Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.
Rendering Ranger R² is a side-scrolling run-and-gun with shoot-em-up levels from Turrican designer Manfred Trenz, released originally in 1995 on SNES.
I first became aware of Manfred Trenz in 1990, when Zzap! magazine reviewed Turrican for the Commodore 64. The incredible feat of creating a game that looked like it could have been developed on a higher spec system was only surpassed by the fact that the Amiga version looked like it was running on an arcade machine.
Oh, and of course, there was the music.
Trenz’s work on the Turrican series is, in my opinion, one of the single most important contributions to gaming. So, you won’t be surprised to learn that when I first heard about Rendering Ranger R², I was intrigued. While released in 1995, it only enjoyed a limited release on the SNES, and that was in Japan. Although a US version, Targa, was planned, that was eventually canned. Instead, the game was overlooked thanks to having the graphics reworked, and the launch of the Sony PlayStation.
But it’s like Turrican
While a fan of Turrican and Turrican 2, I never really took to Turrican 3/Mega Turrican (depending on platform). The most important thing to note about Rendering Ranger R² is that while it looks and feels like Turrican in many ways, it’s a different game. To start off, it’s a lot tougher.
Graphically, a larger main character sprite for the landscape levels and a different way of using weapons stands the game apart from Trenz’s magnum opus. But you keep playing with the feeling that you’re kind of playing the same sort of game… and the dramatic score — here by Jesper Olsen and Stefan Kramer — does little to dissuade you of the notion.
As if the comparison with Turrican wasn’t sitting in every pixel and note, the composition of the game (side scrolling Metroid-style levels and spaceship shmup levels) leaves you feeling the urge to cast a lightning arc or turn into a gyroscope.
So, what is Rendering Ranger R²?
Kicking off with a sort of post-apocalyptic world that wouldn’t look out of place in a Terminator 2 flashback, Rendering Ranger R² pits you against flying robots with cannons and annoying metallic flying skulls with power ups. It is when you start playing the game properly that you start to see the divergence from Turrican. While the earlier series was pretty non-linear in terms of allowing exploration, Rendering Ranger R², with the run-and-gun ethos of the character levels, rewards only blasting the hell out of everything and avoiding flames and fireballs.
It’s a heavy-duty shooter, with multiple weapons to collect, each with a secondary (super) function, but these need to recharge. Positioning and timing are more important than continual progress, however, all of which makes the game seem more like Turrican‘s dumber, angrier brother, perhaps drunk, perhaps with a hangover.
And while Turrican 2‘s gameplay disrupting shoot-em-up level married tactics with maneuverability, here, it’s all about flipping the ship to face left or right, depending on the direction of the attacks. It’s a nice game mechanic, albeit one that seems somewhat familiar from other shmups of the time.
But, this is a welcome addition to the game, something that refreshes the experience. Unfortunately, I was left feeling somewhat deflated when the run-and-gun sections returned.
The Rendering Ranger R² Rewind edition
This edition of the game is bundled with its unreleased sibling, Targa, which is essentially the same title, but the character prefers to fight semi-naked. Various quality of life improvements, such as the rewind function and save states, are included. These are welcome, as this is not an easy game, especially in the shmup segments.
CRT filter, widescreen, and a collection of scans of the original box art and manual are also included. They’re pleasing additions, although the CRT could be… more subtle.
I like R², but that’s probably because of its graphical closeness to Turrican. It has sparks of the earlier games, but some of the bosses are slightly bland and, in many ways, Rendering Ranger R² is a dumbed-down Turrican. But it looks superb, and the fact the original game played on unmodified SNES hardware… well, it’s a crime it was overlooked, really.
I’ve reviewed the Nintendo Switch release, but Rendering Ranger R² is also available on Steam Deck and PS4/5, along with a physical release for Super Nintendo.
Rendering Ranger R² [Rewind]: Viewed as a sort-of sequel to Turrican, R² is quite good, but fails to go beyond Mega Turrican. But as a standalone title — which it is — Rendering Ranger R² brings some much needed Manfred Trenz run and gun platforming to modern platforms. This is a straight port of the original, with some pleasing additional features which will keep you entertained between gaming sessions. You can also play the unreleased Targa, basically the same game but without the armour! – Christian Cawley
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.
