Turrican II

Turrican II: The Final Fight is a run-and-gun game developed by Factor 5 and published by Rainbow Arts in 1991. The first version, designed by Manfred Trenz and Andreas Escher, was developed by Rainbow Arts for the Commodore 64. Still, this release was published after the Amiga port made by Factor 5.

Factor5 curated all the other conversions, including CDTV, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, and ZX Spectrum. Later, the game was released again, this time by Accolade under the name Universal Soldier for DOS, Genesis, and Game Boy.

Turrican II is the direct continuation of Turrican, developed a year earlier. After this title, the franchise continued with another 5 installments of the saga, not counting other parts that were canceled.

The story takes place in the year 3025, a time when peace and law reigned. Seeking to break the barriers of space, Avalon 1, the United Planets Ship, gathered the most qualified soldiers for this mission. While they were talking about the details of the operation, a mysterious ship materialized next to Avalon 1. After destroying its defenses, the mutants that were part of it break into it and start killing its crew. A few minutes later, the last invader enters the ship and presents himself as The Machine, the aliens' leader. After celebrating the deaths of his enemies, the villain, half-robot and half-human, orders his soldiers to return to the ship and leave the place. At the moment they obey the order to retreat, Bren McGuire, who faked his death, gets up and searches for the latest combat gear. So, at the cry of "Revenge!", the protagonist sets out to stop the evil emperor.

The gameplay is very similar to that of the Metroid. The players must explore maze-like levels by eliminating enemies wherever they appear. To do this, they will have several weapons at their disposal. Among these is The Wheel, which the protagonist can transform into to wipe out small enemies and be invulnerable in the process. The adventure also features many hidden power-ups that improve weapons or the shield, granting temporary defense.

The game's graphics present a constant conflict between the land and the background. The former is usually composed of warm colors, oversaturated structures, and lines everywhere, giving the impression of destruction and instability. The colors typically follow the enemies or the elements of the ground, so they mix and become part of the whole. In contrast, the sky is almost always clean and features a single cold color. This adds air to the overall picture and helps the player not feel overwhelmed by so much visual information.

The music is composed by the famous video game composer Chris Huelsbeck, whose work on Turrican is considered one of his best. The German musician took the trouble to create a song for each boss, with futuristic action beats that evoke adrenaline and threat for each rival.

Turrican 2 is a real masterpiece that made the history of video games. For Amiga and Commodore 64 users, it represents more than a game; it represents a religion. For all the others, it's an excellent entry for the run-and-gun series, so if you want to have a good time going through hordes of classic enemies, you should give it a try.

Turrican 2 is in our Top 20 Commodore 64 Games of all time.