Turrican on the Genesis is one of those games that makes you realize how much action they used to cram into 16-bit titles. You start off as this armored dude who can morph into a rolling ball (weird, but it works), blasting through waves of alien creatures with a gun that somehow shoots in every direction at once. The first level throws you right into it—jumping over lava pits, dodging turrets, and figuring out that half the platforms are secretly hiding power-ups if you shoot them.

The music’s this synth-heavy soundtrack that somehow makes everything feel more intense, especially when you hit the underground sections with the screen scrolling automatically. And the bosses? Huge, screen-filling monsters that take way too many hits to kill—in the best way possible. It’s got that old-school difficulty where you’ll die a lot, but each run teaches you something new.

If you’ve played Contra or Metroid, this feels like their weird German cousin. Definitely holds up if you’re into chaotic run-and-gun games.