Super Turrican's uncut version is getting a new Super Famicom cartridge

Japanese publisher Columbus Circle is releasing a new physical Super Famicom cartridge containing both the original 1993 version of Super Turrican and its restored Director's Cut. Priced at 7,980 yen (excluding tax) or 8,990 yen (tax included), this is a Japan-only release for now, but I still think it is an incredibly cool piece of 16-bit revival media.

Factor 5 originally developed Super Turrican for the Super Nintendo. Before the studio became famous for the Star Wars Rogue Squadron games on the Nintendo 64 and GameCube, they were the undisputed masters of Euro-style run-and-gun platformers. Turrican was their flagship franchise. It combined the fast-paced shooting of Contra with the sprawling, maze-like exploration of Metroid. You get a spread shot, a laser, and a bounce weapon, plus a freeze beam that lets you use enemies as temporary platforms.

Restoring the missing megabits

The standard retail release of Super Turrican is compromised. During development, the original publisher mandated a cartridge size reduction from six megabits down to four to save on manufacturing costs. Factor 5 had to gut their own game to make it fit. They deleted an entire ice level, removed several enemy types, and heavily compressed Chris Huelsbeck's complex audio tracks.

The Director's Cut restores all of that missing content. We have seen this uncut version before in digital formats. It was included in the recent console compilations from ININ Games and served as a pack-in bonus with Analogue's Super Nt console. Columbus Circle is taking a different approach by putting it on a physical cartridge designed to run on original hardware. You get both the compromised 1993 retail release and the full Director's Cut on a single board.

I need that box art

The physical package includes a brand new cover illustration by Tetsuhiko Kikuchi. Factor 5 officially licensed the release and supervised the new artwork. I have a massive soft spot for modern retro releases that bother to commission new traditional art instead of just recycling 30-year-old promotional assets. Kikuchi has provided art for previous Columbus Circle releases, and his style perfectly fits the early 90s mecha aesthetic.

It might sound weird on a clone console

The cartridge is designed for the Super Famicom and compatible clone systems, but universal compatibility is not guaranteed. Audio might sound different or glitch out completely on cheap third-party clone consoles.

This makes perfect sense given how heavily Factor 5 pushed the SPC700 audio chip in the original hardware. Huelsbeck's custom sound drivers are notoriously difficult for inaccurate clone systems to replicate. If you want to play this cartridge, I highly recommend using an original Super Famicom or a high-end FPGA system to ensure the restored music actually sounds the way it should.

I am always happy to see games rescued from publisher-mandated compromises. Getting a physical copy of the game Factor 5 actually wanted to ship in 1993 is a great excuse to dust off the Super Famicom.