Axelay | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Konami |
Publisher(s) | Konami |
Producer(s) | Kazumi Kitaue |
Designer(s) | Noritoshi Kodama |
Programmer(s) | Hideo Ueda |
Artist(s) | Kazuhiro Namba |
Composer(s) | Taro Kudo |
Platform(s) | Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Axelay [lower-alpha 1] is a 1992 scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Konami for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Set in the fictional solar system Illis where an alien empire known as "Armada of Annihilation" invades its planets including the Earth-like Corliss (Mother), players take control of the titular D117B space fighter craft as a last resort to stop the alien invasion by recovering its lost weaponry. The gameplay mainly consist of both vertical-scrolling and horizonal-scrolling stages in the same vein as Konami's own Life Force , with players choosing three different weapon-types that increase in number as they progress through the game.
Headed by Super Castlevania IV producer Kazumi Kitaue, Axelay was developed by most of the same team that would later go on to form Treasure, the creators of Gunstar Heroes . Though first launched for the Super NES, the game has since been re-released through download services for Nintendo consoles. The title became popular and regarded by publications as a classic of the shoot 'em up genre, garnering praise for its visuals, music and an advanced selection of weapons available at the time. A sequel, Axelay 2, was planned but never materialized due to low sales of the first game.
Axelay is a scrolling shooter similar to Konami's own Life Force where players take control of the D117B space fighter craft as a last resort to stop the Armada of Annihilation by recovering its lost weaponry through six stages, each with a boss at the end that must be fought before progressing any further. The gameplay varies quite a bit from that of traditional 2D scrolling shooters. [1] [2] [3] Rather than collecting weapon power-up items from defeated enemies in order to obtain more advanced weapons, players earns new weapons as they advance in the game instead. [1] [2] [3] There are three weapon types with which the fighter is outfitted at the start of a stage: a standard weapon, a special weapon and a bomb or missile. [1] [3] Players may freely switch between each of these weapon types during a level. [1] [3] At the end of each level, a new choice of one of these types of weapons is added to the ship's armory and players are given the ability to modify their fighter to suit the needs of the next level. [1] [3] Examples of weapons include multiple-way shot, vulkan cannon, and spread bombs. [2] Similar to Life Force, levels transition between vertical and horizontal scrolling layouts, forcing the player to select weapons that will be most effective for each level.
Each selectable weapon in Axelay also operate like shields. [2] The game eschews the standard one-hit-kill model prevalent in space shooters, instead simply disabling the currently selected weapon and reducing the player to a weak default version of that weapon type. Sustaining a second hit while using a weakened weapon will destroy the player's ship. However, directly colliding into an enemy will still destroy the ship instantly. The title uses various visual effects in both the top-down and side-scrolling stages. In the top-down stages, enemies and objects are warped as they come into view to produce a pseudo-3D effect, in addition of parallax scrolling effects. [2] [3]
Axelay uses a respawn system where their ship immediately starts at the location they died at. Getting hit by enemy fire or colliding against solid stage obstacles will result in losing a life and once all lives are lost, the game is over though players have the option to continue playing via a limited number of credits. [1] Although there is an ending, the game loops back to the first stage after completing the last stage, with each one increasing the difficulty and enemies fire denser bullet patterns.
The plot of Axelay varies between regions. [1] The game takes place in the fictional planetary system known as Illis. Once a peaceful system, it was invaded by an alien empire known as the Armada of Annihilation, taking over the planets of the Illis system including the Earth-like Corliss (Mother in the Japanese version). As a last resort against the alien forces, the D117B fighter is sent out to recover its lost weaponry and put a stop to the invasion. Having traversed the cloud covered Cumuluses, the space colony Tralieb, the largely populated Urbanite, the watery Cavern, and Sector 3 Lava Planet, the Axelay D117B fighter makes its way to the fortress of Armada of Annihilation and completes its mission. [1]
Axelay was designed by a group of Konami employees that would later go on to found Treasure, the creators of Gunstar Heroes. [4] [5] Kazumi "Mr." Kitaue served as producer with Hideo "Dreamer" Ueda, S. Tamate and Kazuhiko "König" Ishida serving as programmers. [5] Tsunenari "Boncharu" Yada and "Furiten" Nagisa Tsuchiya acted as designers with Toshiharu Furukawa and M. "Kagenin Sasaki" Suzuki gave additional support during development, while artist Kazuhiro "PD." Namba created the pixel art. [5] Former Konami Kukeiha Club composer Taro Kudo scored the soundtrack, however the music for the second stage boss ("Cosmic Dance!") was remixed by Masanori "M.C." Adachi and the ending music was composed by Akira "AKI" Souji, though Souji is not credited as such in the game. [5] [6] [7] Other people also collaborated in its development. [5] Ueda stated that one of the enemies in the last stage previously appeared in other shoot 'em up games by Konami such as Life Force and Flak Attack , as his then-president at Konami liked the enemy's attack. [8]
Axelay was first released in Japan by Konami on 11 September 1992. [9] [10] [11] The game was originally intended to be a Japanese exclusive but was given an international release in response to numerous letters from consumers and critics. [12] Later in that month it was released in North America and the following year in Europe. [13] [14] The North American cover art was illustrated by Tom Dubois. [15] The soundtrack was released on a single 22-song disc published by King Records on 21 October 1992, while the tracks "Unkai" and "Colony" were included on the Konami All Stars 1993 and the Perfect Selection Konami Shooting Battle II compilation discs respectively. [6] [7] [16] [17] The title was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console service in Australia and North America in 2007 and later in Japan in 2008. [18] [19] It has since been re-released for the Wii U's eShop service across all regions in 2015. [20]
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
GameRankings | 81.14% [21] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
AllGame | [22] |
Aktueller Software Markt | 10/12 [23] |
Consoles + | 96% [24] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 35/40 [25] |
Famitsu | 23/40 [9] |
GamesMaster | 80% [26] |
HobbyConsolas | 95/100 [27] |
Jeuxvideo.com | 17/20 [28] |
Joypad | 96% [29] 94% [30] |
Joystick | 97% [31] |
Mega Fun | 82% [32] |
Nintendo Power | 3.75/5 [33] |
Player One | 93% [34] |
Superjuegos | 88/100 [35] |
Super Play | 85% [36] |
Total! | 81% [37] |
Video Games (DE) | 80% [38] |
Bad Influence! | 93% [39] |
Famimaga | 22.79/30 [40] |
Megablast | 80% [41] |
N-Force | 93% [42] 91% [42] |
Play Time | 90% [43] |
Power Play | 86% [44] |
Super Pro | 91% [45] |
Total! (DE) | 2- (B-) [46] |
Publication | Award |
---|---|
Super Play (1996) | #36 Top 100 SNES Games [47] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly (1997) | #91 Top 100 Best Games of All Time [48] |
ScrewAttack (2007) | #6 Top 10 2-D Shooters [49] |
Nintendo Power (2008) | #18 Top 20 SNES Games [50] |
Axelay's visual effects combined with what was then seen as an advanced selection of weapons available, as well as the music score, made it into a popular shooter for the SNES console. [51]
GamePro praised the game's inventive weapons, range of challenge for players of differing abilities, and the fact that the player starts the game already with three fully charged weapons. They gave it a 4.5 out of 5 for control and fun factor and a perfect 5.0 for graphics and sound. [52] Nintendo Power scored Axelay 3.75 out of 5, praising its graphics but noting that its head-on perspective takes some getting used to. [33] Super Play gave the game an 85%. [36]
Axelay is considered by some publications as a classic of its genre. Super Play listed it number 36 on its list of the top 100 SNES games of all time in 1996. [47] The following year, it was listed as number 91 on Electronic Gaming Monthly's 100 best games of all time in their 100th issue, which cited its Mode 7 effects, the boss visuals, and the strategy involved in choosing the weapons loadout before each level. [48] The website ScrewAttack called it the #6 best 2D shooter. [49] Nintendo Power magazine later called it the #18 best game on the SNES. [50] Axelay was included as one of the titles in the 2010 book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die . [53] In 1995, Total! ranked Axelay 88th on their "Top 100 SNES Games." [54] IGN rated Axelay 55th in its Top 100 SNES Games. They praised the game calling it "A visual stunner on the SNES" and felt that the unique application of the Mode 7 made Axelay feel like two games in one. [55]
Publication | Score |
---|---|
GameSpot | (Wii) 7.5 / 10 [56] |
IGN | (Wii) 7.5 / 10 [18] |
Nintendo Life | (Wii) [19] |
USgamer | (Wii U) 4 / 5 [20] |
Retrospective reviewers praised the game as well. [57] Both IGN and GameSpot gave the Virtual Console re-release of Axelay a 7.5 out of 10. [18] [56] Nintendo Life gave the game a score of 80 out of 100. [19]
After finishing Axelay two times consecutively on the highest difficulty level, a message promising Axelay 2 appeared but the planned sequel never materialized due to low sales of the first game. [2] [48] The Axelay D117B fighter makes an appearance in Konami's Airforce Delta Strike as an unlockable aircraft. [58]
Gradius is a side-scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Konami. The first game in the Gradius series, it was originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1985. The player maneuvers a spacecraft known as the Vic Viper that must defend itself from the various alien enemies. The game uses a power-up system called the "power meter", based upon collecting capsules to purchase additional weapons.
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania and 1993 in South America. In Japan, it is called the Super Famicom (SFC). In South Korea, it is called the Super Comboy and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. The system was released in Brazil on August 30, 1993, by Playtronic. In Russia and CIS, the system was distributed by Steepler from 1994 until 1996. Although each version is essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent cartridges for one version from being used in other versions.
Pilotwings is a flight simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was originally released in Japan in December 1990, shortly after the launch of the Super Famicom in the country. It was also released as a launch title for the SNES in August 1991 in North America, with a European release following in 1992.
Contra is a 1987 run and gun video game developed and published by Konami for arcades. A home version was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988, along with ports for various home computer formats, including the MSX2. The arcade and computer versions were localized as Gryzor in Europe, and the NES version as Probotector in PAL regions and France.
U.N. Squadron is a 1989 side-scrolling shooting game released by Capcom for the CPS arcade hardware and for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was released in Japan as Area 88, and is based on the manga series of the same name, featuring the same main characters. Their mission is to stop a terrorist group known as Project 4. It was followed by a spiritual successor Carrier Air Wing.
Contra is a video game series produced by Konami composed primarily of run and gun-style shooting games. The series debuted in February 1987 with the Japanese coin-operated arcade game of the same name, which has since spawned several sequels produced for various platforms.
Earth Defense Force is a 1991 horizontal scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Jaleco. Originally an arcade game, the game was later released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Super Earth Defense Force, dropping the two-player cooperative gaming mode while adding graphics and selectable weapons. The SNES version was released in Japan on October 25, 1991, and in North America in January 1992. The SNES version was eventually released on the Wii Virtual Console in Europe on October 29, 2010, and in 2011 for Japan on January 11, and North America on July 14. It is included in Nintendo Switch SNES Online as of September 2019.
Gradius II is a side-scrolling shooter game developed and published by Konami. Originally released for the arcades in Japan in 1988, it is the sequel to original Gradius and was succeeded by Gradius III. Ports of Gradius II were released for the Family Computer, PC-Engine Super CD-ROM², and the X68000 in Japan. The original arcade version is also included in the Gradius Deluxe Pack compilation for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn and in Gradius Collection for the PlayStation Portable.
D-Force is a 1991 vertical scrolling shooter video game developed and published in Japan by Asmik for the Super Famicom and later localized and published in North America by Asmik Corporation of America for the Super NES. It involves an Apache helicopter set on defeating an evil Middle Eastern dictator. There are seven levels which feature six countries. Some of the levels involve switching altitudes in order to attack enemies from a different height, which uses Mode 7, one of the main features of the Super NES.
BlaZeon is a horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game released by Atlus in 1992 and was ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in the same year. The game's most distinguishable feature is that players come equipped with a device that allows them to freeze and control certain robots.
Darius Twin is a 1991 horizontal-scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Taito for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is part of the Darius series. It was re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in 2010 for Japan on April 13 and for North America on December 13.
Star Soldier is a series of scrolling shooters mainly developed by Hudson Soft. Konami has owned the rights to the series since their absorption of Hudson Soft in 2012. The first game, named Star Soldier, appeared on the MSX and NES in 1986, and the series has continued on various gaming systems. Star Soldier itself was released with little change in a compilation for the Super Famicom in 1995, received enhanced remakes for both the GameCube and PlayStation 2 in 2003, and a different remake for the PlayStation Portable in 2005, while the latest installment of the series was released on the Wii as a WiiWare game in 2008. In addition, Super Star Soldier, Final Soldier, Soldier Blade and Star Parodier have been re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console and on the Japanese PC Engine's Best Collection lineup for the PSP. The Star Soldier games are best known for their distinctive music, unique weapon power-ups, and a special time attack high score mode called "Caravan Mode".
Sparkster is a side-scrolling platform game developed and published by Konami for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game, the only one in the series to be released on a Nintendo console, was directed by Hideo Ueda and released in 1994 in Japan in September, in North America in October and in Europe in 1994.
Shien's Revenge is a 1994 rail shooter video game developed by Almanic Corporation and originally published by Dynamic Planning for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan and later in North America by Vic Tokai. In the game, players assume the role of the titular ninja to fight against monsters coming from a time portal in order to face against an entity known as Undertaker and rescue his companion Aska. Co-designed by Takashi Shichijo and mangaka Go Nagai, the title was created by most of the same team that worked on previous projects at Almanic such as E.V.O.: Search for Eden. It was met with mixed reception from critics since its release.
Super Contra, known as Super Contra: The Alien Strikes Back in Japan, is a run and gun video game by Konami, originally released as a coin-operated arcade video game in January 1988. It is the sequel to the original Contra and part of the Contra series. The game stars Bill Rizer and Lance Bean as they are sent to thwart another alien invasion from the vicious Red Falcon.
Contra III: The Alien Wars is a 1992 run and gun video game developed and published by Konami for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is the third home console entry in the Contra series after Contra (1988) and Super C (1990) for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). In PAL regions, it was retitled Super Probotector: Alien Rebels and the player characters were replaced with robots. The player is tasked with fighting off an alien invasion of Earth across six stages. Four stages feature side-scrolling action traditional to the series while two are presented from an overhead perspective. It is the first Contra title to have been directed by Nobuya Nakazato who later directed other games in the series. He designed Contra III to feature more comical elements, a more cinematic soundtrack, and tighter stage design than its predecessors.
Castlevania, known in Japan as Akumajō Dracula, is a 1986 action-platform game developed and published by Konami. It was originally released in Japan for the Famicom Disk System in September 1986, before being ported to cartridge format and released in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in March 1987 and in Europe in 1988. It was also re-issued for the Family Computer in cartridge format in 1993. It is the first installment in the Castlevania series.
GunForce is a side-scrolling run and gun video game produced by Irem for arcades in 1991. The game was ported by Bits Studios and published by Irem for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992. The sequel, GunForce II, was originally known in Japan as Geo Storm.
Gradius III is a 1989 scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Konami, originally released for the arcades in Japan and other parts of Asia on December 11, 1989. It is the third game in the Gradius series. The game was ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan in 1990 and North America in 1991, and served as a launch title for the system in North America. The arcade version would never see the light of day in the West until it was included alongside Gradius IV in a two-in-one compilation for the PlayStation 2 and in the Gradius Collection for the PlayStation Portable.
Batman Returns is the Super Nintendo version of Batman Returns, a 1993 beat 'em up video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System based on the film of the same name. It was developed and published by Konami.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)