Triggerhearth Exelica

Triggerheart Exelica (トリガーハート エグゼリカ, Torigā Hāto Eguzerika) is a vertically scrolling shoot ’em up developed by Warashi for the Sega NAOMI platform. The game was first released in Japanese arcades in May 2006, and was later ported to the Sega Dreamcast, becoming the system’s penultimate licensed title when it was released in Japan on February 22, 2007—only two weeks prior to Karous.

Plot

In an unknown alien galaxy far away from the Milky Way, a war is waging between the Tilde Fleet, a group of human-like people and mysteriously violent robotic vehicles known as the Ver’mith led by the mysterious young woman Faintear. Two humanoid-soldiers belonging to the Triggerheart strike team, Exelica and programmed sister Crueltear, were busily fighting the Ver’mith during an attack when a portal opened and sucked the two young women in. Materializing on planet Earth, Exelica and Crueltear soon made Earth their new home as they had no means of return until a new portal opened and the Ver’mith appeared. Intent on making Earth their primary fortress of attack, the Ver’mith quickly make short work of Earth’s Defenses. Earth’s only hope rests on the Triggerheart sisters.

Gameplay

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.

Triggerhearts

The player controlled units are anthropomorphic fighters in leotard outfits called Spec Suits.

• TH60 EXELICA: Wide forward area shots, medium movement, slow anchor traction
• TH32 CRUELTEAR: Concentrated front shots, fast movement, fast anchor traction
• TH44 FAINTEAR: Laser worm shot, faster movement, fast anchor traction

TH44 Faintear is now a player selectable character.

Omelette, Watt, Triggerheart Backupper C’r_na, Skiltall (also called “Skilltor”), originally only part of story concept, now appears in the game.

Other new elements include event CG, story mode and an opening movie. The opening theme is “Gravity Error” by Ayane.

V.B.A.S. (Variable Boss Attack System)

Like Zanac, this game dynamically adjusts difficulty based on the player’s in-game performance. It affects the difficulty of game bosses. If player collects more score items, the harder the bosses will be to defeat.