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It's fair to say that Truxton Extreme has held my attention ever since it was first revealed.
The latest instalment in a series which started life in arcades all the way back in 1989, the game – which is helmed by Masahiro Yuge, former Toaplan staffer and the driving force (and composer) behind the entire series – stays true to the core of Truxton (also known as Tatsujin) and its 1992 sequel while ramping up the challenge and offering a 2026 lick of paint.
The game launches later this month, and with that in mind, I was invited to attend a preview event in nearby Nottingham – a hands-on session with a key difference: I'd be playing the game on a massive 'Epic' screen at VUE's Corner House cinema.
This huge display boasts HDR-boosted visuals and thumping 3D Dolby Atmos audio – as well as comfy reclining seats. It's the kind of setup I could only dream of having at home, and the perfect way to experience Yuge's resurrected vision for his beloved Truxton series, which he reacquired rights to in 2017 when he launched Tatsujin Co., Ltd.
A little bit of history is perhaps required here; the original Truxton is somewhat legendary in the world of arcade shmups. Tatsujin, the Japanese title, translates as 'Expert', and the 1989 release was certainly designed to separate the men from the boys. Granted, this was long before Toaplan birthed the 'bullet-hell' sub-genre with its final game, Batsugun, but the challenge is a stern one – and not just because dying returns you to a checkpoint that feels like it was ages ago in each level.
Mid-boss enemies are often deployed in pairs and can be as difficult to beat as the end-of-level boss, and hazardous projectiles have a nasty habit of heading exactly where your ship is moving. The power-up system also means you can be hopelessly exposed should you die at the wrong point.
Truxton II remained true to these core mechanics whilst offering superior visuals, but it had the misfortune of being released just as Street Fighter II was dominating arcades, and commercially underperformed (the only home port for many decades was the hard-to-find FM Towns version; thankfully, you can get it on modern-day systems now).
Returning to the series in 2026 could be seen as something of a gamble for Yuge and company, but Truxton's legendary status in Japanese coin-op circles has ensured a groundswell of interest from the shmup faithful – and, after experiencing it on a massive cinema screen, it's easy to see why.
The visuals have been spruced up with 3D, and the playing field is now presented in widescreen rather than TATE, but it's remarkable how much of the Truxton spirit remains intact – right down to the opening level's music, which is an updated version of that heard in the 1989 original. Familiar enemies also pop up, giving existing fans plenty to latch onto – but things definitely feel a little more accommodating this time around, a potential concession to draw more casual players in.
The most noticeable aspect of this is the introduction of a new 'EX' shot, which is charged by taking down enemies. By pressing X, you can unleash a powerful variant of your currently-equipped weapon which not only makes short work of most enemies, but also yields additional points.
Even so, newcomers might be best off easing themselves into the game with the 'Heart Starter' mode, which offers more forgiving gameplay. When you're ready for the real deal, there's also an 18-chapter Story campaign with artwork by none other than Junya Inoue, who has worked on Batsugun, DoDonPachi, ESP Ra.De., Progear and Deathsmiles during what has been a glittering career. Progress in this unlocks other modes, including the more traditional 'Arcade' option.
The focus of the preview event, however, was a friendly high score challenge in the game's time-limited 'Arena' mode. Boasting a fully powered-up and indestructible ship, the aim is to accrue as many points as possible within the time limit. Getting hit causes your craft to briefly become stunned, which means you lose valuable scoring time. It's actually a lot of fun working out where the big point-scoring opportunities exist within a rigid framework (fellow games journalist and Tomb Raider historian Daryl Baxter emerged victorious, somehow racking up an absolutely filthy score of over 4 million points).
During the same preview event, I was also able to try out Truxton Extreme on a ROG Xbox Ally, and, as you might expect, it performs flawlessly and should make for a solid portable score-chaining experience when it launches on July 30th – it's just a shame that I won't get to continue playing it on a ridiculously massive screen.
Thanks to Overload PR, Alex Verrey and Alasdair Hibberd for arranging this very special preview event.