Golden Axe Review – an Impressive Early Genesis Arcade Port

When the Sega Genesis released in North America in 1989, one of its most impressive aspects was the ability to bring arcade games to the home. An early release in that vein was the influential beat’em up, Golden Axe, which came out during the system’s first Christmas season. I fondly remember playing it for hours with my brothers.

Trying it again today, I’m reminded of why I liked it so much. Upon start up, the epic title screen music pumps out of the speakers with the very cool rotation of the game name to go along with it. Once I started playing proper, I noticed the music continuing to be impressive and the sprites were large and detailed. At least three different types of enemies were able to be on screen at once, along with two-player simultaneous gameplay as well.

All of this came together to tell players in 1989, “You are playing an arcade game in the home!”

Mind you, there were cutbacks in some areas. These include,

• Reduced color palette,
• No permanent bodies on the ground for defeated foes,
• Repetition of sound samples, and
• A simplified beginning to the game.

To me, the only one that really matters is the reduced variety of yelling sounds. The death screams of the skeletons don’t make as much sense in the Genesis version, for example.

Then again, this version of the game also has some things the arcade doesn’t have. The home version features an extra level after rescuing the king and the princess. Now, some may say that it isn’t much of a stage, but none of the stages in the game are very long anyway. Therefore, its inclusion is a welcome addition. As is the new duel mode that allows you to hone your skills and see where you rank as you improve in your abilities.

Notwithstanding, many may consider Golden Axe to be too old fashioned today. It is true that the player characters (Ax Battler, Tyris Flare, and Gilius Thunderhead) have a decent move set for the time, such as:

• A multi-hit combo,
• A forward stabbing attack,
• A jump attack,
• A downward attack while jumping,
• A running attack,
• Magic attacks based on the number of potions one has,
• And a unique special attack for each character.

However, most of the characters have a slow feel to them, and a good deal of the game’s strategy is to simply move around the screen to manage enemy locations and set yourself up to knock your foes down yet again.

There’s also no way to parry attacks or roll out of the way, which may surprise some players. My biggest shock playing today was that when you grab an enemy, all you can do is throw them. There aren’t any combos you can do once you grab them.

At least using pits effectively is a big part of exploiting the game’s level design, which is fun. Additionally, I enjoyed the rideable beasts when I had them. They added a bit to the game’s strategy, and when I lost them, it was a big deal.

Overall, the gameplay is good fun, but I think many gamers will find it limiting today. While I was playing it, sometimes I questioned whether my enjoyment was because the game held up today, or if it was because I had nostalgia for it.

Despite that, I had more fun dealing with enemy placement and managing the range of my various attacks in ways differently than I remember as a kid. I had forgotten just had different Tyris Flare attacked and moved compared to Gilius. The latter of which was my main character for both Golden Axe I and II.

Consequently, even though it has some dated aspects, I view Golden Axe as a great classic beat’em up that was extremely impressive in the late 80’s. The graphics and music hold up pretty well for the hardware, and I did like the gameplay as well, just not as much as I remember. There are multiple ways to play it today, and however you do, the game really does still matter!

Title: Golden Axe
Genre: Beat’em Up
Year Released: 1989
Developer: Sega
Played On: Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection on Xbox 360 through Xenia and the Japanese Sega Mega Drive Mini 1.
Price Paid: $0.14 and $3.10, or $6.84 for Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection and $130 for the Japanese version of the Sega Mega Drive Mini.

Remember, we can have different opinions about the games we play. If you like something more (or less) than I do, both of our perspectives are valid.