The Turbografx-16 was one of those consoles I didn’t know about nor did I pay attention to when it was released. I was just a wee little guy back then after all. In retrospect it’s a console where many a misstep was made. I mean, they launched the thing with Keith Courage as a pack-in after all. This is an especially boneheaded move considering the fact that superior action platformers were available even at release. The Legendary Axe is one of these such games, and aside from in the Turbografx-mini it hasn’t been re-released. Today we’re going to take a look at this launch title.
The Legendary Axe takes place in a fantasy based world full of monsters. You play as a caveman looking strong guy who, as you may have already guessed, wields an axe with which to dispatch his fantastical foes. You’re on some quest to save this guy’s girlfriend. Or something. Whatever. Anyways, it’s a generic video game story so let’s move on.
This game is a side scrolling action platformer. Luckily the protagonist is not only strong but he’s also an acrobat. He can jump to unnatural heights (think Mario and Sonic) as well as swing from vines/ropes and more. Instead of jumping on enemies’ heads you swipe at them with your axe. Your basic foes take just one hit, but others have more health under their belt. You also have a life bar at the top of the screen which drains as you take damage. When it’s empty you lose a life, but can continue from the stage you were on. It’s pretty typical stuff but Legendary Axe has some depth.
For one thing there’s a gauge at the top of the screen that fills automatically in between attacks. This is your strength meter. You have to collect power-ups to expand it, but these are easy to find and you’ll have little problem doing so. The more you let this charge the more powerful the ensuing attack is. Some foes are better dispatched by a quick series of swipes with the old axe, but in other instances you’ll want to keep your distance and let it charge so that you can go in for the kill. It’s a very basic system to be honest but the way the game plays upon it keeps you thinking. The strength meter and it’s functionality adds a fair amount of depth especially when you’re facing multiple enemies at the same time.
In typical fashion your goal is to reach the end of a stage and then fight against a boss to move on to the next. Enemies are generally monsters and animals like bats, rock throwing monkeys, armored goblins, trolls, etc. In a head on fight they don’t amount to much, but when you’re fighting against a screen full of enemies things get hectic fast. Add to this the instances that require intricate platforming and you’ve got some complicated obstacles to overcome. Legendary Axe never feels unfair, and you’re given lots of restorative items to heal any boo boo the mean old monsters give our strongman protagonist.
With that said there are a few annoying nuances here. Legendary Axe suffers from a, ahem, legendary difficulty level. It’s far from a cakewalk, and can sometimes even be a bit on the cheap side. Unfortunately the game features one of my least favorite mechanics of similar titles of this era; damage knockback. This means whenever you’re touched by a foe or their attack your character is knocked a few steps backwards. This wouldn’t be a problem except for when you’re tasked with jumping across gaps and on small platforms. Sometimes monsters can even hit you back and forth rendering you helpless for short periods of time while your life bar is drained.
The Legendary Axe is generally a straight forward affair. You have a starting point, and an end to each stage with very few opportunities to take alternate routes. That is, until you reach the fifth level. This is set up to be a maze of sorts. It takes place indoors and half of the rooms feature multiple exits. You can only determine your progress by which portion of the stage you’re in as indicated by the letter next to the stage in the interface. Thing is, you’ll find yourself repeatedly backtracking by accident. These doors are one way so it’s entirely trial and error. This wouldn’t be so bad except the rooms are chock full of unfriendlies. It’ll wear on you very quickly.
For a launch game I was surprised at just how beautiful Legendary Axe is. It’s very colorful for a game of this era and that helps paint the exotic locations you’ll visit here. Speaking of which, the backgrounds look excellent and feature great details and even animations in some areas. If there’s one weak link here it’s the enemy designs. For being a fantasy based game they can be a little drab and boring at times. The animal based ones in particular are boring. Either way this is a pretty good looking game by Turbografx standards. The soundtrack is somewhat enjoyable but for the most part rarely transcends noise. I didn’t have any real problems with it, but I did find the music entirely too forgettable.
It still boggles the mind that this game was overlooked as a pack-in and beaten out by Keith Courage in Alpha Zones. The Legendary Axe is one of the best games of its kind on the console, and I’d even rate it above several of the Bonk iterations to be honest. It’s interesting that the mechanic that really sets it apart, the strength meter, has been replicated many times before but it hasn’t really had the same effect on gameplay here. Legendary Axe has surprising depth for a game of this kind, and the level designs will keep you interested from start to finish.
