Truxton (video game)
| Company type | Video game developer |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Successor | Tatsujin (intellectual property rights) |
| Headquarters | Japan |
Area served | Worldwide (arcade and home video game markets) |
Key people | Masahiro Yuge (producer and composer for Truxton) |
| Products | Truxton, Hellfire, Twin Cobra |
Truxton is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game released in 1988, developed by Toaplan and distributed by Taito in Japan and Europe, with Midway handling North American publishing. The narrative unfolds on the fictional world of Borogo, where players assume the role of pilot Tatsuo commanding the Super Fighter craft to combat the alien Gidans led by Dogurava.
The concept originated from Masahiro Yuge at Toaplan, who designed Truxton to emphasize gameplay reliant on memorization, expanding on ideas first introduced in Slap Fight. Its development ran concurrently with Hellfire and began discreetly during the production phase of Twin Cobra.
While Truxton achieved significant commercial success in Japanese arcades, securing various accolades from Gamest magazine, its reception in Western markets was more modest and met with mixed critiques. The title has since been adapted for multiple platforms, often featuring additional content. A follow-up, Truxton II, was released in arcades in 1992. Currently, the intellectual property rights belong to Tatsujin, a company established by Yuge.
Gameplay
Set within a sci-fi universe, Truxton is a vertical scrolling shooter where players control Tatsuo flying the Super Fighter through five demanding stages, each concluding with a boss fight against the invading Gidans under Dogurava’s command. The gameplay involves navigating an endlessly scrolling environment utilizing two main offensive tools: a primary gun capable of firing shots extending to the top of the screen and three powerful bombs that eliminate enemies within their explosion radius.
In a manner reminiscent of Twin Cobra, players can obtain three distinct weapon types by destroying airborne carriers: a red wide-area shot, a blue homing laser, and a green direct beam. Firepower is enhanced by collecting multiple "P" power-up icons, and weapon switching is possible by acquiring corresponding colored pickups. Additional collectibles include extra lives (1UPs) and speed enhancements.
The game employs a checkpoint system whereby losing a life causes the player to restart from the last checkpoint reached. Players can unlock hidden bonuses by fulfilling certain in-game conditions. When damaged, the player loses one life, firepower resets to its initial state, and any gathered medals are forfeited. The game concludes once all lives are exhausted unless additional credits are inserted to continue. Completing all levels results in the game restarting with heightened difficulty.
Synopsis
Although variations exist across versions, the core storyline centers on an alien fleet of Gidans led by Dogurava invading Borogo via five colossal asteroids. Following an assault on an orbital cargo barge, pilot Tatsuo takes command of the final Super Fighter ship to halt the Gidans’ advance and neutralize their asteroid strongholds.
Development
Masahiro Yuge, a former programmer at Toaplan recognized for his work on titles like Tiger-Heli, Slap Fight, and Twin Cobra, spearheaded the creation of Truxton. This project marked his debut as both producer and composer for an original game. Yuge’s vision was to craft a scrolling shooter that rewarded players for mastering stage memorization and uncovering secrets, incorporating segments that required specific weapons to defeat certain foes. According to Tatsuya Uemura, development took place simultaneously with Hellfire.
Core design features such as the memorization element and hidden secrets drew inspiration from Slap Fight. The unique blue homing laser weapon stemmed from a dream experienced by Yuge and became central both as the primary armament and as a key marketing highlight. Level layouts were deliberately designed to avoid monotonous or overly predictable patterns while including intentional "safe zones" for player recovery. The exclusion of a two-player cooperative mode was intentional to preserve the integrity of the memorization-based gameplay approach.
Development contributions came from designers Naoki Ogiwara, Sanae Nitō, and Yuko Tataka. Ogiwara began crafting concepts covertly during Twin Cobra’’’s production phase, influencing enemy behavior patterns and artistic direction. The Sega Genesis port was developed internally by Toaplan’s original arcade team following negotiations between Sega and Toaplan. Both Uemura and Tataka acknowledged that adapting the game posed challenges due to hardware limitations inherent to the Genesis system.
Release
Truxton debuted in Japan in October 1988, published by Taito. It subsequently appeared in Europe and North America in February 1989, with Taito handling the European release and Midway managing distribution in North America. The original Japanese title was Tatsujin, translating to "master". This game was notable for being Toaplan's inaugural title to feature their logo and company name on the title screen. In June 1989, an album containing music from Truxton alongside tracks from other Toaplan games was released exclusively in Japan by Datam Polystar.
In December 1989, Toaplan adapted Truxton for the Sega Genesis, launching first in Japan and North America through Sega, with a European release following in November 1990. This port closely mirrored the arcade version but employed a limited color range and included some modifications to gameplay and visual presentation. Retro-Bit reissued this Genesis version in 2020.
A version for the PC Engine was created by Sting Entertainment and published solely in Japan by Taito on 24 July 1992. This edition introduced an options menu enabling players to customize various gameplay settings, along with changes to audio and graphics. Although a Sharp X68000 conversion developed by Kaneko was advertised, it ultimately never reached the market.
In September 2019, MOBIRIX Corporation brought back Truxton for iOS and Android platforms in Japan under the title Tatsujin Classic. The original arcade iteration was included in the Sega Astro City Mini V console released in July 2022 and also featured within the Toaplan Arcade 1 collection for Evercade in December 2022. Furthermore, Bitwave Games launched a Microsoft Windows version on Steam and GOG.com in February 2023.
Reception
Since its arcade introduction, Truxton has experienced varied critical reactions. Masahiro Yuge noted that while the game sold strongly in Japan, its performance was weaker in Western territories. In November 1988, Game Machine ranked it as the leading table arcade game, outperforming titles such as Scramble Spirits and World Stadium. The Sega Genesis adaptation received positive feedback; Mean Machines described it as "a fine example of a pure, no-frills arcade blast," while MegaTech praised it as "a good solid blast" packed with action and excitement. The PC Engine port also earned favorable critiques. Additionally, GamesMaster placed Truxton at number 95 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time" list in 1996.
Legacy
A follow-up titled Truxton II was released for arcades in 1992 and later ported to the FM Towns. Ownership of this title along with other Toaplan intellectual properties now resides with Tatsujin, a company established by Masahiro Yuge in 2017 and incorporated into the Embracer Group since 2022. The Super Fighter spacecraft from Truxton appears in Game Tengoku CruisnMix, available on Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. Game artist Perry "Gryzor/Rozyrg" Sessions cited Truxton as a significant inspiration for his game Super XYX. In 2023, Tatsujin announced a new project titled Truxton Extreme, exclusive to the PlayStation 5 platform.