Artwork for the Nintendo Switch Gamepak
The 2023 Re-release of Triggerheart Exelica is a shoot-em-up game developed and published by Cosmo Machia for the Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.
Overview[]
The Switch re-release utilizes the XBOX Live Arcade game as the base for the game. While the Arcade Mode is identical to the XBOX360 release, includes the additional features from the Dreamcast version reinstating the Story Mode and the Arrange Mode, making this re-release a "Complete" version of the XBOX version which was delisted in 2023.
Development[]
Acquisition of Triggerheart Exelica's rights[]
On May 15th of 2023, Cosmo Machia announced they acquired the rights of Warashi's Triggerheart Exelica which makes some sense since some of Cosmo Machia's workers are former Warashi developers.
Crowdfunding Project[]
Crowdfunding Project announcement
On July 5th they announced a Crowdfunding campaign for a Nintendo Switch release of Triggerheart Exelica under the name "17年以上の時を経て始動！「トリガーハート エグゼリカ」復活応援プロジェクト！" (17-Nen ijō no toki o hete shidō! Torigāhāto Eguzerika Fukkatsu ōen puroshiekuto [lit. "Started 17 years ago! Triggerheart Exelica's Revival Support Project"]. The initial goal of the project was to reach 3,000,000 Yen ($ 21,163.28 Dollars) to release the game on Switch with multi-language support, considering to release it on other consoles sometime later and maybe working on a sequel. The Crowdfunding ended with a total of 6,300,420 Yen ($ 44,445.84 Dollars) and a total of 745 supporters, doubling the original goal on August 5th, 2023.
On July 7, the company opened a Makuake "Crowfunding Project" for a release of Triggerheart Exelica on the Nintendo Switch, revealing future plans for the game.
- Arcade, Story, Arrange and Training Modes included.
- Online rankings.
- Tate mode support.
- Japanese, English, French, Italian, German and Spanish language support.
- Original and arrange soundtracks.
- No new modes - they're just bringing back the existing arcade, story, and arrange modes.
- Switch release first, but are considering other options.
- Possibilities for a sequel.
- The backer tier for the digital version is 3980 Yen.
First screenshots of the game[]
On August 8th, 2023, new screenshots of the game were shown on a Gamer.ne.jp article implying the release will be based on the XBOX Live Arcade version rather than the Dreamcast version as it was hinted on the first announcement. It was then unknown if it would be a rewrite of the XBLA port or a simple direct port of the game.
Delisting of the XBLA release, possible return to XBOX and Windows port[]
In the wake of the upcoming Switch release and the passing of Exelica's rights to Cosmo Machia, on August 31st, 2023, The XBOX Live Arcade version of Triggerheart Exelica was delisted from the XBOX Store. Cosmo Machia explained the reason was due to the expiration of the Microsoft/Warashi publishing deal, forcing Microsoft to pull the game from the XBOX store.
On September 6th, they announced on their Makuake crowdfunding article they're thinking on the possibility of returning to the XBOX as the new port along with porting the game on Windows as well.
Exelica at Tokyo Game Show 2023[]
On September 1st, Cosmo Machia announced that the Switch version of Triggerheart Exelica will be revealed on Konami's Tokyo Game Show from Thursday 21st to Sunday 24th.
Cosmo Machia said they are considering to release the Switch version for the XBOX and PC depending on how well the sales of the Switch version go.
Release Date, Red Art Games and PC version confirmation[]
Cosmo Machia finally released the game on December 14th in both physical and digital formats. On January 11th in 2024, Red Art Games announced the physical release of Triggerheart Exelica in the west region, however, a release date wasn't given yet. Red Art Games gave more information about the upcoming localization on February 13th when they announced the different editions of the game and confirming that Video Games Plus will release the Standard and Special Editions on North America, while Red Art Games will release the Standard, Deluxe and Collector's Editions.
On February 21st in 2024 Cosmo Machia announced an upcoming Steam port of the game along with the soundtrack called "Re:Sound Anchor". It was later revelaed the final release dates for the PC and Switch version for April 26th and May 2 respectively.
Links[]
- Official Website - [Japanese & English]
- Cosmo Machia crowdfunding project - [Japanese]
- PC Version announced on Cosmo Machia's Makakue page - [Japanese]
- Red Art Games Blog Announcement - [English]
- TriggerHeart EXELICA on Steam - [English]