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Tatsujin

TurboGrafx-16

TurboGrafx-16

The evil Dogurava, commander of an alien army known as the Gidans, is attacking the planet Borogo. The army uses five giant asteroids as fortresses for the invasion. After surviving an attack on an orbiting cargo barge, a lone pilot takes the only remaining fighter craft and embarks on a suicide ...

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Developer
Sting

Released on
1992

Size
1 Player

Version
TurboGrafx-16

Requirements
NEC TurboGrafx-16

Downloads
Shooter

Publisher
Taito

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

The evil Dogurava, commander of an alien army known as the Gidans, is attacking the planet Borogo. The army uses five giant asteroids as fortresses for the invasion. After surviving an attack on an orbiting cargo barge, a lone pilot takes the only remaining fighter craft and embarks on a suicide mission: draw the Gidans’ fire to himself, while attempting to bypass their fighters on the way to the fortresses.

Originating in the arcades, Truxton is a vertically scrolling shooter. The player controls a fighter craft that has to eliminate the enemies with primary weapons or bombs. The basic weapon comes in three varieties: Power Shot (small spreading projectiles), Sun Laser (a powerful, fast-moving straight laser beam, and Truxton Beam (an electric beam that spreads in all directions if the player is holding down the fire button).

Each one of these weapons can be upgraded to a more powerful variant by collecting power-ups (up to four power levels). Beside increased attack power, the weapons also may gain additional properties when powering up (e.g. the Power Shot creates a shield around the player-controlled aircraft). Other power-up effects include increasing the ship’s maneuvering speed up to four times, increasing the number of bombs, and gaining additional lives.

Tatsujin

Overview & History

Released in Japan as Tatsujin (meaning "Expert" or "Master") and later brought to North America as Truxton, this 1992 PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 port was developed by Naxat Soft based on Toaplan's legendary 1988 arcade vertical-scrolling shooter. Set against the backdrop of an alien invasion by the sinister Gidans armada—who seek to terraform Earth by converting its atmosphere into toxic methane—pilot Tatsuo must board the Exedora fighter ship to save his kidnapped brother and humanity. While the arcade original is famed for its punishing difficulty and monumental scale, the TurboGrafx-16 conversion successfully retains the intense atmosphere, distinct mechanical rhythm, and iconic synth-heavy soundtrack composed by Masahiro Yuge, making it a beloved cult classic among retro shoot-'em-up enthusiasts.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Tatsujin relies on a distinct three-tiered color-coded weapon system that changes the Exedora’s firepower dynamically. Players collect Red crystals for a devastating forward-firing beam, Green for wide-spread plasma shots that sweep across the screen, and Blue for tracking lasers that home in on targets. Each weapon can be powered up multiple times by grabbing successive crystals of the same color. Alongside standard weaponry, the game features the infamous "Tatsujin Bomb"—a devastating screen-clearing skull-bomb attack that obliterates all minor enemies and heavily damages bosses. Progression is relentless, featuring checkpoint-based respawns, aggressive enemy waves that coordinate pincer attacks, and gigantic biomechanical bosses that demand precise memorization of their attack patterns.