Description

When used with Nintendo Power Memory carts, this game takes up 2 blocks for the game and 0 for the save file. The Nintendo Power cost is 1000 yen.

Reviewed By MO of Super Famicom Central (R.I.P.)
The Story
Armada of Annihilation has attacked the planet Illis. All the ships in the fleet have been destroyed... except one: the D-117B Axelay Strata fighter. One lone pilot climbs aboard to single handily take on the Armada and their dreaded leader, Veinon, with the fate of Illis at stake!

Well what can I say about this game? One word, REMARKABLE!! In my opinion Axelay is still one of the most advance 2D shoot em-up's ever created. I thought "Last Resort" on the Neo Geo looked amazing, that is until Axelay was released. Konami know how create a game that is aesthetically pleasing, Axelay epitomizes how a 2D shoot-em-up should look like. The game is very reminiscent of "Salamander" on the Famicom using the side/top scroll view adding to variation for game play.

You pilot you way through various vertical/horizontal scrolling levels avoiding hazards and destroying anything that appears in your flight path. You have a choice of 3 different types of weapons and upon completion of each level you receive an extra weapon. One factor that I like in terms of the craft is when you get hit you loose the current weapon and you are forced to use the remaining weapons. I feel this adds a bit of realism to the gaming experience.

The graphics are excellent, sometimes I think I am playing on my Neo Geo. It's unbelievable how Konami managed to create a game of this nature on the Super Famicom. Axelay is visually impressive, the back drops are fantastic, the sprites and animation are excellent. The end of level bosses are a pleasure to battle, especially the "Ed 209" looking boss on level 2, a fantastic sprite with great animation (you can see the shells "Mode 7" is used in full effect and the Parallax scrolling is superb. Konami have really pushed the power of the Super Famicom to its limits, there is so much detail in this game its unreal!! The sound and music are both excellent and very atmospheric, Konami really know how to amalgamate all the elements to make the gaming experience enjoyable.

There are 6 levels in the game and you can choose from 3 difficulty settings. The levels change perspective on each stage which adds variation to game play. Unfortunately I find the levels some what short but expect some great battles. I like the way the difficulty increases when you progress through the levels, level 6 is tough, especially on difficult mode.

Availability Some say Axelay is a rare title but I always see it available on Ebay. The game is too over priced though-seriously! At the moment a (MIB) sells for roughly £40, £26 (CIB) and a loose cart for £7. I recommend bidding on one than opt for the “Buy it Now” price. I would not pay more than £22 for (MIB).

Glitches Considering how advanced Axelay is there is little slow down, mostly on level 5 with the dragons.

Ratings
Graphics: 95%
Sound: 90%
Playability: 80%
Lastability: 73%
Fun Factor: 80%
Total: 87%

Final Thoughts
Axelay is aesthetically pleasing but unfortunately lacks real depth in terms of consistent game play. The overhead scrolling levels I find more challenging than the side scrolling levels. Axelay could have been the Ultimate 2D shoot-em-up if only Konami put more effort into the game play. I still consider Area 88 to be the best all round 2D shooter but Axelay's graphics and style is what gives its appeal and I have to say it works. I do consider it to be a classic in the line of 2D Shoot-em-ups for the Super Famicom. So if you like your R-Type, Area 88, Gradius III, Super Aleste and Darius Twin then you should own a copy of Axelay to add to your collection.

Credits / Staff List / スタッフ

Main Program
"Dreamer" Ueda

Sub Program
S. Tamate

Support Program
"Konig" Ishida

Main Design
-山形茶王-　Kodama

Character Design
"Boncharu" Yada

Sub Design
"Furiten" Nagisa

1st Help Man
T. Furukawa

2nd Help Man
"Kagenin" Sasaki

Opening, Ending
S. Kushibuchi

Sound Program
A. Fujio

Effect & Ending-1
Aki

Music Compose
Taro

ST2 Remix
M. C. Ada

Art Design
Pd. Namba

Special Thanks
Kurokotai

Produce
Mr. Kitaue

References

• Nintendo Power 公式遊び方 Book 1, pages 186-187

ROM Information

Country USA
Internal CRC 4338
CRC32 F812B533
MD5 699BBDFFAB13C41FA8D4A9B3C25D60E7
SHA-1 5EF7D869547A47CFB73402151330140A83FFED45
SHA-256 2431F8DC067BA27C6C3A846929F3DEAC6A45AA53A9A9AC20EDE8EC5CA6854EA2
ROM Speed 200ns (SlowROM)
ROM Size 8 Mb
ROM Bank LoROM
ROM Type Normal
SRAM Size 0 Kb
Internal Title AXELAY               
Common Filenames
Axelay (U).sfc (GoodSNES v0.999.5)
Axelay (USA).sfc (No-Intro 2011-12-24)
Axelay (NTSC)(Eng)(1.0).sfc (Zapatabase 2011-01-30)

Country USA
Internal CRC 7437
CRC32 A0677D80
MD5 6E750E560F247C4FA8F8C8B21BBE4446
SHA-1 BBED960711272C5970E8A41189EDE55E7A7C5C49
SHA-256 732819CBB2A3111F067FBCD675710A50762F230C084BBFD40C7731A1962A0083
ROM Speed 200ns (SlowROM)
ROM Size 8 Mb
ROM Bank LoROM
ROM Type Normal
SRAM Size 0 Kb
Internal Title AXELAY               
Common Filenames
Axelay (USA) (Sample).sfc (No-Intro 2011-12-24)

Country Japan
Internal CRC FE6F
CRC32 B0A02734
MD5 2C708D496D04812509F9FB3DB7C21872
SHA-1 15562F13C405FC401DC461CB5E0E917AF8A9F7E4
SHA-256 08FED1B49DA55F1EEAE40994C1F4A0208771FA62F04F3D3A27BF9BB3B30FC090
ROM Speed 200ns (SlowROM)
ROM Size 8 Mb
ROM Bank LoROM
ROM Type Normal
SRAM Size 0 Kb
Internal Title AXELAY               
Common Filenames
Axelay (J).sfc (GoodSNES v0.999.5)
Axelay (Japan).sfc (No-Intro 2011-12-24)
Axelay (NTSC)(Jap)(1.0).sfc (Zapatabase 2011-01-30)

Country Europe
Internal CRC 3864
CRC32 F43F6743
MD5 F18E245FC9447464787227FB42167781
SHA-1 8BFA0B57AB1ED3331AB8FDC34B5639CEA1D1CCB1
SHA-256 BB81D1730222C518084D06C5CE456EE860D5CCB6A410F14A73E68971305BDD12
ROM Speed 200ns (SlowROM)
ROM Size 8 Mb
ROM Bank LoROM
ROM Type Normal
SRAM Size 0 Kb
Internal Title AXELAY               
Common Filenames
Axelay (E) [!].sfc (GoodSNES v0.999.5)
Axelay (Europe).sfc (No-Intro 2011-12-24)
Axelay (PAL)(Eng)(1.0).sfc (Zapatabase 2011-01-30)