Truxton | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Toaplan |
Publisher(s) | |
Designer(s) |
|
Composer(s) | Masahiro Yuge |
Series | Truxton |
Platform(s) | Arcade, PC Engine, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Vertically scrolling shooter |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Truxton [a] is a 1988 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published in Japan and Europe by Taito, as well as in North America by Midway. Set in a future where the Gidans alien race led by Dogurava invaded the fictional planet Borogo, players assume the role of fighter pilot Tatsuo taking control of the Super Fighter ship on a last-ditch effort to overthrow the alien invaders.
Truxton was conceived by Masahiro Yuge during his time working at Toaplan, who wanted to create a scrolling shooter where memorization was its main focus, inheriting previously established ideas from Slap Fight and was developed in conjunction with Hellfire , although work on the project had already started privately during production of Twin Cobra .
Truxton proved to be a commercial success for Toaplan among players in Japanese arcades, earning several awards from Gamest magazine, however it was less successful in western regions and was met with mixed reception from game magazines. The game has since been released on multiple platforms, each one featuring changes and additions compared to the original version. A sequel, Truxton II , was released in 1992 on arcades. The rights to the title are owned by Tatsujin, a Japanese company formed by Yuge.
Truxton is a science fiction-themed vertically scrolling shoot 'em up game where players assume the role of Tatsuo taking control of the Super Fighter ship through five increasingly difficult levels, each with a boss at the end that must be fought, in a last-ditch effort to overthrow the invading Gidans led by Dogurava as the main objective. [2] [3] Players control their craft over a constantly scrolling background and the scenery never stops moving. The main ship only has two weapons: the main gun that travels a max distance of the screen's height and three bombs capable of obliterating any enemy caught within its blast radius. [2] [3]
Similar to Twin Cobra, there are three types of weapons that can be acquired by destroying incoming carriers, ranging from the red wide-reaching shot, the blue homing laser and the green straight beam. [2] [3] The ship's firepower is upgraded by picking up multiple "P" icons in a row and can switch between any of the three weapons by collecting the respective color of each one. [2] [3] Other items can also be picked up along the way such as 1UPs and speed increasers. [2] [3]
The game employs a checkpoint system in which a downed single player will start at the beginning of the checkpoint they managed to reach before dying. [2] [3] There are also hidden bonus secrets to reveal by meeting certain requirements during gameplay. [2] [3] Getting hit by enemy fire will result in losing a life, as well as a penalty of decreasing the ship's firepower to its original state, in addition of all medals collected and once all lives are lost, the game is over unless the player inserts more credits into the arcade machine to continue playing. [2] [3] The game loops back to the first stage after completing the last stage, with the second loop increasing in difficulty.
The plot summary of Truxton varies between each version and is explained through supplementary materials. [2] [4] Taking place somewhere in space, an armada of Gidans led by the evil Dogurava is invading the fictional planet Borogo aboard five gargantuan asteroids. After surviving an attack on an orbiting Borogo cargo barge, a pilot named Tatsuo enters into one remaining ship called Super Fighter and challenges the Gidans in a desperate attempt to quell the alien invasion and divert their asteroid fortresses in the process.[ citation needed ]
Truxton was the creation of former Toaplan programmer Masahiro Yuge, whose previous development works at the company included Tiger-Heli , Slap Fight and Twin Cobra, becoming his first original project under the role of both producer and composer. [5] [6] [7] Yuge wanted to create a scrolling shooter game where players would become increasingly better at the more they were able to remember specific stage designs and secrets, focusing on creating sections in levels that required a specific weapon to defeat certain enemies, while Tatsuya Uemura stated that the project was developed in conjunction with Hellfire. [8] [9]
Many of the design choices, such as the memorization feature and its usage of secrets, were derived from ideas previously established in Slap Fight. [9] The blue homing laser was based on a dream Yuge had, which featured a powerful laser that wiped out most enemies on the screen, and was implemented to be both the main weapon and a selling point. [9] [10] [11] Level design was one of the main areas of the project, as Yuge didn't want sections that could easily be memorized to the point of making them boring. [9] "Safespots" were intentionally added to levels to allow breathing room for players, while the lack of a cooperative two-player mode was cited by Yuge as being against the game's theme and would have made the memorization mechanic a pointless addition. [9]
Naoki Ogiwara, Sanae Nitō and Yuko Tataka acted as game designers in the development cycle. [11] [12] Ogiwara had already began work on designs for Truxton in secret during production of Twin Cobra due to his interest in creating science fiction artwork, which were finished after the latter was completed and gave inspirations to the team with enemy patterns. [9] [11] The Sega Genesis version was developed in-house by the same staff from the original arcade release after Sega discussed with Toaplan in regards of a conversion for their console. [8] [12] [13] Both Uemura and Tataka have stated that working with the Genesis proved to be difficult due to several restrictions imposed by the hardware. [12] [14]
Truxton was released in October 1988 in Japan, where it was published by Taito. [1] It was later released in February 1989 for both Europe and North America, published respectively by Taito and Midway. [1] The Japanese version was named Tatsujin, based on the Japanese word for "master". [6] It became Toaplan's first game to have their logo displayed on the title screen and their name credited. [11] On 25 June 1989, an album containing music from the title and other Toaplan games was published exclusively in Japan by Datam Polystar. [6] [15]
In December 1989, Truxton was ported to the Sega Genesis by Toaplan and was first released in Japan and North America by Sega, who later distributed the title across Europe in November 1990. [16] [17] [18] The Genesis port stays faithful to the original arcade release but has a number of key differences such as having a smaller color palette that lead to sprites being recolored in different ways, along with other presentation and gameplay changes from the original version. [3] The Genesis port was later re-released by independent publisher Retro-Bit in 2020. [19]
Truxton later received a conversion to the PC Engine by Sting Entertainment and published exclusively in Japan by Taito on 24 July 1992. [3] [20] [21] The PC Engine release has visual and audio changes but introduces an options menu where multiple gameplay settings can be altered. [3] A version for the Sharp X68000 was in development and planned to be published by Kaneko, but despite being advertised in Japanese publications such as Oh!X, this version was never released to the market for unknown reasons. [22] In September 2019, Truxton was re-released for iOS and Android mobile devices only in Japan by MOBIRIX Corporation under the name Tatsujin Classic. [23] In July 2022, the original arcade version was included as part of the Sega Astro City Mini V, a vertically oriented variant of the Sega Astro City mini console. [24] Truxton was also included as part of the Toaplan Arcade 1 compilation for Evercade on 15 December of the same year. [25] In February 2023, a Microsoft Windows version published by Bitwave Games was released on Steam and GOG.com. [26]
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
GameRankings | (Genesis) 55% [27] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
AllGame | (Arcade) [28] (Genesis) [29] |
Computer and Video Games | (Genesis) 94% [30] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | (Genesis) 25 / 40 [31] |
Famitsu | (Genesis) 27 / 40 [32] (PCE) 21 / 40 [20] |
Aktueller Software Markt | (Genesis) 6 / 12 [33] |
Beep! Mega Drive | (Genesis) 32 / 40 [34] |
Commodore User | (Arcade) 6 / 10 [35] |
CVG Mean Machines | (Genesis) 82% [36] |
Computer Entertainer | (Genesis) [16] |
Consoles + | (PCE) 68% [37] |
Gekkan PC Engine | (PCE) 80 / 100 [38] |
Hobby Consolas | (Genesis) 94 / 100 [39] |
Joypad | (PCE) 78% [40] |
Joystick | (Genesis) 77% [41] (Genesis) 66% [42] (PCE) 70% [43] |
Marukatsu PC Engine | (PCE) 30 / 40 [44] |
Mean Machines | (Genesis) 82% [17] |
Mega Drive Advanced Gaming | (Genesis) 78% [45] |
Mega Drive Fan | (Genesis) 18.09 / 30 [46] |
MegaTech | (Genesis) 82% [47] [48] |
Micromanía | (Genesis) 8 / 10 [49] |
PC Engine Fan | (PCE) 20.82 / 30 [50] |
Power Play | (Genesis) 77% [51] [52] |
Raze | (Genesis) 85% [53] |
S: The Sega Magazine | (Genesis) 88% [54] |
Sega Power | (Genesis) [55] |
Sega Pro | (Genesis) 88 / 100 [56] |
Tilt | (Genesis) 14 / 20 [57] |
VideoGame | (Genesis) [58] |
Zero | (Genesis) 87 / 100 [59] |
Publication | Award |
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Gamest (1991) | The Best Game #43 (Arcade) [60] |
Gamest Mook (1998) | Best Shooting Award 4th, Annual Hit Game 16th (Arcade) [61] |
Truxton, since its original arcade release, was met with mixed response from critics. [62] [63] [64] [65] [66] According to Masahiro Yuge, the game sold well in Japan but proved to be less successful in western regions. [11] Game Machine listed it on their 15 November 1988 issue as being the most-successful table arcade unit of the month, outperforming titles such as Scramble Spirits and World Stadium . [67] The Sega Genesis version was well received when it was released, [68] with Mean Machines summarising the game as "a fine example of a pure, no-frills arcade blast". [17] MegaTech said that although original features were distinctly lacking, "it's a good solid blast which offers plenty of action, speed and excitement". [48] Likewise, the PC Engine version was also well received. [69] In 1996, GamesMaster ranked Truxton 95th on their "Top 100 Games of All Time". [70]
A sequel, Truxton II , was released in 1992 for the arcades and later ported to the FM Towns. [71] In more recent years, the rights to the game and many other IPs from Toaplan are now owned by Tatsujin, a company named after its Japanese title that was founded in 2017 by Masahiro Yuge, and is part of Embracer Group since 2022. [72] [73] The Super Fighter ship appears in Game Tengoku CruisnMix for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. [74] Artist Perry "Gryzor/Rozyrg" Sessions cited Truxton as one of the main influences for Super XYX. [75] A third entry, named Truxton Extreme, was announced by Tatsujin in 2023, as a PlayStation 5-exclusive title. [76]
Zero Wing is a 1989 side-scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by Toaplan and originally published in Japan by Namco and in North America by Williams Electronics. Controlling the ZIG space fighter craft, players assume the role of protagonist Trent in a last-ditch effort to overthrow the alien space pirate organization CATS. It was the eighth shoot 'em up game from Toaplan, and their fourteenth video game overall.
Toaplan Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo responsible for the creation of a wide array of scrolling shooters and other arcade video games. The company was founded in 1979 but its gaming division was established in 1984 by former Orca and Crux employees, who wanted to make games, after both companies declared bankruptcy. Their first shoot 'em up game, Tiger-Heli (1985) on arcades, was a success and helped establish Toaplan as a leading producer of shooting games throughout the 1980s and 1990s that would continue to characterize their output.
Tiger-Heli is a vertically scrolling shooter game developed by Toaplan and released for arcades in 1985. It was published in Japan by Taito and in North America by Romstar. Controlling the titular attack helicopter, the player must fight endless waves of military vehicles while avoiding collision with their projectiles and other obstacles. The Tiger-Heli has a powerful bomb at its disposal that can clear the screen of enemies when fired. It was the first shoot 'em up game from Toaplan, and their third video game overall.
Twin Cobra, known as Kyukyoku Tiger in Japan, is a vertically scrolling shooter developed by Toaplan and released for arcades in 1987 by Taito in Japan and Europe, then in North America by Romstar. It is a sequel to the 1985 arcade game Tiger-Heli. Controlling the titular attack helicopter, the players must fight endless waves of military vehicles while avoiding collision with their projectiles and other obstacles. It was the fourth shoot 'em up game from Toaplan, and their tenth video game overall. It was ported to multiple platforms, with each done by different third-party developers that made several changes or additions.
Out Zone is a run and gun arcade video game developed by Toaplan and published in Japan by Tecmo, North America by Romstar and Europe in August 1990. Set in a future where an alien race from the fictional planet Owagira are threatening to wipe out humanity after multiple failed attempts to defend Earth against their attacks, players assume the role of cyborg mercenaries recruited by the United Nations in a last-ditch effort to overthrow the invaders.
Flying Shark, known as Sky Shark in North America, is a vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published in 1987 by Taito in Japan, Romstar in North America and Electrocoin in Europe. Controlling the titular biplane, the players must fight endless waves of military vehicles while avoiding collision with their projectiles and other obstacles. The plane has a powerful bomb at its disposal that can clear a portion of the screen of bullets and damage enemies when fired. It was the third shoot 'em up game from Toaplan, and their eighth video game overall.
Snow Bros. is a 1990 platform arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan first published in Japan, then in North America by Romstar and later in Europe. Starring the eponymous snowmen twins Nick and Tom, players are tasked with travelling through 50 stages, throwing and building snowballs, jumping on and off platforms to navigate level obstacles while dodging and defeating monsters in order to rescue the princesses Puripuri and Puchipuchi from captivity. Although first launched in arcades, the game was later ported across multiple platforms, each one being created by different third-party developers and featuring several changes or additions compared with the original version. Conversions for various microcomputers were in development but none were officially released to the public.
Demon's World is a 1989 run and gun arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published in Japan by Taito and in North America by Catalina Games. In the game, players assume the role of two ghost hunters to fight against several ghosts and monsters that were unleashed upon Earth by the titular demon king. Initially launched for the arcades, the title was then ported to the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² by NEC Avenue and published exclusively in Japan on 26 February 1993, featuring various additions and changes compared with the original release.
Teki Paki is a 1991 puzzle arcade video game developed by Toaplan and published in Japan by Tecmo, Hong Kong by Honest Trading Co. and Taiwan by Spacy Co. Ltd.
Rally Bike is a racing arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published by Taito in May 1988. In Rally Bike, players compete against computer-controlled opponents in races across locations in the United States. Initially released in arcades, the game was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System and X68000 by different developers.
Hellfire is a 1989 horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published in Japan by Taito and North America by U.S.A. Games. The first horizontal shoot 'em up title to be created by Toaplan, the game takes place in the year 2998 where a space matter known as Black Nebula created by robot dictator Super Mech spreads and threatens to engulf human-controlled galaxies, as players assume the role of Space Federation member Captain Lancer taking control of the CNCS1 space fighter craft in a surprise attack to overthrow the enemies with the fighter craft's titular weapon.
Wardner is a side-scrolling platform game developed by Toaplan and published in arcades worldwide by Taito in 1987.
Slap Fight is a 1986 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by Toaplan and published by Taito. Set on the colonized fictional planet of Theron in the future, where an alien race led by Gaudy have invaded the human-controlled location, players assume the role of an Allied League of Cosmic Nations (ALCON) fighter pilot taking control of the SW475 space fighter craft in an effort to counterattack the invaders. Initially launched for the arcades, the game was later ported to other microcomputer and console platforms by various third-party developers, with each one featuring several changes or additions compared to the original release.
Fire Shark is a 1989 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and published by Toaplan in Japan and Europe, and by Romstar in North America. It is the sequel to Flying Shark, a game released in 1987 on multiple platforms. Set in the year 1991, the game focuses on a mysterious armada launching a worldwide attack from a small island in the Mediterranean Sea. Players take control of the titular biplane to counterattack the enemy forces.
Twin Hawk is a 1989 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published by Taito. Taking place at the end of an alternative World War II setting, where general Giovanni and his army plots to take over the fictional country Gorongo, players assume the role of a wing commander from the Daisenpū squadron taking control of a Flying Fortress fighter aircraft in an effort to overthrow the enemy.
Grind Stormer is a 1993 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed and published by Toaplan in Japan and North America. It is considered to be the spiritual successor to Slap Fight. Based around a video game within a video game concept, players assume the role of a young secret agent assigned by the government taking control of the NA-00 space fighter craft in an attempt to defeat the titular virtual reality simulator, rescue the abducted players who lost against it and unveil its true purpose.
Truxton II is a 1992 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed and published by Toaplan in Japan and Europe. It is the sequel to Truxton, which was released earlier on arcades in 1988 and later ported to various platforms.
Dogyuun is a 1992 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and published by Toaplan. Set on the colonized fictional planet of Dino in the future, where an alien race of metallic robots have invaded a police communication center and held its inhabitants as hostages, players assume the role of two fighter pilots taking control of the Sylfers bomber space fighter crafts in a revenge attempt to overthrow the invaders and free the surviving colonists after their comrade is killed by one of them during a reconnaissance assignment.
Guardian is a 1986 side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade video game developed by Toaplan and published in Japan by Taito and North America by Kitkorp. In the game, players assume the role of a robot fighting against a multitude of enemies and bosses across six locations on a futuristic science fiction setting. It is notable for marking the debut of Twin Cobra and Hellfire artist Kōetsu Iwabuchi in the video game industry, serving as its graphic designer.
Snow Bros. 2: With New Elves is a 1994 platform arcade video game developed and published by Toaplan under their Hanafram label. One of the last games to be created by Toaplan, it is the sequel to Snow Bros., which was released earlier in 1990 on multiple platforms. In the game, players assume the role of one of the playable characters to rescue a kidnapped princess from captivity.