Axelay
Encyclopedia
Axelay is a scrolling shooter video game developed by Konami
of Japan
for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
. It was released on September 11, 1992 in Japan, later in that month in North America, and the following year in Europe. The game was re-released on the Nintendo
Wii's
Virtual Console
service in Australia and North America in 2007 and in Japan in 2008.
Axelay is a sci-fi scrolling-shooter in the same vein as other Konami titles such as Life Force (Salamander) and Gradius
. The game features both horizontal and vertically scrolling levels, and allows the player to choose three different weapon-types, which increase in number as he or she progresses through the game.
The game was programmed by Hideo Ueda. Kazuhiko Ishida, credited with "support program" on Axelay, later left Konami to help found Treasure Co. Ltd. Taro Kudou
primarily composed the game's soundtrack.
scrolling shooters. Instead of the player collecting weapon power-ups from defeated enemies in order to acquire more advanced weapons, the player earns weapons as he or she advances in the game. There are three weapon types with which the fighter is outfitted at the start of the level: a standard weapon, a special weapon, and a bomb or missile. The player may freely switch between each of these weapon types during a level. At the end of each level, a new choice of one of these types of weapons is added to the player's armory, and the player is given the ability to modify his or her fighter to suit the needs of the next level. Similar to Konami's own Life Force, levels transition between vertical and horizontal scrolling layouts, forcing the player to select weapons that will be most effective for each level. Finally, 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 game's graphics utilize the SNES mode 7
and parallax scrolling
effects. Such visual effects combined with what was then seen as an advanced selection of weapons available, as well as the music score, made Axelay into a popular shooter for the SNES console.
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 (known in the Japanese version as "Mother"). As a last resort against the alien forces, the D117B Axelay 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, Axelay makes its way to the Armada of Annihilation's Fortress and completes its mission. At the end of the game on the hardest difficulty, after beating the game twice, a message promises a sequel to this game. However, Axelay 2 never materialized.
, credited as "Taro." The music for the second stage ("Colony") was remixed by Masanori Adachi, credited as "M.C. Ada". The soundtrack was released on a single 22-song disc on October 21, 1992, published by King Records. The track "Unkai" was included on the Konami All Stars 1993 compilation, and the track "Colony" was included on the Perfect Selection Konami Shooting Battle II disc.
scored Axelay 3.75 out of 5, praising its graphics but noting that its head-on perspective takes some getting used to. Super Play
gave the game an 85%. Both IGN
and GameSpot
gave the Virtual Console re-release of Axelay a 7.5 out of 10.
Axelay is considered by some publications as a classic of its genre. It was voted #91 on Electronic Gaming Monthly
's 100 best games of all time in their 100th issue. The website ScrewAttack
called it the #6 best 2D shooter of all time. Nintendo Power magazine later called it the #18 best game on the SNES. Super Play listed it number 36 on its list of the top 100 SNES games of all time in 1996.
The Axelay fighter makes an appearance in the Konami title Airforce Delta Strike
as an unlockable aircraft.
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
. It was released on September 11, 1992 in Japan, later in that month in North America, and the following year in Europe. The game was re-released on the Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
Wii's
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
service in Australia and North America in 2007 and in Japan in 2008.
Axelay is a sci-fi scrolling-shooter in the same vein as other Konami titles such as Life Force (Salamander) and Gradius
Gradius
The Gradius games, first introduced in 1985, make up a series of scrolling shooter video games published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper...
. The game features both horizontal and vertically scrolling levels, and allows the player to choose three different weapon-types, which increase in number as he or she progresses through the game.
The game was programmed by Hideo Ueda. Kazuhiko Ishida, credited with "support program" on Axelay, later left Konami to help found Treasure Co. Ltd. Taro Kudou
Taro Kudou
is a Japanese video game designer and video game music composer. He began his career working for Konami and Square in the 1990s, then joined fellow ex-Square designers at Love-de-Lic in 1996, where he designed UFO: A Day in the Life...
primarily composed the game's soundtrack.
Gameplay
Axelays gameplay varies quite a bit from that of traditional 2D2D computer graphics
2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
scrolling shooters. Instead of the player collecting weapon power-ups from defeated enemies in order to acquire more advanced weapons, the player earns weapons as he or she advances in the game. There are three weapon types with which the fighter is outfitted at the start of the level: a standard weapon, a special weapon, and a bomb or missile. The player may freely switch between each of these weapon types during a level. At the end of each level, a new choice of one of these types of weapons is added to the player's armory, and the player is given the ability to modify his or her fighter to suit the needs of the next level. Similar to Konami's own Life Force, levels transition between vertical and horizontal scrolling layouts, forcing the player to select weapons that will be most effective for each level. Finally, 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 game's graphics utilize the SNES mode 7
Mode 7
Mode 7 is a graphics mode on the Super NES video game console that allows a background layer to be rotated and scaled on a scanline-by-scanline basis to create many different effects. The most famous of these effects this can create is the application of a perspective effect on a background layer...
and parallax scrolling
Parallax scrolling
Parallax scrolling is a special scrolling technique in computer graphics, popularized in the 1982 arcade game Moon Patrol. In this pseudo-3D technique, background images move by the camera slower than foreground images, creating an illusion of depth in a 2D video game and adding to the immersion...
effects. Such visual effects combined with what was then seen as an advanced selection of weapons available, as well as the music score, made Axelay into a popular shooter for the SNES console.
Plot
Axelay takes place in the fictional solar systemSolar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
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
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
-like Corliss (known in the Japanese version as "Mother"). As a last resort against the alien forces, the D117B Axelay 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
Space colony
Space colony may refer to:* Space colonization, any colony outside of the planet Earth* Space habitat, a free-floating extraterrestrial colony specifically-Fiction:* Space colony , fictional space colonies in the Gundam anime series...
Tralieb, the largely populated Urbanite, the watery Cavern, and Sector 3 Lava Planet, Axelay makes its way to the Armada of Annihilation's Fortress and completes its mission. At the end of the game on the hardest difficulty, after beating the game twice, a message promises a sequel to this game. However, Axelay 2 never materialized.
Music
Axelay was composed by Taro KudouTaro Kudou
is a Japanese video game designer and video game music composer. He began his career working for Konami and Square in the 1990s, then joined fellow ex-Square designers at Love-de-Lic in 1996, where he designed UFO: A Day in the Life...
, credited as "Taro." The music for the second stage ("Colony") was remixed by Masanori Adachi, credited as "M.C. Ada". The soundtrack was released on a single 22-song disc on October 21, 1992, published by King Records. The track "Unkai" was included on the Konami All Stars 1993 compilation, and the track "Colony" was included on the Perfect Selection Konami Shooting Battle II disc.
| Axelay Original Soundtrack tracklist |
|---|
Disc 1 (56:37)
|
Reception and legacy
Nintendo PowerNintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
scored Axelay 3.75 out of 5, praising its graphics but noting that its head-on perspective takes some getting used to. Super Play
Super Play
Super Play was a UK based Super Nintendo Entertainment System magazine which ran from November 1992 to September 1996.Super Play was notable for a number of reasons. Firstly, it covered in great detail the console role-playing game genre...
gave the game an 85%. Both IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
and GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
gave the Virtual Console re-release of Axelay a 7.5 out of 10.
Axelay is considered by some publications as a classic of its genre. It was voted #91 on Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
's 100 best games of all time in their 100th issue. The website ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack . is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is also shown on GameTrailers and IGN...
called it the #6 best 2D shooter of all time. Nintendo Power magazine later called it the #18 best game on the SNES. Super Play listed it number 36 on its list of the top 100 SNES games of all time in 1996.
The Axelay fighter makes an appearance in the Konami title Airforce Delta Strike
Airforce Delta Strike
Airforce Delta Strike, known as Airforce Delta: Blue Wing Knights in Japan and Deadly Skies III in Europe, is the third installment in the Konami Airforce Delta series. It was released in 2004 exclusively on the PlayStation 2...
as an unlockable aircraft.
External links
- Unofficial arrangements (ReMixes) of Axelay's soundtrack at OverClocked ReMixOverClocked ReMixOverClocked ReMix, also known as OC ReMix and OCR, is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and paying tribute to video game music through arranging and re-interpreting the songs with new technology and software, as well as by various traditional means...
- Axelay fanpage