is a vertically

scrolling shooter In computer displays, filmmaking, television production, and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display, vertically or horizontally. "Scrolling," as such, does not change the layout of the text ...

arcade video game An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arca ...

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

released in 1990. It was published in the US and Europe as ''Lightning Fighters''.

Development

The three composers for the game were also working on the music for the Famicom title ''

Crisis Force is a 1991 vertically scrolling Shoot 'em up, shooting game released by Konami in Japan for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Family Computer. The player controls one of two fighter ships piloted by Asuka and Maya, a pair of twin siblings descend ...

''. It was released in arcades in May 1990.

Plot

A gigantic alien spacecraft crash lands into a future Earth, carrying an army of alien warriors with it. The precise reason as to why or how the ship arrived is never revealed though their intention is made very clear: led by some sort of a self-aware biomechanical life form, the aliens directly attacked Earth and the only thing that was able to stop them were a pair of prototype starfighters with extremely advanced equipment including a "dragon laser" which was some form of self-aware life form in the form of a fiery dragon, seen on the title screen and box cover.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Trigon'' on their June 15, 1990 issue as being the fifth most popular table arcade unit at the time.

Legacy

Though ''Trigon'' has become an obscure arcade-only title, Konami has referenced it multiple times over the years. ''

Gradius Gaiden is a 1997 horizontal-scrolling shooter video game developed and published for the PlayStation by Konami. Players control one of four different starships in their mission to eradicate the Bacteria army from destroying the planet Gradius. Gameplay ...

'' features a boss modeled after the ship and weapons from the game, and ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' cards such as "Trigon", "Delta Tri" (based on the mentioned ''Gradius Gaiden'' boss), and "Dragon Laser" also represent the game. It runs the same hardware as the ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

'' arcade game. It was eventually re-released for the first time as part of

Hamster Corporation is a Japanese video game publisher, with office located in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The game division of Toshiba-EMI Limited spun off Hamster Corporation in November 1999. On the Japanese PlayStation Store, more than 200 titles are distribut ...

Arcade Archives is a series of emulated arcade games from the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Nintendo Switch, published by Hamster Corporation. A sub-series called is focused on rereleasing Neo Geo ...

series on

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

and

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

on August 20, 2020.

References

Arcade Archives games Arcade video games Arcade-only video games Vertically scrolling shooters 1990 video games Konami games Konami arcade games Video games developed in Japan {{scroll-shooter-videogame-stub