Developer: Toaplan Publisher: Sega Release: 12/89 Genre: Shooter
Truxton was a random rental back in the day before the Sega Genesis library exploded. What little I remember from my time with it is that it was brutally difficult and I was terrible at the game. So it did not make the greatest first impression. Revisiting it decades later as a more experienced gamer (if I do say so myself) the challenge is still exactly as I remember it. But even though I have the skills to deal with it now I still cannot say that I like it overall.
The weapon system in Truxton is simple yet effective. By default your ship has a spread gun. Weapons come in three colors: red for spread shot, blue for homing lasers, and green for piercing lasers. These can level up multiple times but with each level you require more power capsules. At full power each is devastating although the spread gun’s radius has been reduced from 15 shots to 9 in the home version. To compensate it has a rotating shield at max power that can destroy enemies but not bullets. The most powerful weapon and the one the game is known for is its screaming skull bomb. On its face it is no different than other smart bombs in other games. But god damn does it look cool as hell as it wipes inflicts massive damage and wipes out bullets as well.
Each of Truxton’s five levels has an approach phase as you fly through space and then the eventual assault, usually a heavily fortified fortress on an asteroid. It is similar to Gradius in that regard. The levels are long and punctuated by frequent mini boss battles. The game feels like one long journey as there are no clear level breaks as in similar titles. In fact you will only realize the transition has happened by looking at the ugly UI. What makes the game seem longer than it actually is is its slow pace. The game feels meandering at times but do not let that fool you. This is one of the most difficult games you will ever play.
The slow pace lulls you in to a false sense of security. From the onset enemy attacks are constant as they spawn from every corner. It is unfair in that regard as they frequently attack from behind with no warning. I do not like gotcha moments like this and the game is full of them. The large sprites and massive UI mean you have less space to maneuver and it leads to cheap deaths. Checkpoints are few but even if there were more it would not matter. You will die so frequently the fact the game practically drowns you in power-ups by stage three has little impact. If you reach full power and die you might as well start over. I will say as frustrating as it is the game is still manageable. It requires insane memorization of the levels but can be done. Whether that is fun is subjective.
Even though Truxton is brief at a mere five levels with its level of action it feels twice as long. If you are one of the few with the skills to “beat” the game it loops and becomes even more difficult if you can believe it. For those that want a definite conclusion the Genesis version has one but you will have to work for it. In the arcade Truxton would loop infinitely. At home if you can somehow manage to complete 5 (5!) loops you will get the true ending. Considering how insane the game is on the first run you need the patience of a saint to tolerate the game that long. I do not like the game that much to begin with so after the first run I was through.
Truxton was never an especially good looking game in the arcade and the Genesis edition is worse. For one the right side of the screen is a large ugly UI. The color palette is subdued which makes bullets blend in to the background. Most of the game takes place on sparse starry backdrops devoid of any detail. The few times you fly over terrain the game looks better but not by much. The enemy designs are creative and the sprites are large but that hurts the gameplay. The music runs too fast due to development shenanigans which is hilarious. Bottom line, you do not come to this one for its production values.
In Closing
Truxton is not necessarily a bad game. But the high difficulty will turn many away. There is not much to hold your attention outside of that, be it good graphics or interesting mechanics. If you play Truxton knowing what to expect you can have fun. Otherwise look elsewhere for your shooter fix, you have options on this system.
