This game always make me remember Mark from CGR as well. I play this at least once a year or so, it's a great game. I've never finished it unless I can't remember finishing it - it's pretty tough.

@RetroPiero

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah...Mark. Jesus what happened to his channel? He simply dropped his show and just started reviewing comics and podcasts that one is watching. Rip.

@ThePirateCasey

2 жыл бұрын

@@RetroPiero If I remember correctly, he sold all his old video's to amazon. I'm sure there is more to it though.

@navibc31

2 жыл бұрын

@@ThePirateCasey I think I read part of it was that KZread copyright strikes were really hitting him hard and it wasn't financially viable. I do remember that he had to turn off his pinball and arcade machines in the background due to that as well

@PvtHudson

2 жыл бұрын

@@navibc31 I wasn't aware he was getting hit with copyright strikes. From who and for what? So many video game reviewers out there and I don't recall him ever using someone else's footage.

@lesserspottedmugwump.363

2 жыл бұрын

I thought it was ultra rare. My first mega drive game. I never got very far.

I also miss CGR. It seems that Mark was operating with more costs than profit was coming in, he got sick of the constant KZread copyright strikes, and he failed to engage well with fans to grow the channel to what people wanted. In the end he evicted Derek with zero notice, completely pivoted away to comics, and lost his entire audience. It's honestly pretty weird as Mark's been a historical documentary producer for a long time. I always found it odd he had that gigantic commercial premises which would usually house a business of say 20+ employees and wondered how on earth he could afford it just from KZread videos. I guess he couldn't.

@pengwin_

2 жыл бұрын

his daddy is rich

@YoureNotAlexander

2 жыл бұрын

@@pengwin_ Kinda got the vibe he was spending someone else's money....much to that "someone else's" great disappointment.

@rfcbass6810

8 ай бұрын

He is back.

@ralfvanbogaert3451

6 ай бұрын

It's baffling. Mark had a lot of things going for him, he was there first, had charisma, humor and a very listenable voice, but great at business he wasn't, with his all-over-the-place alienating branding and attempts at catchphrases (Lord Karnage, Turbo Volcano, wha?...) and a focus on quantity over quality. I'm guessing he was as coked up as that chicken of his maybe.

Finally, people will realize that Truxton isn't worth $200 and I can pick up a copy. Thank you for your good works.

Just looking at the video gives me eye strain - I can't imagine having to finish all five levels of this (even worse 3 times to get all the endings). I salute you for powering through.

I love how clumsily the manuals tried to imbue a sense of story to this old games: "You are Tom "The Bomb", a rogue maverick in the far reaches of space, fighting against the evil of... Who am I kidding, just shoot 'em all"

The sped up music is caused by a compatibility glitch that outputs the music at PAL settings that results in it running at 120% speed. That glitch got past testing because the Genesis port was infamously rushed compared to the more stable PC-Engine version.

@northprime_unlimited

2 жыл бұрын

Personally I prefer the PC Engine/TurboGrafix music, it has a fuller sound and it has drums.

Classic Game Room went back to being a documentary filmmaker if I remember correctly. I always wondered why he picked Truxton as his trademark.

@AFnord

2 жыл бұрын

Probably nostalgia. This was one of the "system sellers" in the very early days of the Genesis/Mega Drive, and I guess he played it when it was pretty new and was impressed by it (when it was released it was quite impressive, more so than many other early titles, like Altered Beast, but it did not take long before more impressive games were released)

Super cool review, thank you Pam! 🤩

Wow I totally forgot I had this game as a kid. Thanks for the trip back!

I thought I knew a lot about games until I found this channel, I just watched all and learned a lot. Thanks!

@Cannotbetamed1

2 жыл бұрын

No problem

miss classic game room 😩. I had a chance to pick this up a couple of years ago.. hope to see a musha review from you too . 😊 Edit: I found it.. watching it now!! 😌

@hepwo91222

2 жыл бұрын

MUSHA on original hardware might be pricey, better to emulate these days due to price. MUSHA great game though. Lightening Force (ThunderForce 4) is probably my fave Genesis shmup of all time, THunderforce 3 was pretty good too

@gamerguy425

2 жыл бұрын

If you don't have it, Musha Aleste (the Japanese version) is like 1/4 as expensive and it's the exact same game, you don't need to learn any japanese to play it, and you can just watch the cutscenes in english online. I got it when it was only $60 CIB, but nowadays it can be had for as (comparitively) little as $130 for a loose cart. It can be played on Model 3 gens or other models with a game genie. I was honeslty MEGA dissapointed by that game after mark hyped it to high heavens, having a loud, noisy ridiculously technical soundtrack does not automatically mean good. Raiden Trad is a better vertical shooter and much less expensive. *Also she already reviewd Musha 4 years ago as I look in the reccomended section*

@benkizer9509

2 жыл бұрын

She's done one already. kzread.info/dash/bejne/pnaKmLN_gJSpaJs.html

@joeyjo-joshabadu9636

2 жыл бұрын

She reviewed MUSHA a while back.

So rad of you to review this!!!!!

yay Pam's back on Genesis. I love seeing a fresh perspective on my favorite consoles, looking forward to more Sega stuff in the future.

Well hello there fellow Truxton player! I just found your channel tonight. Did a search of 'truxton', and here ya are! Great vids! I remember saving up allowance money and my mom taking me to Target to go buy this game. It quickly became one of my Genesis favorites. Now, I'm sure you're probably already aware of this, but I remember reading in GamePro magazine when I was a teen that if you pause the game after using a bomb, if it becomes paused while the skull is visible, the bomb will continue to damage enemies. Pause with skull visible, wait like 20-30 seconds, un-pause, Boom!

I'm so glad I have this on my arcade box. Its a cool shooter.

This was the first Genesis game I played when I got my system. I loved it and the Genesis became my favorite system. This was back in early 1992.

@rroberts2023

5 ай бұрын

But now Tatsujin 3 aka Truxton Extreme is out on switch and PS5. Vertical shoot-em-up on horizontal 3D graphics

@alanlinnell6817

5 ай бұрын

@@rroberts2023 Thanks, I love that series!

the controls are spot on and love the music. best bomb ever. its legendary.

I'm loving these Genesis reviews, keep up the good work!

That's great that you are coordinated with the Truxton explosion. Like so many, I just know this one from CGR. I burnt out on playing shooters from the PC engine mini, but still can listen to reviews!

I remember this game being almost everywhere when the Mega Drive was released over here. Every almost demo unit they had set up would have Truxton running. And this was how I was introduced to the entire SHMUP genre, so I'm kind of nostalgic about this game. But this was most likely a game that benefited greatly from being a very early Mega Drive/Genesis release, and had it been released just a little bit later it would have been overshadowed by all the other great games released for the system.

big fan of the wardrobe department on this one! haha great color pallet, and beautifully executed.

Excellent video as always

@Cannotbetamed1

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Well, that thumbnail worked on me! haha Good review, it also reminds me of CGR. I agree that they could have done more with the static background tiles. Also the bullets blending in with your weapon on the last stage was a bad design decision!

The sheer number of times Mark mentioned Truxton during reviews for other items on CGR is pretty impressive. Honestly, while Truxton is a good, solid shooter on Genesis, I think even the other shooters on Genesis alone make Truxton easy to overlook. There're just so many interesting shooters on Genesis. Also, I have to say, when I saw this video in my subscriptions, I immediately had two questions: 1) Will Pam mention CGR? 2) Will Pam do a cover of Mark's Truxton song?

@Cannotbetamed1

2 жыл бұрын

Sorry for the lack of cover

Would luv to see more reviews of classic shmups from the 16 bit era when there were soooo many of those games. Genesis, SNES, Turbografx-16, and Neo Geo had a lot of goodies.

So many good shooters back in the late eighties to early nineties. Both Toaplan and Compile made some unforgettable classics, Truxton is certainly one of them. This is for sure a game that brings back memories of Mark and his Classic Game Room

The one I played on my mega drive/ genesis was called Tatsujin. One of the best shmups ever! A childhood fav of mine

There is a workman like charm to these early Genesis games that I can't quite explain. Maybe it is the excitement of watching a console find an identity and anything is possible. With the Super Nintendo it seems to have sprung fully formed. Before you mentioned it, I thought the character was an anime guy. Great video, you are on a hot streak.

This is funny you are covering this today. I just picked this up for my iiRcade this morning

@Cannotbetamed1

2 жыл бұрын

Nice

Now at a point where I feel nostalgic for a YT channel. Always fun to go through CGR's library and remember the days.

Ahh, Classic Game Room, brings back good memories. The flashing skull/clown face during that one boss was jarring.

I missed playing this game. Definitely one of my favorite space shooters.

I still watch CGR episodes from time to time. That channel was so good! Personally I think what happened was being on an intergalactic spaceship they got too far away from us to where at the speed of light it would still take thousands of years to contact them. I like to think Mark is still playing classic video games from viewers whom he puts a thumbtack on maps from other planets. Also is it just me or is that star field background the same one when you travel to a different planet from Phantasy Star? Maybe in the hectic heat of battle you killed Alis? There goes the fate of the Algol System.

Got this game with a hand-me-down Genesis as a kid, and it kicked my ass. Good memories.

I remember paying this at my local arcade back in the day, very challenging. Never even knew it was on the Genesis.

Great Toaplan shmup!

I rented this & MUSHA back in the day. I was quite surprised that both had attained such incredible reputations. If I knew they'd be this sought-after, I'd never have returned them to Doorstep Video, along with that Tengen Tetris cart, lol.

one of my all time favorite shmups!

Never heard of this, thanks for sharing!

Mr PLANdemic loves Truxton.

Thanks for the polykill recommend the other day on stream. I went back and listened to the ep with you and Petee on power hour and it was great! Then I checked out the other podcasts and they are great as well.

I love the sound track to this game

Recently spotted Truxton on a map in AZ and was immediately reminded of Mark n CGR

These classic shooters were hard for me when I was a kid. Getting close to 50 now and I don't think there's any way I could do well in them. I am pretty glad some newer games do not rely on great reflexes.

I love the shmup reviews please keep them coming! It's a niche genre but it's one I'm completely addicted to. Truxton is great but it is very adept at kicking my a**. Not for the faint of heart but worth it. And there's something special about the mega drive / Genesis games. I also agree it's on the next tier down for its era from the likes of Thunder Force and Musha

Visually, this is one of the prettiest shooters on the Genesis, I've got to say. Something about the visual presentation really resonates with me. Love the look you've gone for in this video, you always have such impeccable tastes on that front.

Holy crap this game IS real, I swear I thought I made it up in my head because I never known anyone else that played this

Damn Pam. nice review. i used to play this a ton at a friend's house.

Sorry if this is off topic, but you look incredible here Pam.

Excellent video, as usual! I love Truxton, its atmospher, its gameplay, its challenge… but I can understand people who don’t like it. But one of my favorite feature about this version and the PC Engine port is the gorgeous artworks on the boxes: pieces of work that even H.R. Giger wouldn’t deny!

Awesome video :) I've never heard about this game

truxton = amazing soundtrack, one of the best of all time

Truxton is one of the first titles I remember playing on the Genesis (okay, Mega Drive). It may even have been the very first, because I asociate it so hard with the shape of the gamepad. Space-age stuff all the way!

I love these classic shooters so much.

I enjoyed this game so much. Music is too good for me, helps you concentrate with excitement. I know there are better shooters out there, but this will always hold as a Solid shooter for me. Thanks for covering it.

I really love this game, my favourite one of Sega Mega Drive. Superb!!

Toaplan shooters are definitely are an acquired taste and can I see why many people just don't get what all the hype is about. I was one of these people, until I got rather good at shooters, got addicted to them, decided to to give the Toaplan library another go and it all began to click with me. Their early to mid period shooters are slow paced, all have kind of drab graphics devoid of many special effects, "different" art style and feature unconventional and minimalistic music scores. In some ways, their shooters are the polar opposites of Compile's, which are all fast, flashy, catchy and noobie-friendly. However, it is arguably Toaplan that ended up being more influential and is considered to be the daddy of the modern shooter/shmup/STG. Anyhow, when you become good enough to properly enjoy them, their shooters truly reveal themselves to you. Toaplan's "magic" is in the gameplay, which is tough but fair, and has the right design elements and pacing to put you in the "zone", which all true STG fans crave. The experience becomes hypnotic and puts you in a kind of "trance", where you react automatically and just go with the flow, resulting in a very pleasant release of endorphins. Their droning, "not immediately catchy but grow on you" and minimalistic music scores are designed to compliment this experience. There's also the elusive "one more go" quality to their gameplay, which makes it hard for me to stop playing. The fact that most of their games are of the "one continuous stage" variety, only reinforces this. Like most retro games, Truxton has to be reviewed in the context of when it was released. For a 1989 Genesis game, it was a very impressive, arcade-like experience, with a level presentation that completely blew away anything possible on the NES or SMS. While the total lack of parallax scrolling is disappointing, the rather colorful graphics, large sprites, interesting enemy animations (such as bosses and mini-bosses catching fire when damaged), huge bosses, stupendous weapon and bomb effects, and generally unique art style, all impressed, especially considering that the only other high profile shooter on the system was the rather blandly presented (other than the music) Thunder Force 2. Yes, MUSHA came out a year later and totally blew it away presentation-wise, but then again, Compile were true wizards with any hardware they worked on and no other Genesis vertical shooter really matches MUSHA in that regard. It is rather unfortunate that as the developers began to truly take advantage of the Genesis hardware and expanded cart capacity, the vertical shooter fell out of favor as a mainstream genre and we never got to see an 8+ Mbit Genesis vertical shooter on the same level of quality as Thunder Force IV. By the way, the subsequent PC Engine port is good, featuring better colors and music. However, it's missing the cool dynamic enemy damage animations that I mentioned before and often struggles to keep up when you're fully powered up, resulting in slowdown and excessive sprite flicker. It also has a much more brutal difficulty curve. Overall, I do prefer the Genesis version.

A late 80s early Genesis/PC Engine arcade port is such a uniquely specific era and feel

I loved the game when i was young.

Ahh, Truxton. My friends and I used to have arcade challenges on Tatsujin all the time to see who could get the farthest, and we dumped a lot of quarters into it. I remember the first time "beating" it, going wild... only to watch the game loop from the beginning seconds later!!! Ahhh! Good times :)

Retro shooters are incredible. I loved gyrus growing up. Btw love your channel and how genuine it is. Doesn’t feel fake like a lot of channels and I truly enjoy your content

@Cannotbetamed1

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much

Hahaha you always review my favorite games!

The bullet size was the first thing I noticed. Sure, on some stages it’s perfectly fine.. but the rest.. omg! So, it’s not just you that needed glasses haha. My compliments about your fashion style. It looks great on you:)

I always enjoyed this game!

Thanks for the video review! I like Truxton and R-Type but I have a thing for space shooters of all eras. Truxton is definately a late 80s shooter and they were all kinda the same sound and style wise. I do have a thing for shooters from that era (as well as beat em ups and other stuff) because I like how the visual color palettes always had tons of white shading and they tried to make the sprites as big as possible. Also I love the music but I'm also a massive fan of FM synthesis. Things changed in the 90s with Gaiares, Whip Rush and certainly Lightening Force which are all incredible games with the last one having some pretty heavy 90s SNK shooter influence, they all still get regular play from me (Currently playing Andro Dunos on Neo Geo so I can go see what the hell Andro Dunos 2 is all about) Great video review and video capture! 🤘🏽

PERFECT!!!

Even though this game has nothing on "insert any Compile game here", seeing the thumbnail made me instantly click this video :) Love me some Pam reviews.

@Cannotbetamed1

2 жыл бұрын

It's hard to compete with Compile.

Awesome! I remember this game on my Genesis. Now I play it on an emulator....CLASSIC!! Forgot to add it is a really hard and unfair game!! LOL Thank you for posting

Truxton is one of my favorite schmups . I got it when it first came out on Genesis. I play now on steam but would love to play on my consoles. I disagree with Pam on the music. I love the music and got hooked on it the first time I played. Have seen Truxton II but never played. Great if both would come out on Playstation or Switch some day. Thanks for the review Pam

Haha, I was thinking the exact same thing... "when i hear Truxton I think of CGR." Now I also think of the funny parody of various video game channels that Game Sack did, which included CGR. Great vid pam!

This game looks like a fun shooter for once. Original color palette.

I missed you!, Most beautiful game editor ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(Vampress)

that read of the manual's intro would fit perfectly on an attract screen for an updated arcade version or something lol. I never thought Truxton was great but this video is, I think it's important for us retro gamers to put some respect on the OGs and I always appreciate the efforts you're putting in in that regard!

Goddamned, instantly reminded me of Classic Game Room.

I just recently purchased an arcade stick and have been getting into Toaplan shmups. I hope you cover some more!

Mark has actually just signed on to narrate a documentary about Toaplan, the developers of this game. I understand your impressions of it, they're how I felt about pretty much every Toaplan shooter (Twin Cobra, Sky Shark, Hellfire, etc.) before I got really into shmups. That's when I found out Toaplan are revered by that community, and they're responsible for many of the key elements that defined the genre over the years (the screen clearing bomb, giant weapon spreads, the creation of bullet hell, etc). The thing about Toaplan's games is they nail the fundamentals - movement feel, sense of impact, encounter design, etc. I had always thought Truxton looked awesome in magazines, but never had a Genesis as a kid. I finally got the game this year (JP Mega Drive version), and I personally find it holds up really well. But I can totally understand why someone who likes the genre but doesn't obsess over it would rather spend their time on something like the Thunder Force games, which deliver on both the fundamentals and the spectacle. One side note of trivia - the need to scroll the playfield left and right isn't due to the righthand display, it's part of the design and was present in the arcade version as well. The arcade machine used a monitor arranged vertically (a setup called 'TATE', you might be familiar), to give the player more visual space in front of them. The side of the screen in the Genesis version being blocked off for lives/score etc. was done to mimic this aspect ratio, rather than having to redesign enemy encounters to accommodate a squashed 4:3 space. I think all their Genesis games do this. The wider playfield off-screen gives the player more space to maneuver, and helps prevent things from feeling like they're trapped in an alley being shot at.

Incredible review and anyone else excited for the Toaplan documentary. I hope Cannot Be Tamed features U.N. Squadron, R-Type Delta, and Rez in the future.

great review.

@Cannotbetamed1

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

I would HIGHLY recommend you check out "Vapor Trail" on the Genesis, if you have the time. That's also a top-down shooter, but the soundtrack is just PHENOMENAL. It's more on the realistic/military side, but I REALLY did enjoy it.

@damienhailey118

2 жыл бұрын

The funny thing about Vapor Trail is its sequels. The first one, Wolf Fang(a.k.a Rohga Armor Force), was a near-total genre change to a horizontal-scrolling game with Mechs. Then the second sequel, Skull Fang, went back to Vertical shooting with jets. But all three games are in continuity with each other, and are in fact direct sequels.

Mark and CGR are back!!!

That lava stage with the tiny enemy bullets looks so unfair

Thank you!

Hi Pam. Great video. I wish they had multiple options for how they did the UI. Just seems cheap to get one shot from off screen.

Good video! I miss CGR too! You have a different perspective on this game! I have to dig my copy out and try it again! As Mark would say: Truxton, Truxton!!

Love this game! And the PC Engine soundtrack is a masterpiece. Someone needs to re-release this or remake it! Cheers!

With my space ships Of red, blue and green You'll hear the crowd of ladies scream! WE WANT TRUXTOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!

Never played this Shmup, but I don't think I am missing out based on the review. The music used from the game for this video reminds me of early 80's pinball machines and that's not really a compliment. Thank you for the review Pam! Definitely going to check out the Musha review next.

yo that game was sick

I used to love these type of games in the arcades but can never remember any of their names! There was one with helicopters which I used to enjoy.

Hell yeah Tatsujin and Musha are my favorite megadrive shooters!

The echo effect on the story was a nice touch.

@Cannotbetamed1

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks

Ha, a double blast from the past. Not only CGR, but I actually had Truxton as a kid. Would always wear me out, and probably had me beaten before then too. Still went back to it though. A big source of inspiration for a fertile young mind

This is my favorite genesis game of all games and as good as it gets for shmups

Looks like a fun shoot em' up game.

Love your presentation as always. Well-researched, and solid points.

Truxton was always available for renting at the local rental store I used to rent games.. Nobody wanted it! Now I see it's such a great game.

i loved the game in my megadrive, a lot of hours diying and diying again xD

This and Raiden I didn't mind. This was one of the first Megadrive/Genesis games.

Ahhhh Tatsujin.... One of my all time favourites. The pcengine is my favourite versión. Hard as nails and addicting.

Good review. Tells it like it is and gives us what we need to know. I think I got this on a Multicart. Personally, I'm not big on Shmups, Although I dont hate them, I just prefer Beat Em Ups or Platformers. I like how you said how many Continues you get. Most of the time reviewers don't, other than Snes Drunk. Personally, I think if something started in the Arcades, it otta have Unlimited Continues as in the Arcade you can just put in another Token. Looking forward to more Genesis Reviews from you. You do em well.

@Cannotbetamed1

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!