MAKYŌ DENSETSU - THE LEGENDARY AXE
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魔境伝説
©1988 Victor Musical Industries, Inc
Release : 1988-09-23 (¥5200)
HuCard (2 Mbits) JC63001
Action / Platform game
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Released in America as
LEGENDARY AXE
( TGX020003 )
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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?
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Game Staff (Copied from the end credits) :
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Game Designer
Tokuhiro Takemori
ABU
Programer
Tsurumoku
P-Okabe
Jun Yasuda
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Graphic Designer
ABU
Shigenori Hashimoto
Tomoko Sugoh
Sound Composer
Atsushi Chikuma
Toshiaki Takimoto
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Test Player
Jun Yasuda
P-Okabe
Special Thanks
Mr. Aoyama
Ono-Chan
And You
The End
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G
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Japanese Guidebook
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Click on picture to enlarge |
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LK
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Add your Pov here !
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P
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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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