Oh My God... Turrican... Oh My God

[+thegoldenband]

It's pretty easy for me to quantify. Just watching that Amiga Turrican video makes me sick to the stomach (OK, not seriously, but still). The biggest thing for me are the repetitive flow-stopping obstacles that give you very little leeway to get past or through (and I'm talking like just one or two frames of leeway). This results in a game that's more of a nuisance to play than actually fun.

 

Oh, man, all I can think of from that description is Shadow of the Beast II. Now there's a game that feels like 10% "aha!" and 90% getting the crap beaten out of you.

 

In addition to the well-known European preference for computers over consoles in the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, I wonder if latitude has anything to do with the difference in style, especially in Northern Europe? We often forget that even the northernmost parts of the contiguous US are only a whisker further north than, say, Paris. Maybe those long winter nights had some influence on the attention span and preferences of European gamers. I certainly am more willing to put time into certain games when I'm snowed in.

[Gredler]

 

the other way around, actually. It is a scaled down Mega Turrican. Graphics had to be downgraded.

 

On-topic:

 

Turrican is a game I never got warm with myself, but Action 52 quality? Please... there are a lot worse MD games.

 

 

The C64 and Amiga version is said to be somewhat better, not that I can tell much of a difference beside some graphic effects.

Yet the thing is: It is a cult classic. Turrican on Amiga, we are talking about one of THE premier games on the system beside Shadow of the Beast; but with better gameplay. Turrican was a game that scored 90 ratings all over the place, sowas Turrican 2. Technically and gameplaywise it was regarded as ingenious.

 

Again, I never got into it myself, mostly because of the lack of hit feedback (enemies run through you and drain your health and your sprite does not react). But since the Amiga and MD versions are really not that far apart, I think the reaction here must be either a result of different tastes between NA and Europe, or it comes from playing in 2014 instead of 1990.

 

The MD version was not that well received because the Amiga version had been out a while and was somewhat better; having up AND a button assigned to jump at the same time did not help.

 

But the gameplay is intact, if sadly sped up for NA players (designed for 50hz on Amiga naturally).

 

What you must understand: It is NOT Contra. It is not meant to be. The point of Turrican is freedom and exploration of the vast levels. The Dreamcast/Neo Geo indie game Gunlord, very well received, is a Turrican clone.

 

And while technically better, Mega Turrican (let alone Suer Turrican) are not as well-received as (Amiga) Turrican and Turrican 2. The loss of freedom and the alround shot did not go over well with players.

 

To this day, it puzzles me why the MD gamers hate Turrican so much, while it is praised by Amiga players, despite being almost identical. The biggest advantage on Amiga is the better rendition of Chris Hülsbecks soundtrack.

I find the difference in reception fascinating.

 

To show the reception of the C64/Amiga originals, here's the reception boxes from Wikipedia and Moby:

 

turrican.jpg

 

Have I not gotten into it deep enough? Are the tastes between NA and Europe that different? Or the tastes of computer gamers and console gamers?

 

Saw your post too late... so you really think gameplay is that severly screwed up to make THAT MUCH of a difference? I don't get far on either Amiga or MD version myself...

 

 

 

Thanks for posting this and making me feel less insane for not hating this game. I've player Super Turrican, and Turrican on Genesis, about the same amount, and they honestly don't seem to have as large a gap between them as this thread makes it seem. Super Turrican has smoother control and gameplay and graphics, but I would expect that from a sequel. After watching the Amiga video posted earlier this thread I felt like questioning what I was missing aside from the 50 to 60hz speed difference, music, and minor graphical differences. It's not the best game I own on Genesis, but I have had fun playing it the time I have. This whole discussion makes me very curious about Mega Turrican - is it really significantly better?

[Austin]

 

 

This whole discussion makes me very curious about Mega Turrican - is it really significantly better?

 

Compared to the first? Absolutely.

 

http://youtu.be/6Nw4kR1zNzk

[Gredler]

 

Compared to the first? Absolutely.

 

http://youtu.be/6Nw4kR1zNzk

That does look a lot better, makes sense why it's 3x as expensive as the original Turrican. Looks like a blast

[mbd30]

I got Mega Turrican cartridge and case for $5 from a video store around 10 years ago. It's a cool game. People complain about the excessive difficulty of the original Turrican, but Mega Turrican is pretty forgiving. I beat it without much trouble.

[Chuck D. Head]

Thanks for your video DestinedCruz! With it, I can see that I only ever made it about 2/3 of the way through the first level, but that handful of 1ups early in level two looks like a good goal for me to strive for.

[+save2600]

Enjoyed reading what was said about the Amiga version and impact it had on the system and perceptions in general. Spot on! Turrican (all versions) were tour-de-force's as far as arcade computer games went back then. Absolutely loved it myself. It was a tad tough, but not joystick smashing difficult.

 

Had a friend (who happened to have an Amiga 500 too at the time and we'd frequently play Turrican) that would literally smash his SNES controller across his forehead when I'd beat him as Blanka at Street Fighter.