Play Axelay Online

Summary

Axelay drops you into the prototype D117B fighter as humanity’s last hope against an alien Armada. The game flips between vertical and side‑scroll stages, demanding new tactics for each perspective.

Each level gives you three weapon slots—standard, special and bomb—that you can switch on the fly, and every cleared stage adds a new weapon to the arsenal, from multi‑direction spreads to volcanic cannons. The chosen armament doubles as a shield: a hit reduces it to a weak default, a second hit ends the run. SNES graphics boast parallax scrolling and pseudo‑3D warping that still look sharp today.

Developed by Konami, the team later formed Treasure, with art by Kazuhiro Namba and a soundtrack by Taro Kudo (plus Masanori Adachi and Akira Souji). Critics have praised Axelay as one of the SNES’s finest shooters, landing on several top‑game lists and a spot in *1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die*.

Storyline

Axelay unfolds in the fictional Illis planetary system, once a tranquil collection of worlds. The peace shatters when the alien Armada of Annihilation conquers the system’s planets, including the Earth‑like Corliss (called Mother in Japan). As the last line of defense, the experimental D117B fighter is launched to reclaim stolen weaponry and end the invasion.
The pilot weaves through the cloud‑shrouded Cumuluses, the space colony Tralieb, the densely populated Urbanite, the submerged Cavern, and the fiery Sector 3 lava planet. Finally, the D117B breaches the Armada’s fortress, destroying the threat and restoring hope to Illis.