History VideoGame / Turrican

** Turrican originally began development as a Commodore 64 game by Rainbow Arts. Factor 5, who were working on the Amiga version, originally planned their version as a straight port, but then they decided to make it an original game inspired by the C64 version.
** Turrican 2 was developed the same way as well, only this time the Amiga version was the original and the C64 version was the adaptation.
** Similarly Super Turrican was released for consoles in two versions. While the NES version handled by Rainbow Arts, the SNES version was done by Factor 5.

* ExcusePlot: Most of the series. Why does Morgul the god of nightmares have a robot army? We didn't ask and neither should you.

* MultipleChoicePast: The manual for [[http://www.lemonamiga.com/games/docs.php?id=1693 the Amiga version]] of ''Turrican'' describes the main villain, MORGUL, as an ancient creature that spreads nightmares, and it makes it sound like the game is in a fantasy setting. However, [[http://www.retrogameguide.com/games/Genesis-Turrican/ the Genesis version's manual]] talks about space colonies and mutants and describes MORGUL as a computer. (This one is more in keeping with the actual game.) The former falls under CanonDiscontinuity as the latter description is used for ''Flashback'''s description of the first game.

''Turrican'' is a video game series that got started by Manfred Trenz. The original entry was first released on the Platform/{{Commodore 64}}, and then its successor, the UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}.

''Turrican'' is a video game series that got started by Manfred Trenz. The original entry was first released on the UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}}, and then its successor, the UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}.

* CameraScrew: Most of the games tend to focus the camera behind the player. Especially prevalent in the NES ''Super Turrican''. Averted in ''Super Turrican 2'', where the camera focuses slightly in front of the player.

* ItsAllUpstairsFromHere: The last section before the final boss will always require a vertical ascent up a dozen screens. Noticeably absent in ''Super Turrican 2''.

* TheMaze: World 4 in ''Turrican'' is a massive three part maze with creepy ambient sound instead of SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic featured everywhere else. Power-ups are much harder to find, and dozens of pixel-perfect (and sometimes entirely illogical) jumps are required to reach the exit. All of the [[WombLevel womb levels]] in the sequels have similar length and difficulty, but later entries are more forgiving by having an Exit arrow appear if you get lost.

* OptionalBoss: ''Turrican'' level 1-3 has a boss in the middle route, but it's easy to miss if the player simply follows the ground route. It does cover one possible means to reach bonuses at the top of the area.

*** ''Turrican 2'' has a drone flying past your ship in one of the flying levels with a banner saying, "Katakis Lives!"
*** ''Super Turrican'' (SNES version) also took place on a planet called Katakis.
* SkippableBoss: ''Turrican II'' has a sort of flying saucer on stage 1-2 which you have to go out of your way to fight. However, if you do, you are rewarded with 4 extra lives when you kill him.

* {{Metroidvania}}: Not necessarily one, but close. You proceed through levels in a linear fashion, but there's lots of different paths and secrets to find like giant power up boxes and groups of extra lives. ''Mega Turrican/Turrican 3'' ''Super Turrican 2's'' levels were nothing but linear, though.

* NintendoHard: Every one of this series' installments is either pretty close to this, or '''purely this''', no matter whether this is an official game or a fan remake.

* ''Turrican'' (Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Mega Drive/Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, Game Boy)

* ''Turrican'' (Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Mega Drive/Genesis, Game Boy)

The series borrows elements of ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'', ''Videogame/{{Contra}}'', ''Videogame/{{Metroid}}'' and ''Psycho-Nics Oscar''. The games were developed by the now defunct company Rainbow Arts. The levels themselves were massive with lots of secrets to find, like hidden power-up blocks and extra lives. Also, bosses at times didn't necessarily appear at the end of levels. They would show up in the middle of levels, and even the beginning at times. It also has an awesome soundtrack.

* ChainsawGood: Wheel mode in the first two games is very much this.

* PostDefeatExplosionChain: Bosses are wracked by a chain explosions upon destruction.

** ''Turrican 2'' has a drone flying past your ship in one of the flying levels with a banner saying, "Katakis Lives!"

** ''Super Turrican'' (SNES version) also took place on a planet called Katakis. In both cases, Katakis is an ''VideoGame/RType'' clone Manfred Trenz worked on.

* ASpaceMarineIsYou

* MultipleChoicePast: The manual for [[http://www.lemonamiga.com/games/docs.php?id=1693 the Amiga version]] of ''Turrican'' describes the main villain, MORGUL, as an ancient creature that spreads nightmares, and it makes it sound like the game is in a fantasy setting. However, [[http://www.retrogameguide.com/games/Genesis-Turrican/ the Genesis version's manual]] talks about space colonies and mutants and describes MORGUL as a computer. (This one is more in keeping with the actual game.)

* RecurringBoss: A couple of games have some bosses from previous games, such as the Monolith boss.

* BishounenLine: A series-spanning example with BigBad The Machine. In his first two final boss appearances he's bigger than the screen, but in the honest-to-goodness final showdown in ''Super Turrican 2'', he's the size of the protagonist yet somehow twice as hard to dodge and able to absorb considerably more damage than before. Possibly justified in that the former appearances are robots he's controlling.

%%* DamselInDistress: Juko in ''Turrican 3''.

* {{Expy}}: The Machine is clearly based on Galactus. They look exactly alike.

* HumongousMecha: Some of the bosses.

* PurpleIsPowerful: The Machine wears purple armor and is extremely dangerous, his machines serving as the final bosses of most of the games.

* TimedMission: Super Turrican (NES game) is the only game with no time limit.

* ScifiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: The intro for ''Turrican 3'' states that "Eons have passed since mankind last heard of the evil Machine". Which would mean that Bren [=McGuire=], [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair purple haired]] protagonist from the previous game is now billions of years old. The writers should probably just have said "Ages have passed..."

* [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair You Gotta Have Purple Hair]]: Bren [=McGuire=].

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: [[FridgeLogic If the crew in the intro of ''Turrican II'' had one-man-army super suits on board, why didn't anyone put them on during the (narrated) lengthy wait between the arrival of the enemy battleship and the boarding?]]

* ChainReactionDestruction: Bosses are wracked by a chain explosions upon destruction.

* AsteroidsMonster: Spiky bouncing metal balls.
* AmbidextrousSprite

* ChainReactionDestruction: Bosses in the series do chain explosions upon destruction.

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: [[FridgeLogic If the crew in the intro of Turrican II had one-man-army super suits on board, why didn't anyone put them on during the (narrated) lengthy wait between the arrival of the enemy battleship and the boarding?]]
** CutsceneIncompetence. That is all. Bren should be fortunate enough that he survived.

** Stage 4 of ''Hurrican''.
* CutsceneIncompetence: Twice in ''Super Turrican 2''. After killing a giant sandworm from inside its mouth, Turrican is inexplicably overpowered by the same guards he'll be killing by the dozens later on. Later, after killing a giant space spider, he's captured by mercenaries.
* DamselInDistress: Juko in ''Turrican 3''.

* RuinsForRuinsSake: Level 1-2 in ''Turrican II'' and ''Super Turrican'' (SNES game).

* BigBad: While the main antagonist in the first game is the three-faced computer MORGUL, every subsequent game has the Machine take over the role of the central antagonist.

* DroughtLevelOfDoom: World 4 in the original. Due to a certain limitation in the preceding level you're not likely to have a fully leveled spread shot, which makes it incredibly difficult to find the few invisible item blocks there are.

* ElevatorActionSequence: In World 1 of ''Mega Turrican/Turrican 3''.

* UnexpectedShmupLevel: Worlds 3-1 and 3-3 in ''Turrican'', and the Commodore 64 version of ''Turrican II'''s final stage, all have you grab a jetpack and start flying. In all three levels, you needed to find a hidden item to start the level, but this was changed in later ports. However, later versions of ''Turrican II'' changed it to a platform jumping stage. The Amiga version of ''Turrican 2'' also had stages where you get into a ship and experience a ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}''-like shoot'em up segment.
** ''Super Turrican 2'' also had one in the first stage of the last world, but it was overhead instead of side-scrolling and used Mode 7 effects similar to ''VideoGame/{{Axelay}}''.
* UnrealisticBlackHole: Subverted. Three ships enter the black hole to stop the machine in ''Super Turrican 2''. Your ship survives out of luck and crash lands on a desert planet while the other two are destroyed.

* BishounenLine: A series-spanning example with BigBad The Machine. In his first two final boss appearances he's bigger than the screen, but in the honest-to-goodness final showdown in ''Super Turrican 2'', he's the size of the protagonist yet somehow twice as hard to dodge and able to absorb considerably more damage than before.

* LoadBearingBoss: Killing the final boss always causes their base to spectacularly explode.

* MasterComputer: MORGUL, the main antagonist of the early games, is a three-faced computer. MORGUL stands for '''M'''ultiple '''Org'''anism '''U'''nit '''L'''ink.

* PurpleIsPowerful: The Machine wears purple armor and is extremely dangerous.

-> "Hello and welcome to Turrican! Be my guest! Another day, another try, but remember: [[PunctuatedForEMphasis SHOOT! OR! DIE!!!]]
-> [[EvilLaugh HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"]]

-> "Hello and welcome to Turrican! Be my guest! Another day, another try, but remember: [[PunctuatedForEMphasis SHOOT! OR! DIE!!!]] [[EvilLaugh HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"]]

* (*) Released as ''Universal Soldier''
* (**) Manfred Trenz game
* (***) Factor 5 game