Before Factor 5 made fantastic Star Wars games on N64 and Gamecube, they released many titles spanning numerous consoles in their Turrican series. With the help of Ratalaika Games, these classic run-and-gun titles have been given new life on modern consoles spread throughout two Anthologies.

Turrican Anthology Vol.1 contains:

-Turrican (Amiga)

-Turrican II (Amiga)

-Super Turrican (SNES)

-Super Turrican: Director’s Cut (SNES)

-Mega Turrican Score Attack (Mega Drive, single-stage score-based mode)

Turrican Anthology Vol.2 contains:

-Mega Turrican (Mega Drive)

-Turrican 3 (Amiga)

-Super Turrican 2 (SNES)

-Mega Turrican Director’s Cut (Mega Drive)

-Super Turrican Score Attack Mode

The Turrican games often get compared to the Contra series as they both feature high action, dudes carrying large machine guns, and plenty of things to kill. But the similarities end there as Turrican features sprawling stages that require backtracking and a map feature to keep track of where to go and where you have been sort of Metroid-ish. These games, especially for the time, were quite detailed and impressive considering the limited hardware in which they were produced.

If you never played Turrican you need to know one thing – you are going to die. A lot. And without mercy. These games are super hard and make Contra look like a birthday party. Like other recently released Ratalaika titles, quality emulation features are available including rewind, save states, border options, and numerous screen filters options. Just keep in mind, when playing on Playstation, the only way to earn Trophies is to play in the original Challenge Mode which doesn’t allow for all these cheating features.  In fact, earning almost any Trophy is extremely difficult due to the high challenge. It is also odd that Mega Turrican is included in Vol.2 but the score attack version of that game is included in Vol.1.

Sure, the insane amount of enemies that attack you is a challenge but there are other things that hold back the player. For example, you cannot shoot up and the camera is a terrible product of its time. Instead of centering the player, you are positioned near the edge of the screen so you have no time to react when enemies enter your line of sight. Unless you grew up with these games, and even then, it is difficult to go back to gameplay that is so difficult and unfairly treats the player.

The other detail to note is the cost of admission.  The $35 asking price would have been high if both compilations were combined so I fear this steep cost is only going to appeal to those dedicated long-time fans. Yes, the emulation is great, the features are wonders, and the added bonuses like the jukebox and score attack features are cool, but the high price coupled with the steep and unfair difficulty of that era is definitely not for everyone.

SCORE: 7/10

Also Try: Metal Slug Anthology (PS2/Wii/PSP)  

Wouldn’t It Be Cool If: we got a Factor 5 Star Wars Collection from the N64/GC eras

Wait For It: The TMNT Cowabunga Collection

By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com

Twitter: @ZackGaz

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