Rainbow Arts Today
Decades after the studio’s dissolution, Rainbow Arts titles are reaching new audiences through official collections, physical re-releases, and catalogue acquisitions.
Turrican Flashback
Released in 2021 by ININ Games, Turrican Flashback is the first official modern console re-release of the core Turrican series. The collection contains four games: Turrican, Turrican II: The Final Fight, Super Turrican (SNES), and Mega Turrican (Mega Drive). A physical Collector’s Edition was produced in limited quantities.
The release restored official access to the Turrican series for the first time in decades, allowing a new generation of players to experience the games that defined Rainbow Arts on modern hardware. The digital versions are available through Nintendo eShop and PlayStation Store.
Evercade Turrican Collection
The Evercade Turrican Collection cartridge (Evercade Cartridge 01) contains six Turrican games: Turrican, Turrican II, Mega Turrican, Super Turrican, Super Turrican 2, and Turrican 3. It was one of the launch titles for the Evercade platform and remains the most content-complete official physical release of the Turrican series.
The Evercade system supports both handheld and TV-connected play through dedicated hardware and the VS home console. The Turrican cartridge is compatible with all Evercade hardware revisions.
Rendering Ranger R²
Rendering Ranger R² was originally developed by Manfred Trenz for the SNES and published in Japan only in 1995. The game — a showcase of Trenz’s programming skill on 16-bit hardware — remained obscure outside Japan for decades.
In 2023, Ziggurat Interactive partnered with Limited Run Games to release the game in physical and digital form, making it officially available internationally for the first time. With music by Chris Hülsbeck, the game represents the last major collaborative work between Trenz and Hülsbeck.
Available from ziggurat.games.
Ziggurat Interactive — Catalogue Acquisition
Ziggurat Interactive acquired more than 80 classic Rainbow Arts and related titles as part of a broader catalogue acquisition programme. This has enabled:
- Digital re-releases of select Rainbow Arts titles on PC via GOG and Steam
- The Rendering Ranger R² re-release via Limited Run Games
- Ongoing preservation of the Rainbow Arts intellectual property portfolio
The Ziggurat acquisition represents the most significant preservation effort for the Rainbow Arts catalogue since the studio’s dissolution in 1999. See the full Ziggurat catalogue at ziggurat.games.
Orchestral Recordings
Chris Hülsbeck’s Rainbow Arts compositions have been performed orchestrally in several major concerts. The Symphonic Shades concert (2008, Cologne) featured the WDR Funkorchester performing the Turrican Suite alongside other Hülsbeck compositions. The recording is available through Hülsbeck’s Bandcamp.
The Turrican Soundtrack Anthology (2021) released original game music recordings across multiple volumes, covering the C64, Amiga, and SNES versions of the scores. Available from huelsbeck.com.