| Golden Axe II | |
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Sega Mega Drive box art of Golden Axe II by fantasy artist Boris Vallejo. |
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| Developer(s) | Sega (AM7) |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Composer(s) | Naofumi Hataya |
| Series | Golden Axe |
| Platform(s) | Mega Drive/Genesis, MegaPlay, Virtual Console |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Hack 'n' Slash Arcade Action Medieval / Fantasy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player 2 Players Cooperative Duel |
| Media/distribution | 16-bit Cartridge |
Golden Axe II is a side-scrolling fighting game (or side-scrolling beat'em up) released for the Sega Mega Drive. It was released on December 26, 1991.[1] It is the home console sequel to the popular game Golden Axe, marking the second game in the series, though the arcade did see a sequel of its own called Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder a few years later. Golden Axe II was only released on the Mega Drive, while the original was released on many other platforms. The game has most recently appeared in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and as an iPhone port on iTunes.[2]
The box art was created by Boris Vallejo.
Contents |
The three playable characters from the first Golden Axe, Ax Battler, Tyris Flare, and Gilius Thunderhead, return in Golden Axe II to save the people of the land by defeating the new evil clan, led by Dark Guld, and reclaim the Golden Axe, which is in his possession. The game features a total of seven levels: six scrolling levels and a final end of game boss battle against Dark Guld.
The evil lord Dark Guld should have been put away for good the last time he was defeated in battle. But now he has recouped and is back in full force. And he’s accompanied by his clan of evil followers who are creepier, slimier and more disgusting than ever. Dark Guld has come for revenge and he is driven by the desire to see this world revert to chaos. He has taken the powerful Golden Axe, which is a symbol of peace and prosperity, to use for his own evil purposes. His creatures terrorize every town they descend upon. Someone must put a stop to this horror!
Once again, three warriors stand up to face the oppressors. One is Ax-Battler, the fierce barbarian; the second is Tyris-Flare, the ferocious Amazon; and the third is Gilius Thunderhead, the fearless dwarf. They are willing to risk their lives to put a stop to the terror. They won’t rest easy until the Golden Axe is returned to its rightful place.
Its time to start the long journey through enemy-infested territory. Don’t let the strange reptilian enemy creatures frighten you, because you’ll need every ounce of courage you can muster. Fight onward until you reach the final showdown, a battle with Dark Guld himself!
Golden Axe II is a side-scrolling arcade hack 'n' slash game, very similar to the previous Golden Axe. The player is given a choice of three fighters: a battle axe-wielding dwarf, Gilius Thunderhead; a barbarian, Ax Battler, wielding a two handed broadsword; and long-sword wielding Tyris Flare, an amazon. Each of the fighters has a unique magic which can be used at any time in the game to inflict damage upon enemies. Each player is given a set of life bars which are lost one by one if the player is hit.
Though the characters and gameplay were virtually unchanged from the first game, there were a few improvements. The "back attack" (performed by pressing the Jump and Attack buttons simultaneously) for each character was changed to a more useful attack that hit enemies on all sides. Enemies could now be thrown in either direction by pressing right or left on the D-pad immediately after picking them up, making it easier to hit other enemies with them or throw them off cliffs. Most importantly, the magic system was overhauled. Whereas in the first game, pressing the magic button used all of a player's magic pots, one could now use part or all of one's magic by holding the button and releasing it when the meter had reached the desired level. The magic was also changed - Ax Battler's exploding magic from the first game was replaced with wind magic, and Gilius Thunderhead now used rock magic instead of lightning. Tyris Flare retained her fire magic, but was still given entirely new animations for it. Finally, there were small cosmetic changes in the form of a shoulder guard for Ax Battler and black gauntlets for Gilius Thunderhead.
There are two types of game modes. One is "The Duel", where players are pitted against enemies in one arena, battling one after the other and gradually getting more difficult. The other is normal mode, where players must navigate through different areas battling various enemies.
Between each level a rating is awarded to the player(s) based on their performance, with a final rating awarded at the end of the game. A small exposition of the main story is also given.
Normal mode puts the player into the story of the game, where they must recover the golden axe from Dark Guld. The player must navigate through multiple areas until eventually they reach Dark Guld's castle. There are seven stages in total, including Ravaged Village, Ruins, Tower, Dragon’s Throat Cave, Castle Gates, Castle, and Dark Guld’s Chamber. Each area ends with a boss where the player must battle a large group of enemies at once. Magic books are also gathered along the way allowing the player to increase their magic meter. There are also three Bizarrians that can be mounted and used against enemy characters, including Chicken Legs, Green Dragons, and Fire Dragons.
The duel mode consists of multiple rounds where the player must defeat an enemy, or a group of enemies. Every round is set in the same scenery and the player must be victorious over 15 levels in order to complete the duel.
Upon release, opinion was split over whether the game was superior to the original. Many critics felt the game was a rehash of the original, citing very similar hack and slash gameplay and little improvement over the first game. Another criticism was that it was easier to beat than the original (setting the game to hard mode restores the challenge). Others felt that the graphics were a major improvement, utilizing some clever FX in later levels and although the music was well written and catchy, the extremely poor sound effects took away from the atmosphere. Overall most felt that the game's small changes made it a more refined and enjoyable experience despite the lack of any real character or technique improvements.
Recently, the game has been made available on the compilation for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable known in the U.S. as Sega Genesis Collection and in Europe as Sega Mega Drive Collection, along with many other Genesis/Mega Drive titles (including both Mega Drive/Genesis prequel and sequel). On June 11, 2007 the title was added to the Wii Virtual Console. Its also available on GameTap and iTunes.
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