Mega Turrican

Mega Turrican is a 16-bit shooter game, developed by Factor 5 in 1993 and marketed by Data East in 1994. This game of the Turrican series was initially designed for the Mega Drive/Genesis, and later followed by an Amiga port converted by Kaiko and Neon Studios under the title of Turrican 3: Payment Day. However, despite not being the original, the Amiga version was the one that was first commercially released in 1993, published by Rainbow Arts in Germany and Renegade in the rest of Europe. The Mega Drive version did not have a publisher and stayed unreleased from spring 1993 until 1994, when Data East took over its worldwide distribution. Data East itself released the game in North America, and contracted Sony Imagesoft for the game's distribution in Europe.

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 current 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.

The player has to complete numerous large levels always searching for secrets to pick up and enemies to shoot. To do this, the player can pick up three different, upgradeable shots: a 'Multiple' spread gun, a more powerful, single-direction 'Laser' and a 'Rebound', which fires shots directly up and down that travel along floors and ceilings, while the main forward-firing shot is weaker. He can also go into wheel-mode by pressing jump while holding down on the D-Pad (as long as you have enough special energy) and use a rope. In wheel-mode, the player is nearly invincible and can lay mines or explore previously unreachable areas, a mechanic similar to 'Morph Ball' from the Metroid series and the 'Spin Dash' from the Sonic the Hedgehog series.