Golden Axe

"Vegita's Dusty Shelf o' reviews is being cleared off...top shelf."

Hoo-AHH! Vegita here, doin' his best Al Pacino impression in a desperate hope to get your attention! Did it work? Good! Now, let's talk about classic Genesis games! Today's game of choice: The Immortal ''Golden Axe''! Let's get crackin'! Hoo-AHH!

Golden Axe was released in Arcades back in the mid-1980's, and became an instant hit. Taking the concept of the ''Beat 'Em Up'' and reinventing it in a medieval setting, Golden Axe was an immense hit. Taking control of either Axe Battler, a Barbarian with a Sword, Tyrus Flare, an Amazon with a wicked scimitar, or Gilius Thunderhead, a Dwarf with a mean axe (and former member of Monty Python - or was that Terry Gilliam?), you headed out on your quest to vanquish the evil Death Adder. Along the way, you hacked 'n slashed your way through hoards of nefarious villains, including imps, goblins, trolls, armored knights, dragons, and even cute little gnomes (who try to rob you blind while you sleep). Your adventure took you across various landscapes, such as villages, forests, caves, castles, and even the back of a giant flying bird!

Now, what about this game made it so good? Let's compare this to the one of the first beat 'em ups, Double Dragon:

Billy Lee: I can fight really hard!
Gilius: So can I.
Billy Lee: I can throw enemies into one another!
Gilius: So can I.
Billy Lee: I can pick up weapons and beat enemies with 'em!
Gilius: I carry my own weapon.
Billy Lee: I can...uh...
Gilius: I can run, jump, attack, jump attack, dash attack, and even use magic.
Billy Lee: I fight a guy named Abobo!
Gilius: I fight a guy named Death.
Billy Lee: I can...uh...I can ride on a conveyor belt while fighting enemies!
Gilius: I can ride one of 3 kinds of monsters that do my fighting for me.
Billy Lee: I...uh...I can have my brother fight with me!
Gilius: I can have Axe or Tyrus fight with me. I've one-upped you by merit of numbers as well as diversity.
Billy Lee: Aww...

So you can see the rather large difference. There was a greater number of enemies, as well as the diverse styles of enemies you can fight. Enemies can come with different weapons or in different colors, reflecting a more difficult opponent. The stages were more diverse than that of the likes of Double Dragon, featuring rises and drops in the stage levels. Finally, your characters could collect magical ''pots'' which would allow them to use magic - the more magical pots you have stored up, the more powerful the magical spell you'd unleash. All spells affect every enemy on screen, so no matter which spell you used, you'd be sure to hurt anything you can across.

Now then, I've given you the low-down, so let's talk about the sections of the game, eh? Hoo-AHH!

Graphics:

Let's talk about the graphics in this game, eh? First off, one should mention that the game is a pretty darn-close conversion of the popular arcade game, sporting the same level of graphic animation and detail. Each character looked, moved, and were animated at the same level as the arcade, making the game a very nice conversion. So, what about the game when looking at it as strictly a Genesis game? Well, on those terms it's even better. Given the time the game was made, the level of graphics displayed here were astounding. Using several frames of animation for every character, as well as sprites depicting a character's front AND back (wow!), this game was definitely ahead of its time in terms of graphical style.

Sounds:

The sounds for this game, although a little comical at times, were still pretty decent in substance. The sounds for slashing an enemy were a rather odd squishing sound, as if someone were crushing an orange next to a microphone (it took me several oranges and I ended up making a large mess, but I WAS able to confirm this!)...however, the sound for someone getting knocked over the head (a hollow knocking sound) or someone getting a face full of boot (signified by a dull thud) sounded dead on - and I should know, given all the times I've done each of these. Some of my favorite sounds, though, are those of the dragon creatures that scream when attacking (such as the riding Dragons, or Tyrus' most powerful magic). The sounds affects, for the most part, are quite good, and their usage is adequate at least.

The music for the game is atmospheric at times, while driving or jovial in others. The music ranges from the simple drumming that begins the game to the sleepy ''Gnomes in the Gnight'' music, to the music accompanying Death Adder at his final lair. I liked the music here, since it was well-written and made good use of the capabilities of the Genesis.

Gameplay:

All right, the core of the game! I described the gameplay above, but that is just the description. How does the game play, how does it feel, and (most importantly) does it include free nachos? First off, the gameplay is extremely easy to pick up - you walk (and jump) around, hacking away at anything that moves. From there, the complexity grows (slightly) when you encounter more enemies at the same time - should you focus on one, or concentrate on knocking them all down, what should you do? WHAT SHOULD YOU DO??? You'll encounter enemies that have different weaponry and ranges of attacks (as well as styles of attacks, such as jumping attacks and dashing attacks), forcing you to fight differently against them as well. The advent of magic (and whether or not you should use it or save up for a bigger spell, or use it against a later foe) throws another concept into the frey. Finally, you have the differences in the characters - strength, speed, and magical ability - that make which character you pick just as important as how you play that character.

However, the depth of the game isn't strictly in the combinations of players, enemies, magics, and riding animals - no, the game takes on an added depth when you include a second player, or indulge in the gauntlet section of the game. The 2-Player Mode has both players vying for kills and points, with both characters on screen at the same time hacking away at the competition. The Gauntlet Section is a 1-Player game where you go up against groups of enemies, one group at a time, in a survival-type match. You have to last through as many of the stages as you can, really testing your fighting skills!

The Closer.

Well, there you have it - Golden Axe, a great game for the Arcade OR Genesis. If you don't have this game, I suggest picking it up - it's a classic that's sure to stand the test of time, due to its fun hacking style, 2-player co-operation mode, and survival match. Finally - sorry, but the game doesn't actually include free Nachos. I know, it's depressing...oh well. Hoo-AHH!

---Final Score: 8---

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/28/02, Updated 05/28/02