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Retro Game Club Discussion Thread - 04 - Super Turrican [community]
 

The Turrican series originated on the Commodore 64 and its existence was taken as proof that at a time when action games were usually made a) by the Japanese and b) for consoles only, the West could create a balls-out PC action game that can hang with the best of the genre.

Usually defined as a fusion of Metroid and Contra, both Turrican games had huge labyrinthine levels, immense firepower, and fast-paced action. The real thrill of the game is exploring every nook and cranny and discover the secrets hidden everywhere. You are packed with weaponry, and you can roll up into a ball and drop mines as you go (hmmm...).

Sadly, the C64 games are not available on the Virtual Console.

But the game we get to play is usually considered the most faithful console adaptation of this franchise! The Megadrive had a complete port that suffered from problematic sound (a crime considering the quality of the soundtrack) and controls, followed by a linear original game that seemed to miss the point.

But Super Turrican got the right idea. Almost completely original, and developed by the now legendary Factor 5 development studio, Super Turrican had gameplay reminiscent of the original games, a soundtrack optimized for the SNES's powerful sound chip (look at that Dolby Surround logo on the box!), and it controls very smoothly. Purists complain about the snow level which seems out of place for the franchise, as well as the fact that the game as a whole seems like a "patchwork" of the previous games. But who cares? It's as close to the Turrican experience as we can get without getting a C64 or Amiga.


Above: the Amiga version of Turrican, which we won't be playing

Why not add Super Turrican to your collection, and indicate you are currently playing it? And don't forget to rate it when you're done!


List of Awesome
A list paying tribute to all the brave warriors who play the game to completion
Nate38
X-pert74
Guillaume
VofEscaflowne
helaciouscrumb

List of Awesomer
To get on this list, attempt a time or score attack
nate38 - 1 hour, 20 minutes
X-pert74 - 182,400 points
VofEscaflowne - 228,000 points
Guillaume - 234,100 points

List of Awesomest
A list for one (or two). Reserved for time or score attack record holder(s)
nate38 - 1 hour, 20 minutes
Guillaume - 234,100 points

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05/14/11, 06:38    Edited: 10/27/11, 08:07
 
   
 
@X-pert74

Congratulations!

@Guillaume

Fix the Aweosme LIst, G-Bird!
05/18/11, 03:49   
@X-pert74 JOIN ME ATOP THE MOUNTAIN, FRIEND.

Yeah, the final boss isn't bad at all. A little anticlimactic after such a tough game, but at least it isn't cheap.


@Mr_Mustache I would play Zelda (the original, right?). I have never played it. Not among my top choices but I'd RGC it. So yeah, if you decide to nominate it then it'll get at least one vote.
05/18/11, 03:53   
Edited: 05/18/11, 03:54
@nate38

I mean, I've totally beaten that game. I've never beaten the 2nd Quest though. I've PLAYED the 2nd Quest, but never beaten in.

I do not fear that game.


Now, it really has come to my attention that a GREAT number of people around here haven't beaten Zelda. I'm not sure why. So yeah, that game will be nominated one way or another.

--And I'll try to join you guys later tonight.
05/18/11, 04:10   
I just started playing the first level, pretty good game except I keep wanting to shoot at angles like in Contra with the main weapon but can't. I'll get used to it though.
05/18/11, 06:53   
@nate38 The final boss reminds me of the game Aladdin



EDIT: I love Super Turrican's music!


05/18/11, 10:09   
Edited: 05/18/11, 11:39
Hey guys, I just read on another message board that if you play Super Turrican on Easy, you can't get access to the last stage. Sucks for you guys playing on Easy
05/18/11, 21:13   
@X-pert74



Does anyone remember this? I seriously used to listen to this for hours on end. I'm not sure why. I mean, I loved it, but I'm not sure why this in particular grabbed me so much. This was released well before the GC came out, and shortly after it was revealed at Spaceworld so maybe it was just my hype.

Also, here's IGN's old preview on the game. It was supposed to be the spiritual successor to Super Turrican if I'm not mistaken. I don't think this particular article makes mention of it but I definitely remember reading it in another article of theirs. Oh and it was also moved from N64 to cube.
IGN Thornado behind closed doors

Don't you love how similar the music sounds to Super Turrican? I wonder what happened to this composer....
05/18/11, 21:46   
Edited: 05/18/11, 21:52
@X-pert74 But on the other hand, if I don't play on easy, I can't get access to most of the stages.

Well. It depends. Certain Treasure games/etc. also do that with easy, but I often still start on easy to get myself used to everything and get far in the game and understand the mechanics yada yada before switching to medium or hard.

In this case though, not sure how far I will get regardless. I really like the game, but finding time lately is tough...
05/18/11, 21:55   
@carlosrox

Cool, though not as good as Super Turrican's music.
05/18/11, 22:18   
Gah!

You do get better as you play the game more. I got to the snow levels with 10 lives banked. But then a series of frustrating platforming mishaps brought that number down pretty quickly. And when I get to the section after that, forget about it. I still haven't quite found the ideal way to dispose of the face huggers without putting myself in danger.

Then I got to the on-rails section and... well, I gotta work on that. Lost all my continues. So frustrating!

How come you're so good at this game, nate? (Whenever I ask, no one ever tells me how they got their superpowers. But some day, maybe...)
05/19/11, 08:31   
How much longer is this going? I haven't started yet!
05/19/11, 22:27   
I think Ninja Gaiden has shown that 3 weeks is enough for this type of game. More than that and people are just twiddling their thumbs.

That said, I may be too busy in the next few weeks to start a new one. We'll see.

edit - It's not as if people can't keep playing after a new RGC has started. I don't really expect anyone to participate in all of them, and keep up with all of them.
05/19/11, 22:33   
Edited: 05/19/11, 22:33
Guillaume said:
I think Ninja Gaiden has shown that 3 weeks is enough for this type of game. More than that and people are just twiddling their thumbs.

That said, I may be too busy in the next few weeks to start a new one. We'll see.

SEE, SOMETIMES PEOPLE DO THINGS OTHER THAN SIT AROUND PLAYING GAMES ALL DAY.
05/19/11, 22:53   
Guillaume said:
How come you're so good at this game, nate?
I'm not sure, it was over before I could figure it out myself ;-P

Gotta be patient with the facehuggers. If you can't seem to get a shot on them, move out of the way and let them go by and try from behind. Or maybe you could try rolling into them? I never actually tried that, but it would make sense, considering you have to morph ball to kill them.
05/20/11, 00:41   
Is there some reason I can't always roll into a ball?
05/20/11, 07:10   
There's a meter in the top-right corner of the screen. It gradually decreases while in morph ball mode. No more ballin' once it's gone.
05/20/11, 07:16   
Whew. Finished, finally!

I gotta agree, the final boss was anticlimactic. That said, great game! And I make the list of awesomest!

I think that means more people need to get on this!

Nate, X-pert, are you tempted at all to try the other games on the VC? Mega Turrican with its grappling hook? Super Turrican 2 with its vehicles?
05/20/11, 09:58   
Edited: 05/20/11, 10:00
Congratulations

I want to get those games at some point. Mega Turrican is fairly easy to get online, but cartridges of Super Turrican 2 are insanely expensive (about $80 for a loose copy ). I may end up getting the VC version of Super Turrican 2 for that reason, but I hope to get a cartridge copy of Mega Turrican; partly because I only have three Genesis games and want to add more to my collection.
05/20/11, 10:15   
Edited: 05/20/11, 10:17
I'm sure Super 2 and Mega are fine games, but I'm not especially driven to try them out. I mean, they might only last me an hour, you know?

I'd probably give them a try if I didn't have much else to play, but I've got to marathon L.A. Noire this weekend so I can play Dead or Alive Dimensions next week...and then I've got Infamous 2 coming after that...and so on into the unforeseen...

It never ends, this curse called GameFly...
05/20/11, 23:04   
Beat it! Didn't even use a single continue this time! What the heck at that final level/boss though. Contra much?
05/22/11, 02:17   
Edited: 05/22/11, 02:18
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