As a 2007 release, Triggerheart Exelica was one of the last games that Sega itself released for the Dreamcast in Japan, where the system outlived its U.S. counterpart by almost five years (the last U.S. Release by Sega was NHL 2K2). So how does this near-final final shmup stack up to the rest of the excellent Dreamcast shmup library?
As an end game it is notable for several reasons
Multiple release formats. As was the case for several of the late Dreamcast releases, there was a Sega Direct limited edition version of the game which included a small art booklet, a phone card, a poster, and a soundtrack. In addition to that version, there was another Limited Edition version which included the soundtrack, and a Standard Edition featuring just the game. All of these releases came in a DVD-sized case, as was typical of these very late Dreamcast titles. As you might expect, each of these releases continues to demand a premium on eBay, with the rare Sega Direct version usually fetching over $200.
The Sega Direct, Limited, and Standard releases of the game
It has a good gimmick. Some of the best shmups have a gameplay gimmick Ikaruga's color-based gameplay, Gaiares' TOZ, and Gradius' power up system are all classic examples. Triggerheart's gimmick is the anchor shot, which allows you to grab enemies, use them as a shield, and spin around and throw them. This adds an almost wrestling-esque feel to the game at points and gives it a ton of replay value as you can try to figure out new ways to string together chains or best address the rougher sections of the game.
Its aesthetics elements aren't state of the art. There are many earlier, better looking shmups on the Dreamcast. Late system releases can be very hit and miss - sometimes they take advantage of all the development tricks learned on the games released previously and try to squeeze the most out of a system (e.g. Under Defeat for the Dreamcast), other times they are produced as budget titles and look cheap (e.g. the PS1's Shooter series of games). Triggerheart Exelica falls somewhere in the middle: it looks and sounds fine, but it isn't anything special. As it was Warashi's first (and only) outing on the Dreamcast, they may not have had much experience porting their arcade games to the hardware. In any case, the game doesn't stand out as either a budget title or a carefully polished high point for the system.
All in all Triggerheart Exelica is a fun game and a necessary addition to any shmup fans Dreamcast collection. Its status as a late system release gives it more of a reputation than it probably deserves, but it is a great game nonetheless.
Yeah, it's been a little while since I updated this. I apologize about that. So to herald my triumphant return to discussing the joys of horror gaming, I present you with a title so horrific and so foul that I must beseech you, nay, get down on my knees and beg you never, ever, ever to even consider playing it!
No, seriously, this game is terrible. Not only do I enjoy horror, I also can enjoy a horribly made game from time to time. I believe it's something to do with an almost kitsch value to it that makes it unique and allows me to laugh at it. The Ring: Terror's Realm did its best to go above and beyond anything I had ever experienced. I have beaten the title, and I can honestly claim that it is not only a bad game, it is the WORST game I have ever played. And I own Pit-Fighter for the Super Nintendo.
But I suppose an explanation is in order. The Ring: Terror's Realm is a Dreamcast game based upon the Ringu property, albeit an extremely loose take on it. The game follows Meg Rainman as she starts work at the Center for Disease Control following the death of her boyfriend Robert, who was also a CDC employee. Once at work, she begins exploring and investigating a strange computer program called RING, which apparently leads her into a strange and horrific virtual world where mankind battles it out in abandoned buildings against strange monsters.
I'm sorry, did I say monsters? I mean gorillas, cat things, and strange goblin-looking critters of various colors. And when I say abandoned buildings, I mean the CDC building. Yes, that is a bit of a spoiler, but you don't really want to play this game, so don't worry about it. The monsters don't really do much beyond running up and attacking you, which they have a nasty habit of doing at a rate that will prevent you from getting a round off if they get too close. They also randomly float in the air and drop down on top of you...I think that was more of a bug that never got resolved when the game was created. At least I hope it was.
To fight these critters, Meg has an arsenal of various weapons she will acquire, all fitted with laser sights, so you can aim at critters across the room, if you can see them with the fixed cameras and if they're standing upright. Perhaps the greatest point in the game's favor, at least in my opinion, is that Meg's also not a total pushover. She can fight while unarmed, knocking the monsters away or kicking them, which is especially useful on the cat creatures.
...but I won't be too critical of them. I feel its appearance is out of place for a Dreamcast title, but we are retro gamers. Games don't have to look spectacular for us to enjoy them. Just understand that people look blocky and move in unnatural means, and the textures are bland and repetitive. And creature movement isn't any better. There are some nifty mechanics with enemies having a difficult time detecting you in the dark, but it rarely comes into play.
As for the sound, there's only a handful of musical tracks, and these usually consist of five, maybe six notes in a sequence before repeating. It quickly becomes nauseatingly repetitive, and the creature sounds feel off. The voice acting is also some of the absolute worst, with the random friend who appears in the intro video earning my choice as the worst actor ever. The only saving grace is the sound at the starting menu of the game, where confirmations reward the player with the most satisfying squishing sounds I've ever heard. I broke into peals of laughter every time I heard them.
And finally there's the story exposition. Or the lack thereof.
You will need a guide for this game, or a lot of free time, because very rarely are you told what you are supposed to do next. Characters sometimes speak in broken English and conversation always comes off as stilted and disjointed. There's also little in the way of true character development, and most seems to be there solely to fill a stereotype or perform a nameless role. Characters will sometimes fly off the handle for no real reason in an unexpected emotional outburst. It makes for some tough going.
If you're really interested in seeing some gameplay, here's a video. You'll have to skip to about the 1:00 minute mark to get past their intro, but if you want a good laugh, check it out:
If this YouTube clip is to be believed, then what we have is the first PC emulation of the Sega Naomi arcade board on a PC...
What you see in this video clip is a screen capture of the Naomi BIOS running on a Dreamcast emulator on the PC. The hack was done by a guy by the nickname of drkIIRaziel, and he has revealed nothing more about how he did it, nor has he released any of the files used in his experiments. As of the moment, no games are working on it, but that will likely change now that they have the BIOS running on the emulator.
Now, this video may look like a whole bunch of nothing to you, but in actuality, this is a huge breakthrough in the emulation community, and the "modern-classic" gaming community as a whole. If this video is accurate, this is the first step to being able to emulate the arcade versions of many Dreamcast classics, such as Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000, Cosmic Smash, Crazy Taxi, Dead or Alive 2, Guilty Gear X, House of the Dead 2, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Both Power Stone games, and Samba De Amigo.
But, this news should excite fans of "shmups" the most, since these arcade games may be emulated on the PC in the very near future: Border Down, Cannon Spike (or Gun Spike if you're an elitist loser), Giga Wing 2, Ikaruga, Radilgy, Trigger Heart Exelica, and Under Defeat. Me, I'm not a fan of shumps (not even Ikaruga) and I really don't care what happens with them. But the fans of that genre are pretty hardcore about their fandom, and this will get them even closer to the original arcade experience of their favorite games.
This cracking of the bios could very well contribute to the death of the now aging Naomi hardware, which is still being used for niche shmup and fighting games in Japan, but Nintendo and Sega did recently use the hardware when they made Rhythm Tengoku back in 2006. Just so you get some idea of how long the Naomi hardware has been in use, Neo Geo MVS (the longest running arcade system) was discontinued after 14 years, the Naomi is just coming up on 10 years. Impressive lifespan for an arcade system.
With a year of speculation and anticipation, a Wii version of this Dreamcast classic has made its rounds in the rumor mill, and last month's announcement in Nintendo Power only caused more head scratching. Now comes news straight from Sega themselves confirming that this title is indeed coming to Wii. Developed by Gearbox Software (makers of Brothers in Arms and the PC Half-Life expansions) this title will be Wii exlusive with a release date of Spring 2008.
With a year of 
