Truxton

From Sega Retro

n/a

  • NSTC-U/PAL
  • NTSC-J

Truxton MDTitleScreen.png

Tatsujin MD TitleScreen.png

Truxton
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sega, Retro-Bit (Collector's Edition)
Developer:
Original system(s): Arcade boards
Genre: Shooting[1][2]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP
¥6,0006,000 G-4020
Sega Mega Drive
US
$42.9942.99[4]
Sega Mega Drive
EU
Sega Mega Drive
UK
£34.9934.99[6][7]
Sega Mega Drive
SE
(Rental)
Sega Mega Drive
AU
Sega Mega Drive
BR
Sega Mega Drive
KR
GM4001JG
Sega Mega Drive
US
(Retro-Bit)
$44.9944.99[8]
Sega Mega Drive
EU
(Retro-Bit)
€39.9939.99[8]
Non-Sega versions

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Truxton, released in Japan as Tatsujin (達人, translates to "Master" as in "mastery"), is a 1988 arcade shoot-'em-up developed by Toaplan, ported to the Mega Drive in 1989. It remains to be the closest home release until today.

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

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

Items

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

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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.
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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.
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Thunder Laser
A continuous beam of energy that locks on to enemy targets. Upgrading adds more beams and increases the strength.
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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.
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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.
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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).

Truxton BlueAsteriod.png Stage 1
Notavailable.svg Stage 2
Notavailable.svg Stage 3
Notavailable.svg Stage 4
Notavailable.svg Stage 5

Tips and tricks

  • There is a damage related bug in the game: pausing while the skull bomb effect is on screen makes it cause more damage.

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


Magazine articles

Main article: Truxton/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in GamePro (US) #10: "May 1990" (1990-xx-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg
CG GR 3 Mega Drive advert.jpg
Print advert in Computer Games (GR) #3: "Ioúnios 1990" (1990-xx-xx)
CG GR 3 Mega Drive advert.jpg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in ACE (UK) #37: "October 1990" (1990-09-xx)
also published in:
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1989-11: "November 1989" (1989-XX-XX)
Logo-pdf.svg

Collector's Edition (Retro-Bit)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
80 [10]
66 [11]
75 №8.10, p18[12]
92 №2, p23
82 [13]
94 [14]
94 [15]
77 [16]
78 №5, p95
88 №1, p65
82 [17]
82 [18]
85 [6]
88 [19]
80 [20]
88 [21]
46 №18, p68
84 №18, p68
87 [22]
Sega Mega Drive
81
Based on
19 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
30
[23]
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
40
[24]
Aktueller Software Markt (DE)
58
[25]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
80
[26]
Computer Entertainer (US)
67
[27]
Complete Guide to Consoles (UK)
92
[28]
Complete Guide to Consoles (UK)
82
[13]
The Complete Guide to Sega (UK)
82
[29]
Console XS (UK) PAL
84
[30]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
94
[14]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
63
[31]
Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK)
82
[32]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
68
[33]
Hobby Consolas (ES)
94
[34]
Joystick (FR)
77
[16]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL
78
[35]
Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J
67
[36]
Mega Action (UK)
88
[37]
MegaTech (UK)
82
[17]
Micromanía (segunda época) (ES)
80
[38]
Mean Machines (UK)
82
[39]
Mean Machines Sega (UK)
82
[40]
Megazone (AU)
87
[41]
Power Play (DE)
77
[42]
Raze (UK) PAL
85
[6]
S: The Sega Magazine (UK) PAL
88
[43]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
75
[20]
Sega Pro (UK)
88
[21]
Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-J
46
[44]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
84
[44]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
66
[11]
Tilt (FR)
70
[45]
Top Secret (PL)
100
[46]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
72
[47]
VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (US) NTSC-U
50
[48]
Zero (UK)
87
[22]
Sega Mega Drive
76
Based on
36 reviews

Truxton

Mega Drive, JP
Truxton MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
Truxton MD JP CartTop.jpg
Truxton MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Truxton md jp manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, US
Truxton MD US Box.jpg
Cover
Truxton md us cart.jpg
Cart
Truxton md us manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, EU
Truxton MD EU Box.jpg
Cover
Truxton MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Truxton MD EU pcb.jpg
PCB
Mega Drive, SE (rental)
Truxton MD SE rental cover.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, AU
Truxton MD AU cover.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, AU (alt)
Truxton MD AU alt cover.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, BR
Truxton MD BR cover.jpg
Cover
Truxton MD BR Cart.jpg
Cart
Truxton md br manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, BR (Cardboard)
Truxton MD BR Box.jpg
Cover
Truxton MD BR Cart.jpg
Cart
Truxton md br manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, KR
Truxton MD KR cover.jpg
Cover
Tatsujin MD KR cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, (Retro-Bit)

References

  1. File:Truxton MD JP Box.jpg
  2. 2.0 2.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-20 09:51)
  3. Computer Entertainer, "January 1990" (US; 1990-01-20), page 23
  4. GamePro, "April 1990" (US; 1990-xx-xx), page 52
  5. 5.0 5.1 Mean Machines, "October 1990" (UK; 1990-09-xx), page 93
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Raze, "January 1991" (UK; 1990-11-29), page 57
  7. ACE, "October 1990" (UK; 1990-09-xx), page 51
  8. 8.0 8.1 File:TSCE Toaplan Press Release.pdf, page 2
  9. Computer & Video Games, "October 1990" (UK; 1990-09-16), page 122
  10. Beep! MegaDrive, "February 1990" (JP; 1990-01-08), page 67 (69)
  11. 11.0 11.1 Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
  12. File:ComputerEntertainer_US_Vol.8_10.pdf, page 18
  13. 13.0 13.1 Complete Guide to Consoles, "Volume IV" (UK; 1990-11-xx), page 39
  14. 14.0 14.1 Computer & Video Games, "March 1990" (UK; 1990-02-16), page 97
  15. Hobby Consolas, "Octubre 1991" (ES; 1991-xx-xx), page 85 (77)
  16. 16.0 16.1 Joystick, "Octobre 1990" (FR; 1990-xx-xx), page 91
  17. 17.0 17.1 MegaTech, "Xmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-06), page 81
  18. Mean Machines, "October 1990" (UK; 1990-09-xx), page 92/93 (92)
  19. S: The Sega Magazine, "November 1990" (UK; 1990-10-04), page 8/9 (8)
  20. 20.0 20.1 Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 55
  21. 21.0 21.1 Sega Pro, "April 1992" (UK; 1992-03-19), page 30
  22. 22.0 22.1 Zero, "May 1990" (UK; 1990-0x-xx), page 87
  23. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 304
  24. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 251
  25. Aktueller Software Markt, "Februar 1990" (DE; 1990-xx-xx), page 92
  26. Beep! MegaDrive, "February 1990" (JP; 1990-01-08), page 69
  27. Computer Entertainer, "January 1990" (US; 1990-01-20), page 18
  28. Complete Guide to Consoles, "Volume Two" (UK; 1990-04-xx), page 23
  29. The Complete Guide to Sega, "" (UK; 1991-05-xx), page 51
  30. Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 135
  31. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "March 1990" (US; 1990-xx-xx), page 20
  32. Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 110
  33. Famitsu, "1990-01-05,19" (JP; 19xx-xx-xx), page 17
  34. Hobby Consolas, "Octubre 1991" (ES; 1991-xx-xx), page 85
  35. Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 95
  36. Mega Drive Fan, "August 1990" (JP; 1990-07-07), page 73
  37. Mega Action, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-20), page 65
  38. Micromanía (segunda época), "Noviembre 1990" (ES; 1990-1x-xx), page 60
  39. Mean Machines, "October 1990" (UK; 1990-09-xx), page 92
  40. Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 142
  41. Megazone, "June/July 1991" (AU; 1991-0x-xx), page 24
  42. Power Play, "3/90" (DE; 1990-02-19), page 104
  43. S: The Sega Magazine, "November 1990" (UK; 1990-10-04), page 8
  44. 44.0 44.1 Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 68
  45. Tilt, "Septembre 1990" (FR; 1990-0x-xx), page 88
  46. Top Secret, "Marzec 1995" (PL; 1995-xx-xx), page 57
  47. Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 206
  48. VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, "February 1990" (US; 1990-0x-xx), page 87
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Truxton

Truxton MDTitleScreen.png

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Books: Sega Mega Drive Attack Manual Book Tatsujin & Golden Axe (1990)

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