Trizeal Remix

There's something I respect about Toshiaki Fujino. As the industry moved away from short attention span arcade games and towards online first-person shooters, the former Konami programmer stayed true the genres he loved. More specifically, the one genre he loved -- 2D shoot-em-ups. He didn't let the trends of the day dictate the kinds of games he made. And while I haven't always connected with his brand of shooters, I love that there are designers out who refuse to stop sending us into space to shoot down nasty alien fleets.

Released two years after G-Stream G 2020 and XII Stag, Trizeal was Triangle Service's third stab at the arcade shoot-em-up. We pilot a stylish red spaceship through six stages set deep in outer space. You'll weave through bullets, pick up power-ups, take on bosses and do all the things you normally do in vertical shooters.

While I already mentioned the ship's stylish red design, I forgot to note its most important feature. This is no ordinary spaceship; it's a transformer. We can shift into three different shapes at a push of a button, each with a different type of firepower. Sure, it's little more than a way to switch between weapons, but it's nice to see some thought put into the way the ship looks.

Initially programmed on Sega's Naomi board, Trizeal takes full advantage of the processing power to create entire armies of polygonal aliens. The result is a lot closer to a roller coaster ride than Triangle's previous outings. That said, 2D shoot-em-ups had been employing these types of polygonal enemies for a decade, so it felt more like Toshiaki Fujino was catching up than leading the pack.

That's really the problem with Trizeal in general. While it's admittedly fun, there isn't much here that you would call original. It's a by-the-numbers shooter, for better or worse. There's nothing about the backgrounds that stand out, the three weapons are painfully straight-forward and even the bosses feel like they were copied and pasted from other games. I had a good time playing it, but I'm not sure how much of it I'll remember in a month or two.

Click For the Full Picture Archive

Although the adventure is very short, Degica hopes you'll stick with the game long enough to unlock the extra ship and play through the alternate modes. You can also record your own replays and go up against the alien fleet with a second player. Service will have no issues with this loving re-release.

For many, this will be the first time they have a chance to experience Trizeal. Neither the arcade original nor PlayStation 2 version hit American shores, and you had to have more money than sense to import the ultra-rare Dreamcast port. While it's a fun and entertaining shooter, I'm not sure it was worth the wait. At least it's cheap.