Turrican Anthology Vol. I
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Critic Reviews for Turrican Anthology Vol. I
That said, the only real downside to Turrican Anthology Vol. 1 is the limited selection of games on offer. This is a series currently spanning two volumes, which some will rightly see as unceremonious enterprising. The Turrican games exist in so many formats and in so many guises, that it would have made sense to build the ultimate compilation and serve everyone at once, perhaps including obscurities like the PC Engine, original Commodore 64, or even Atari ST entries for the sake of completeness and preservation. As it stands, while a package that provides hours of gritty action gaming, its main drawback is its hefty price tag and meagre curation in respect of multiple volumes. Still, that soundtrack though.
All in all, Turrican Anthology Vol. 1 does a commendable enough job of packing together a handful of retro shooters from yesteryear that are still a lot of fun to play and boast refreshingly non-linear level design for the most part. Throw in a smattering of visual tweaks and a superb map system and it soon becomes apparent that Turrican Anthology Vol. 1 is a no-brainer purchase for anyone who has even a passing fondness for side-scrolling platforming shooters.
Turrican Anthology Volume 1 is a fun collection of challenging, run-and-gun titles with tons of exploration from early in the Turrican franchise. The second Volume of games is available with more of the later releases so it may be worth looking into before buying this title.
Turrican Anthology Vol. I & II have some great games and the extra features that have been added are among the best that I’ve seen in a retro game collection. That is why it is such a shame that these are two separate collections that are priced so high as I can’t fully recommend them at the asking price. It becomes even harder to recommend to those who picked up the Flashback Collection last year as you already got some of the best entries in that even if it was missing many of the extra features that are included here. Whether you’re a fan of the series or just have a passing interest in seeing what the Turrican series is all about I think you should wait to pick these two collections up on sale.
Overall, it’s quite obvious that both of the Turrican Anthology collections should have just been one product to begin with. The bonus features such as the jukebox, re-recorded soundtracks by Huelsback, art museum that encompass a generous amount of flyers and covers, and extra emulation options, as well as the special Score Attack Mode – a new leaderboard feature that’s exclusive to both Anthologies – are identical between the two. Neither volume has a whole lot of content to warrant splitting them up into separate downloads. Then again, it’s undeniable that what they encompass, some of the best titles in gaming’s most traditional run ‘n gun shooter franchises, makes Turrican Anthology very much worth picking up regardless.
Already in its day in the analysis of the Turrican Flashback we commented that evaluating a compilation like this implied evaluating, on the one hand, the quality of the port itself, on the other the additions or extras, and of course the selection of deliveries. Where the previous installment was notable for its absences, the combination of both Anthology finishes rounding off the product with an impeccable playable port, with options that allow us to configure it with the maximum fidelity to the originals or with the maximum improvements, a series of very interesting extras such as the director's versions, the score attack or the remastered soundtracks, and this time yes, a complete selection of the best of the best that will satisfy lovers of the saga and serve as a great entrance for they didn't know her before. The only but that we can put is that everything did not come in a single cartridge.
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Turrican Anthology 1 & 2 is the best way to enjoy the Turrican games on Nintendo Switch provided you don’t mind the steep price tag. I guess you could always ask a loved one to buy it for you for your next birthday or Christmas. But if you do take the plunge you’ll be treated to solid emulation and controls which have been brilliantly adapted to the Nintendo Switch. Some Turrican games are still sadly absent but as it stands this is retro gaming at its finest whether you are a Turrican veteran or discovering it for the very first time.
Really, when the only gripe here is the fact that these are split into two volumes, I still found revisiting the Turrican games in this collection to be a whole lot of fun, with Mega Turrican Score Attack being the surprise winner of the bundle: definitely a great remix, and a glimmer that shows that perhaps a brand new Turrican game could be worth a shot in this modern age. For those who bought Flashback and don’t really care about the additions here, the second volume is the one to get for sure, but for retro fans who’ve waited so long, I’m happy to say this first volume is an excellent starting point for the franchise, or even as a way to resist some old classics.
