After a year of wonder, I finally decided to buy one of those Game Axe things. The Game Axe had was made in the early 90s, it was a Famicom (not NES) clone that was portable. The Game Axe started circulating around the net during 1999-2001. Despite the numerous horror stories I was told, Game Axe is great!

My package had arrived by UPS yesterday, luckily Calx saw it or it would have spent the night sitting in my garage :( I bring the package upstairs and I anxiously open it. Everything that I was getting was there, the AC Adapter, Game Axe itself, and Famicom to NES Converter. I open up my Game Axe's box; the screen was slightly scratched in the one corner though it wasn't too bad so I'm not complaining.

I pop in a fresh set of batteries and I decide that the first NES game I try on the Game Axe will be Little Nemo, one of my favorites. The game doesn't work and I start getting nervous. My Famicom Fantasy Zone game works fine, though the actual picture on the Game Axe is very poor...too dark. I was so disappointed. I finally get Little Nemo to work, then Captain Comic, etc.

The contrast had to be adjusted by a button on the bottom of the console, this fixed the darkness problem. The Game Axe's speakers are a lot better than that of the Gameboy Advances. I am currently logging the number of hours of play that you can get out of one set of 6 double A batteries. The backlit is nice, great for road trips and spending time outdoors. Calx and I took the Game Axe outside last night, it was really really cold. We played Die Schlumpfe, Mega Man 6, Castlevania 3, and a myriad of other games on the cold moonlit evening. It was cold but it sure was fun!

Game Axe has a few flaws. Like I said, ours had a minor scratch. The plastic is very very cheap, you can see through it at spots. A Famicom game will stick out of the console about an inch, 5 inches for a NES game. This really doesn't bother me too much though, I really don't notice it. The picture is the same as a Game Gear's picture, not as clear as a Gameboy's but not as blurry as some sites claim. Running the unit on batteries gives you the same picture that you get from running it with the AC Adapter.

The Game Axe seems to be compatible with most games. I tried it with various Famicom games, various NES games, and my 350 in 1 multicart. HES's Maxi 15 I could not get to run...anyway, that would be so darn bulky I don't know why someone would even attempt that combo :P The Immortal plays, though not too well. Super Mario Bros 3, Castlevania 3, Mega Man 5, and Die Schlumpfe were just a few games that I tested that worked fine. Unfortunately I do not have a Famicom zapper or I could play Duck Hunt on the go! Oh well.

Don't be deceived by those reviews which say that the Game Axe is so poor. This is probably the only portable NES you'll ever get, unless you buy your own, and it isn't bad at all. The few flaws I saw were so minor that I really don't see why it reviewed so bad. My point: buy a Game Axe.