Update #2 [Thu 4th Apr, 2024 11:30 BST]: Cosmia Machia's rerelease of Triggerheart Exelica finally has a worldwide release date (as spotted by Gematsu).
As you may already know, the game was previously released for the Nintendo Switch in Japan on December 14th, 2023. But it has now been revealed that it will also launch elsewhere later this year on PC on April 26th, with the Nintendo Switch version scheduled to hit Western storefronts not long after on May 2nd.
The physical games publisher Red Art Games will be releasing physical editions of the Nintendo Switch game in three different variations: a standard edition (priced at €39.99), a deluxe edition (also listed as €39.99), and a collector's edition (€69.99). The deluxe edition will include a double-sided poster, an exclusive coin, and a reversible sleeve. The collector's edition, meanwhile, adds a collector's box, an original soundtrack CD, and a small acrylic stand of the character Exelica. All of these are expected to ship in Q3 2024.
You can wishlist the game now on Steam.
Update #1 [Thu 6th Jul, 2023 12:45 BST]: Cosmo Machia – the company behind the recent Shikigami no Shiro and Fantavision 202X on PSVR2 – has confirmed that it is bringing Triggerheart Exelica to Nintendo Switch at the end of the year.
Original Story [Mon 15th May, 2023 10:30 BST]: Warashi's Triggerheart Exelica was one of the final games for the Sega Dreamcast, hitting Japanese stores in 2007 – six years after Sega had announced it was exiting the domestic hardware business to focus on third-party publishing.
Despite this, it became something of a cult classic, seeing releases on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation 2. Only the XBLA version got a global release, however – which means Triggerheart Exelica has been relegated to the status of an 'obscure classic'.
It looks as if that's all about to change, however, as Japanese company Cosmo Machia has acquired the rights to the game and is looking to resurrect Triggerheart Exelica on an international scale. According to Gematsu, Cosmo Machia wants to make the shmup known to players "worldwide", and for regions where commercial products are not viable, seek licencing partners to raise awareness of the game.
It has not been announced what products we can expect to see based on Triggerheart Exelica, but Cosmo Machia says these details will be forthcoming at a later date.