Axelay saw Konami at its 90s peak

[Administrator]

Sega's boot-up logos of the 16-bit era might be the most fondly remembered, but for me it's Konami's that will always be the best. That scan line bringing the black screen to life, climaxing with a twinkling chime reminiscent of an arcade cabinet fed with a new 20 pence piece; it promised so much, and more often than not it would deliver. The early 90s were a golden era for Konami. Viewed through the filter of my own personal tastes, I'd go as far to say it saw the developer at its very best.
On the home front there were boisterous, polished and effortlessly cool games such as Contra 3, Sunset Riders and Super Castlevania 4 - classics that, well over 20 years later, retain their ability to excite. Axelay, which has just been granted a new lease of life on the Wii U's Virtual Console, stands proud amongst that company, but to understand its appeal you've got to go back to the lineage of arcade games to which it owes so much.
Konami's shooters of the 80s and 90s are the stuff of legend, and deservedly so. Amidst the post-Space Invaders gold rush in the arcades, it's the likes of Gradius and Salamander that acquired enduring iconic status, born of their character and their poise. It's something you see, to varying degrees, in the developer's other shooters of the era - in the colour and bounce of Detana!! TwinBee, the drunken exuberance of Parodius Da or the psychedelic excess of Xexex.
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