Mega Turrican

n/a

NTSC-U PAL Virtual Console
Mega Turrican
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Virtual Console
Publisher: Konami (cancelled) Data East USA (US) Sony Electronic Publishing (Europe) Factor 5
Developer: Factor 5 M2
Distributor: Datart International (CZ)
Sound driver: A.U.D.I.O.S. Wave Slave MD
Peripherals supported: Six Button Control Pad
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code US 1994-03 $59.9559.95 T-13086 US ▼ (Sega Channel) 1994-06-01 SUBsub EU 1994 T-93246-50 PT 199x UK 1994-11 T-93246-50 CZ 199x AU 199x US ▼ 2008-04-14 800pts800 EU ▼ 2008-03-20 800pts800 AU ▼ 2008-03 800pts800
Non-Sega versions <img alt="Amiga" src="https://retrocdn.net/images/thumb/e/e9/Logo-amiga.png/16px-Logo-amiga.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" srcset="https://retrocdn.net/images/thumb/e/e9/Logo-amiga.png/24px-Logo-amiga.png 1.5x, https://retrocdn.net/images/e/e9/Logo-amiga.png 2x" />

Mega Turrican is a Sega Mega Drive run-and-gun game developed by Factor 5. Originally developed as the third entry in the popular Turrican series, it was first published in the United States by Data East in March 1994, and was later brought to Europe later that November courtesy of Sony Electronic Publishing.

Story

Introduction

Time has passed since mankind last heard of the Machine. Bren McGuire is on a United Planets Freedom Forces mission when suddenly he sees his worst nightmares come true again. Years ago, he was the only survivor of the starship Avalon 1 when the Machine took out his comrades in an attempt to take over the galaxy. Back then, Bren sought revenge against his enemy and finally destroyed him in the planet of Landorin. Nobody expected a return of the Machine, but now, after many people enjoyed freedom and peace in the galaxy, the dark forces under his command are starting to assemble again.

In a sweep of terror, the Machine destroys dozens of planets and enslaves hundreds of peaceful people. The old memories arise again when Bren hears the last message of a young and beautiful girl. Desperately she cries for help, as her planet is being taken over by the soldiers of the Machine. As Bren receives the message, he slips into his Turrican assault suit and swears final revenge.

Once again, Bren McGuire, now the leader of the Freedom Forces, is the only hope in a crucial mission to definitely destroy the grasp of evil represented by the Machine. A lone warrior against the evil hordes of the Machine, Bren jumps out of his ship to face the ultimate challenge.

Gameplay

The game is a side-scrolling run-and-gun. The player controls the soldier Bren McGuire in his Turrican assault suit in numerous large levels, searching for secrets and shooting enemies. McGuire moves with and and kneels with . He jumps with . Some enemies can be damaged by jumping on them. He fires his weapon with , which has rapid-fire by default. There are three special weapons that are equipped by collecting their icons in the levels. Collecting the same weapon increases its level, up to three levels, making it more powerful. The player can also find an item that adds homing missiles to the standard weapon attack. McGuire has a supply of three smart bombs, which attack every enemy on the screen. They are used with + (or , , or when using a Six Button Control Pad). Bombs are replenished at the start of each level or after losing a life.

McGuire can roll into a ball with +, which spins forwards and rams into enemies. He is invulnerable while in this state. While rolling, he can lay mines with , which explode after a moment. Rolling expends the "wheel time" meter; he leaves the ball form if the meter runs out or if he jumps out of it with . The meter is replenished at the start of each level.

McGuire also has a grappling hook, which is extended with . It can be aimed with , , or . The hook attaches to any solid surface, allowing McGuire to swing from it or pull himself towards it (by jumping) to reach higher platforms. He sticks to the point at which the hook is attached if he jumps onto it. The player can retract the hook by pressing again. Both the ball form and the grappling hook can be used to access otherwise inaccessible hidden areas. Neither can be used underwater.

McGuire 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. Losing a life downgrades McGuire's weapon by one level and loses his homing missiles if equipped. Levels are timed, and the player loses a life if time runs out as well. The timer pauses for boss fights. The game ends if the player runs out of lives, but it can be continued if there are continues remaining.

Weapons

	Normal
	The starting weapon. Shoots energy bullets forwards.
	Multiple
	Fires a conical spread shot. Higher levels fire more streams.
	Laser
	Fires a large, powerful shot that penetrates through targets. Higher levels fire larger shots.
	Rebound
	Fires a weaker forward shot with two vertical shots that rebound off walls, floors, and ceilings.

Items

	Multiple
	Equips the Multiple weapon (or levels it up if already equipped).
	Laser
	Equips the Laser weapon (or levels it up if already equipped).
	Rebound
	Equips the Rebound weapon (or levels it up if already equipped).
	Heart
	Fully restores McGuire's energy.
	Shield
	Surrounds McGuire in a shield that temporarily protects him from enemy fire.
	Homing Missile
	Augments McGuire's weapon with homing missiles. Lasts until the player loses a life.
	Diamond
	Collect for bonus points at the end of the level.
	Extra Man
	Gives the player an extra life.

Worlds

	World 1
	World 2
	World 3
	World 4
	World 5

History

Development

Mega Turrican was the first and only Turrican game to be produced with Sega hardware in mind. It was developed and completed in 1993 by Factor 5. A prototype dated May 18, 1993 suggests that the game was initially going to be published by Konami. However, it seems this deal fell through, and the game was then put on hiatus due to an inability to find a new console publisher for the game. Rainbow Arts, responsible for the original releases on home computers such as the Amiga, were unable to publish it themselves. However, they would go on to publish an Amiga port of the game by NEON Studios, relabeled Turrican 3. The Amiga version of the game was consequently released before the Mega Drive version, despite being finished at a later date.

Mega Turrican was eventually published in 1994 by Data East in North America, and Sony Electronic Publishing in Europe. Much of the content of Mega Turrican (most notably the music) was recycled for use in the Super Nintendo game, Super Turrican.

Legacy

The game was re-released as part of the Turrican Flashback compilation for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in 2021.

Production credits

A Factor 5 Production

A Game by Thomas Engel

Mega Turrican

• Designed by: Thomas Engel, Frank Matzke, Julian Eggebrecht
• Main Programming: Thomas Engel
• Additional Programming: Holger Schmidt
• Graphics Design: Frank Matzke
• Additional Graphics: Ramiro Vaca
• Music and Sound Effects: Chris Hülsbeck
• Map Design: Thomas Engel, Julian Eggebrecht, Willi Bäcker, Lutz Osterkorn
• Additional Production and Support: Rene Henke, Silvia Schmidt, Anja, Jens Petersam, Peter Drescher, Rudolf Stember
• Produced by: Julian Eggebrecht
• Based on a Character Created by: Manfred Trenz

This game was created using Pegasus Mega Drive

All programs, graphics, music, sound effects, and other data in any form related to this game © 1994 by Factor 5 Productions

• Regards to: Achim Moller, Stefan Tsuparidis, Nils Meier, Sven Meier, Andreas Escher, Andreas Hagemann, Axel Bialke, Bitmap Brothers, Blue Byte, Christian Awizio, Christoph Weise, Cybermedia, Dirk Jagalski, Doc Bobo, Graftgold, Hans Ippisch, Heinrich Lenhardt, Jan Delgado, Klaus Dieter Hartwig, Kristin Dodt, Lucasfilm Games, Marc Bonn, Neon, Renegade, Sirus Ahmadi, Sven Werner, Thalion, Torsten Opperman, Tina Lustig, Ulli Mühl, Powerplay and the Chillur Empire
• Presented by: Data East

Source:

In-game credits

---

• Special Thanks to: Jonathan Seidenfeld, David Hoffman, Brian Balistreri, Sirus Ahmadi, Factor 5

Source:

US manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Mega Turrican/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in (US) #57: "April 1994" (1994-xx-xx)
also published in:

• (US) #57: "April 1994" (1994-xx-xx)
• (US) #58: "May 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Print advert in (UK) #26: "December 1994" (1994-10-28)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score (RU) 60 (SA) 75 (UK) 83 (US) NTSC-U 87 (US) NTSC-U 82 (RU) 60 (US) NTSC-U 90 (US) NTSC-U 88 (US) NTSC-U 85 (DE) PAL 73 (UK) 77 (DE) NTSC 83 (UK) NTSC-U 83 (DE) PAL 80 (FR) NTSC-U 93 (DE) NTSC-U 88 (US) NTSC-U 86 (UK) NTSC-U 70 (UK) NTSC-U 89 (FR) 89 (DE) PAL 65 (NL) 90 (UK) NTSC-U 87 (UK) NTSC-U 78 (UK) NTSC-U 83 (BR) NTSC-U 80 (RU) 70 (DE) NTSC-U 80 (US) NTSC-U 80

	80
Based on 29 reviews

Mega Turrican

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart File:Mega Turrican MD EU Manual.pdf Manual PCB

Mega Drive, PT

Mega Drive, CZ (Datart)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, AU
Cover

Technical information

Main article: Mega Turrican/Technical information.

External links

• Nintendo catalogue pages: UK, AU