Last week we got this game called Turrican on the ZX Spectrum, and I ended up spending the weekend both playing it and reading up on it, and what I discovered sparked enough interest for me to throw in a little video about it.
Turrican was first released on the Commodore 64 in 1990. It was developed by a German programmer named Manfred Trenz. The guy was a household name in the commodore scene in the 1980s and he is most famous for his first computer game called the Great Giana Sisters. That game was so so similar to a certain Italian plumber that Nintendo sued him concerning the game.
In Turrican you play a futuristic soldier sent to a colony that’s been invaded by an evil alien overlord. Armed with big guns and cool gadgets, you blast your way through five large levels to battle the evil MORGUL. Where Turrican stands apart from many other games is its freedom of exploration. Taking your time and looking around is loads of fun and well worth the effort.
Turrican is heavily inspired by big games on the NES like Contra and especially Metroid, but Turrican also influenced other games that would be released in the future. One game flat out stole and used graphics straight from Turrican, The game? Duke Nukem from apogee.
Turrican is heavily inspired by big games on the NES like Contra and especially Metroid, but Turrican also influenced other games that would be released in the future. One game flat out stole and used graphics straight from Turrican, The game? Duke Nukem from apogee.
Shortly after its release Turrican saw conversions to many other computers, including an Amiga version that featured highly improved graphics and a stunning soundtrack by Chris Huelsbeck. The soundtrack elevated Turrican to the legendary status it enjoys today, but the basic fact is that Turrican is a damn fine action game.
The Spectrum version, which we have here at the museum, was voted number 36 in the Your Sinclair Readers' Top 100 Games of All Time-list.
The Spectrum version, which we have here at the museum, was voted number 36 in the Your Sinclair Readers' Top 100 Games of All Time-list.
Turrican had 2 sequels made: Turrican 2 was released the year after and was also both coded by Trenz and originally intended for the C-64, however the Amiga version was completed first. Turrican 3 came the year after that but was developed by the programmers that originally converted Turrican to the Amiga.
Turrican still lives on today and in there are many fan made versions of the game available. Most notable is the game Hurrican which was released in 2008.
Turrican still lives on today and in there are many fan made versions of the game available. Most notable is the game Hurrican which was released in 2008.
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