Game Debate #148: Golden Axe

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

[Dr. Morbis | 2,091]

Really fun game to beat back in the day on an arcade machine with a couple of buddies and a pocketful of quarters, but I just cannot get into this game on home consoles - something's just missing, and I can't be arsed to get through a single level before I just about die of boredom...

[mbd39 | 2,026]

I remember playing this on MAME and thinking that the Genesis version plays better. Like the controls are faster and more responsive or something. Genesis version also has an extra level and boss not in the arcade.

8 out of 10

 

[LHCGreg | 111]

Terrible beat em up. The safe thing to do against many enemies is jump attacks, which is boring. Larger enemies have some weakness you need to exploit, like doing running attacks. Final Fight would hit arcades later the same year and define what a beat em up should be. Everyone with a positive opinion of Golden Axe seems to be someone who played it back in the day and is wearing nostalgia goggles.

3/10

[Sumez | 2,970]

I have some nostalgia for Golden Axe, but so much of it came from the presentation and setting which felt really novel at the time. I'm not sure I actually ever had straight up fun playing the game though. There are so many beat'em ups that are several times better, and I think Golden Axe is one of the games that originally made me think the genre wasn't for me.

5/10 because it still does have something cool about it

[DefaultGen | 5,415]

3/10

I don't like the genre and usually find a way to exploit bad mechanics. In Golden Axe I just double tap run and drop kick everything (as the lady because her kick is the longest IIRC). Moving up and down makes you virtually invincible, until the final boss which is ridiculous because, you know, beat 'em up. This is one of the only beat 'em ups I've beaten rather easily, the Genesis version anyway.

The beasts are worthless. You become a giant, slow target and you can't use your sick drop kick anymore. Cool power up.

[Webhead123 | 687]

I've never played the arcade original but I have played quite a bit of the Genesis port and its sequels. I enjoy the game for its nostalgia and some neat gimmicks like the magic system and kicking gnomes for power-ups. That said, considering it today, the original game is pretty plodding and limited, even against other beat-em-ups on the same console. If it's a fantasy setting you want, even just springing for the sequel is a better deal and if setting doesn't matter...well, Streets of Rage, TMNT, etc. are really just leaps and bounds better.

6/10 because I can still play the game and enjoy its period charm and do still find myself booting it up from time to time. But if you can say nothing else good about it, at least it isn't Altered Beast. 

Edit: Also, beat-em-ups are my jam. Love 'em. Well...the good ones, anyway.

Edited April 6, 2023 by Webhead123

[JamesRobot | 5,808]

Pretty ok beatemup.  I liked it back in that day but probably haven't played it since a PS2 era Genesis collection.  5

[JamesRobot | 5,808]

Pretty ok beatemup.  I liked it back in that day but probably haven't played it since a PS2 era Genesis collection.  5

[JamesRobot | 5,808]

17 minutes ago, Webhead123 said:

But if you can say nothing else good about it, at least it isn't Altered Beast. 

I totally prefer Altered Beast.  I'll toss a quarter at Altered Beast every time I see it.

[Webhead123 | 687]

1 hour ago, JamesRobot said:

I totally prefer Altered Beast.  I'll toss a quarter at Altered Beast every time I see it.

Altered Beast is an example of a game that survives purely on nostalgia for me. The graphics and sound have become iconic in my brain and instantly transport me back to that dark, smokey arcade in 1988. And while I can tolerate a few minutes of actually playing the arcade original on those vibes, the Genesis port doesn't cut it in that same way.

4/10 for the arcade. 3/10 for the Genesis cart.

[GPX | 1,371]

I rate it 8/10. Basic fighting mechanics similar to Double Dragon, with the extra dash move. Extra novelty factor in the magic system for different players. A solid, worthy beat’em up game for the fighting fans.

It’s a step Sega needed to take to give us the all-time great franchise in Streets of Rage.

[Tanooki | 4,943]

It's a middling game, as others pointed out it has problems.  They're big enough to make this game for me a 6 instead of higher.  The safest route is to stay off the ground because it's so stiff, janky...wooden, a lot of cheap unnecessary hits happen with this one because of just poor design mechanics in play with it.  The game is good, but don't go in expecting something that plays far smoother and even if it has cheap hits, it's not due to being stiff, but by challenging design like Final FIght.  Even games earlier like Double Dragon played far better than this one.  Golden Axe 2 did a lot to smooth out the problems, but by the time that dropped was too little too late.

[TDIRunner | 2,750]

Never played it back in the day.  By the time I got around to trying it as an adult, it seemed pretty dated (which is understandable).  I think it's probably a better game if you grew up playing it before the better games came along, but it's hard to get into it today.  

[cj_robot | 545]

7/10

I like this game. Sure it's a little clunky, but I find myself enjoying it anyway. Always loved the visual design of the levels, with interesting features like the giant eagle head, and so on. Sega definitely improved with their following beat-em-ups, but this one is still fun, and I play through it every so often.

I actually had this one for DOS before I ever played the Genesis version, but if I remember correctly, the two ports are actually pretty similar.

[cj_robot | 545]

On 4/6/2023 at 11:07 AM, LHCGreg said:

The safe thing to do against many enemies is jump attacks, which is boring. Larger enemies have some weakness you need to exploit, like doing running attacks.

I don't know about this. I've beaten the Genesis game several times and I hardly use the jump attack because I don't find it very useful at all, to be honest.

[Sumez | 2,970]

17 hours ago, GPX said:

It’s a step Sega needed to take to give us the all-time great franchise in Streets of Rage.

SOR is a very by the numbers Final Fight clone, made by a different team entirely. I'm positive it would have happened either way

[elprincipe | 142]

8. Yeah that's a bit generous, probably 7 except I've played the Genesis version to death and enjoyed it a lot. I can use the beasts to good effect and rarely use jumping attacks, go figure. The extra level and boss in the Genesis version are good bonuses, although the level could have been designed better. I've beaten the arcade version of this game on one quarter. Love that the game gives you a grade upon beating it or game over!

[wongojack | 219]

I give it a 7.  I put quarters into it in the arcade, but never played the home versions until the collections came out more recently.  I wasn't really paying attention to video game makers back then and never owned a Genesis/MD, so I had solid memories but from the arcade version.  When I finally got into MAME, this was one of the first games I wanted to play.  So I did . . . and I don't really need to play it again.  Not really a big fan of the genre as every game seems to be about the same, but I can see how this one could be much improved upon.

[GPX | 1,371]

8 hours ago, Sumez said:

SOR is a very by the numbers Final Fight clone, made by a different team entirely. I'm positive it would have happened either way

Sega needed to have the programming experience in the fighting genre in order to ultimately create the pinnacle of retro beat’em up. I didn’t know it was made by a different Sega team between the Golden Axes and Streets of Rages, but likely there were overlapping programmers or directors during their productions, one would think.

[GPX | 1,371]

I might be wrong on this, but I do believe Golden Axe was the first 2-player beat’em up game to use fantasy themes. It probably borrowed a lot of themes from Conan and Red Sonja in terms of character design and the backgrounds. Nevertheless I feel it’s important to mention that the nostalgia value here isn’t just in the fighting mechanics, but in the creative presence it brought into video games. 
 

Edited April 8, 2023 by GPX

[rdrunner | 422]

7/10 - It's nothing special, but it's still a very capable beat 'em up.  I'm honestly surprised to see all the low scores.

Controls are fine, music is fairly memorable, and difficulty is not too hard.  It's still on my frequent play list when I bust out my Genesis.

I will say the sound effects are a bit comical.  Like how I hear the word "purple" every time I knock an enemy down.

[mbd39 | 2,026]

One thing I like about Golden Axe is that it's short and sweet for the genre. After Final Fight beat em ups started to get ridiculously long and repetitive with cheap asshole bosses that take forever to kill. I like that Golden Axe is a little on the easy side and don't mind that it has some mechanics that can be abused in your favor. It's quick and fun.

 

 

 

[cartman | 195]

I like it a lot. The enemies have different moves and it becomes challenging, there are some pitfalls to bump them off screen wich is quite fun. Altough the mounts and magic make it way too easy to run through.

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

9/10. I play through Golden Axe several times a year. I don't enjoy beatemups in general because they just get so redundant, but Golden Axe is one that hit that perfect ratio of difficulty and length.

Gilius's roll attack and Tyrus's charging kick are the things to use when I'm looking to cheese the game. Ax is easily my least favorite character though. I love the final boss and level of the genesis port a ton, the music is so epic for an early genesis game. Top notch and a ton of fun.