Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe

n/a

US/EU JP
Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe
System(s): Sega Game Gear
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega CS2, Aspect
Distributor: Tec Toy (BR)
Genre: RPG
Series: Golden Axe series
Number of players: 1
Official in-game languages: 日本語 English
Release Date RRP Code JP 1991-11-01 ¥3,8003,800 G-3306 US 1992-03 $29.9529.95 2405 EU 1992-04 2405 FR 1992 UK 1992-04 £29.9929.99 2405 BR 1992-07 012100

Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe (アックスバトラー ゴールデンアックス伝説), known in Brazil as simply Golden Axe, is a Sega Game Gear platform role-playing game developed by Aspect and published by Sega. It was first released in Japan in November 1991.

The game is a sequel to the Sega Master System action role-playing game Golden Axe Warrior. Similar to how that game is highly derivative of the popular 1986 game The Legend of Zelda, Ax Battler derives its design from that game's sequel, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

Story

Introduction

Death Adder is laying siege to the entire world. He steals the Golden Axe, a magical weapon that grants its wielder unimaginable power, from its hiding place in Firewood Castle. To prevent Death Adder using its powers to destroy the world, the King of Firewood Castle calls upon the help of his strongest warrior: Ax Battler.

Gameplay

Town and character status

Overworld and battle

Training house

The game consists of overhead RPG segments exploring an overworld and towns interspersed with side-scrolling battles and stages.

As the player traverses the overworld, enemies randomly attack, prompting the game to switch to a side-scrolling battle scene. Ax Battler must defeat the enemy by striking it or using magic abilities until the enemy runs out of hit points. If Ax Battler is hit by the enemy, he loses a hit point and the encounter ends; if he defeats the enemy, he collects magic vases, which are the game's currency.

The player can find and enter towns from the overworld. Towns usually contain an inn where Ax Battler can rest and replenish his health for a fee, a training house where Ax Battler can learn a new ability if he wins a battle, and a password house where the player can receive a password for continuing the game at a later time. The player can talk to NPCs that sometimes provide hints. The overworld also contains special landmarks, which are side-scrolling platforming stages that the player must complete to collect an item to advance or to travel to a new location.

In the overworld, the player can move Ax Battler with the D-Pad. The player can invoke a menu with (or dismiss the menu with ) to talk with NPCs, use an item, or search the area. The player can open a status screen with  START  that shows Ax Battler's health, the amount of vases collected, and the special attacks learned. The player can also choose a magic technique from this screen.

In the side-scrolling action scenes, Ax Battler moves with and and crouches with . He jumps with . He attacks with , which can be done while crouching or jumping. He can use a magic technique with  START  (when standing on the ground).

Health for both Ax Battler and his foe (in a battle scene) is indicated by rectangles at the bottom of the screen. An orange rectangle represents one hit point and a blue rectangle represents two hit points. Ax Battler has a maximum of six hit points. If he loses all of them, he is defeated and revives in the password house of the last town visited; the player can choose to continue the game if desired. Though Ax Battler retains the special attacks he has learned and the items he has collected, he loses all of his vases after continuing.

Town

	House
	Houses contain NPCs, who sometimes provide hints on how to proceed if Ax Battler talks to them.
	Inn
	Ax Battler can rest at an inn to restore his hit points for a fee.
	Password House
	The player can receive a password here that can be used to continue the game at a later time.
	Training House
	Ax Battler can fight a battle here that teaches him a new ability if he wins.

Magic abilities

Magic abilities are all initially available and can be selected through the status screen from the overworld.

• Earth: Does 1 hit point of damage. Costs 2 vases.
• Thunder: Does 2 hit points of damage. Costs 4 vases.
• Fire: Does 4 hit points of damage. Costs 8 vases.

Special attacks

Ax Battler learns special attack skills from training houses in each town. These abilities work in both the battle sequences and the platforming stages. Some abilities are necessary to learn in order to complete the game.

• High Jump: An extra high jump performed with +.
• Upper Swing: An upward sword swing performed with + that does twice as much damage as a standard attack.
• Jump Swing: A downward cut performed with + in midair that does twice as much damage as a standard attack.
• Super Swing: A semicircular sword slice performed with + while standing.
• Run and Tackle: Ax Battler can now run with or and then tackle an enemy with while running. This ability can also destroy some objects.
• Jump Attack: A downward jab performed with + in midair that does twice as much damage as a standard attack.

Items

Items are usually necessary to progress.

• Bomb: Levels mountains on the overworld. Found in the Spooky Cave.
• Crystal: Summons a giant turtle to ferry Ax Battler across the water. Found in the Peninsula Tower.
• Key: Found in the Death Pyramid.
• Compass: Given to Ax Battler by a wounded soldier in the Holmstock town.
• Fruit: Found by inspecting a tree to the west of the Maze Forest.
• Magic Stone: Found by inspecting a tile to the northwest of the North Valley town.

Special landmarks

These are action stages that appear in the overworld.

	Spooky Cave
	Map: 1️⃣
	Peninsula Tower
	Map: 1️⃣
	Turtle's Back
	Map: 1️⃣
	Death Pyramid
	Map: 1️⃣
	Evil Cave
	Map: 1️⃣
	Maze Wood
	Map: 1️⃣
	Gayn Mountain
	Map: 1️⃣
	Eagle's Back
	Map: 1️⃣
	Ice Cliffs
	Map: 1️⃣
	Death Adder's Castle
	Map: 1️⃣

History

During development, the game was known under the working title of simply Golden Axe. Ultimately, only the game's Brazilian release would retain this original name.

Versions

Localised names

Also known as

Language	Localised Name	English Translation
English	Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe	Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe
English (US)	Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe	Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe
Japanese	アックスバトラー ゴールデンアックス伝説	Ax Battler: Golden Axe Densetsu
Portuguese (Brazil)	Golden Axe

Production credits

• Planning: The Hase
• Design: K.Tamun
• Program: N.Tabata, H.Saexa
• Data: K.Mixa
• Sound: PP.Chung
• Program: K.Oikawa
• Cover Art:
• Presented by: Sega

Source:

In-game credits

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• Japanese cover artist: Jun Satoh
• Japanese manual artist: Sega Consumer Design Development Dept. (Mari Koizumi)

Source:

Sega TV Game Genga Gallery

File:Sega TV Game Genga Gallery.pdf

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• Western cover artist: Julie Bell

Source:

Uncredited

Magazine articles

Main article: Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1991-11: "November 1991" (1991-10-08)

Artwork

• 

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 53 Consoles + (FR) 72 Console XS (UK) NTSC-J 56 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 63 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 37 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 48 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 80 Games-X (UK) 40 Game Zone (UK) NTSC-J 73 Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J 30 Hobby Consolas (ES) 59 Joypad (FR) NTSC-J 85 Joystick (FR) 85 Mega Force (FR) 75 Micromanía (segunda época) (ES) 67 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 39 Player One (FR) 80 Play Time (DE) 70 Power Up! (UK) 75 Power Play (DE) 77 Sega Pro (UK) 77 Sega Pro (UK) NTSC 56 Sega Force (SE) 75 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 46 Supergame (BR) 82 Supersonic (FR) 90 VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (US) NTSC-U 80 Zero (UK) 87

	66
Based on 28 reviews

Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe

Game Gear, JP
Cover
Cart

Game Gear, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, FR (Blister pack)
Cover

Game Gear, BR
Cover
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
?	CRC32 dfcf555f MD5 2aa1025039e174f7e5168ce09cde3113 SHA-1 ff7931d3461c69ffc3a82d892ae3bb3bb00788b3	256kB	1991-08-23	Cartridge (JP)
?	CRC32 663bcf8a MD5 71e87c98e849c71dfd9a21a4a9ff56b4 SHA-1 9f5bf2973225b8ee337fcec460829724a0c63d9e	256kB	1991-12-10	Cartridge (US/EU)
?	CRC32 3435ab54 MD5 1d8cc7e9a742312294fc1dace252907f SHA-1 fe0f433aebd6e3c4b61e4e155323fe6932369459	256kB	1991-10-08	EPROM cartridge				Page