Turrican 2
Encyclopedia
Turrican II: The Final Fight is the second game of the Turrican
series. The game by Factor 5
was released in 1991 for the Commodore Amiga. This version was finished before the C64
version, but Manfred Trenz
cites the C64 version as the original design. Turrican 2 was also released for the CDTV
, Atari ST
, Amstrad CPC
and ZX Spectrum
, and later for PC MS-DOS
.
Suddenly, a huge battlecruiser materializes in close proximity of the Avalon 1. The crew hurry to take up their battle stations amid the sounding of the alert sirens. The automated defence systems of the ship activate, the anti-radiation shields surround the ship and finally the weapon systems are armed. Somehow, with some unknown technology, the enemy battlecruiser, with a flash of blinding light, neutralizes every defence system on the Avalon 1. The sound of an explosion fills the air as an airlock of the ship disintegrates and mutants begin to pour through. The crew fight desperately to save their ship with their phasers and dozens of the invaders fall to death, but they press forward their attack and the crew of the Avalon 1 start to fall down while desperately engaging them in hand-to-hand fighting. One of the Avalon 1 soldiers, Bren McGuire, with tears in his eyes, fires the last of his phaser bolts, downing a mutant and diving to the ground as a chunk of structure falls from above.
After a intense fight that wipes out all tripulants of the ship, there is silence as the evil emperor known as The Machine, half man half robot, enters the airlock and commands his mutants back to the battle cruiser. The Machine surveys the carnage, steps forward and comes to halt with one foot on the prone body of Bren McGuire. "Excellent", he says to himself, "the crew of Avalon 1 are no more". Then, without any further hesitation, he turns and leaves the ship. Bren McGuire lays still until he is certain that he is alone on the ravaged ship. Realizing that he is the only left to combat the evil of the invaders and restore peace and freedom to the galaxy, he gets up and hurries to the equipment room. There, Bren sights the new Turrican fighting suits, which are built of the most advanced technology known to mankind. Climbing into the suit, one last cry is heard from him: "Revenge!"
and Psycho-Nics Oscar. While the huge detailed labyrinth levels and the morph-ball function were inspired by Metroid, the overall graphics design and weapons were inspired by Psycho-Nics Oscar.
The game is divided into five distinct "worlds" each with its own themed music provided by Chris Huelsbeck, plus a final showdown with the Boss known as "The Machine". There is a music menu accessible by pressing the Space-Bar (AMIGA version), where all the ingame music is available to be listened to. The music to Turrican II is widely regarded as one of Huelsbecks best compositions, and it was performed live by a full orchestra at the second Symphonic Game Music Concert
in 2004.
Power-ups
Hidden in the worlds are many Power-Up blocks, which can be discovered by hitting them with weapons fire. They contain shields, health & primary and secondary weapon power-ups.
Wheel
The Wheel is an indestructible ball that the player can switch to by pressing the down key and then Space-Bar or a second button on a joystick that surports it.
Unlike its predecessor the indestructible wheel mode can be used an unlimited number of times. The Wheel will destroy most small enemies on contact, others can be destroyed using the primary fire mode which fires small bombs on the ground. There is also an ultra-fire mode which can be used once per life by pressing fire and Space-bar at the same time.
Shield
Protection from damage for a limited time.
were produced by The Code Monkeys for Accolade, who had kept the rights for the console ports of the franchise. But at a late stage, Accolade also acquired rights to produce a game spin-off of the Jean-Claude Van Damme
movie Universal Soldier
and decided to rebrand the game as Universal Soldier. Turrican's sprite
was changed into a marine and several other substitutions were made. Amongst other changes, the eyeballs-walking-on-fingers became mini tanks, and instead of a large mech/steel dragon in the first stage, the player now faces a large representation of Dolph Lundgren
's character in the movie.
The three shoot 'em up
stages, cut out from the port, were replaced by the developers with three original stages (a Vietnam
jungle, a fortress, and a motel/car junkyard) that in theory should link the game to the movie's atmosphere. The rest of the original Turrican II stages are still present and remain mostly intact in overall design, though some of them appear in different order, along with the three new levels differently scattered through them.
A version of Universal Soldier was also produced for the SNES
, but it was never published and only exists in the form of leaked ROM
.
Turrican
Turrican is a 1989 video game programmed and designed by Manfred Trenz. It was first developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts, but was ported to other systems later. In addition to concept design and character creation, Trenz personally programmed Turrican on the Commodore 64...
series. The game by Factor 5
Factor 5
Factor 5 GmbH is an independent software and video game developer. The company was originally co-founded by five former Rainbow Arts employees in 1987 in Cologne, Germany, which served as the inspiration behind the studio's name....
was released in 1991 for the Commodore Amiga. This version was finished before the C64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
version, but Manfred Trenz
Manfred Trenz
Manfred Trenz is a German computer game developer. He was the developer of the popular Turrican video game series, the Commodore 64 version of the game R-Type and also The Great Giana Sisters. Several of his games have achieved cult status...
cites the C64 version as the original design. Turrican 2 was also released for the CDTV
CDTV
The CDTV was a multimedia platform developed by Commodore International and launched in 1991. On a technological level it was essentially a Commodore Amiga 500 home computer in a Hi-Fi style case with a single-speed CD-ROM drive. Commodore marketed the machine as an all-in-one home multimedia...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
, Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
and ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, and later for PC MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
.
Story
The timedate is 3025. For decades peace, freedom, and the rule of law in galaxy Cobra 2 have been enforced by the United Planets Freedom Forces. The United Planets Ship, the Avalon 1, is drifting through the outer reaches of the known universe. Colonel Ardon C. Striker and his crew are preparing for the final passage through the barrier of the galaxy.Suddenly, a huge battlecruiser materializes in close proximity of the Avalon 1. The crew hurry to take up their battle stations amid the sounding of the alert sirens. The automated defence systems of the ship activate, the anti-radiation shields surround the ship and finally the weapon systems are armed. Somehow, with some unknown technology, the enemy battlecruiser, with a flash of blinding light, neutralizes every defence system on the Avalon 1. The sound of an explosion fills the air as an airlock of the ship disintegrates and mutants begin to pour through. The crew fight desperately to save their ship with their phasers and dozens of the invaders fall to death, but they press forward their attack and the crew of the Avalon 1 start to fall down while desperately engaging them in hand-to-hand fighting. One of the Avalon 1 soldiers, Bren McGuire, with tears in his eyes, fires the last of his phaser bolts, downing a mutant and diving to the ground as a chunk of structure falls from above.
After a intense fight that wipes out all tripulants of the ship, there is silence as the evil emperor known as The Machine, half man half robot, enters the airlock and commands his mutants back to the battle cruiser. The Machine surveys the carnage, steps forward and comes to halt with one foot on the prone body of Bren McGuire. "Excellent", he says to himself, "the crew of Avalon 1 are no more". Then, without any further hesitation, he turns and leaves the ship. Bren McGuire lays still until he is certain that he is alone on the ravaged ship. Realizing that he is the only left to combat the evil of the invaders and restore peace and freedom to the galaxy, he gets up and hurries to the equipment room. There, Bren sights the new Turrican fighting suits, which are built of the most advanced technology known to mankind. Climbing into the suit, one last cry is heard from him: "Revenge!"
Gameplay
Turrican II can be described as a cross between MetroidMetroid
is an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988...
and Psycho-Nics Oscar. While the huge detailed labyrinth levels and the morph-ball function were inspired by Metroid, the overall graphics design and weapons were inspired by Psycho-Nics Oscar.
The game is divided into five distinct "worlds" each with its own themed music provided by Chris Huelsbeck, plus a final showdown with the Boss known as "The Machine". There is a music menu accessible by pressing the Space-Bar (AMIGA version), where all the ingame music is available to be listened to. The music to Turrican II is widely regarded as one of Huelsbecks best compositions, and it was performed live by a full orchestra at the second Symphonic Game Music Concert
Symphonic Game Music Concert
The Symphonic Game Music Concerts are a series of award-winning, annual German video game music concerts initiated in 2003, notable for being the longest running and the first of their kind outside of Japan...
in 2004.
Weapons
There are three primary weapons Bounce, Laser and Multiple. Each weapon has several levels of fire-power. In addition, there is a white laser "wall" which sweeps out from either side of the player. The player starts off with only three of these at the start of each life. There is also a very powerful secondary weapon activated by holding down the fire-button. This takes the form of a long segmented steerable laser beam which is essential for defeating Bosses.Power-ups
Hidden in the worlds are many Power-Up blocks, which can be discovered by hitting them with weapons fire. They contain shields, health & primary and secondary weapon power-ups.
Wheel
The Wheel is an indestructible ball that the player can switch to by pressing the down key and then Space-Bar or a second button on a joystick that surports it.
Unlike its predecessor the indestructible wheel mode can be used an unlimited number of times. The Wheel will destroy most small enemies on contact, others can be destroyed using the primary fire mode which fires small bombs on the ground. There is also an ultra-fire mode which can be used once per life by pressing fire and Space-bar at the same time.
Shield
Protection from damage for a limited time.
Universal Soldier
Console conversions of Turrican II for the Mega Drive and Game BoyGame Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
were produced by The Code Monkeys for Accolade, who had kept the rights for the console ports of the franchise. But at a late stage, Accolade also acquired rights to produce a game spin-off of the Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
movie Universal Soldier
Universal Soldier (1992 film)
Universal Soldier is a 1992 American science fiction action film directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren as soldiers who kill each other in Vietnam but are reanimated in a secret Army project along with a large group of other previously dead...
and decided to rebrand the game as Universal Soldier. Turrican's sprite
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
was changed into a marine and several other substitutions were made. Amongst other changes, the eyeballs-walking-on-fingers became mini tanks, and instead of a large mech/steel dragon in the first stage, the player now faces a large representation of Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren is a Swedish actor, director, and martial artist. He belongs to a generation of film actors who epitomise the movie action hero stereotype including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme.A graduate in chemical...
's character in the movie.
The three shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
stages, cut out from the port, were replaced by the developers with three original stages (a Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
jungle, a fortress, and a motel/car junkyard) that in theory should link the game to the movie's atmosphere. The rest of the original Turrican II stages are still present and remain mostly intact in overall design, though some of them appear in different order, along with the three new levels differently scattered through them.
A version of Universal Soldier was also produced for the SNES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, but it was never published and only exists in the form of leaked ROM
ROM image
A ROM image, or ROM file, is a computer file which contains a copy of the data from a read-only memory chip, often from a video game cartridge, a computer's firmware, or from an arcade game's main board...
.
External links
- Turrican II: The Final Fight at MobyGames