Truxton Extreme is a celebration of all things I love about Truxton. From Masahiro Yuge’s involvement on the game’s incredible soundtrack to its modern spin on shmups, there’s much to love…assuming you’re up for a good ol’ fashioned shmup challenge.
Masahiro Yuge’s approach to designing Truxton was novel in that memorization was key to winning the shoot ‘em up (shmup). Rather than implementing ridiculously complex bullet patterns that border impossible to navigate or high-risk-high-reward gameplay by way of grazing bullets, Truxton had players memorizing enemies’ positions and bosses’ attack patterns. Memorization-heavy games tend to be given a bad rap by many modern players (myself included), but it’s hard to ignore that there’s some fairness in predicting hostile behavior. There is pleasure to be had in taking advantage of predictability, especially when that predictability feels unfair at first glance.
I had very little exposure to the original Truxton and its 1992 sequel, Truxton II, beyond playing it in arcades when I was a kid. I was not fortunate enough to own it on the Sega Genesis, nor did I have the foresight to purchase Toaplan Arcade 1 and play the original Truxton to my heart’s content. The Truxton series was my arcade treat.
Truxton’s allure and cult following can be attributed to its incredibly catchy soundtrack by Masahiro Yuge. Yes, one of the founding members of the series had created its soundtrack. Yuge’s background as a pianist helped instill a lasting audio impact amongst players. All these years later, I see myself turning the Truxton music on via YouTube just so I can hear those epic tunes again. When Truxton Extreme was announced, I wasn’t fully on board with the series’ revival…until I read that Yuge was involved in the game’s development.
Truxton Extreme is a direct sequel to Truxton II. Its visuals have been dramatically enhanced with 3D models overlaid onto a 2D plane. Its gameplay adheres to the shmup formula with very little changes, for better or for worse.
Truxton Extreme features a story mode that tells three branching stories with a comic-book-style presentation in between levels. It feels strange for me to type out “story” in the context of an old-school shmup game, I know. It probably feels weird to see the words “story mode” in a review of a shmup, too. Including the Story Mode was a nice touch. It’s beautifully drawn, has some light animations and sound effects, yet easily skippable for those wanting to get back in game. No spoilers here, but I loved the split storytelling between the three characters. The only downside to the story mode’s implementation is that it required me to play through the levels all over again with no minute differences. I get that memorization is a key element of Truxton, but…this is where some variety would have been nice.
Regardless if you’re playing through the Story mode chapter-by-chapter or attempting a full playthrough in the Arcade mode, Truxton Extreme’s vertical shooting on a horizontal plane is shockingly smooth to play. The game’s 16×9 aspect ratio is a welcome departure from the tried-and-true, vertical yet narrow, shmup screen; I absolutely love how the wider perspective gave levels more breathing room. Objects, enemies, and bullet patterns take full advantage of the wide playfield. It gives old-school players (like you and I) a familiar gameplay loop while treating newer players who’ve become accustomed to widescreen gameplay (on TVs and ultra-wide monitors). On the Nintendo Switch 2, I can play the game in handheld mode without missing out on the visibility, which is a massive plus.
The broader Truxton formula is present throughout, but with some other minor changes. Adjusting the ship’s movement speed (which can be done with a button press) is beneficial for some of the bullet-heavy segments and some boss battles. There’s also a charged up attack dramatically changes your ship’s current weapon for a limited amount of time. Destroying enemies with the charged up weapon yields coins that vacuum towards the ship and awards bonus points. It’s so satisfying to clear a screen with the special weapon and see big numbers flash across the screen to reward me for my high score. The dazzling particles heighten the intensity of the gameplay, too.
Luckily, the 3D visuals of the enemy models and levels add just enough depth and spaciousness without impacting visual busyness. Enemies starkly contrast with the backgrounds with their models fully rendered and animated. Coming from the earlier Truxton games that muddled in-air enemies alongside on-ground counterparts, Truxton Extreme’s designs are well-designed and thoroughly modernized without compromising the essence of what makes Truxton so great.
The difficulty remains, though. I’ve heard some players describe the earlier Truxton games as being “tough, but fair.” I don’t fully agree with that statement, but I can see where those players are coming from. Truxton Extreme has tendencies to feel unfair, especially at the start of the third level. Clusters of robots retaliate with homing bullets after being destroyed. Ships emerge from all sides of the screen with no warning whatsoever. Far too many times I was caught flat-footed when an enemy ship flew out of a corner I thought was safe. And then there were the boss battles…woosh.
I won’t mince words here: Truxton Extreme is just as hard as some of its predecessors. It’s fully in-line with what I come to expect from the likes of R-Type Dimensions III and Psyvariar 3. Patience and memorization are all I needed to progress further, but…I was punished early and often. I got quite frustrated with some levels and had to remind myself to focus on memorizing enemies. Just memorize patterns. The enemies do the same thing over…over…and over again.
If that traditional shmup gameplay loop is too daunting, Truxton Extreme’s HEART STARTER mode is a must-play when you first boot up the game. It was incidentally the first thing I did during my review process. The HEART STARTER mode has players play through the first level (and that level alone) with the special condition of immediately respawning after taking damage. No backtracking, no interruptions, no starting over several screens back. It’s a baby’s first attempt at a shmup level without the steep difficulty curve. That said, it’s only one level, so once you’ve completed it…the mode serves very little purpose.
It’s a shame that HEART STARTER is so limited. I get that Truxton’s appeal lies in its difficulty that many seem to overlook. I also get that shmups are somewhat niche for today’s players. However, this doesn’t mean Truxton Extreme couldn’t take things one step further in the easygoing shmup space. HEART STARTER shouldn’t have stopped at the first level – it should have allowed players the full experience of Truxton Extreme’s levels minus the constant threat of game over. It should have gone all in on the notion of giving players, especially those new to the genre, the space to play with no limits. Currently, the easiest Truxton Extreme gets outside of the HEART STARTER mode is giving players up to 5 bombs and up to 5 lives. Those benefits make some levels easier (at the expense of losing leaderboard access), but later levels (the third, especially) will remain difficult.
I fear that many players won’t give Truxton Extreme a fair shake because of this illusion of player friendliness. Today’s players move on too quickly from some stellar games; a game that masquerades as being approachable is one that will be set aside after a few minutes. The two Truxton games up to this point come from a time where games are far harder and required you to dig deep into your pockets for a quarter so you can try to win one more time. These games are worth replaying, though, and Truxton Extreme is a good stab at reviving a long-forgotten series that made waves in the shmup space.
I am fully onboard with Truxton Extreme’s approach to modernizing itself while adding more to an oldie-but-goodie shmup series. It was clearly made for older fans like me who want to take advantage of their modern hardware and graphical standards. It won me over with its incredible soundtrack, its engaging gameplay loop, and satisfying upgrades. More shmup titles should be brave enough to innovate like Truxton Extreme. Not all of its upgrades are bleeding edge, per se, but it’s implemented modern features in ways that naturally align with old-school arcade gameplay and progression expectations. Oh, and it has unlockable content. I’ve missed unlocking new things so much!
Truxton Extreme is a celebration of all things I love about Truxton. From Masahiro Yuge’s involvement on the game’s incredible soundtrack to its modern spin on shmups, there’s much to love…assuming you’re up for a good ol’ fashioned shmup challenge.
