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Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures Special: Axelay, the 25th Anniversary

September 11, 2017 colin Articles

Axelay Box Art

The SNES wasn’t known for shmups…until Axelay came along

For an incredible library that spans over all kinds of genres, the SNES is not well known for its “shmups”.

For example, Gradius III is bogged down with flicker and slow down and Super Nova and Darius Twin are the definitions of “meh”. While on the other hand, Sega had the Thunder Force series ripping it up. It was one genre that truly embodied the phrase “Genesis Does What Nintendon’t.”

However, the Genesis did not have Axelay.

Developed by Konami and released in September 1992, Axelay stands head and shoulders above several games in the shmup genre and is, without question, the best of its kind on the SNES. It’s still a fondly looked at game, as reviews for its Virtual Console re-release are still positive across the board.

And yet, Axelay did not set the charts ablaze with sales figures. It was (probably) a combination of the SNES not being a great system for this particular genre and less than two weeks prior, a little game called Super Mario Kart was released. Another factor is that Axelay was meant to be Japanese-exclusive, but was ported to the US at the last minute. Heck, a sequel was even planned.

Axelay has gained a cult following on the ‘web for being an all-around great shmup. The gameplay is tight, the music is great, and the graphics hold their own against the SNES’ best.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary today, Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures is profiling a game that deserves to be called an “undervalued treasure.”

Also, fun fact: the majority of the development team went on to become the founding members of Treasure.

From a pure gameplay standpoint, Axelay is the best shmup on the SNES

Axelay’s wonderfully optimistic story is about how the planet of Corliss has faced total annihilation by the…well, Armada of Annihilation. It’s up to the lone pilot of the Axelay (aaaaad…title drop) to fight off this horde.

Taking cues from their Gradius series, Konami included a Weapon Select system into Axelay. Players can choose a primary, secondary, and a missile option.

When you select your weapons, the game says in a very clear tone: “ARMS INSTALLATION IS COMPLETE…GOOD LUCK.” It never gets old.

However, from the outset not all the weapons are selectable and as the game progresses, more weapons become available. There also is not as many options as Gradius. That being said, there is not one weapon in the game that is useless. Players can also select the weapons on the fly as well and won’t have to rely on an upgrade system like other shmups.

The Round Vulcan weapon, for example, allows the ship to shoot enemies circling around the player. The missiles are fantastic for the more crowded moments in the game as well.

The controls are tight and responsive, key for any shmup, and gives the player a fighting chance. Make no mistake, Axelay is a difficult game, but not quite controller-smashing, hair-pulling, screaming-obscenities-to-make-90s-Denis-Leary-blush difficult as other games in the genre.

Certain bosses, like this Ed-209-looking one, can be a little tough.

However, other features are quite awesome as well
Axelay utilizes the SNES’ color palette and its Mode 7 processor quite well. The tiny details on the Axelay ship, the enemies and bosses and stages are all pleasing to look at. The development team knew what they were working with, and decided to work around the SNES’ capabilities, rather than against them. The opening stages have a nice use of blue and the standout lava stage is exceptionally nice looking.

The lava monster is scary-looking and well animated as well. All of Axelay’s bosses are consistently impressive.

The game has both horizontal and vertical shooting stages, similar to Konami’s Life Force each with its own aesthetic. Many of the vertical levels have a sort-of-gimmicky feel to them, as it looks like you are flying over a city.

However, they are quite nice to look at and add more dimension as opposed to being some generic level. Other levels take place inside dilapidated space stations and on a planet made of lava, where the game’s most memorable boss fight takes place.

Then there’s the music. Composed by Super Castlevania IV’s Taro Kudo, Axelay’s OST is a varied one and each boss has their own theme. The first level’s track, “Unkai” is perfect to get the player ready for the action.

One of Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures

Axelay is one of Konami’s best games in the 90s and one that holds its own against other shmups of the era. It’s a shame we may never get that sequel though.

Regardless, happy 25th Axelay. A game as awesome as this one deserves a big celebration; from the quality of the gameplay, to its unique weapon system, to its overall fun nature, Axelay is one no shmup fan should ever pass up.

The game is available on both the Wii and Wii U Virtual Console, but copies on the SNES are going to be quite expensive.

 

Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures: Forgotten Worlds

January 27, 2017 colin Articles
Image result for forgotten worlds sega genesis game

Image courtesy of Vizzed.com

Forgotten Worlds is one of Capcom’s “forgotten” arcade classics
Forgotten Worlds is one of the many twin-stick shooters that flooded the arcades in the 80s. Instead of being an elite commando fighting a vaguely evil army, players were an unnamed mercenary with a jetpack fighting gruesome aliens after they conquered Earth. Forgotten Worlds also manages to throw in some minor-RPG elements, making it more unique than other shooters at the time.

Image courtesy of Giant Bomb.

The game was released in arcades in 1989 and is the third and final in Capcom’s unofficial “Jet-Pack Hero trilogy.” Capcom released a few scrolling shooters starring jetpack-and-gun wielding characters in space. Section Z and Side Arms are two other games in this pseudo-series.

Image courtesy of Giant Bomb.

Forgotten Worlds is one of the earliest Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games. The colors, animation and sound were something that certainly aligned with the infamous “Genesis Does What Nintendon’t” ads.

Despite  cameos from the characters in crossover games such as Project X Zone and the first Marvel vs Capcom, Forgotten Worlds is very much a forgotten game. It’s not like the game wasn’t a hit, but it just wasn’t a massive one. It’s been re-released a few times on collections, but it’s not brought up when talking about the best shmups of the 80s and 90s.

Forgotten Worlds takes place in a post-apocalyptic alien world with plenty of things to shoot
In the 29th century, the evil alien dictator, Emperor Bios, has unleased total destruction on Earth. It is up to two mirror-shade wearing, armor-clad Unknown Soldiers (which is their official names according to Marvel vs Capcom) to eliminate the Emperor and bring peace back to the planet. It’s not the most original of stories, but it works. Although, it is one of the few arcade games from the 80s to have cut scenes in-between stages.

Author’s note: no context will be given for the subtitle. Image courtesy of Giant Bomb.

Utilizing two joysticks, players will use one to take aim against the aliens and the other to dodge their attacks. Forgotten Worlds throws more than a few enemies at the players, so taking aim and dodging requires a lot of precise movements. Thankfully, the controls are tight and responsive. It’s a great system that is not only a blast to play, but actually rewards players for playing strategically. As opposed to the typical “mash the shoot button and see what happens” in most shooters.

Image courtesy of Giant Bomb.

The stages themselves are usually straightforward, but have a personality to them. The Unknown Soldiers will be traversing through ruined cities, massive sandy, wastelands that bring Fist of the North Star to mind and technological nightmares. Capcom’s CP2 hardware is incredibly powerful and produces some nice-looking graphics. Arcade goers can wow at the vivid images being shot at on-screen and the overall use of colors creates the atmosphere of Forgotten Worlds.

Image courtesy of Giant Bomb.

Where the somewhat-RPG elements come in are with the money, or “Zenny,” enemies drop after being defeated. Zenny can be used at shops. The shops, quite literally, pop out of the ground. From there, the adorable shopkeeper Sylphie will greet our heroes. Players can purchase, armor, health and weapon upgrades, lives and much more. The enemy-seeking missiles are definitely one of the most helpful power-ups in the game.

Who figured someone who looks like her sells weapons of mass destruction? Image courtesy of the Arcade-Museum.com.

One of Gaming’s Undervalued Treasures
Forgotten Worlds does not deserve to be, well, forgotten. The game truly is one of the great, if not one of the greatest, shmups to be released in the arcades. It stands toe-to-toe with classic like Gradius and R-Type. It even holds its own against arguably the kind of twin-stick shooters, Smash TV. The polished gameplay, great level design and aesthetics and creative gameplay elements make Forgotten Worlds absolutely worth playing once.

While emulating the game on MAME is ideal for an arcade-rich experience, the Sega Genesis version is a tad expensive and is available on the Wii Virtual Console.