Information about Battle Axe

Note: I tested with Logitech Gamepad F310 under Kubuntu and KDE neon on AMD system.

Controls (no twin-stick-shooter, fixed controls):
  LS - Movement
   A - Melee Attack
   B - Range Attack
   X - Ability (Special Attack)
   Y - Item (using things freshly collected)
    * - Pause/Menu
   o - no function
~~
* = special buttons: Back/Start/Logitech (ok)
o = RS, LB, RB, LT, RT <- why not per default same function on several buttons
                         (similar to pause/menu using 3 buttons) ?

One should note that melee attack (A) is good for enemies using melee attack,
but for enemies using range attack one typically should use that (B), too.
Melee attack could be quite nice: if pressing A frequently, you won't move
when using LS but just attack to multiple directions, so you can hold
a position if needed and can kill a croud attacking from all sides
without getting wounded.

Avatars:
1) Rooney - Marauder (red hair; +1 healthbar but slower than Fae and Iolo):
      A - lethal cannon,    B - launching cannon balls,    X - dash.
2) Fae - The Dark Elf (female):
      A - two blades,    B - throwing dagger,    X - rotate;
3) Iolo - The Druid (white hair):
      A - beard wip,    B - conjure searing fireballs,    X - beam;

Maybe Rooney is balanced, i.e. is equally effective in near and range attack,
while Fae is dominant in melee attack (A),
and Iolo is dominant in range attack (B).

Story/Plot:
Your chosen hero must battle bravely with hordes of Etheldred's evil minions
before confronting the menacing bosses of each region - formidable guardians
who are fiercely loyal to Etheldred.
Etheldred the Sorceress:
Etheldred is an evil, domineering sorceress who dwells in a spire in the
distant volcanic wastelands to the North. Every seven years she sends
her armies South to handpick citizens from each township who will be subjected
to a lifetime of servitude, and they are never heard from again ...
With Etheldred's next attack looming on the horizon, and the population
becoming increasingly desperate, a call is sent out to champions across
the land, pleading with them to put a stop to Etheldred's plans once and for all!
This is where you come in, brave champion ... help us save the kingdom of Mercia!

Stages:
Stage 1 - 'Battle Above The Clouds':
Green land with trees, purple dinos on two feet (orks), shooting plants (yateveo);
Boss being ship with canon fired by gunner and steering captain.
-
Stage 2 - 'The Forgotten Mines':
The mine with undead skeletons (slashers), under earth tentacles (rock worms) and spitting flying blue monsters (hornets),
gray dinos (steel orks), red flying mines (baby stings);
Boss is a gigantic spider;
-
Stage 3 - 'Dragons Keep':
Green dinos in arms (ork troopers), red yateveos, knights in arms (bannerets),
red dinos with arms (ork rogues), green flower with blue leaves (death clouds),
Boss is a flying gigantic dragon:
-
Stage 4 - 'Scoria Spire':
magma level, magenta mages (worlacks), blue skeletons (blue slashers), gray octopus/spider with red eyes (gnauzl);
Boss is Etheldres - in normal shape - and afterwards in extremely big and decayed ...

Stage x (i.e. finally game could have 5 stages) - may be added later ...
After Devs:
"We're very keen to add at least 1 more level, complete with its own enemies,
  traps and boss. Each level takes several months to create though and we're
  a very small team which is limited on time. We're intending to add this
  to the neo geo version, which we would then make available in the modern
  versions, free of charge."

Items:
1) Chicken - restoring one bar of your health (starting with 5);
2) Potion {blue} - bring the owner back to full health;
3) Scroll - summon a magical onslaught - leaving holder and allies unscathed;
4) Bomb - capable of causing colossal destruction - must be thrown with true aim;
5) Coins - dropped by nanquished foes and also found within chests - to buy nice things
   (the other items) from Ælfwyn the Merchant at the end of a level;
6) Health increase {green} - increase hero's health by one bar;
7) Speed up {wings} - improved speed;
8) Increased strength {fist} - dealing more damage in hand-to-hand combat;
9) Powerup {lightning on red circle} - increased power of the carrier's projectile attacks.
To the top left of the screen are stats for P1 ordered around portrait of the selected avatar.
To the right of the Health bar (top right side of portrait) is a field wich would show a freshly collected item
of 1st to 4th category, which can be consumed {chicken or potion} or applied {scroll or bomb} by Y.
One should not open a chest if there is an item not consumed yet (e.g. chicken when at full health - would just be wasted).
The 5th item, coins, are shown as gold coin with a number for collceted coins below the hero's portrait.
The 6th item changes directly the health status (top right side of portrait) by adding one bar (initially there are
5 health bars and +2 lifes {golden number in avatar portrait at bottom right corner} in both difficulty modes: easy and hard;
there are slight differences such as fewer enemies and less health for bosses and certain enemies in easy mode).
The last three items (i.e. 7th to 9th category) are visible below health bar to show the special abilities.
Below Px (e.g. P1 for player 1) is a vertical bar for stamina (to the left side of the portrait) - increased
by melee attacks and useful for fast range attacks.

Cheat Menu:
Starting in main menu with highlighted option, then pressing Ability + Shoot + left and Start, i.e. X + B + DPad-left + Start
   - Start Area: Stage 1 (/2/3/4: directly jump to an advanced stage)
   - Infinite Health Off (/On: you can not get wounded - you don't see how bad you play ;)
   - Infinite Lifes: Off (/On: no exit of game possible; but one can see, how many times a life will be lost - good for practicing)
   - Infinite Gold: Off (/On: one can buy everything at the 1st shop, i.e. after 1st level)

Links:
   o GOG product page
   o GOG product page of Xeno Crisi (former game)
   o GOG product page of 88 Heroes (former game)
   o Developers Homepage (Bitmap Bureau)
   o Publishers Homepage (Numskull Games)
   o Complete Playthrough for Battle Axe (YouTube, no comment, 30:33)

GOG Offline Installer (04.07.2022 01:30 CET):
   o Lin:   1.0.2 (46712)
   o Win: 1.0.3 (46693) [incl. additional 32 Bit Installer]
   o Mac: 1.0.1 (46693)
# Game engine: Unity 2019.4.18f1 (pure 64 Bit)
# Players: 1 - 2 (i.e. solo or co-op)
# Release Date: 29th April, 2021
# Age rating: USK12 / PEGI7

# JMB info about privat communications (short version - not cited fully):
# I got into contact with devs/support yielding to info about Cheat Menu and the info about plans for an additional stage.
# After looking about some remarks from other gamers I asked for some info and possible changes for an update:
# 1) Local Cooperation with possibility to heal the other (like for Xeno Crisis):
# A: One may look to it - but maybe could ruin game balance ...
# 2) Twin Stick Shooter option (mode used by former game Xeno Crisis):
# A: The game had to be designed with neo geo in mind and we weren't sure how popular a twin stick set up would be,
#     but if there's enough demand for it, then we'll add it.
# JMB: With symmetric F310, twin stick shooters are great - nevertheless the controls are ok!
# 3) Using new default controls with same function for: X = LT, B = RT, X = LB, Y = RB.
# A: We should be able to do this, we'll hopefully have it in the next update.
# 4) Larger area of view as an option (especially for local co-operation):
# A: One thing to note is that Battle Axe had to be designed with the neo geo in mind - resticts vertical resolution to 224.
# 5) Easy mode for casual gamers - maybe by continue option like in Metal Slug:
# A: We could potentially add an option that lets you continue at the start of the level your reach when you die.
# JMB1: The game is fair - but one may need practice to play through the game even in easy mode ...
# JMB2: I am happy with the Cheat Menu described above ... good for training and seeing the entire game - and having fun!
# 6) Map and Manual:
# A: Would be nice but definetly just a nice to have / not likely to happen now.
# 7) Option to make sound louder than music or music louder than sound would be nice:
# A: We've got volume sliders in Final Vendetta, we'll try and bring it over to a Battle Axe update when it happens.
# JMB: So we can hope that a good game will get better ... with a little patience. ;)