Customer Reviews

Axelay

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gradius III was.... meh. Lots of slowdown and uninspired graphics and level design. Konami officially redeemed themselves in 1992 with Axelay, one of the best 3 shoot-'em-ups (along with R-Type III and Space Megaforce) on the Super NES.
The game has six levels and is a combination of vertical scrolling (Galaga) as well as horizontal (R-Type). As in Gradius you pick weapons before each stage, but you don't have to power up to use them. You get three weapons, a Pod, a Side, and a Bay. You are given an arsenal that grows as you complete stages and may choose 1 per slot. Pod weapons generally fire straight, side weapons often can rotate and strike in a full 360 degrees, and Bay weapons use the default gun but give you new missiles, which may be fired along with the gun. Each hit by enemy ammunition costs your current weapon but would destroy you if you had already lost all 3. Collisions instantly destroy you.
Axelay is much more pleasing to the eye than Gradius, with large, detailed sprites and neat Mode-7 pseudo-3D effects in the vertical levels. The sound is also much better than Gradius, and more varied than R-Type III.

All in all, this is one game no SNES fan should be without.

Axelay is one of the best space shooters ever created, which is no surprise considering the publisher of the game; Konami; also crafted the exceptional Gradius and Cybernator. And like the latter games mentioned, it is one helluva difficult game to beat, and chances are you will never beat it.
WHAT THE GAME IS: A space shooter similar to Gradius, but it has no upgrades system. A mysterious alien force is eradicating the Illis Solar System, and solar system's fleet of ships is depleting, that's where you come in. With your ship called Axelay you must stop this force from destroying the solar system.
GRAPHICS: The graphics are better than Gradius III's, rather pretty, rather detailed, awesome ship and boss designs, cool level designs, and nice explosion effects, so this game is loaded with graphical juicyness.
MUSIC: It's good most of the time and manages to set the mood, but in some areas it's not that great. But that rarely occurs, so the music is good most of the time.
SOUND: Shooting, explosions, what did you expect?
GAMEPLAY: The controls are very finely tuned and work very nicely and fluidly, though I did notice some instances where I could not get my ship to go up in time to avoid an obstacle, so I did die a few times because the speed wasn't quite fast enough. This game is a one-hit-you're-dead game; like many of it's fellow shooters. However, this game is quite a lot of fun, even if you never beat it, but not as good as Gradius.
OVERALL: Axelay is a highly polished space shooter that will make a standout title in your Super Nintendo collection if you purchase this wonderful game, along with Starfox, Hyperzone, Cybernator, R-Type, and Gradius III to add to your SNES collection because they are well-worth the investment. Just don't buy Vortex, it will only give you pain.
THE GOOD: Highly polished shooter gameplay, good graphics, good music, and lots of challenge.
THE BAD: Challenge will be too much for some, the game isn't as good as Gradius III.

Axelay is the best shooter on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, no doubt about it. I could go so far as to say that it is the best shooter of the 16-bit era, but I think I would be stretching it a little. Regardless, Axelay is loaded with outstanding visuals, music, effects and great fun that are only rivaled by the best the genre has to offer.

In addition, Axelay uses mode 7 effects and parallax scrolling that is visually spectacular. The bosses are beautiful and deliver an all-encompassing feel; boss design (as well as level design) is nothing short of brilliant. The levels are wildly diverse and completely immersive. The first level is only a taste of what lies ahead. It is alluring and the effects are amazing. Level design itself is diverse as well. Fly through mountains high in the sky and sour through a fire stage evading raging swarms of hot death only to be confronted by an outrageous lava boss. On top of that, one of the levels pits you against a massive alien ship that assaults you on so many levels. Each stage switches between side-scrolling and top-down perspectives, and each stage has its own wonderful, unique feel that is accompanied by a striking, moving composition.

I can't express how genuinely spellbinding the music is... it grabs you, sucks you in, and fills you with such out-and-out bliss it's almost a sin. The music is one of the most endearing features of Axelay, and I believe it is the foundation of the experience.

Story wise, well, once again Earth has been destroyed by pesky aliens. It is now time for one man to hop aboard the all-powerful Axelay and give those Earth-destroying aliens a good old-fashion beating. The only thing the hero has with him is a locket that houses a picture of his family adding much to his already profound motivation.

As for the gameplay, yeah, it is quite good, I must say. Upon completion of a new level, a new weapon is unlocked and added to your arsenal. You can switch between three different weapons on the fly, but when you get hit the weapon that you are currently using will be gone. Once all three of your weapons have been lost, get hit again and you bite the dust... hard. Speaking of hard, Axelay delivers the difficulty in heaping amounts. This is not an easy shooter, of course, and the more difficult a shooter is, the better. Besides, who wants to romp through and easy shooter? Every great 2-D shooter is difficult; it's the mark of a good shooter. You have various missiles and bombs to utilize such as the Cluster Bomb and the Macro Missile; and awesome weapons like the Needle Cracker and the Wind Laser provide powerful weaponry. Furthermore, customization is high, and you can switch up your weapons before each level. Strategy is also important and certain weapons are more effective in certain levels. Decide wisely or get force fed a heaping dose of sweet demise.

Yes, Axelay is a must-have title and a far-out experience. It shatters just about any other shooter on the SNES, and there are some good ones. That just tells you how prodigious Axelay really is. If you adore the shooting genre as much as I do, you need to check Axelay out and give it a good run. It is a standing tribute to the SNES, its many glorious titles and the genre itself. Not only that, Axelay is one of the best shooters I have ever played. Actually, when I play Axelay, I am overwhelmed with emotion. That, my friends, may sound silly, but when you have been playing games for as long as I have you tend to develop fond memories... the music adds to that effect nicely and drives the overwhelming sensation into overdrive. Axelay is nothing short of a legendary, awe-inspiring, sensational achievement.

Final Score: 10

This game is a combination of two great things: Konami and SuperNintendo. With very few exceptions, if you see those two words, you know you have something great. The only way to fully describe this game is one of the most awesome shooter games of all time. The only negative I can say about this game is that there is no save feature. The game is short, but I personally am not a fan of games without a save feature. Still, this game is totally great and has great replay value.

great snes shooter. konami made awesome snes games.