"Not the best DC shooter but you could do a lot worse."

So the DC died in 2001? Well, as of 2005 many of us were still eagerly snapping up new releases and in this case the game was Trizeal by Triangle Service. Many screamed "not another shooter" but to us fans of the genre, this was something to be happy about. A few months earlier we had received Chaos Field which didn't quite live up to expectations. Anyway, seeing this, the developer put out a plea for people to buy Trizeal and give his company a chance. This, coupled with the fact that their first game, XIII Stag, received less than flattering reviews, lead many to write off Trizeal before it even hit the shelves.

So April 2005 arrived and my shiny new copy of Trizeal arrived in the post. Were the doubters right? Would I be disappointed? At first, yes, it seemed the naysayers were correct. There was nothing wrong graphically, the controls were ok, the sound was only average but you can't have it all, yet something just didn't seem right. I actually shelved the game for a while before deciding that it needed a second chance.

Anyway, step forward yet again and I've dragged Trizeal out. Wow, how wrong I was first time around. The game, while being fairly standard fair, is great. It has a forgiving learning curve and controls like a dream. As mentioned, the graphics are fine without being super high rez (like Under Defeat, etc) and do their job. The sounds could be improved as the explosions sound a little muffled and the soundtrack is like upbeat elevator music.

However it's the gameplay that is important in 2D scrolling shooters and Trizeal has that. Typically for most shooters, there's only 6 Levels and in no time, you should be flying through the first couple without raising a sweat. From around Level 3 the difficultly goes up a notch. By Level 4 it's starting to get very busy and Level's 5 & 6 will give you some real headaches. Still, this only adds to the games longevity.

I only have one real gripe with the games graphics and that is slowdown. At first you probably wont notice it that much but once you become good at the game and are fully powered up (see below) the slowdown becomes a real issue. There's no lag in hitting a button and having something happen but the game itself can really slow down to the point where it resembles a wheezing and puffing snail. In one or two areas this can be a blessing as it makes it easier to get through but for the most part it's very annoying.

You have 4 main weapons at your disposal. There's a spread beam, a homing fire and a forward laser plus of course a bomb. Each of these weapons, except for the bomb, starts at a rating of one and can be powered up until they have a rating of five (represented by small icons in the bottom of the screen). Each weapon can only be powered up while it is in use but here's the games little quirk. If you have all at there highest rating the weapon you choose to use will be very powerful but there will also be some fire from the other 2 as well. Say you use the spread beam, you will also have some firing coming from the homing missiles and the laser as well. Hit the button and the homing missiles are now your most powerful while the other 2 continue to contribute. Once fully powered up, you will be frying enemies in seconds that were costing you lives earlier.

A note on the bombs. You will score a bonus 10,000 points for each bomb you have left at the end of the level so if you are going for high scores, try not to use them.

By the way, do well in certain sections and the game throws in extra enemies. For example, in the first level, if you blow away pretty much everything their is you will receive and extra bomb. If this happens, be prepared as suddenly you will be confronted by 4 snake looking creatures that normally aren't there. In Level 3 you will get extra defence walls and ships to fight shortly before the asteroid belt. So be prepared if you are getting better at the game.

The game is a Japan only release yet like most shooters, no knowledge of Japanese is required. What's more, all menu's and on-screen text are in English anyway. Only the save commands and some end of game screens are in Japanese but you will soon work these out. You are also able to fully customise the controls to suit your preferences.

Overall, Trizeal is a good shooter. It will never mix with the likes of Ikaruga, Zero Gunner 2, Mars Matrix, etc but it will also never reach the prices some of those games command nowadays. As you will never find it in a rental store, you will have to buy it in order to play it. Still, you shouldn't be disappointed as I've played shooters that make Trizeal look and feel like a classic, even on the DC (Rainbow Cotton, I'm looking at you).

6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/08/06