Trigger Heart Exelica is a shoot 'em up by Warashi, makers of the Saturn shooting game Shienryu. It was released in Japanese arcades in early 2006. The game runs on Sega's Naomi hardware.

The game involves playing 1 of 2 anthropomorphic fighters to battle against 5 stages of enemy ships. Exelica specializes in wide area attacks, while Crueltear uses concentrated front shots. Players can fire anchors to catch enemy ships, then use the caught unit as a shield or throw it to inflict more damage. Like Zanac, this game dynamically adjusts difficulty based on the player's in-game performance.

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Triggerheart Exelica hits XBLA on February 27

Posted Feb 22nd 2008 8:35AM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: News, Xbox Live Arcade

According to the product (translated) and information (translated) pages on the website of developer WARASHI Inc., Triggerheart Excelica will hit Xbox Live Arcade on February 27. For those of you keeping track at home, that means you can re-experience this classic top-down shooter on Wednesday.

Like recent re-releases, the game will set you back 800 MS Points and promises both the classic and a reconstructed version - which are words for looking hella-good in HD mode. Triggerheart Excelica is another in a long line-up of solid releases for the XBLA platform and if it actually does hit this week, because sometimes developers speak a little too soon on XBLA release dates, gamers are in for a pleasant surprise. Oh and you can release Ikaruga anytime guys. Seriously.

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Mankind's newest and best weapon is the Triggerheart, a humanoid weapons system with a human-like personality. When the Ver'mith attack, only the Triggerhearts Exelica and Crueltear have the power to destroy the enemy. In the classic vertically-scrolling Japanese arcade shooter Triggerheart Exelica, each weapon has a different combat style, but both can perform unique anchor shots. Anchor an enemy ship, capture it to use as a shield, or throw it back into the fray to cause massive damage. With five levels, three difficulty settings, and all the usual Xbox LIVE® leaderboards and achievements, Triggerheart Exelica is a fast-paced, full-featured arcade shooter masterpiece!


* Unique anchor shot element: The Triggerhearts can anchor enemies, capture them to use as a shield, or toss them back into the field of battle to cause havoc.

* V.B.A.S. (Variable Boss Attack System): The game dynamically reacts to your skill level. If you have a low score, the bosses will be slightly easier to defeat. Carry a higher score, and the bosses become more challenging.

* High-def graphics: Fully compatible with HDTVs, the graphics bring the top-down shooter genre to a new level of intensity.

* New music: New background music willl have you grooving to the rhythm as you destroy the Ver'mith.

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f there’s one thing that video games have taught me over the years, it’s that, when the inevitable alien invasion comes, there’s going to be no shortage of cool-looking, futuristic, armored characters to save the day by obliterating anything that moves. And, if we’re lucky, our armed-to-the-teeth heroes will be cute, little anime girls, such as the heroes in the upcoming XBLA port of the hit Japanese shooter, Triggerheart Exelica.

Triggerheart Exelica is a port of the Dreamcast game from the popular Japanese developer Warashi. The game is a vertical-scrolling, sci-fi shooter, pitting the player against wave after wave of spaceships, tanks and other enemy forces of all shapes and sizes. Players choose between two armored warriors, Exelica and Crueltear. For the most part, both characters play the same way, with the only difference between them being how they fire their respective main weapons: Exelica’s main gun fires in a spread pattern, doing a respectable job of taking out larger numbers of weaker enemies fairly quickly, while Crueltear’s dual cannons fire a straight and steady stream, perfect for unloading the maximum damage possible into a single target.

Another twist to the Triggerhearts’ arsenal is the Anchor Shot. The Anchor Shot can draw in the score drops that fall from defeated enemies, but the real fun comes courtesy of its towing capabilities. By firing the Anchor Shot at an enemy, the player can temporarily lock onto and capture the ship. Once captured, the ship can be used as a shield to protect the player from the onslaught of gunfire—until it finally loses enough strength to eventually blow up.

Another more interesting use for captured enemies gives the player the ability to swing one around in a sort of improvised hammer throw. Spinning the captured enemy takes out surrounding ships, while throwing the enemy can take out whole groupings. This adds an extra level of excitement, as you can’t help but feel like you just scored a strike in bowling when a well-timed throw clears the screen of attackers.

Triggerheart Exelica is a pretty sharp-looking game at this stage of development. The graphics are crisp and clean, and there’s a lot of color flashing around. It takes a little bit to get used to the game’s trimmed playfield, as the vertical letterboxing can sometime make things feel a bit cramped. It would have been nice to have an option to change the game’s orientation from vertical to horizontal, especially for those of us playing on a widescreen monitor. Still, the game manages to make the most of its limited screen with a slew of action going on. You’ll have to learn to keep a close eye on your character, though, as you can easily lose track of her among the crowds of ships, tanks and flashy laser fire.

Controlling the action in Triggerheart Exelica is surprisingly easy. The trickiest part of the game is making the most out of the Anchor Shot. By default, capturing a ship will send you (and your catch) into an autospin. This is good for beginners, but you’ll quickly want to head over to the options and turn this off. Without the Autospin option, you’re given more control of the captured enemy. You can charge forward with it as a battering ram or start swinging around at will. The extra control doesn’t take too much to learn to use effectively, and it adds a whole extra level of gameplay that makes the game even more fun.

Triggerheart Exelica is shaping up to be a pretty solid entry to the XBLA library. If you missed the experience before on the Dreamcast, this is your second chance to scratch that itchy trigger finger. The game’s got the looks to impress and the gameplay to entertain, making it well worth checking out when it drops on the Marketplace. Old-school action with a next-gen flavor equals a good time to be had. Anime girls. Big Robots. Lots of explosions. What more could a gamer ask for?

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Exelica Normal Ending
10
Complete the game playing as Exelica (Normal Ending).

Crueltear Normal Ending
10
Complete the game playing as Crueltear (Normal Ending).

Exelica True Ending
20
Complete the game playing as Exelica (True Ending).

Crueltear True Ending
20
Complete the game playing as Crueltear (True Ending).

Score 50,000,000
10
Complete the game with a score of 50,000,000 points.

Score 100,000,000
20
Complete the game with a score of 100,000,000 points.

Destroy Faintear (Level 1)
15
Destroy Faintear in the first level.

Destroy Faintear (Level 3)
20
Destroy Faintear in the third level.

No Miss Clear
15
Complete the entire game without losing a life.

No Bomb Clear
15
Complete the entire game without using a bomb.

Hard Mode 1CC
20
Complete the entire game at the highest difficulty level and without using a continue.

Perfect Play
25
Destroy all the bosses and complete the entire game without dying at Normal difficulty or higher.

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robot said:

online co-op? please?

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_dementia said:

Out of all the Naomi shmups to port...

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Shard said:

Well, since you have played the game, why don't you give us the rundown?

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_dementia said:

Mecha-Lolis with anchors.

Utilizing enemy ships as projectiles and shields is an interesting concept.
The graphics weren't very good for a Naomi title - especially considering this was released after Border Down and Under Defeat, and for whatever reason I never got into it.

The original game has no co-operative play at all, so I doubt this will have any online or otherwise.

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Dark Octave said:

Looks decent enough for a $10 purchase. How many levels in all?

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Shard said:

5 Stages.

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PepsimanVsJoe said:

Hmm I will buy this in support of 2D shooters on the 360(and so hopefully better ones get released).

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Shard said:

Like Ikaruga and Omega Five.

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Scopebob Sniperpants said:

Any cheap xbox/ps2/360 recommendations for me? I want to get into this genre a little more. I play too much Galaga. I need something more modern and challenging.

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PepsimanVsJoe said:

I'd rather have Cave/Raizing games to be honest...
Seriously I would suck dicks(yes dicks, as in more than one) for Cave/Raizing shooters on the 360.

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DigitalA1chemy said:

Wow, I didn't even know this was coming. What an awesome surprise. Between this, Ikaruga, that Raiden Fighters collection, Omega 5, and the Senko no Ronde games on 360, the whole "shooterbox" nickname may be taking on a completely different meaning for me

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Mamesj said:

I would film a sequel to 2girls1cup for Ibara, Dodonpachi-daioujou, and Mushihime-sama releases on the 360.

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kazuo said:

I would much rather see a XBL port of Border Down, though. We already got Senko no Ronde so I don't see what else they could port in terms of Naomi shooters aside from Ikaruga (which is already on the way).

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Shard said:

Does Cave still exist as an entity?

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Anchors Aweigh! Triggerheart Exelica Scrolls Onto Xbox LIVE Arcade This Wednesday

A unique spin on a classic shooter, players can capture enemies with anchors and fling them away with “Triggerheart Exelica.” The vertical scrolling shooter deploys on Xbox LIVE Arcade this Wednesday, February 27 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (1:00 a.m. PST).

“Triggerheart Exelica” on Xbox LIVE Arcade is an upgraded version of the original Japanese arcade game and allows players to take down or trap and toss enemies by controlling humanoid weapons systems known as Triggerhearts. Players will enjoy the smallest and newest model of Triggerhearts, which feature the perfect blend of artificial intelligence and an imposing arsenal. They are the ultimate weapon against the mysterious enemy ships of the Ver’mith! “Triggerheart Exelica” also features five stages of enhanced graphics, BGM sound tracks, three difficulty levels and a “Variable Boss Attack System,” which adjusts the difficulty level to match player’s skills.

“Triggerheart Exelica” will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated E10+ by the ESRB. For more details on “Triggerheart Exelica” please visit:

· http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/t/triggerheartxboxlivearcade

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I hope Cave can get their games released on XBLA or PSN since they no longer seem to be getting console ports.

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Yes, and now they're branching out to DS development:
http://ruliweb.empas.com/ruliboard/r...s&find=&ftext=

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Tain said:

Cave isn't developing Ketsui DS. It's completely, totally 100% Arika.

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_dementia said:

Out of all the Naomi shmups to port...

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Tain said:

Yeah, I kinda jumped the gun on that one. I blame slow page loading.

Really, though, it's a weird move. Won't that be the first non-arcade game they've developed? Save maybe Steep Slope Sliders, but I don't remember if that was an arcade title or not.

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Vaxadrin said:

Does anyone know if you'll be able to rotate the screen in this game?

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Tain said:

Save maybe Steep Slope Sliders, but I don't remember if that was an arcade title or not.

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Vaxadrin said:

Does anyone know if you'll be able to rotate the screen in this game?

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_dementia said:

UNDER FUCKING DEFEAT

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Shard said:

First Video of the Xbox 360 Version of Triggerheart Exelica.

http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2008/02/25/557716.aspx

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