a spread shooter (similair to the one in the Contra series), one that spreads into multiple orbs as they collide off walls and obstacles allowing you to hit enemies in unreachable spots, and a giant ice beam that is wide for Turrican to clear any path lined with enemies. There are also many obstacles that require timing and precision for Turrican to jump and manuever to save his life. There aren't very many levels in the game, but the game length is decent enough but not too long where any sort of save feature was needed. But the levels are vast and beautful, from scouring mountain roof tops and fighting in machine factories to gliding along ice glaciers and finishing the fight in the aliens lair, Turrican will take you into a world where imagination becomes a reality. The gameplay can be a real challenge at times, especially when you are stuck with weak power-ups, but with enough practice and patience, and a sharp eye for hidden bonuses to keep you're life meter and 1-ups high, this game can be overcomed with ease. With tons of enemies, crisp and up to par graphics and shoot 'em up gameplay with every movement only the Super Nintendo could handle, secret locations with 1-ups and crystals, and power-ups just waiting to be discovered on each advancing level, you just can't go wrong with this game!

The Bad
It wasn't as huge as the first two Amiga Turricans as far as free roam and non-linear scrolling, let alone gameplay, although it is to an extent. You don't even get to finish the fight with the Machine at the end, but the final battle is truly epic.

The Bottom Line
Think the adventure, abilities, and free-roam of Metroid, the platforming of Mario, and the intense scrolling shooter Contra. Combine all of these and you have Super Turrican. Any old school gaming fan of the 16-bit era won't want to pass this gem up!

Super Turrican has brought the exploration of free roam from Turrican, the great and remastered soundtrack by Chris Huelsbeck in Turrican II, and improved upon the graphics of Turrican 3 making this the ultimate Turrican experiance for those such as myself who never had the chance to play the original Turricans on the Amiga. This underlooked game deserved much more praise than what it had, but it was good enough to spawn a sequel, Super Turrican 2, which is so far the last Turrican game ever made. But the adventure is just beginning. Turrican will return. And always remember, Shoot or Die!