Axelay

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. 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. 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.

Players 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 ship's armory and players are given the ability to modify their fighter to suit the needs of the next level. Examples of weapons include multiple-way shot, vulkan cannon, and spread bombs. 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.

The plot of Axelay varies between regions. 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.

Axelay was designed by a group of Konami employees that would later go on to found Treasure, the creators of Gunstar Heroes. Kazumi "Mr." Kitaue served as producer with Hideo "Dreamer" Ueda, S. Tamate and Kazuhiko "König" Ishida serving as programmers.

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. Former Konami Kukeiha Club composer Taro Kudo scored the soundtrack, however the music for the second stage boss ("Cosmic Dance!")

According to Famitsu, Axelay sold 2,482 copies in its first week on the market and 4,625 copies during its lifetime in Japan. 79/30 score in a 1993 readers' poll conducted by Super Famicom Magazine, ranking among Super Famicom titles at the number 50 spot. Its 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. 14% based on seven reviews according to review aggregator GameRankings.

GamePro's Dr. Dave 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. Nintendo Power praised the game's graphics but noted that its head-on perspective takes time getting used to.

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. The Axelay D117B fighter makes an appearance in Konami's Airforce Delta Strike as an unlockable aircraft.