Flicky is an arcade game made by Sega. First released in arcades in 1984, Flicky was also released at the time for the SG-1000, and then ported to the MSX and Japanese computers Sharp X1, Fujitsu FM-7 and NEC PC-8801. It was later ported to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1991. Flicky was designed by Yoji Ishii, who was with Sonic Team until August 1999, when he formed Artoon, his own company.
Astyanax is a side-scrolling platform action game set in a fantasy world. The hero sets out to slay the evil wizard terrorizing the land. He is armed with an ax and also has a magic lightning spell that can be powered-up two times. Magic upgrades and health potions can be found in small stone pillars. The player needs to beat monsters in a number of locales, jumping across pits and fighting bosses at the end of stages. Two-palyer co-op is supported, with the second player being palette-swap of Player 1.
The game was designed by Tokuhiro Takemori who previously worked on Legendary Axe, and the basic game mechanic is similar -- in order to deal heavy blow with the axe the player needs to stop swinging it for a while. The NES version released after the Arcade game, while generally having same gameplay, features completely different level layouts, enemy designs and story.