Truxton

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NSTC-U/PAL NTSC-J
Truxton
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sega, Retro-Bit (Collector's Edition)
Developer: Toaplan
Original system(s): Arcade boards
Genre: Shooting
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code JP 1989-12-09 ¥6,0006,000 G-4020 US 1989-12 $42.9942.99 EU 1990-11 UK 1990-11 £34.9934.99 SE (Rental) 199x AU 199x BR 199x KR 199x GM4001JG US (Retro-Bit) 2020 $44.9944.99 EU (Retro-Bit) 2020 €39.9939.99
Non-Sega versions Arcade PC Engine

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Truxton, known in Japan as Tatsujin (達人, lit. "Mastery"), is a Sega Mega Drive vertical shoot-'em-up developed by Toaplan and published by Sega. A port of the developer's titular 1988 arcade game Truxton, it was first released in Japan in December 1989. In October 2020, the game was re-released worldwide by Retro-Bit as part of Toaplan Shooters Collector's Edition.

Story

The Gidans have begun an invasion of the Borogo and have managed to destroy all but one Borogo fighter ship; the player must take control of this ship (the "Super Fighter") and defeat the Gidans.

Gameplay

shoots, shoots rapidfire, and launches a bomb (which resembles a full screen size skull when exploding; you have a limited supply of these).

Truxton also contains a notable damage-related bug - pausing the game during the Destroyer Bomb's explosion causes the damage done by the attack to increase with every pause. By rapidly pausing and unpausing, players are able to defeat enemies and bosses quite easily.

Items

Powerups are mostly found in predetermined areas, though some may be scattered. There are a number of types of powerups:

<div style=" image-rendering:pixelated; position:relative; top:-0px; left:-0px; width:px; height:px; line-height:0px">Expression error: Unexpected < operator.px	Power Shot
	The default weapon of the Super Fighter. It is a standard bullet shot, upgradable to create spread shots. The final upgrade is a new circular shot weapon not present in the arcade version.
<div style=" image-rendering:pixelated; position:relative; top:-0px; left:-0px; width:px; height:px; line-height:0px">Expression error: Unexpected < operator.px	Tatsujin Beam/Truxton Beam
	The strongest weapon in the game, capable of cutting straight through enemies. The downside is that it can only fire forwards.
<div style=" image-rendering:pixelated; position:relative; top:-0px; left:-0px; width:px; height:px; line-height:0px">Expression error: Unexpected < operator.px	Thunder Laser
	A continuous beam of energy that locks on to enemy targets. Upgrading adds more beams and increases the strength.
<div style=" image-rendering:pixelated; position:relative; top:-0px; left:-0px; width:px; height:px; line-height:0px">Expression error: Unexpected < operator.px	Power Booster
	These powerups add a "P" to the HUD on the right side of the screen. After a certain number of Ps are collected (initially 5), your weapons power up one level. This powering up will last until you lose a life, but will carry over from weapon to weapon until then. There are three "levels" of upgrades.
<div style=" image-rendering:pixelated; position:relative; top:-0px; left:-0px; width:px; height:px; line-height:0px">Expression error: Unexpected < operator.px	Speed Booster
	Increases the speed of your ship. There are five levels of speed - collecting these items after your ship is maxed out will grant the player 5000 points.
<div style=" image-rendering:pixelated; position:relative; top:-0px; left:-0px; width:px; height:px; line-height:0px">Expression error: Unexpected < operator.px	Tatsujin Bomb/Destroyer Bomb
	Adds a bomb to your arsenal. Bombs destroy all small enemies on screen and evaporate enemy bullets. They can also significantly damage bosses. Unlike in the arcade release, this one covers the whole screen.

Stages

Though the American (and others?) manual suggests each asteroid graphic (there are eight) is a separate level, Truxton is correctly divided into five stages; each has its own musical theme and stage boss (which have their own musical theme).

	Stage 1
	Stage 2
	Stage 3
	Stage 4
	Stage 5

History

Legacy

In September 2008, retro gaming YouTuber Mark Bussler of Classic Game Room posted a positive video review of Truxton to his channel. The review quickly took off in popularity, and viewers were particularly entertained by Mark's pronunciation of the name Truxton; both Classic Game Room and Mark's style of speaking would later develop a strong association with the game. This association has been humorously embraced by Mark himself, and is frequently celebrated and parodied by the larger gaming community.

Versions

This port is unusual in that it appears to be written for PAL specs; the overall speed of the game, music and sound effects, etc, greatly resemble the arcade version when played at 50 FPS.

Despite the small ROM size and plenty of screen filling enemies, almost all graphics in this game are stored in an uncompressed state.

Localised names

Also known as

Language	Localised Name	English Translation
English (US)	Truxton	Truxton
Japanese	達人	Tatsujin

Production credits

• Staff: T. Ohta, M. Yuge, K. Iwabuchi, S. Nakaoka, N. Sawada, Y. Tataka
• Cast: Tatsuo, Lilin, Jtank, Badron, Gulus, Dosvam, Dogurava

© Toaplan 1988

© Sega 1989

Digital manuals

• Truxton MD US digital manual.pdf

  Mega Drive Mini 2 US manual

• Truxton MD EU digital manual.pdf

  Mega Drive Mini 2 EU manual

• Tatsujin MD JP digital manual.pdf

  Mega Drive Mini 2 JP manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Truxton/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in GamePro (US) #10: "May 1990" (1990-xx-xx)

Print advert in Computer Games (GR) #3: "Ioúnios 1990" (1990-xx-xx)

Print advert in ACE (UK) #37: "October 1990" (1990-09-xx)
also published in:

• Computer & Video Games (UK) #107: "October 1990" (1990-09-16)

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1989-11: "November 1989" (1989-XX-XX)

Collector's Edition (Retro-Bit)

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Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 30 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 40 Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 58 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 80 Computer Entertainer (US) 67 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 92 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 82 The Complete Guide to Sega (UK) 82 Console XS (UK) PAL 84 Computer & Video Games (UK) 94 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 63 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 82 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 68 Hobby Consolas (ES) 94 Joystick (FR) 77 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 78 Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J 67 Mega Action (UK) 88 MegaTech (UK) 82 Micromanía (segunda época) (ES) 80 Mean Machines (UK) 82 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 82 Megazone (AU) 87 Power Play (DE) 77 Raze (UK) PAL 85 S: The Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 88 Sega Power (UK) PAL 75 Sega Pro (UK) 88 Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-J 46 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 84 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 66 Tilt (FR) 70 Top Secret (PL) 100 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 72 VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (US) NTSC-U 50 Zero (UK) 87

	76
Based on 36 reviews

Truxton

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart PCB

Mega Drive, SE (rental)
Cover

Mega Drive, AU
Cover

Mega Drive, AU (alt)
Cover

Mega Drive, BR
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, BR (Cardboard)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, KR
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, (Retro-Bit)

References

NEC Retro has more information related to Tatsujin