Golden Axe (Arcade) Home Page
Release Data
Developer/Publisher: Sega
Release Date: January 27, 1989
System: Arcade
Genre: Beat ’em Up
Players: 1-2
Description
Death Adder and his army have invaded the Kingdom of Yuria. The king and princess have been taken captive along with the Golden Axe, Yuria’s magical symbol. Ax Battler, a mighty warrior whose mother was killed by Death Adder, sets out with two other heroes to free Yuria. Gilius Thunderhead, a dwarf whose brother was slain by the army of Death Adder, and Tyris Flare the Amazon (who lost her parents to the villain) join Ax Battler in his quest for justice. An army stands between the heroes and the castle of Yuria where the king and princess are imprisoned, so they will have to use all their powers if they wish to be victorious.
Golden Axe is a beat ’em up where players can choose from three heroes to go up against Death Adder’s evil army. Each hero has something he or she excels at. Ax Battler uses a two handed sword and has some magical talent, which makes him the middle-of- the-road hero. Tyris Flare uses a weaker light blade, but has powerful magic. And Gilius Thunderhead wields a mighty ax, but has the weakest magic.
Players primarily fight enemies using their character’s weapon. Where you position your hero relative to the enemy determines the type of combo your character will execute. Stand close to an enemy to hit them a few times, then throw them. Attacking while a few steps away from the target will result in a more powerful combo where the hero uses big slashes to dispatch bad guys. Heroes can also attack while jumping and perform dash attacks if the player taps forward twice before attacking.
All three heroes have their own special magic abilities which vary in power and type. All magical spells damage everything on screen, except players. The player has to have at least one magic potion to use a spell. Collecting more potions will increase the level of the spell, resulting in more damage. Some spells require more potions to level up than others. Potions can be gathered from sack carrying gnomes which can be found running around in stages and between levels. To get a potion from a gnome, simply hit it with your weapon. Hitting a gnome more than once will make it drop more potions, but they run away after a few hits.
It is also possible to ride some of the monsters that appear in this Golden Axe. Knocking an enemy from its mount will cause the creature to lay down and wait for a new rider. Moving onto a waiting mount will make your hero to hop on its back. Mounts can use charge attacks and have their own special moves, which range from tail swipes to fire breath. Your hero will fall off his or her mount if hit by a bad guy. Furthermore, mounts will run away after the player has been dismounted a few times.
Each hero has health bars which represent how much life they have. Being struck by an enemy a few times will cause the hero to lose a health bar. Loose all of your health bars and your hero will die. Players are given two lives per credit. Heroes come back to life with full health and a magic potion after dying. Players can refill their hero’s life by getting meat from gnomes between stages. Putting another credit in the machine after running out of lives will allow the player to continue the game with two more lives.
Gallery
Further Reading
Want to learn more about Golden Axe for Arcade? Check out these resources.
Guide:
https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Golden_Axe
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