Hack 'n' Slash Games #4

The Legendary Axe (1988)
By: Victor Musical Industries Genre: Platform/Fighting Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Featured Version: NEC PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 First Day Score: ???,???
Also Available For: Nothing

Many of the PC Engine's first run of games press the nostalgia button firmly for old oafs like me as, at the end of the 80s, they were featured heavily in the import sections of magazines such as C&VG, making us all covet them accordingly. One example that I remember well and also wanted to play quite badly was The Legendary Axe. This might be because its name reminded me of Golden Axe, of which I was a fan, but unlike that game it's actually more of a platformer. Since you use an axe, however, and indeed the game is named after it, I thought I would include it in my somewhat neglected 'hack 'n' slash' feature instead. It wasn't until long after I played Sega's classic that I finally got to give it a go either, and even then I never really bothered to learn the character's aim or motivation. Not that it often mattered too much with most games in those days I guess, but it does have a backstory. It takes place in a 'faraway land', and presumably also long ago, where an evil half-man half-beast named Jagu holds sway over the weak and pathetic population. Oh dear.

One of them, however, is a bit less feeble than the rest - Gogan - who is incensed when he discovers his best friend has been chosen by Jagu as the latest human sacrifice in his honour. Arming himself with Sting, the axe of the title, he sets off in pursuit. Unfortunately, Jagu is holed up in a mountainous area known as the 'Evil Place' and has, apparently, his own cult to protect him too. Crikey! This pesky cult appears to consist of all manner of birds, beasts, and bipedal warriors of many types and they are spread (snigger!) over six themed zones, each ending with a ghastly tougher beast/warrior/object in the form of a boss. Poor Gogan only has two lives and scarcely more in the way of continues, but he does at least get a reasonably sized energy bar which is depleted in different increments depending on the enemy. It's easy to lose chunks too, as the pesky axe he wields, legendary as it may be, has a painfully short range (literally). Luckily, this can soon be resolved by collecting an alternative weapon from... har har, only joking, you don't get any other weapons - guffaw!

The axe is at least slightly magical though, as it has its own strength meter that determines the power of your hits. Every time Gogan swings it, the axe meter is emptied, and takes a few seconds to refill. This basically means you can unleash a flurry of weak strikes or stronger but less frequent strikes, and since the meter can be extended up to three times by collecting power-ups from the 'Jagu idol' things that are dotted through the stages, your approach can determine how easy or hard certain sections might be. Other items contained in the idols are wings which boost your attack speed, energy refills, bonus points, or (on rare occasions) extra lives. Of course, it's not only energy-sapping enemies that can bring your adventure to a swift end, for there are also many falls which take a whole life in one go. Sometimes it's into lava (stage two) or water (stage three), but most often it's just from falling off the edge, and there are a lot of areas it can happen. You have to swing over some gaps by grabbing one or several moving ropes too, and it's not too hard to miss one.

I was going to say it reminds me of Rastan in those ways but I suppose it's pretty similar to Taito's game generally, aside from the woeful reach of your main (only) weapon here, obviously. Even the settings of the stages are similar, with wooded, mountainous and castle-type examples featuring in both games. They are both pretty short adventures too, though Gogan's is a little longer at around 35-45 minutes long for seasoned players, though that's definitely easier said than done. The first two stages only take six minutes or so to get through combined, including boss fights, but the third is split into two sections and the fourth is split into three, both of which have some tough sections, mostly involving moving platforms, rope swings, and falling into pits of doom. Even that will only take you up to about the halfway point though, as the fifth stage consists of a large castley maze and will likely, for the impatient gamer at least, represent the furthest you'll get in the game.

It's basically a succession of rooms in what I assume must be Jagu's fortress or something. Some have obvious exits, some don't, but most contains enemies. All of the zone bosses turn up periodically as standard enemies on subsequent stages and the labyrinth features all of them, often more than one at a time. Even with a full strength axe (which produces a satisfying thunder crash when used), trying to find a way through this pesky labyrinth is a tall order. For some, it isn't just the toughest part of the game but even ruins enjoyment of it to the point where they don't want to play it at all. Still, at least if you do have the skill/patience to get through it, the sixth and final zone is just the epic confrontation with Jagu, and it might be the easiest final boss battle I've yet encountered! Up until that muthaflippin' labyrinth, it's actually a reasonably fair game most of the time. Not only do enemies not respawn, for example, but you can even use your magical chopping implement to nullify enemy projectiles which is practically unheard of in the gaming world.

It's still quite a hard game though, or at least certain sections are, and a couple of the bosses were also a right pain. They're actually quite weird - the first one is two bipedal bears, the second consists of giant boulders and the third is a load of Sentinels from the Matrix - but even the tougher ones aren't too bad once you figure out what to do. Graphically it's not among the Engine's best, though it was an early game, with average scenery graphics and sprites which are very much a mixed bag - some are decent, others terrible. The audio is mostly superb though. The effects are also average but some of the music is excellent (the second stage is my fave). Overall though, I'm not sure how much I like Legendary Axe. Rastan is pretty great, everyone knows that, and somehow it was never released on the Engine, so I was kind of hoping this would fill the gap. It is similar to Taito's game to play but not as enjoyable for several reasons (the lack of additional weapons is a big one for me). It has been great to finally play through it though, and it still stands up fairly well. A reasonable platform/slasher for its day but there are better examples out there.

RKS Score: 6/10

Gameplay Video: here's a video of the whole game being played by one of the talented fellows at World of Longplays (check out their great channel here). Oh, and don't watch if you want to avoid spoilers!