We recently reviewed the Turrican Anthology Vol. I on PS4 (you can find that review right HERE), we are back with a look at the second collection of classic retro game goodness! Does it stack up to the first volume? Lets take a look! This package contains five Turrican games including:
Turrican 3 (Amiga)
Mega Turrican (Genesis/Mega Drive)
Mega Turrican Director's Cut (Genesis/Mega Drive)
Super Turrican 2 (SNES)
Super Turrican 1 Score Attack (SNES)
While the majority of games featured in this collection haven't been featured in previously released collections (Looking at you Turrican Flashback), unfortunately the selection just isn't the same as Vol. I. Three out of the five games found in this collection are basically variations of the same game. Mega Turrican on the Sega Megadrive/Genesis, the directors cut version (which feels like much less of a directors cut compared to the Super Turrican one found in Vol. I due to the fact it doesn't add any unreleased levels - it just adds the secret stage into the main game and add some extra easter eggs), and then there is Turrian III on the Amiga - which is basically just a port of Mega Turrican by a different name. I just want to say i'm not saying Mega Turrican is a bad game, far from it in fact, but it just feels abit like overkill with so many versions on this single collection. Also included is the Super Turrican Score Attack for the SNES. This isn't a full game so much as one large remixed stage where you are required to chase the highest score. It's much more difficult then the one found in the previous collection and is much less enjoyable.
Lasty, and probably the highlight of the collection for many people is Super Turrican 2 on the Super Nintendo. This sequel to Super Turrican is absolutely stunning and differentiates itself from the original template by being more linear in play style (less large open stages) and feeling much more like Contra. The game also features a variety of vehicles to control including a dune buggy and underwater motojet. It's by far the best game on the collection, and it's graphics are one of the highlights found on the SNES.
As with the previous Anthology collection, Vol. II includes a whole host of extras and improvements which improve overall accessibility and give you some great bits of history to look through.
• A map feature allowing you to scan the whole map
• The ability to turn different map layers on and off
• Various enhancements on the original map like real-time and overlay maps
• Different soundtracks to choose from: emulated, original remastered by Chris Huelsbeck himself or Turrican Soundtrack Anthology music
• The option to choose either Amiga, Console or modern controls
• Unlockable cheats
• Jukebox for each game + Bonus Jukebox
• A gallery with never-seen-before concept art
• Manual scans for all games
• Improved rewind support
• Selectable covers for each game
The additions are basically the same and are always welcome forms of game preservation. I love that I am able to play these old school games in HD on my flat screen TV without the need for special adapters or face suffering playing a stretched, blurry mess.
Overall this collection is more of the same. It's full of the great improvements found inside the other Anthology collection but on the whole the selection of games doesn't stack up to ones found in Vol. I. I'm going to say exactly what I said on the last review to close this out as it still stands valid with this collection. "ININ as always have put out a great product, my only real complaint is it feels like the two separate anthologies should have been released as one package, especially considering the price and what other compilation/retro releases recently contain in terms of overall games." TOTAL SCORE: 7/10
Turrican Anthology Vol. II was released onto the Playstation Store on the 29th July 2022. It is priced at £29.99 and works on both PS4 and PS5 consoles. You can buy the game HERE. The game is also available on Nintendo Switch.
We were provided a copy of the game for this review so a big thank you for that!
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