MAKYŌ DENSETSU - THE LEGENDARY AXE
game Cover
game HuCard
魔境伝説
©1988 Victor Musical Industries, Inc
Release : 1988-09-23 (¥5200)
HuCard (2 Mbits) JC63001
Action / Platform game

American Version
country
Released in America as
LEGENDARY AXE
( TGX020003 )
Makyō Densetsu (aka Legendary Axe) is a side scrolling action game published by Victor Musical Industries. The game tells the story of Gōgan, a barbarian who embarks on a long journey to save his girlfriend and childhood friend Fureia (aka Flare). The damsel was kidnapped by the evil demon Jagu and is destined to become a sacrifice to appease the gods. Gōgan must now travel to Jagu's mountain stronghold and defeat countless demons and enemies. But our hero has a wildcard up his sleeves! He carries with him the magical Sting axe! The almighty weapon possesses strange powers - as Gōgan progresses, he can collect special power-ups hidden inside statues. Some can speed up his axe attack (wings) whereas others increase its power (masks). A power bar located at the top of the screen shows the axe current level and Gōgan can charge it up in order to unleash more powerful blows and inflict devastative damage to his enemies. This attack mechanic is at the core of the gameplay and the player must constantly decide to either rush into battle or charge up his axe before hitting enemies for maximum damage. Makyō Densetsu consists of five large areas and is single player only.
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Teaser text from the American version:
You are Gogan, a muscular powerhouse with enough guts to enter the Pits of Madness. Your mission: rescue the beautiful red-haired Flare. You are strong, but you also have Sting, a sacred axe to help you battle strange creatures and Jagu's savage cult-through mountain, jungle and cave. Six levels. Increase String's power, unlock hidden levels, win extra lives and rescue Flare. If you don't, Who will?

Game Staff (Copied from the end credits) :

Game Designer
Tokuhiro Takemori
ABU

Programer
Tsurumoku
P-Okabe
Jun Yasuda
Graphic Designer
ABU
Shigenori Hashimoto
Tomoko Sugoh

Sound Composer
Atsushi Chikuma
Toshiaki Takimoto
Test Player
Jun Yasuda
P-Okabe

Special Thanks
Mr. Aoyama
Ono-Chan
And You

The End


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Japanese Guidebook
Japanese Guidebook


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Makyō Densetsu manual Legendary Axe manual
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Makyō Densetsu was one of the first games to be released for the PC Engine system, and in that context the game looks correct. At first glance, it somehow reminds me of Konami's Akumajō Dracula, but with a barbarian theme, and like Konami's classic, Makyō Densetsu's difficulty quickly cranks up to present some serious thinking material. After a few tries, you quickly realize that you're not against any traditional platform-action here - rush into battle and you will most certainly suffer countless deaths. Makyō Densetsu is definitively a game of patience and you will only defeat it one step at the time. Later levels are fiendishly difficult and they will chew you up and spit you out with ease. You also happen to lose some of your axe power when you die which is, I feel, a little frustrating and unfair. But unlike Konami's masterpiece, I feel that the level design is not as well thought out and later levels are a bit repetitive and drag on for a bit too long. All in all, Makyō Densetsu is often regarded as an ultimate classic hack'n slash from the 8-bit era (it was even awarded 'game of the year' in 1989 by EGM) but I have a hard time sharing that same feeling. Granted it was a launch title for the American Turbografx-16 and it looked and played better than the flawed Keith Courage in Alpha Zone, but if I take my nostalgia shades off, I can only see a game that is slightly above average.




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