The Legendary Axe/Gameplay

Controls

 * : Use the direction pad to guide Gogan through each level. Press left or right to walk in either direction.  Press down to squat on the ground.  Press up or down when standing in front of a ladder to climb in either direction.
 * : Press the I button to make Gogan leap into the air. The longer I is held down, the higher he will jump.  Press  or  to move through the air mid-jump.
 * : Press the II button to swing Gogan's axe. After he has collected at least one power-up, the strength of his swing will be determined by the amount of meter that has filled up before he swings.  After swinging, the meter resets and starts filling up again.
 * : Press the Run button to start a new game, or to pause the action mid-game.
 * : The Select button does nothing on its own, but pressing it together with will reset the game.

Gogan
Throughout the game, you are in control of Gogan, a villager who has set off in rescue of his childhood friend Flare, the maiden of the village who has been selected to be sacrificed to Jagu. Armed with nothing more than thhe Legendary Axe known as Sting, he must fight through several enemies, natural and unnatural, in order to reach and defeat Jagu. He'll have to travel through six zones in order to reach his destination.

Jagu has two primary abilities; the ability to leap high into the air, and the ability to swing his axe. His jumping ability will come in handy when he needs to leap over pits, jump up to higher ledges, or jump from one swinging vine to another. He can jump long or short, and he can change directions mid-jump. His ability to swing an axe is straightforward. He can swing standing or crouching, or even in mid-air. Once the Legendary Axe begins to power up, a strength meter begins to fill up at the top of the screen. The meter fills up 25% for every power-up Gogan has obtained, up to a maximum of four power-ups. The more filled up the strength meter is when he swings, the harder he will strike.

Gogan has a health meter, shown near the top of the screen as well, just below the strength meter. At full strength, it contains ten segments. As he takes damage, he may lose anywhere from just a portion of one segment, to more than one segment, depending on the strength of his opponent. If all of his health is depleted, he will lose one life. If all of his lives are lost, the game is over. Gogan can pick up items which restore certain amounts of health. Any health that Gogan has remaining at the end of a zone is converted to bonus points, and he will begin the next zone with full health.

Items
Throughout the game, you will come across small glowing statues on the ground. If you strike these with your axe, they will break open to reveal an item for you to collect. On rare occasions, items can be obtained by defeating powerful enemies as well.