Sega's classic arcade beat-'em-up game, Golden Axe puts in the shoes of one of three heroes, each with his own reason for trying to overthrow the evil rule of Death-Adder, who - along with his forces of darkness - kidnapped and imprisoned the King and his daughter and stole the legendary Golden Axe.
This is a horizontal fighting game, where you basically take one of the three characters (a warrior, a dwarf or an amazon) and bash everything which stands between you and Death Adder himself.
Double Dragon meets Conan is the best way to sum up Golden Axe. Easily one of the better side-scrolling fighers to be found on the Megadrive (regardless of the basic nature of the fighting system compared to the likes of Streets of Rage), Golden Axe is still a gorgeous game to behold, even today. The character and level design are brilliant, and in two player mode it really is a hoot.
The aim is simple - move from one end of each leve to the other being sure to take out the many bad guys along the way. At the end of each stage a boss character (or group of characters) is waiting for you to come along and brandish your steel. It's not terribly original stuff but the presentation is first class so you can't really complain too much. Like the classic fantasy movies of the '80s, Golden Axe emits authenticity that is hard to match.
The combat is pretty basic when you break it down and doesn't come anywhere near to challenging the likes of Streets of Rage, but it works well regardless. Combination attacks are pretty effective and impressive (smashing the butt of your sword on the head of an enemy never gets old) and you can even string together other moves, such as throws - although they don't work in the same way they do in games like Final Fight and SOR. You have to wait until your foe is prone on the ground and then attack them, and your character will automatically scoop them up and hurl them skywards.
You also have magic attacks available, which are boosted by collecting potions dropped by little elves along the way. I used the word 'dropped' in the loosest sense possible as you actualy force them to part with their potions by giving them a swift kick up the backside!
As with many of the Virtual Console releases, you have to ask yourself if you're not just better off purchasing the host system and a copy of the game, but presuming you've decided to stick with the Wii rather than heading off to eBay, then this really should be high on your list. It's not for everyone and games like SOR and Final Fight are arguably better, but this is classic Sega and is therefore worthy of your time and money. It's also worth noting that it's not arcade perfect (although lots of people seem to think it is) but does feature an extra level exclusive to the Genesis/Megadrive.
Whilst this game can be played on the wiimote it's a bit of a stretch to find the A button for the magic, buttons 1 and 2 work great for the other action. Gamecube controller works a treat except for the tiny D-pad which you get used to after a while!
Average reader rating: 3.64 (44 ratings)
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1. Baldasacoot
26 Feb 2007, 15:14 GMT
Another accurate arcade conversion for the Megadrive.
I remember we all went mad over this when it first came out. A great hack & slash title but as always with these VC games, it'll be loved by the fans & probably hated by newcomers. But then, that's what the VC is all about isn't it?
btw.. Check the manual for details on how to do extra moves like the shoulder charge (useful against ALL enemies) and the twisting rear slash (press jump & kick buttons together). These extra moves give the game more depth.
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2. MojoPain
27 Mar 2007, 21:24 GMT
One of the greatest two player games ever. Its dated looking and its old but hey, its a legend for a reason. The harder the difficulty the longer the game is as well so stick at it to get the most out of it. Is there anything better than the sound of the dwarf's THWAK! cutting into a gimp enemy?
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3. Praadur
26 May 2007, 16:09 GMT
As I recall, this was one of the earliest releases as far as the launch of the Mega Drive in Great Britain is concerned, it wasn't that long after the likes of Sonic that it appeared on the scene. And it did much to further cement the idea that Sega truly were the masters of both the arcade conversion and console games of arcade quality.
For a long time, this held true and there are so many examples of this, not only on the Genesis but the Master System, the Saturn and the Dreamcast. One can point at a game like this and denote it as a classic example of Sega doing "their thing".
Of course, I think it was also one of the earlier games to create the trend of adding things to a console release that the original arcade machine didn't have. In this case, it was an extra level over the arcade's original, which was wholly worthwhile.
If only Sega had kept up their tradition and tried to port the real Golden Axe II (arcade) to the Genesis instead of the bloody awful one it ended up with. I still have nightmares of Timmy Mallet skeletons which go "Bleh."
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4. Joe
28 Jul 2007, 19:30 GMT
I can only warn everyone in Europe wanting to get this. I did - and I love Golden Axe. But it's running so slow... far slower than the video shows.
No fun
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5. Conor S.
10 Dec 2007, 14:18 GMT
I bought this in conjunction with FINAL FIGHT and was also severly disappointed with this version. It was NOTHING like the arcade versions! DON'T BUY IT! BEWARE!
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6. CraZH
19 Dec 2007, 17:19 GMT
@Conor S.: Guess you're confused. It is exactly the same game as on the arcade machine...
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7. John
28 Dec 2007, 02:24 GMT
I may have never played the original, but I'm glad this was the first game I got on the virtual console! It's a great old fashioned fighter which has a great two-player mode! It's so fun playing it with friends because you can accidentally attack each other (how thats a plus I don't know, but it is in my book
)
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8. Thomas
28 Dec 2007, 23:01 GMT
I purchased this game after reading several glowing reviews about it being an enduring beat-em-up, and especially looked forward to playin it co-op with a friend. 30 minutes later, we'd beaten the game with ease and couldn't believe where the $8 went. Combat is single-button unless you cast a spell to knock everyone over or dash into people. All the bosses use the same sprites as regular enemies, just with the colors changed. The best part of the game is riding a mount, and those are short-lived and one-buttoned as well. And then between levels, your adventure is described as much cooler than it is on a map (I was on a giant turtle? really?)
And then in 1-player, I just got double-teamed up the wazoo. While this is a plain fighter with two players, solo is just insufferable. I can't understand how the sequels, which supposedly add features, can be graded lower than the original. If this had more levels or abilities I could see the "charm," but otherwise it's a money trap.
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9. Damo
20 Jan 2008, 17:46 GMT
There's so much wrong with what you've just written that I won't even begin to counter what you've said, Thomas.
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10. Mixer152
27 Jan 2008, 11:22 GMT
So much nostalgia with this game right here. Although it has its flaws like occasionally unresponsive commands and hit detection, it's multiplayer co-op at its best. Great soundtrack too!
I would've given it 5 stars if it wasnt for the flaws mentioned above.
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11. yeeat
14 Feb 2008, 02:56 GMT
I would say this is easy 4 stars but i think i would like to give 4,5
Funny thing is, this is the best one in the series and it's such an awesome one. Love the music and quality and gameplay. Golde axe kick as usual
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12. Indy
22 Feb 2008, 10:27 GMT
It is a fun game, but most fun if you have a second player to join you:) Too bad it so short.
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13. Roo
28 Feb 2008, 17:20 GMT
Very dated - it all seems so quaint these days. Get Streets of Rage 2.
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