Golden Axe - MegaDrive.Me

Overview

In the once peaceful land of Yuria Death Adder and his army of minions are wreaking havoc across the villages and plains. Determined to be accepted as ruler of Yuria the evil Adder has kidnapped the king and queen- holding both captive in their castle. To compound matters the legendary “Golden Axe”, the lands magical emblem, is also in his possession with its destruction threatened should Yuria’s inhabitants not accept his rule.

Three brave warriors, each with their own personal losses at the hands of Adder, set out on a mission of avengement. The first is battle axe-wielding dwarf, Gilius Thunderhead, from the mines of Wolud, whose twin brother was killed by the soldiers of Death Adder. Another is a barbarian, Ax Battler, wielding a two handed broadsword looking for revenge for the murder of his mother. Lastly, Tyris Flare is a long sword-wielding amazon whose parents were both killed by Death Adder.

Comment

Converted from the original 1988 Sega System 16 Arcade Golden Axe is a game that many Mega Drive fans hold close to their heart. Hailed as arcade perfect when first released, with hindsight the conversion isn’t quite so strong- missing some features such as parallax scrolling, additional background detail and with some censorship etc…

However, what most Mega Drive fans will agree with is that this game really felt special first time around. Beautifully presented with impressive sound and visuals all of which gave gamers the world over a real glimpse as to what Sega’s 16 bit powerhouse was capable of.

A thoroughly entertaining game in one player made, Golden Axe with 2 player co-op really came into it’s own. Battling against Death Adder’s army with a friend was a great experience- though accidentally attacking your partner was something to be mindful of! The music is a particular highlight with tracks such as “Turtle Village” and “Path of Fiend” truly capturing the heroic atmosphere of the game and motivating the player for the battle which lay ahead. Whilst “Old Map” gave players a rest bite whilst their progress towards Death Adder was charted. All truly timeless tracks indeed…

In summary, Golden Axe signified the start of a Golden Age for the Mega Drive and is a game which without doubt deserves a place in any fans collection.

Notes

The Mega Drive conversion (along with others of the time) features an extra level where warriors battle Death Bringer, Death Adder’s mentor, as the game’s final boss. There is also a “duel” mode where the player fights enemy foes in order on a stage by stage basis- along with the option of a 2 player one-on-one mode.

1993 in Japan saw the re-release of the Mega CD version (1 player only) as part of the Sega Classic Arcade Collection Limited Edition, featuring a new enhanced CD soundtrack & voice-overs.

Golden Axe is very closely linked to the earlier Sega title Altered Beast- both games were developed by Makoto Uchida of Sega Japan and feature the Bizarrian creature Chicken Leg.

Yoshiaki Yoneshima was the illustrator responsible for the games artwork- the particularly sublime rear cover art on the Japanese release was unique to this region.