REVIEW : Turrican Flashback (PS4)
Turrican Flashback analysis allows us to recover four legendary games from the 90s, on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, it is a remastered version that includes some extras, such as filters, or the possibility of saving our game at any time.
It is curious that recently I have rescued some Factor 5 games and now I am reunited with the game that enshrined them: Turrican. You can read it in this opinion about the return of Lucas film Games.
In the analysis of Turrican Flashback, we recover the first four games of the saga; a series that today has fallen into oblivion but that at the time was a demonstration of technical power. It was one of those jaw-dropping games running on a Commodore Amiga. And 30 years later, it is still understood why.
When the players had become accustomed to the developments of lateral advance, which alternated jumps and shots, Turrican took a risk with scenarios built in the four directions, which had to be explored horizontally and vertically. This is not a Metroid-style exploration … in this case, the scenarios do not have barriers that force us to go back and get new powers.
The reward for going to the last corner of each phase is in weapons and power-ups, diamonds and above all lives, which we will need as we move forward.
Ah, first of all, if you are wondering where the name of the game comes from, Turrican is not a character, but the armoured suit that the special forces of the future use to fight in the Alterra colony. This suit allows you to shoot all kinds of ammunition, use a tractor beam and roll as if we were an armoured ball.
The Turrican collection
Turrican Flashback is a compilation of the first four games, strictly remastered. That is, the graphics are the same as we enjoyed at the time, conveniently rescaled so that we can enjoy them in HD with total clarity. We can also apply CRT filters to preserve the retro look, and modify the frames if we play in 4: 3 or convert the game to panoramic format.
Adaptation doesn’t stop there; A convenient save system is included in any part of the game, and the possibility of rewinding during our game, which makes things much easier for us, but on the other hand, deactivates the achievements of the game (it is a fair decision). Lastly, the control system has been modified to accommodate gamepad use.
This is how we dive into these 4 games, which are as “fresh” as the first day. Turrican (1990) is the least showy of all, particularly because of the “empty” backgrounds, but the animations are smooth, and the gameplay frenetic. Being an original development for computers, the control is a little more complicated, due to the number of simultaneous weapons we control.
It is from Turrican 2 (1991) when we find more current graphics, and they continue to work like a charm. The second part innovates in the use of a spaceship for the flight levels and had a much more careful intro, with manga style.
The third game in the collection, Super Turrican, from 1993, is a version for Super Nintendo that took elements from the previous two, along with completely new scenarios. Not only was it a graphical delight (it was in the nineties and still is today) but it had a simpler control system, adapted to the console.
The scenarios had several very well integrated parallax scrolling planes, a much more intense colour palette made caves, lava rivers and underwater sequences remain etched on our retina, and also the prodigious mode 7 allowed zoom effects and rotations.
There were also transparency effects, and some huge sprites to bring to life a good collection of final enemies. Even weather effects, such as snow or wind, were introduced that affected the gameplay.
The game featured a new intro sequence and, above all, an extraordinary soundtrack, which still sounds luxurious today. It may not be comparable to Super Metroid in terms of gameplay depth, but it is one of the most enjoyable games in the collection today. In particular, it gains more value when we consider that it is not included in the virtual console catalogue or the Super NES Mini.
Lastly, 1994’s Mega Turrican (released for the Sega Mega Drive) didn’t have the same colour palette or sound quality as the old one, but it was a completely new game. The scenarios were more linear, but instead, a grapple to explore was introduced instead of the tractor beam.
In what the four titles coincide is in spectacular music composed by Chris Huelsbeck, and that continues to sound luxurious. Although what we most remembered were those digitized voices that said “welcome to Turrican” or “power-up” when picking up an object.
A very modern style
After 30 years, Turrican is still very current. 2D action games have been kept very alive thanks to independent development (last year we were able to enjoy the outstanding Huntdown, and today the Cyber-Shadow ninja game that is based on this style is coming out), but it is still a joy to return to the classics. Here you can read our analysis of Cyber-Shadow.
The remastering is very faithful to the original material (it adapts it to modern systems, but without changing the artistic style) and the only thing missing is that some extras have been included, such as production documents, and especially the fifth game in the saga, Super Turrican 2, to complete the collection.
The ability to save the game at any time and the rewind button also convert these games into titles that are very accessible to all players. And the collectors, to whom this launch is directed, surely appreciate that it is launched in physical format and at a reduced price.
