FIRST PLAY: Legendary Axe for the Turbografx-16 with Commentary (Rookie Gameplay)

The Legendary Axe is a horizontal platform video game for the TurboGrafx-16. It was developed and published by Victor Musical Industries in Japan and by NEC in North America. It was released in Japan on September 23, 1988 and in North America as a TurboGrafx-16 launch title on August 29, 1989. In the game, the player controls Gogan, a barbarian whose girl, Flare, was kidnapped by the cult of Jagu. The player must navigate through six platforming levels, armed with a legendary axe named "Sting" to defeat Jagu and his minions and rescue Flare. The game features a rechargeable "strength meter" that determines how much damage is dealt from the axe to enemies.

The Legendary Axe received high praise and accolades among video game reviewers, and it received positive preview coverage in anticipation with the TurboGrafx-16's launch, showcasing the new console's capabilities. Reviews from gaming magazines such as Electronic Gaming Monthly called it one of the best adventure games seen at the time. It was highly praised for its detailed graphics and animation, diverse music and gameplay, difficulty level, and execution. It won the "Best TurboGrafx-16 Game of the Year" and "Video Game of the Year" (for all consoles) awards from Electronic Gaming Monthly and VideoGames & Computer Entertainment respectively for 1989. The game continued to receive praise from reviewers years after its release for its simple gameplay and game design that showed the performance and capabilities of the TurboGrafx-16.