Sorry but after playing XIIStag, I don't think any shooter from Triangle is worth anticipating.
ok, here's what I'd have to say after one play through.
Most shooters since the 16-bit era have some sort of concept or hook to at least differentiate itself from the genre staples, even if it's only graphics and series homage, no matter what. Takumi shooters mostly have the bullet absorption thing (Giga Wing, Mars Matrix), Cave shooters have interesting ways to keep hit combos going, Irem gave RTF 100 ships, Treasure properly revived Gradius V by at least making it look great, etc.
Then there are shooters which people say are uninspired and derivative, like say Shikigami no Shiro. Generic anime characters, sure, but it has a nice tension/buzz system and an arguably decent soundtrack.
The point of me saying all of this is that XIIStag's lone gimmick is a barely visible side-bullet that comes out if you wiggle the joystick. Killing up to 12 enemies in a row gets you up to 12x points during play (hence, XII Stag). That's it. Otherwise, the entire game is easily the most derivative, middling, uninspiring shooter made in this generation if not the last decade.
I constantly rag on Radiant Silvergun for being a boring piece of shit but I can at least see it has some decent qualities in the weapon selection and soundtrack. People who personally know me would take note in me saying I think RS is a better shooter than XIIStag.
If you were to ask me to a compile and rank a list of shooters from this generation, I'd have no hesitation in putting XIIStag on the bottom of that list. From what I've seen of Trizeal since the location test, to Arcadia pictures, to today, it looks no different.
