Golden Axe

For the home computer versions, see Golden Axe (home computers).

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Golden Axe
System(s): Sega System 16, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Master System, iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Network, CD-ROM², Virtual Console, WonderSwan Color, Xbox Live Arcade, Steam
Publisher: Sega, Telenet Japan Bandai
Developer: Team Shinobi, Telenet Japan
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code JP 1989-05 ¥? ? US 1989 $? ? EU 1989 £? ? JP 1990-03 ¥? TJCD0005 JP 2001 ¥5,040 with tax ? JP ▼ 2006-12-02 600pts US ▼ 2006-11-28 800pts EU ▼ 2006-12-08 800pts AU ▼ 2006-12-07 800pts JP ▼ (Arcade) 2009-06-23 800pts US ▼ (Arcade) 2009-10-26 900pts EU ▼ (Arcade) 2009-09-18 900pts
ESRB PEGI OFLC CERO

Golden Axe (ゴールデンアックス) is a beat-'em-up developed by Sega and released in 1989 for Sega System 16 arcade hardware. The development team was headded by Makoto Uchida, who also led the team behind Altered Beast.

The game was the first in the long-running Golden Axe series. It is said to be heavily inspired by the Conan the Barbarian films, and that the game took roughly one year to make.

Story

The game place takes in the fictional land of Yuria, in which an evil entity known as Death Adder has kidnapped Yuria's King and his daughter, holding them captive in his castle. Perhaps more importantly, Death Adder has stolen the "Golden Axe", a magical emblem of Yuria, and is threatening to destroy it if the people of the land do not accept him as their ruler.

It is up to a band of three heroes to venture to Death Adder's castle and stop him, rescuing the captives, avenge their losses and save the land:

Ax Battler, a male barbarian fighting to avenge the murder of his mother. Despite his name he uses a two handed broadsword and carries earth magic. Ax Battler is one of the constants of the series, appearing in most Golden Axe games (including Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe, a game based entirely around him).

Tyris Flare, an amazonian woman whose parents were killed by Death Adder. She also uses a sword but carries fire magic.

Gilius Thunderhead, a dwarf whose brother was murdered by Death Adder. Gilius is the only character to actually carry an axe, as well as thunder magic.

Gameplay

Golden Axe supports a maximum of two players. Any character can be selected but both players cannot play as the same character.

The Golden Axe arcade cabinet assigns one button for attacking, another for jumping and a final button for using magic. Using magic will cause all of the enemies on screen to be damaged and effectively acts as crowd control. Each player carries a limited supply of magic (indicated by a meter at the top of the screen) and will use it all at once when the magic button is pressed. More magic can be collected by attacking the short thieves clothed in blue who appear at certain points throughout the game. Green thieves carry life energy, also represented in the HUD.

Golden Axe is also notable for its ability to allow players to ride "beasts", often giving them an offensive advantage at the expense of speed.

Similar to Altered Beast, the ending is less serious and has characters from the game breaking out of the arcade machine and causing havoc in the real world. Most ports replace this ending.

Playable Characters

	Ax-Battler
	Gilius-Thunderhead
	Tyris-Flare

Stages

	Stage 1 - Wilderness
	Bonus Stage 1
	Stage 2 - Turtle Village
	Bonus Stage 2
	Stage 3
	Bonus Stage 3
	Stage 4 - Fiend's Path
	Bonus Stage 4
	Stage 5 - Death Adder's Castle
	Stage 6 - The Palace Gates
	The Mega Drive version of the game adds three more levels. This is the first, which is part of stage 5 in the arcade version.
	Stage 7 - The Dungeon
	Also a Mega Drive exclusive.
	Stage 8 - The Battle with Death Adder
	Also a Mega Drive exclusive.

Sequels and Re-releases

Golden Axe has been ported to a number of systems over the years, though many cuts were made in the process.

The game has enjoyed many years of success on the Sega Mega Drive, and was used in the early days of the console to advertise the system's power over its then-main rival, the Nintendo Entertainment System. Some levels were shortened, but an extra level was added which includes another boss, "Doom Bringer". Also in this version is a "duel" mode, which allows players to fight a succession of enemies one-on-one.

The Mega Drive version of the game has been included in numerous compilations, such as 6-Pak, Mega Games 2, Mega Games 6 and Mega Games 10. The game has also been emulated and sold in the form of Sega Smash Pack Volume 1, Sega Smash Pack, Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection, Sega Archives from USA Vol. 1 and Sega Mega Drive Classic Collection Volume 1, as well as services such as PlaySega and built-in to numerous consoles by AtGames.

This version was so popular that it got direct sequels in the form of Golden Axe II and Golden Axe III. In the arcades, the "true" sequel is Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder. A Sega Mega-Tech version also exists, which is based on the Mega Drive version, as is the version released for the Wii's Virtual Console service.

The Mega Drive Golden Axe was enhanced for the Sega Mega-CD and delivered as part of Sega Classics Arcade Collection. This version is single-player only, though offers numerous improvements in terms of audio and some graphical tweaks.

The Sega Master System version is also one-player only, forcing you to play as Ax Battler (named "Tarik"). Similar is the CD-ROM² port, which takes a big hit in terms of aesthetics and is only single-player. It was also ported to the WonderSwan Color and as part of Sega Smash Pack for the Game Boy Advance.

Golden Axe was also remade as part of Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 5: Golden Axe, and has been brought to Xbox Live Arcade, the PlayStation Network and is available for iOS and other mobile devices.

Production Credits

Mega Drive Version

Software Design: Takosuke, Moto CBX1000, Ham Tak, Waka
Visual Effects: Kyonsy Kyonsy, Cane, Chisuke, Roco
Sound: Nankyoku, Decky, Imocky
Assistant Programmer: S2, Yang Watt, Vinyl Boy
Producer: Kan
Director: Bros 400
Assistant Director: Opa‑Opa
English Messages: Niya, Tsugu
Arcade Game Design: Team Shinobi
Presented by: Sega

Promotional Material

• 

  System 16 US flyer

• 

  System 16 JP flyer

• 

  Mega Drive UK TV advert

Physical Scans

System 16 Version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source Computer & Video Games (UK) 80 №93 CU Amiga (UK) 89 №69, p96-97

	85
Based on 2 reviews

System 16, US

System 16, JP

Mega Drive Version

Sega Retro Average

Publication Score Source Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 75 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 96 №2, p100/101 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 94 №4, p30 Computer & Video Games (UK) 95 №101, p98/99 Weekly Famitsu (JP) 78 The Games Machine (UK) 92 №28, p30/31 Joystick (FR) 90 №5, p58 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) 86 №3, p78 Mega Action (UK) 85 №1, p64 MegaTech (UK) 94 №1, p78 Mean Machines (UK) 91 №1, p42/43/44 Micromanía (ES) 90 Player One (FR) 93 №3, p38/39 Power Play (DE) 76 Raze (UK) 92 №3, p62/63 Sega Power (UK) 82 №13, p20/21 Sega Power (UK) 80 №23, p53 Sega Pro (UK) 91 №3, p41 Sega Pro (UK) 72 №18, p65 Tilt (FR) 85 Zero (UK) 94 №6, p74

	87
Based on 21 reviews

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US (Sega Classic)
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, AU
Cover

Mega Drive, BR
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, KR
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, CA
Cover

Master System Version

Sega Retro Average

Publication Score Source ACE (UK) 89 №33, p63 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 92 №2, p28/29 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 92 №4, p98 Computer & Video Games (UK) 89 №100, p90/91 The Games Machine (UK) 80 №32, p51 Joystick (FR) 90 №4, p40 Micromanía (ES) 80 №2/25 Player One (FR) 85 №1, p46/47 S: The Sega Magazine (UK) 88 №4 Sega Power (UK) 75 №16, p44 Sega Power (UK) 80 №23, p57 Sega Power (UK) 76 №25, p40 Sega Pro (UK) 81 №3, p19 Sega Pro (UK) 74 №13, p24/25 Tilt (FR) 80 Zero (UK) 85 №6, p75

	84
Based on 16 reviews

Master System, US
Cover
Manual

Master System, EU
Cover

Master System, AU
Cart Manual

Master System, BR
Cover
Cart

Master System, BR (cardboard)
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, KR
Cart

CD-ROM² Version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source Joystick (FR) 65 №6, p92

	65
Based on 1 review

CD-ROM², JP
Cover
Spinecard Disc Manual

WonderSwan Color Version

WonderSwan, JP
Cover
Card

Mega-Tech version

Mega-Tech,
Cart

External Links

• Sega of Japan Virtual Console page (Japanese)
• Sega of Japan Virtual Console Arcade page (Japanese)
• Golden Axe on Xbox Live Marketplace: GB, US, JP
• Golden Axe on PlayStation.com
• Golden Axe on Apple.com
• Golden Axe on Steam
• Bandai's page for the WonderSwan version

Golden Axe series of games
	Golden Axe (1989) | Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder (1992) | Golden Axe: The Duel (1994) | Golden Axe (slot machine) (2010)
	Golden Axe (1989) | Golden Axe II (1991) | Golden Axe III (1993)
	Golden Axe (1989) | Golden Axe Warrior (1991)
	Golden Axe (1990)
	Electronic Golden Axe (1990)
	Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe (1991)
	Golden Axe: The Duel (1995)
	Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 5: Golden Axe (2003)
	Golden Axe: Beast Rider (2008)
	Golden Axe (2009) | Golden Axe (2017)
	Sega Vintage Collection: Golden Axe (2012)
Golden Axe related media
	Golden Axe The Music (2008) | Golden Axe I & II (2016)
	Tatsujin & Golden Axe Attack Manual Book (1990) | Golden Axe (1992) | Golden Axe: Beast Rider Official Strategy Guide (2008) | The Art of Golden Axe: Beast Rider (2008)