GOLDEN AXE
Original Release: Sega, 1989, Arcade
Other Releases: Genesis (1989), PC Engine/Master System/assorted computers (1990), Sega CD (in Sega Arcade Classics, 1993), Wii/Xbox 360 (2008), PS3/PSP (2011), iOS/Android (2018), Switch (2021)
A foundational title for the swords-and-sorcery branch of beat-em-ups, a very faithful arcade port would also be one of the initial "killer apps" for the Sega Genesis
Golden Axe (Arcade, Sega, 1989)
Where to Buy: eBay
How to Emulate: Arcade Emulation Guide
Review by: C. M0use
After Double Dragon the beat-em-up genre just kind of muddled along for a couple years with that series as its primary representative, not really showing much improvement. The genre's Great Leap Forward was in 1989, when three companies individually produced three games that not only were substantial technical advancements but also set the direction of the main subgenres for years to come: you had Capcom improving most directly on the Double Dragon formula with Final Fight, Konami becoming the standard-bearer for no-holds-barred quality cartoon and movie licenses with TMNT, and then Sega iterated the weapons-based fantasy fighter with Golden Axe.
Golden Axe is definitely Conan-inspired, and has something of the 1983 movie's spirit in it, though more just the grimdark opening village raid scene and not so much the beauty and majesty of the later parts of the film. We pick one of three warriors, each wronged by the fiendish Death Adder, and set off to put an end to him through his mix of barbarians and undead creatures.
While the other two big 1989 titles sped the action up considerably, Golden Axe most closely reflects the Double Dragon / Renegade roots in that it's a more plodding pace and timing is very important to avoid being backshot by the ruthless enemies. Kind of a funny development as lead designer Makoto Uchida has said in interviews that Sega's specific desire for the game was to have something wholly different from Double Dragon.
But Golden Axe isn't just "Double Dragon with swords and skeletons." It also introduced some innovations that the other branches of beat-em-up would go on to swipe later: mounts, magic screen-wiping atacks, and dash attacks. All of which the enemies can also use (exception of the magic attacks), and you must constantly keep an eye on ones lining you up from across the screen for a quick shoulder charge.
Quite frankly, I'm of the opinion that some of the home ports did the game better and the arcade original is probably one to skip. Of the Big Three '89 games, it's easily the most ruthless quarter sucker. There's really only 20-ish minutes of total game time here, including the little between-level cutscenes and the "kick the elves in camp" bonus stages, and it's padded by making the enemies artificially tough. They get generous hit boxes when swinging at you, you get stingy and sometimes nonsensical ones when swinging at them (the giants and the little bald mace guy are particularly bad about seeming hits just wafting right through them). In this version the CPU also often goes into "turbo mode" in its movements, either to quickly surround you or interrupt one of your attacks and quickly chip down your health with a full combo of its own. Even though it's a short game, you'll spend a small fortune clearing it unless you learn how to spam the dash kick and A+B special attack to maximum effect.
The arcade version's only real advantage is in looking a tad sharper, and it seems easier to juke enemies off of cliffs in this one for some reason. Some home ports, particularly the Genesis, are better balanced and have more content.
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Golden Axe (Wonderswan, Sega, 2002)
Where to Buy: eBay
How to Emulate: coming soon!
Review by: C. M0use
Sega Ages 2500: Golden Axe (PS2, Sega, 2003)
Where to Buy: eBay
How to Emulate: PlayStation 2 Emulation Guide
Review by: C. M0use
Golden Axe, the series that Sega never could get quite right. After a strong debut in the arcades of the late 80s, various ports and sequels across different platforms were mongled such that it never built real momentum. AFAIK this was the first attempt at a remake / reboot of the original game, farmed out to notorious shovelware publishers D3. D3 had their moments here and there ... but this definitely wasn't one of them.
They seemed to think just adding 3D models kinda haphazardly and orchestrated music constituted a "remake." They didn't even include the between-level camp power up screens (save for one initial noninteractive cutscene), the iconic map with narration, or a lot of the background NPC villagers and such that added to the dark ambience.
A straight-ahead "2.5D-ification" of Golden Axe could still be passable, I guess, but they also janked up the gameplay. All the way up to (and including) Death Adder, the enemies are zero challenge for you in a face-to-face battle. The only One Weird Trick they can use to damage you is hanging about the opposite side of the screen and trying to run-kick you while you're tied up with someone else. Fortunately, they only seem to have one charge in them and then they stand around derpily for a while (I guess they make themselves dizzy).
There are also differences and balance issues with each of the characters. Not only is Tyris Flare not cute in this one, she's next to useless as she loves to do constant "phantom throws" while attacking enemies where she just grabs at air and does the whole throw animation empty-handed. You're invincible during it, but you're vulnerable coming out of if if someone happens to be run-kicking or swinging right then. Gilius turns out to be the champ of this one as he has a Dark Souls-ish invincible roll-attack you can spam to clear out any trouble spots with ease.
The character models are OK-ish I suppose; the enemies actually look better than the player-characters. They're definitely below par for the PS2 though, looking more like something that would have been very decent on the PS1. The ISO is just under 100 MB, with PS2 games typically being more like 2 GB - 4 GB per disc, so D3 definitely wasn't in "spare no expense" mode here. Some of the animations are outright awful, though, like the cracks on the head of a kneeling enemy prior to booting them. Little cutscenes were added for boss introductions and at occasional points of the level, but they're pretty infrequent and never all that impressive.
The game does sport three new levels, but they really just prolong the pain. The new final level is particularly awful; you get 10 credits to get through the game, and it's pretty easy to conserve most of them, but you'll need most of them just for the final level. I don't suggest even starting this one, though.
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