Turrican

Turrican is a run and gun action-platformer where players control the mutant warrior Turrican, bio-engineered to reclaim the planet Alterra, through five multi-level worlds populated by hostile organisms twisted by the rebellious MORGUL system. Gameplay involves exploring large levels with secrets, acquiring a variety of weapons including spread fire and laser options, using the morph-ball function for navigation and combat, and battling bosses in each stage. The story follows Turrican's mission to eliminate threats from the self-contained habitats and ultimately destroy the three faces of MORGUL after an earthquake damaged the ecosystem generation network. What makes it stand out is the combination of Metroid-inspired exploration and secrets with Psycho-Nics Oscar-style weapon variety and large non-linear levels on the Game Boy platform, featuring chiptune music by Chris Hülsbeck and Jochen Hippel.