Universal Soldier

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Universal Soldier
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Ballistic
Developer: Rainbow Arts, Factor 5 The Code Monkeys
Distributor: Hent Gruppen (SE rental), Datart International (CZ)
Licensor: Carolco
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code US 1992 $54.9554.95 ACLD011 EU 1992-11 ACLD011 ES 1992 FR 1992 UK 1992-11-18 £34.9934.99 ACLD011 SE (Rental) 199x CZ 199x AU 199x FUNI02GMC
Non-Sega versions No results

Universal Soldier is an action game released for the Sega Mega Drive in 1992. Though the game was sold in stores, it was not licensed by Sega.

The game is essentially a reworking of Factor 5's Turrican II to act as a tie-in for the 1992 film Universal Soldier. The game gives no credit to the original Turrican II staff in any form, with the exception of Turrican creator Manfred Trenz.

Story

Luc Deveraux, a former U.S. Army soldier who was killed in the Vietnam War in 1969, has returned to life following a secret military project called the "Universal Soldier" program. Though his memory was erased, he finds out about his past and has to face his former superior officer, Sgt. Andrew Scott, who had lost his sanity in the Vietnam War and become a psychotic megalomaniac. Scott is intent on killing Deveraux and leading the Universal Soldiers.

Gameplay

The game is a side-scrolling run-and-gun played as the soldier Luc Deveraux. It plays similarly to Turrican. Levels are large and maze-like. Deveraux moves with and and kneels with . He jumps with or ; he jumps higher if the button is held for longer. Some enemies can be damaged by jumping on them. He fires his rifle with , which does not have rapid-fire. There are three special weapons that are equipped by collecting their icons in the levels. Deveraux has a special "lightning whip" weapon, a long energy beam that damages enemies continuously, that is activated by holding . The lightning whip can be rotated in a full circle around Deveraux with and .

Deveraux can transform into a "buzzsaw" form where he curls into a ball and rolls along the ground with +. This can be used to attack enemies or fit into small spaces. He is invulnerable while in this state. Unlike the other Turrican games for the Mega Drive, this ability can be used an unlimited number of times in this game. While rolling, he can drop mines with . Mines are also unlimited. Deveraux exits the rolling form by jumping.

Deveraux has two special screen-clearing attacks. The "power line" weapon, used with , sweeps the screen with two tall energy pillars. The power line can only be used a limited number of times, but the player can find items that allow for more uses. He bounces around the screen in his invulnerable ball form while firing his weapon and dropping mines with ++. This attack can only be used once per level.

Deveraux has an energy meter that depletes as he takes damage from enemies. He loses a life if he runs out of energy and revives in place after a moment if the player has extra lives remaining. Since Deveraux does not have a moment of invulnerability after taking damage (as is customary in platforming games), he can take a large amount of damage in a short span if the player is not cautious. Levels are timed, and the player loses a life if time runs out as well. The game ends if the player runs out of lives, but it can be continued if there are continues remaining. The player earns an extra life for every 100 crystals collected in the levels. The game has a password system for continuing.

Weapons

	Normal
	The starting weapon. Shoots energy bullets forwards.
	Multiple Shot
	Fires a conical spread shot.
	Laser
	Fires a large, powerful shot that penetrates through targets.
	Bounce Shot
	Fires a large energy ball that explodes into smaller balls, which ricochet off solid surfaces, after hitting something.

Items

	Item Container
	Shoot to release an item. The item container damages Deveraux if it touches him.
	P
	Fully restores Deveraux's energy meter.
	Multiple Shot
	Equips the Multiple Shot weapon.
	Laser
	Equips the Laser weapon.
	Bounce Shot
	Equips the Bounce Shot weapon.
	Lightning Whip
	Increases the length of the lightning whip.
	Shield
	Makes Deveraux temporarily invulnerable.
	Power Line
	Gives Deveraux another power line.
	Bomb
	Destroys all enemies on the screen when collected.
	Crystal
	Collect 100 to earn an extra life.
	1-Up
	Gives the player an extra life.

Worlds

	World 1
	World 2
	World 3
	World 4

Versions

Universal Soldier replaces the three shoot-'em-up levels in Turrican II with three new levels of standard gameplay with completely different sets of graphics and using the same music as the discarded levels. Aside from that and a reordered sequence of the levels, the gameplay in the whole game is left mostly intact. New additions compared to the original also include a password system and selectable difficulty. A couple of bosses were edited to resemble the antagonist in the film, Sergeant Andrew Scott (portrayed by Dolph Lundgren).

A version of the game was released for the Game Boy. The Mega Drive and Game Boy versions of Universal Soldier were the only versions of Turrican II to be released in North America until the release of the Turrican Flashback collection for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in 2021.

A port of the game was also developed for the Super NES but not released.

Production credits

• Produced by: Chris Bankston
• Programmed by: The Code Monkeys
• Programming: Colin Hogg
• Aided by: Elliot Gay, Mark Kirkby
• Graphics by: Joe Lewis and Manfred Trenz
• Musicians: J.D. Rogers and Paul Kenny
• Game Testers: Steve Graziano, Robert V. Daly, James R. Kucera
• Technical Advice: Chris Bankston, Tim Wilson, Russell Shiffer, Dave Rogers, Natalie Healy

Source:

In-game credits (menu)

---

• Produced by: Chris W. Bankston
• Programmed by: The Code Monkeys
• Graphics by: Joe Lewis
• Music by: J.D. Rogers, Paul Kenny
• Tested by: Robert Daly, James Kucera, Steve Graziano
• Special Thanks: Al Miller, Bob Whitehead, Charlotte T. Skeel, and many others

Source:

In-game credits (ending)

---

• Original Music and Sound Effects: Chris Hülsbeck

Source:

Uncredited

Magazine articles

Main article: Universal Soldier/Magazine articles.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 60 Consoles + (FR) 95 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 60 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 45 Game Power (IT) 81 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 65 Joypad (FR) 41 Joystick (FR) PAL 43 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 60 Mega (UK) PAL 68 MegaTech (UK) PAL 60 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 47 Play Time (DE) PAL 68 Sega Power (UK) PAL 91 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 89 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 89 Sega Zone (UK) PAL 88 Sega Force (UK) PAL 63 Todo Sega (ES) 80 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 76

	68
Based on 20 reviews

Universal Soldier

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, FR
Manual

Mega Drive, ES
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, SE (rental; Hent; orange)
Cover

Mega Drive, CZ (Datart)
Cover
Manual

Mega Drive, AU
Cover
Cart

Technical information

Main article: Universal Soldier/Technical information.