Golden Axe (video game) - Wikipedia

Golden Axe is a side-scrolling hack-and-slash video game released by Sega for arcades in 1989, running on the Sega System 16B arcade hardware. GoldenAxe(videogame) FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia Jumptonavigation Jumptosearch 1989arcadegame 1989videogameGoldenAxeNorthAmericancoverartDeveloper(s)SegaPublisher(s)SegaDesigner(s)MakotoUchidaComposer(s)YouTakadaJeroenTel(C64)SeriesGoldenAxePlatform(s)Arcade,MegaDrive/Genesis,MasterSystem,GameGear,GameBoy,SegaCD,Amiga,AtariST,AmstradCPC,Commodore64,IBMPC,PC-EngineCD,WonderSwan,ZXSpectrumReleaseArcadeJP:January27,1989[3]WW:May1989[1][2]MegaDrive/GenesisNA:22December1989JP:23December1989EU:30November1990PCEngineCDJP:1990MasterSystemEU:February1990[4]NA:1March1990Genre(s)Beat'emupHackandslashMode(s)Single-player,multiplayerArcadesystemSegaSystem16B GoldenAxe[a]isaside-scrollinghack-and-slashvideogamereleasedbySegaforarcadesin1989,runningontheSegaSystem16Barcadehardware.[5]MakotoUchidawastheleaddesignerofthegame,andwasalsoresponsibleforthecreationofthepreviousyear'sAlteredBeast.ThegamecastsplayersasoneofthreewarriorswhomustfreethefantasticallandofYuriafromthetyrannicalruleofDeathAdder,whowieldsthetitularGoldenAxe. Thegamewaswellreceivedatthetimeofrelease,GoldenAxewaslaterconvertedforplayonmanydifferenthomesystems,includingSega'sownMegaDrive/GenesisandMasterSystem.Thegame'ssuccessspawnedanentirefranchiseconsistingofseveralsequelsandvariousspin-offs. Contents 1Plot 2Gameplay 3Development 4Ports 5Reception 5.1Commercial 5.2Accolades 5.3Retrospective 6Legacy 7Notes 8References 9Externallinks Plot[edit] ThegametakesplaceinthefictionallandofYuria,aConantheBarbarian-stylehighfantasymedievalworld.AnevilentityknownasDeathAdderhascapturedtheKingandhisdaughter,andholdsthemcaptiveintheircastle.HealsofindstheGoldenAxe,themagicalemblemofYuria,andthreatenstodestroyboththeaxeandtheroyalfamilyunlessthepeopleofYuriaaccepthimastheirruler.ThreewarriorssetoutonaquesttorescueYuriaandavengetheirlossesatthehandsofDeathAdder.Thefirstisabattleaxe-wieldingdwarf,GiliusThunderhead,fromtheminesofWolud,whosetwinbrotherwaskilledbythesoldiersofDeathAdder.Anotherisamalebarbarian,AxBattler,wieldingatwo-handedbroadsword,lookingforrevengeforthemurderofhismother.Thelastisalongsword-wieldingAmazon,TyrisFlare,whoseparentswerebothkilledbyDeathAdder. ThewarriorsrescuetheinhabitantsoftheransackedTurtleVillage,whichturnsouttobesituatedontheshellofagiantturtle.Theturtletakesthecharactersacrossthesea,andtheythenflytothecastleitselfonthebackofagianteagle.OnceatthecastletheydefeatDeathAdder,whoiswieldingtheGoldenAxe,andsavetheland.IntheMegaDrive/GenesisandPCversions,andalsoinotherports,thecharactersalsobattleDeathAdder'smentor,DeathBringer,asthetruefinalboss.Afterthefinalbattle,thewarriorsreceiveamagicalgoldenaxethatimbuestheplayerwithimmortality. ThearcadereleaseofthegameconcludeswithafourthwallbreakingendsequencewithsomechildrenplayingGoldenAxeatanarcade.Thearcadegamebreaks,andthecharactersfromwithinthegamefloodintothe"realworld,"withthechildrenbeingchasedbytheenemies,whoarebeingchasedbythethreewarriorsaswell. Gameplay[edit] ProgressismadethroughthegamebyfightingthroughDeathAdder'shenchmen,includingmenarmedwithclubsandmaces,skeletonwarriors,andknights.Playersareabletoattackusingtheirweapon,jumpandcastspellsthathurtallenemiesonthescreen.Theforceofthismagicdependsonthenumberof"bars"ofmagicpowercurrentlyavailable.Thebarsarefilledbycollectingblue"magicpotions"attainedbykickinglittlespriteswhothendropthepotions.Thesespritesappearduringregularlevelsandduringbonusstagesinbetweenlevels.ThemalewarriorAxisabletocastearthspells.ThedwarfGiliuscastslightningspellsandthefemalewarriorTyriscastsfiremagic.Eachcharacterhasadifferentmaximumnumberofmagicbarsandvaryingrangesofattack. Varioussteedsknownasbizarriansarefoundinthegame.Thesecanberiddenwhentheenemyriderisknockedoff,orifoneisfounddormant.TheleastpowerfulsteedisknownastheCockatrice(whichalsoappearedinAlteredBeast),[6]whichcanbeusedtoknockdownenemieswithaswipeofitstail.Themorepowerfuldragon,whichcaneithershootfireballsorbreathefiredependingonitscolorscheme,isfoundlaterinthegame. Iftheplayerstaketoolongtoadvance,skeletonswordsmenemergefromtheground,likeinthefilmJasonandtheArgonauts.[7] Inadditiontothemainquest,somehomeversionsofthegameincluded"duelmode",asurvivalmodetypegamethatpittedplayersagainstincreasinglypowerfulfoesinconsecutiveroundsofplay.Thismodealsofeaturedatwo-playerone-on-oneoption. Development[edit] LeaddesignerandproducerMakotoUchidawasfondofactionmovies,particularlytheConanfilms,andwantedtocreateagameinfluencedbythem.Hesaidthatthedevelopmentteamforthegamewassmallanddevelopmentofthegametookaboutayear.[8]Uchida's"ideawastocomeupwithaDoubleDragonthatwasnotaDoubleDragon…TechnoswasanexperiencedrivalwhohadbeenworkingontheKunio-Kunseries,sotherewasnowaywecouldcompeteifwedidthesamethingasthem.IhadafeelingthatarcadegamesshouldbecompetitiveagainstthegreathitconsoletitleDragonQuest(createdbyEnix)andthereforestudiedtheworldofmagicandswords,combinedthiswiththegameplayofDoubleDragon,andfinallycameupwiththeconceptofGoldenAxe."[9]UchidaalsocitedtheoriginalStreetFighter(1987)asaninfluence,particularlyhowplayerscouldcombinebuttonmovesandstickpressestoperformindividualattacks.[10] Ports[edit] TheMegaDrive/Genesisversionremainedlargelyfaithfultothearcadegame,addingalevelandaduelmode,alongwithanewending. TheIBMPCcompatibleportreleasedin1990issimilartotheMegaDrive/Genesisversion,butincludesa256colorVGAmodeaswellassupportforEGA,CGA,andHerculesmodes.AtariSTandAmigaportsreleasedinlate1990byVirginSoftwarearesimilartothearcade.[11]TheAmigaportissimilartothearcadegame,withsomepalettechangesandwithoutparallaxscrolling.[12] Variationsoftheoriginalgamehavealsobeenreleased.TheMasterSystemversionofthegameretellstheoriginalstoryfromtheperspectiveofTarik,abarbarianwithresemblancestoAxBattler(muchlikealltheotherbarbarianintheentireseries:KainGrinder,SternBladeandKainBlade).Whilethegameisonlyone-player,itfeaturesallofthelevelsandmagicpowersofthearcadeversion.InJapan,GoldenAxewasreleasedbyTelenetforthePCEngineCD-ROMin1990withhigh-qualityresampledmusicandcutscenes.[13] Reception[edit] ContemporaryreviewsReviewscoresPublicationScoreAmigaArcadeAtariSTC64MasterSystemSegaGenesisZXACEPositive[14]890/1000[15]Crash76%[21]CVG90%[19]80%[16]91%[20]92%[18]95%[17]EGM31/40[22]29/40[23]GameInformer8.75/10[24]Joystick78%[20]90%[25]91%[20]MeanMachinesSega92%[27]94%[26]PlayerOne85%[29]93%[28]Raze92%[30]SinclairUser8/10[31]71%[32]TheGamesMachinePositive[33]81%[35]92%[34]YourSinclair81%[36]91%[37]Zero83%[20]85%[38]94%[38]Zzap!6478%[20]96%[39]CommodoreUser78%[20]89%[2]ConsoleXS80%[40]MeanMachines91%[41]MegaAction82%[42]GameMania92%[43]MegaDriveAdvancedGaming86%[44]MicroHobby88%[45]SegaPower[47]82%[46]SegaPro91%[49]91%[48]TheOne5/5[20] Thissectionneedsexpansion.Youcanhelpbyaddingtoit.(September2013) Commercial[edit] InJapan,GameMachinelistedGoldenAxeontheir1July1989issueasbeingthesecondmostsuccessfultablearcadecabinetofthemonth.[50]Itwentontobethe18thhighest-grossingarcadegameof1989inJapan.[51]IntheUnitedStates,itwasthehighest-grossingarcadegameofJanuary1990.[52] TheZXSpectrumversionwenttonumber2intheUKsalescharts,behindTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles.[53]TheXboxLiveArcadedigitalversionofGoldenAxesold167,935unitsontheXbox360console,asof2011[update].[54] Accolades[edit] Uponreleaseofthehomeconversions,thegamereceivedthe"C+VGHit!"awardfromComputerandVideoGames,the"StarBuy"awardfromTheOneforAmigaGames,the"ZeroConsoleClassic"awardfromZeromagazine,[20]andaGoldMedalfromZzap!64magazine.[39] In1991,PCFormatnamedGoldenAxeoneofthe50bestcomputergamesever,describingitas"deliciouslyanimatedhacking,slashingandgenerallywhaling".[55]In1993,theZXSpectrumversionofthegamewasvotednumber60intheYourSinclairReaders'Top100GamesofAllTime.[56]In1995,FluxmagazineratedtheMegaDriveversion70thintheir"Top100VideoGames."[57]In1996,GamesMasterrankedtheMegaDriveversion100thontheir"Top100GamesofAllTime."[58] Retrospective[edit] Reviewingthegame'sappearanceinSegaArcadeClassicsfortheSegaCDin1993,GlennRubensteincommentedthatthegamehadbecomeoutdatedintheyearssinceitsoriginalrelease.[59] Retrospectively,GameRankingsgavetheSegaGenesisversionanaggregateratingof69%basedonsixreviewspublishedonlineinthe2000s.[60]MetacriticgavetheXbox360versionanaggregateratingof68outof100.[61] TouchArcaderatedtheiOSversion3.5outof5stars.[62] Legacy[edit] Mainarticle:GoldenAxe TheMegaDrive/Genesisversionwaslaterreleasedinothercompilations–SegaSmashPack,SegaGenesisCollection(SegaMegaDriveCollection),Sonic'sUltimateGenesisCollection(SegaMegaDriveUltimateCollection)–andontheVirtualConsole.[63]Aone-playeronlySegaCDversionreleasedaspartoftheSegaClassicsArcadeCollection,withCDaudiobackgroundmusicandvoice-oversfromthearcadeversion.[64] ThearcadeversionisalsoontheVirtualConsoleandXboxLiveArcade.[65]AportofthegamewasreleasedonPlayStationNetworkon12July2011andhasbeenavailablefreeforPlayStationPlususers.[66] ThegamewasreleasedaspartofthehandheldTVgameArcadeLegendsSegaGenesisVolume1.Anenhancedremakewith3DgraphicsandorchestralmusicwasreleasedforPlayStation2aspartoftheSegaAgesline.[67] InAugust2017,theMegaDrive/GenesisversionwasreleasedforiOSandAndroid.ItisnowpartoftheSegaForeverservice.[68] On25October2021,TheMegaDrive/GenesisversionwasreleasedontheNintendoSwitchOnline+ExpansionPackservice.[69] Notes[edit] ^Japanese:ゴールデンアックス,Hepburn:GoorudenAkkusu References[edit] ^Akagi,Masumi(13October2006).アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005)[ArcadeTVGameList:Domestic•OverseasEdition(1971–2005)](inJapanese).Japan:AmusementNewsAgency.p. 131.ISBN 978-4990251215. ^ab"Arcades:GoldenAxe".CommodoreUser.No. 69(June1989).26May1989.pp. 96–7. ^"GoldenAxe(RegistrationNumberPA0000418002)".UnitedStatesCopyrightOffice.Retrieved16July2021. ^"DoMeaFavour...PlugMeIntoaSega".ComputerandVideoGames.No. 100(March1990).16February1990.p. 56. ^"GoldenAxe".TheInternationalArcadeMuseum. ^AxestoGrind,TheLegendofGoldenAxe,RetroGamermagazine,issue76.Pages38–45 ^Fox,Matt(December2012).TheVideoGamesGuide:1,000+Arcade,ConsoleandComputerGames,1962-2012,2ded.ISBN 9781476600673. ^TheMakingofGoldenAxe:BeastRider.Part1. ^"TheMakingOfGoldenAxe"(2014-12-02).RetroGamer.net.Retrieved2019-01-31. ^Horowitz,Ken(2018).TheSegaArcadeRevolution:AHistoryin62Games.McFarland&Company.p. 150.ISBN 978-1-4766-7225-0. ^Penn,Gary(December1990)."GoldenAxe".TheOne.No. 27.p. 79. ^Penn,Gary(December1990)."GoldenAxe".TheOne.No. 27.p. 82.Whenasked:'Surelyhavingtoputallthatstufffromthebigandhardarcademachineintoapoxylittlehomecomputer[theAmigaandST]hasmeantthathe'shadtoleavestuffout?'programmerRichardCostelloreplies:'No,notreally.Theonlymajordifferenceisminorgraphicaldetails.' ^"PCEngineLongplay[040]GoldenAxe".YouTube.Archivedfromtheoriginalon22December2021.Retrieved26July2012. ^"GoldenAxe(Sega)".ACE.No. 22(July1989).1June1989.p. 23. ^"GoldenAxe".ACE.No. 33(June1990).May1990.p. 63. ^"GoldenAxe".ComputerandVideoGames.No. 93(July1989).June1989.p. 89. ^Rignall,Julian(16March1990)."MeanMachines:GoldenAxe".ComputerandVideoGames.No. 104(April1990).pp. 98–9. ^"GoldenAxe(Sega)".ComputerandVideoGames.4(CompleteGuidetoConsoles).1990. ^"Archive–Magazineviewer".WorldofSpectrum.Retrieved26July2012. ^abcdefgh"GoldenAxeReviews".AmigaMagazineRack.Retrieved22February2012. ^"Archive–Magazineviewer".WorldofSpectrum.Retrieved26July2012. ^"GoldenAxe"(PDF).ElectronicGamingMonthly.March1990.p. 16.Retrieved13March2019. ^"GoldenAxe"(PDF).ElectronicGamingMonthly.March1990.p. 20.Retrieved13March2019. ^"LegacyReviewArchives".GameInformer.Retrieved3October2021. ^"GoldenAxe".Joystick.No. 4(Avril1990).20March1990.p. 40. ^"GoldenAxe".MeanMachinesSega.No. 1(October1992).September1992.p. 139. ^"GoldenAxe".MeanMachinesSega.No. 1(October1992).September1992.p. 133. ^"GoldenAxe".PlayerOne(inFrench).No. 3.November1990.pp. 38–9. ^"GoldenAxe".PlayerOne.No. 1.September1990.pp. 46–7. ^LesEllis(January1991)."GoldenAxe".Raze. ^"GoldenAxe–Sega".SinclairUser.No. 89(August1989).18July1989.p. 74. ^"Archive–Magazineviewer".WorldofSpectrum.Retrieved26July2012. ^"GoldenAxe".TheGamesMachine(22(September1989)):25.18August1989. ^MarkCaswell(March1990)."GoldenAxe".TheGamesMachine. ^"GoldenAxe(VirginMastertronic)".TheGamesMachine.No. 32(July1990).June1990.p. 51. ^Bielby,Matt(17July1989)."SlotsofFun:GoldenAxe".YourSinclair.No. 44(August1989).p. 74. ^"GoldenAxe".Ysrnry.co.uk.Archivedfromtheoriginalon27April2012.Retrieved26July2012. ^ab"GoldenAxe".Zero.April1990. ^ab"Zzap!64100thIssuePull-OutSpecialPage5".Zzap64.co.uk.Retrieved26July2012. ^"SoftwareA-Z:MasterSystem".ConsoleXS.No. 1(June/July1992).UnitedKingdom:ParagonPublishing.23April1992.pp. 137–47. ^"GoldenAxereview-SegaMegadrive"(PDF).MeanMachines(1):42–4.October1990.Archivedfromtheoriginal(PDF)on19May2019.Retrieved22February2012. ^"MegaLibrary"(PDF).MegaAction.Europress(1).June1993. ^"TopGames:MasterSystem"(PDF).GameMania(5):81.May1993. ^"MegaFile"(PDF).SegaMegaDriveAdvancedGaming(3):78.November1992. ^"Archive–Magazineviewer"(inSpanish).WorldofSpectrum.Retrieved26July2012. ^"MegaDrive:GoldenAxe"(PDF).SegaPower.No. 13.December1990.pp. 20–1. ^"GoldenAxe"(PDF).SegaPower.No. 23(October1991).5September1991.p. 57. ^"GoldenAxe"(PDF).SegaPro.No. 3.Christmas1991.p. 41. ^"GoldenAxe"(PDF).SegaPro.No. 3.Christmas1991.p. 18. ^"GameMachine'sBestHitGames25-テーブル型TVゲーム機(TableVideos)".GameMachine(inJapanese).No. 359.AmusementPress,Inc.1July1989.p. 25. ^"第３回ゲーメスト大賞"[3rdGamestAwards].Gamest(inJapanese).Vol. 41(February1990).27December1989.pp. 52–79.alternateurl ^"RePlay:ThePlayers'Choice".RePlay.Vol. 15,no. 4.January1990.p. 4. ^"Top10games".Archivedfromtheoriginalon17June2014.Retrieved15June2014. ^Langley,Ryan(20January2012)."XboxLiveArcadebythenumbers-the2011yearinreview".Gamasutra.UBMTechnologyGroup.Retrieved29April2020. ^Staff(October1991)."The50bestgamesEVER!".PCFormat(1):109–111. ^"Readers'Top100GamesofAllTime".YourSinclair(93):11.September1993. ^"Top100VideoGames".Flux.HarrisPublications(4):31.April1995. ^"Top100GamesofAllTime"(PDF).GamesMaster(44):74.July1996. ^Rubenstein,Glenn(January1993)."AttheControls".Wizard.WizardEntertainment(17):21–24. ^"GoldenAxeforGenesis".GameRankings.CBSInteractive.Archivedfromtheoriginalon5December2019.Retrieved29October2018. ^"GoldenAxeforXbox360Reviews".Metacritic.CBSInteractive.Retrieved29October2018. ^Musgrave,Shaun(31August2017)."'GoldenAxe'Review–BeCarefulWhatYouAxeFor".TouchArcade.Retrieved29October2018. ^Parish,Jeremy(31October2006)."WiiVirtualConsoleLineupUnveiled".1UP.com.Archivedfromtheoriginalon18July2012.Retrieved1November2006. ^Weiss,Brett(9July2018).ClassicHomeVideoGames,1989-1990:ACompleteGuidetoSegaGenesis,NeoGeoandTurboGrafx-16Games.McFarland.ISBN 978-0-7864-9231-2. ^"XboxLiveArcade:GoldenAxe".Xbox.Archivedfromtheoriginalon13July2007.Retrieved7January2007. ^"ComingtoPlayStationPlus:GoldenAxeandGuerillaWarFREE,Assassin'sCreed:Brotherhood".PlayStation.Blog.6July2011.Retrieved27October2021. ^"SEGAAGES2500シリーズVol.5ゴールデンアックス".PlayStation.com(Japan)(inJapanese).Archivedfromtheoriginalon14May2007.Retrieved27October2021. ^"ItLooksLike'GoldenAxe2'istheNextSEGAForeverRelease–TouchArcade".TouchArcade.Retrieved27October2021. ^Stedman,Alex(30September2021)."NintendoSwitchOnlineExpandingWithN64andSegaGenesisGamesinNewMembership".IGN.Retrieved24December2021. Externallinks[edit] GoldenAxeatMobyGames GoldenAxeatSpectrumComputing.co.uk vteGoldenAxeMainentries GoldenAxe GoldenAxeII TheRevengeofDeathAdder GoldenAxeIII BeastRider Spin-offs GoldenAxeWarrior AxBattler:ALegendofGoldenAxe TheDuel Relatedarticles TyrisFlare SegaHeroes SegaSuperstarsTennis Sonic&All-StarsRacingTransformed SonictheComic AuthoritycontrolNationallibraries France(data) Other MusicBrainzreleasegroup Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Golden_Axe_(video_game)&oldid=1105303400" Categories:1989videogamesAmigagamesAmstradCPCgamesAspectCo.gamesAtariSTgamesCommodore64gamesCooperativevideogamesDOSgamesFantasyvideogamesIOSgamesMasterSystemgamesPlayStationNetworkgamesSegaarcadegamesSegabeat'emupsSegaGenesisgamesSide-scrollingbeat'emupsTurboGrafx-CDgamesHackandslashgamesTigerhandheldgamesVideogamesdevelopedinJapanVideogamesfeaturingfemaleprotagonistsVideogamessetincastlesVirtualConsolegamesWonderSwanColorgamesXbox360LiveArcadegamesZXSpectrumgamesVideogamesscoredbyDavidWhittakerVideogamesscoredbyJeroenTelVirginInteractivegamesGoldenAxeNintendoSwitchOnlineSegaGenesisgamesHiddencategories:ArticlescontainingJapanese-languagetextCS1Japanese-languagesources(ja)CS1French-languagesources(fr)CS1Spanish-languagesources(es)CS1:longvolumevalueArticleswithshortdescriptionShortdescriptionisdifferentfromWikidataUseBritishEnglishfromJuly2016UsedmydatesfromJuly2016ArticlesusingInfoboxvideogameusinglocallydefinedparametersArticlesusingWikidatainfoboxeswithlocallydefinedimagesArticlesusingVideogamereviewstemplateinmultipleplatformmodeArticlestobeexpandedfromSeptember2013AllarticlestobeexpandedArticlesusingsmallmessageboxesArticlescontainingpotentiallydatedstatementsfrom2011AllarticlescontainingpotentiallydatedstatementsArticleswithBNFidentifiersArticleswithMusicBrainzreleasegroupidentifiers Navigationmenu Personaltools NotloggedinTalkContributionsCreateaccountLogin Namespaces ArticleTalk English Views ReadEditViewhistory More Search Navigation MainpageContentsCurrenteventsRandomarticleAboutWikipediaContactusDonate Contribute HelpLearntoeditCommunityportalRecentchangesUploadfile Tools WhatlinkshereRelatedchangesUploadfileSpecialpagesPermanentlinkPageinformationCitethispageWikidataitem Print/export DownloadasPDFPrintableversion Languages العربيةAragonésAzərbaycancaCatalàČeštinaDeutschEspañolEuskaraفارسیFrançais한국어ItalianoLietuviųمصرىNederlands日本語PolskiPortuguêsРусскийSvenskaTürkçeУкраїнська中文 Editlinks