Truxton for Sega Genesis/Megadrive

[Graham Mitchell]

I hadn't played Truxton in over 10 years until yesterday. I bought it online for my birthday.

I must say, the game has aged VERY well. The bright colors, crisp sounds, and stylish art really stood the test of time. Not to mention that the play control and difficulty/learning curve are really spot on.

I haven't ever really discussed this game with others, and I'm definitely no shmup expert, so I was wondering: what do people think of this game? To me, it's a classic, and a better representative of what the Genny is capable of than most (not all) of the other launch titles (it was one of the first that I felt was truly "arcade quality") I realize it's kind of a stripped-down version of Raiden, but I think it holds its own.

Whaddya think? :D

[Arcade Antics]

I hadn't played Truxton in over 10 years until yesterday. I bought it online for my birthday.

I must say, the game has aged VERY well. The bright colors, crisp sounds, and stylish art really stood the test of time. Not to mention that the play control and difficulty/learning curve are really spot on.

I haven't ever really discussed this game with others, and I'm definitely no shmup expert, so I was wondering: what do people think of this game? To me, it's a classic, and a better representative of what the Genny is capable of than most (not all) of the other launch titles (it was one of the first that I felt was truly "arcade quality") I realize it's kind of a stripped-down version of Raiden, but I think it holds its own.

Whaddya think? :D

I've always liked this one. The Genny port is pretty decent, especially considering its age. The only real downside is not having the true arcade vertical orientation, but that's a minor quibble. :)

[rbudrick]

I believe I remember this game...it was a 1st year genesis title, right? I think I remember being mad that there was no ending....am I thinking of the right one? If I am, I remember feeling like this game was rushed at the end of production...

-Rob

[Backgammon]

I remember this game as being the first I played for a 16bit console. I still like it and it have a nice nostalgic feel to me.

[Lord Contaminous]

I remember watching my brothers and his buddies play this game alot like around 1991 or so.

As funny as it sounds, I used to sleep with the night light on for a while, it was after seeing the bomb, which was really a giant skeleton that took out the whole screen.

[marshalldylan1]

I love this game! A friend recommended it to me, and I'm glad he did, it rocks!

[pookninja]

yeah,truxton is one of the classic shooters.that and fire shark are 2 of genesis(and arcade)best.

[Graham Mitchell]

I remember watching my brothers and his buddies play this game alot like around 1991 or so.

As funny as it sounds, I used to sleep with the night light on for a while, it was after seeing the bomb, which was really a giant skeleton that took out the whole screen.

MAN I can relate!!!!! 2 games in particular: Microcosm and F-22 interceptor. The game over sequence for F-22 was incredibly disturbing to me (an OR scene with a failing EKG with a head X-ray staring back at you...totally gratuitous for a Flight Sim, if you ask me.) Microcosm for the Sega CD was more of the same deal--a clinical death complete with failing vital signs and fragmented heart sounds. The odd part of all this is that now I'm a second-year medical student and I deal with this stuff all the time. Nothing I've seen in all my years of volunteering has been remotely as disturbing as the presentation of death in these games (and trust me, the cancer ward is not a pretty place). I couldn't sleep after seeing those for the first time. It goes to show you how Hollywood's (or Psygnosis') presentation of an event affects your perception of it...

Anywho, didn't Truxton have a sequel for the Genny? I remember a game that looked very similar that was released years later from Tengen (it was after they box-art and ratings system changes occurred). Anybody remember.

[Ed Oscuro]

Hey, it's Tatsujin! The game looks funky (as I would expect from Toaplan) but there actually are some rather nice graphics in there, unlike Zero Wing. There is a sequel, but maybe only in arcades (Tatsujin II/Truxton II).

Powerup system's sort of strange, but it's nice not to have to worry so much about keeping ahold of powerups all the same color - the weapon effects are really nice, too, my favorite being the sequence where you first drag around some ships that track you with the energy beam. The chainsaw bumper (obvious Gradius influence here, but still darn cool) is useful, as well.

One thing that might not be obvious due to the rather odd layout of the score/power/ships bar is that you can store more 1ups than the bar shows.

Finally, there's some pretty neat sequences in here. For one, little suicide ships rain down so fast you basically have to hold the auto key - lots of little explosions near the top of the screen result, even today it feels like something out of a movie or TV show.

I had some reservations about this one at first, but I'm decided - it's a great game!

[GaijinPunch]

Hey, it's Tatsujin! The game looks funky (as I would expect from Toaplan) but there actually are some rather nice graphics in there, unlike Zero Wing. There is a sequel, but maybe only in arcades (Tatsujin II/Truxton II).

Tatsujin II = Tatsujin Ou
There's the FM-Towns version, as well as the arcade version. It's got a pretty big following in Japan. You can still find it in some arcades.

[-hellvin-]

This is one hell of a great game, hopefully I'll find it someday ;D. I also like Fireshark and Forgotten Worlds one hell of a lot too. Great shooters.

[thegreatescape]

Its good, but not great, and definatley not the best shooter on MD if you ask me. It takes too long to power up for my liking, and that meteor level near the end annoys me to no end. :o

Nifty music though ;)

[Daniel Thomas]

I remember that the magazines at the time weren't all too impressed with Truxton. Maybe it didn't have enough punch and spark as other first-wave games such as Thunder Force 2. Actually, Truxton is very good, and an excellent arcade translation to boot. The game stands very well against the later generations of Genesis shooters. Toaplan shooters do pretty well on the Genesis.

[Sotenga]

Truxton holds testament to the utter awesomeness of Toaplan. You bet I was delighted to score it with Thunderforce 3, Rolling Thunder 3, and... another game that I forget... GAH. That's not important. Truxton has an excellent port in the Genesis version, and although one of the older shmups on the Genny, it still remains one of the better ones. You bet your ass that I was thrilled when I beat the last boss on my very last life, thus conquering the game without continuing! Awesome game, and I recommend it for any shmup fans.

[digitalpress]

It brings a smile of my face not only to see someone start a thread about one of my favorite Genesis games (and vertical SHMUPS) ever... but also to see so many people have recognized a game that the game industry itself seems to have forgotten.

Someone mentioned this before but Truxton wasn't all that well received when it came out. I've played it as recently as two months ago and to me it's as much fun now as it was then. It's not ultra-complicated, it's difficult in places but not all of the time, and the weapon system is both intuitive and they're all useful.

I love the skull smart bomb too. No nightmares, just great memories.

[davidleeroth]

Oh great, now I can't get the music out of my head.

[jgenotte]

This game is great with the game genie. There is nothing like having all the power ups and blasting through the levels with no problem.

-james

[Ed Oscuro]

Tatsujin II = Tatsujin Ou
There's the FM-Towns version, as well as the arcade version. It's got a pretty big following in Japan. You can still find it in some arcades.
Ya, my mistake - I remember seeing the FM Towns version on eBay somewhat recently, too. Still pulls down a pretty decent price ($45 BIN I think?), but maybe that's due to it being a Towns game (sellers always trying to charge top dollar for x68K and FM Towns stuff)...not sure.

[Graham Mitchell]

Oh great, now I can't get the music out of my head.

No kidding, I've had the second level tune stuck in my head for the past 10 years. It's finals week for me and it's been REINDTODUCED now, and it's driving me nuts...in a good way :D .

[pookninja]

yeah,i love those toplan shooters so much(truxton,fireshark,etc),i even bought a full sized arcade game of fire shark(and its in pretty good shape to).if anyone can post the pic,i will email them a picture of my fire shark arcade game.

[Dire 51]

I heart Truxton. It's one of my favorite shmups ever, be it on the Genesis or arcade. Tatsujin II I've played a few times, and it's pretty damned good.

[suppafly]

I bought this game about 2 yers ago but i didnt play it. I thought that it would suck, because it never was famous.....

Boy was i wrong...i played the game about 6 months ago and i really liked it! Its not the best genesis shmup , but it IS a very decent game!! I give it 4 out of 5 stars :)

[BenT]

Anywho, didn't Truxton have a sequel for the Genny? I remember a game that looked very similar that was released years later from Tengen (it was after they box-art and ratings system changes occurred). Anybody remember.
You're thinking of Grind Stormer (V V in Japan), which was not a Truxton (Tatsujin) game. It was originally by Toaplan, though.

The PC-Engine HuCard version of Tatsujin is mildly better than the Genesis game. They're both pretty fun, though. And hard as hell a few levels in.

[Tatsujin X]

Wow, I'm surprised Truxton has so many fans. I figured it to be a rather obscure game. It's definitely one of my favorites for the Genesis as well.

[Daniel Thomas]

Oh great, now I can't get the music out of my head.

I actually had that melody in my head when I cooked up a couple riffs for a tune last summer. Sure, it's a complete ripoff, but who's gonna call me on it?

Oh, and the skull bomb is great. I remember that being used in the print ads. It just oozes style. It's too bad there isn't a Toaplan compilation disc available today.

[Graham Mitchell]

I bought this game about 2 yers ago but i didnt play it. I thought that it would suck, because it never was famous.....

That was your first mistake. This isn't a general rule, but often games get famous for the wrong reasons. Games, much like music and movies, don't actually have to be good to make a lot of money. That's a topic for a whole other thread, but there are a lot of these first-generation Genesis titles (along with pretty much the entire TG-16 catalog) that are awesome that didn't get too much praise when they were released. Go hunting for more of them! You'll be surprised!

[Dire 51]

Mystic Defender is a perfect example of a great overlooked first-gen Genny game. :D

[Graham Mitchell]

Mystic Defender is a perfect example of a great overlooked first-gen Genny game. :D

No kidding. I always got the impression that Mystic Defender was a spiritual sequel to Spellcaster on the SMS. Anybody care to comment on that?

Somebody mentioned Forgotten Worlds, which is a wonderful Capcom shmup; also definitely check out Sword of Vermillion, an extremely underrated RPG. Any of the Namco titles from that period are also excellent, especially Burning Force, and I remember Marvel Land being great, but I haven't played it in years.

[Ed Oscuro]

Come on...everybody knows you guys like Mystic Defender 'cuz of the uncensored statues :D All the same, I really like that game, and apparently it's a sequel of some game or other (since the Mega Drive equivalent is called Kujaku Ou 2: Geneishiro (for some reason GameFAQs relates that Sega released Mystic Defender on January 1st, '89; while Kujaku Ou 2 appeared in Japan in November!)

I really like all of those games - outside of Sword of Vermillion, that is, whose half-green Fraggle-style characters gave me pause. To be fair, I barely left the town before I stopped playing. I guess I can always give it another shot.

Of course, one can be satisfied that Shadow of the Beast never saw much success on the Mega Drive/Genesis :)

[Graham Mitchell]

Of course, one can be satisfied that Shadow of the Beast never saw much success on the Mega Drive/Genesis :)

What exactly do you mean? I'm not challenging you, or anything, I just don't get the comment. I have the Genesis port of SotB, and yes, it bites hard cock. The Amiga version (the whole series, in fact) is amazing to behold, even to this day.

[Dire 51]

No kidding. I always got the impression that Mystic Defender was a spiritual sequel to Spellcaster on the SMS. Anybody care to comment on that?

I'll do you one better than just commenting on it. Here, check out this article I did on the Kujaku Ou games: The Twisted Saga Of Kujaku Ou (http://www.geocities.com/opcfg2/kujakuo.html). If you're looking for proof that the two are related, go no further.


Come on...everybody knows you guys like Mystic Defender 'cuz of the uncensored statues :D

Uncensored statues? You're thinking of the original version of Stormlord, Ed - the one that Sega nixed because of the nude fairy statues that were going to be in the game. No, there was only one nude chick in K2/MD, and you can see proof of that here (http://www.geocities.com/opcfg/mysticdefender.html).

[Graham Mitchell]

Hey, thanks, Dire! This is interesting!

[BenT]

outside of Sword of Vermillion
There's only one L in Vermilion. ^_^ This must be one of the most misspelled game titles ever, though it pales next to the constantly butchered Samurai Shodown. Even the DP Advance guide got that one wrong at least once (in the essay near the back).

[Ed Oscuro]

There's only one L in Vermilion. ^_^ This must be one of the most misspelled game titles ever, though it pales next to the constantly butchered Samurai Shodown. Even the DP Advance guide got that one wrong at least once (in the essay near the back).
I've not misspelled Shodown lately, possibly because I always call it Spirits :P

[Dire 51]

Hey, thanks, Dire! This is interesting!

No problem. I just added a bit to it yesterday (as well as the other Mystic Defender article I had linked), so I was glad you brought it up. :D

[Sotenga]

Hey, thanks, Dire! This is interesting!

No problem. I just added a bit to it yesterday (as well as the other Mystic Defender article I had linked), so I was glad you brought it up. :D

*coughPLUGcough* :P

Anyhoo, back on the main subject, are there any more Toaplan shmups that outdo Truxton in greatness? Outzone and Batsugun were damned cool.

[pookninja]

Hey, thanks, Dire! This is interesting!

No problem. I just added a bit to it yesterday (as well as the other Mystic Defender article I had linked), so I was glad you brought it up. :D

*coughPLUGcough* :P

Anyhoo, back on the main subject, are there any more Toaplan shmups that outdo Truxton in greatness? Outzone and Batsugun were damned cool.i wouldnt say it outdo truxton,but fireshark is a damn good toaplan shooter as well.

[Dire 51]

*coughPLUGcough* :P

*smacks Mike with a trout*

Truxton is, and probably will always be, my favorite Toaplan shmup - but I have to give a nod to Fire Shark and Hellfire as well. Outzone is great too.

[VinnyT]

Raiden Trad is probably my favorite Genesis shooter(mostly because I haven't played many Genesis Shumps).

[Graham Mitchell]

I've never played MUSHA, but I know Compile's work on other consoles well, so I'm sure it's awesome. I know for a fact that Robo Aleste for Sega CD was great, if you've got the ability to play it. Other than that I can't come up with too many vertical shooters for Genesis that haven't already been mentioned.

[Dire 51]

MUSHA is incredibly awesome, and definitely worth tracking down. I'd go as far as to say it was the best overhead shmup released for the Genesis.