Name: Turbo Sub
Item: Turbo Sub
Author: Retro Replay

Turbo Sub

Turbo Sub starts with the kind of immediate arcade pressure that suits the Lynx: you steer a futuristic craft through incoming alien waves, fire constantly, and try not to turn a near miss into a collision. There is no throttle to fuss over, so the game asks for quick lane changes and sharper reactions from the first moments.

The neat wrinkle is that you can dive at will. Underwater stretches slow the pace a little, trade aerial traffic for obstacles such as submerged temple columns, and lead into a simple risk-and-reward loop: find gem pods, collect diamonds, then spend them on stronger shots or tracking missiles at supply depots. It is a modest shooter, but the dive-and-upgrade rhythm gives its score chase more texture than a straight tunnel blast.

Platform: Lynx

Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Turbo Sub is at its best when the screen is busy and you are threading the craft between alien fire with your trigger finger already held down. Movement is limited to up, down, left, and right, and any button fires, which makes the basics wonderfully direct. With no control over speed, you cannot ease yourself out of trouble; danger arrives at the game’s pace, and your answer is to move decisively.

The first-person aerial action has the fast, forward-rushing flavor of an arcade flight shooter. You are not managing a complicated machine here. You are dodging, shooting, and trying to survive wave after wave without clipping an enemy. That simplicity makes Turbo Sub easy to pick up, although it also means your enjoyment rests heavily on whether you enjoy chasing scores through repeated high-pressure encounters.

Diving is the feature that keeps the shooting from becoming too one-note. You can go underwater whenever you want, while orders from headquarters occasionally point you toward a dive near a gem pod. Below the surface, the craft moves more slowly and you must avoid hazards including sunken ancient temple columns. The slower movement changes the feel of a run just enough to make a dive feel like a tactical breather rather than a cosmetic detour.

Diamonds collected at gem pods can be spent at nearby supply depots on upgrades such as powerful shots and tracking missiles. That gives you a concrete reason to seek out the underwater route instead of merely surviving the next aerial wave. The two-player mode takes a similarly arcade-minded approach: each level goes to whoever earns the higher score. It is competitive, simple, and well suited to trading attempts with someone beside you.

Graphics

Turbo Sub uses a first-person view for both its aerial and underwater combat, putting enemy waves directly ahead of your craft instead of showing the action from above or the side. Diving swaps the open airborne rush for underwater paths where obstacles such as submerged temple columns need to be avoided, giving the two environments a clearly different look.

Story

The story is pure arcade setup: evil aliens attack Earth, and you pilot the Turbo Sub as humanity’s last hope. It gives every incoming wave a clear target and puts you immediately into the action.

The Turbo Sub itself is described as an advanced war device that can both fly and dive, and that dual-purpose craft is the one story idea the game meaningfully carries into play. The conflict stays focused on defending Earth rather than asking you to follow a complicated cast or unravel a larger mystery.

Headquarters occasionally ordering a dive adds a small sense that you are operating as part of a defense effort, especially when those instructions lead toward gem pods and supplies. Still, this is a premise built to launch an arcade mission, not a narrative that will carry you through the game on its own.

Overall Experience

Turbo Sub is a brisk, uncomplicated shooter with a smart change of pace in its dive system. The airborne sections deliver immediate reflex action, while gem pods and supply depots create a worthwhile reason to detour underwater. When that loop clicks, each run becomes about more than simply firing at what is in front of you.

Frustration can set in if you want more control over how quickly the action unfolds, because the craft’s speed is fixed. You must adapt to its rhythm rather than tune the rhythm to your comfort. The limited movement and repeated alien waves also make this a game of execution first, not variety for variety’s sake.

Give it a chance if you enjoy compact arcade shooters where a score run can be improved by cleaner dodging and better upgrade choices. The two-player score contest is a nice extra reason to revisit levels. Turbo Sub does not overcomplicate its premise, but its flying-and-diving structure gives its straightforward shooting enough of a hook to be worth a few determined runs.