Super Turrican

Released in Europe in 1992 for the NES, Super Turrican is a remarkable solo achievement — the entire game was developed by a single person, Manfred Trenz. Players don a multi-function power suit and battle through side-scrolling stages set across multiple planets. The game merges level and weapon designs from both the original Turrican and its sequel, while introducing new features such as a dash move and a gyro-form aerial jump. Weapons can be upgraded up to five levels. Most impressively, the game runs with no slowdown and no sprite flickering — a technical feat that stood out among NES titles of its era and a testament to what one developer could accomplish alone.