Developer Factor 5
Publisher Rainbow Arts
Genre Run and gun
Released 1990Turrican
If you held down the fire button, Turrican would fire
out his lightning whip, harnessing a thick beam of
energy that could be rotated to take out enemies
at any angle. Though its range was limited to begin
with, once lengthened via upgrades it became
almost unstoppable.
CLASSIC WEAPON
D
espite attracting the attention
of Nintendo’s lawyers with The
Great Giana Sisters, designer
and coder Manfred Trenz
wasn’t about to shy away from his
affection for that company’s games.
Turrican owed a clear debt to Metroid- not least in the protagonists Morph
Ball-esque circular saw transformation - but in the way it blended labyrinthine
levels with Contra-like shooting, it felt
like its own game. With bold and exciting
boss fights (the first stage alone sends
out a giant robot fist to pound you into
submission) and a wonderful Chris
Huelsbeck soundtrack, Turrican proved
that console-style games could work
just as well on computers.