Developed and published by Sega in 1989.
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Another classic game released by Sega into the arcades in the late 80's, I'm almost certain that anyone who watches this video will have played the game in arcade, or most likely, one of the home console/computer versions.
Paying homage to action movies such as Conan the Barbarian and Red Sonja, the game tells of a land besieged by the evil Death Adder, wielder of the titular Golden Axe, slaughterer of innocents and generally unpleasant sort of person.
Fortunately, there are three bold adventurers who are prepared to put their lives on the line in an effort to take the fight to Death Adder and his minions. The objective of the game is to fight through a series of horizontally scrolling levels on a journey to the castle where Death Adder holds the King and his daughter hostage.
The player must first choose which fighter to choose in the fight against Death Adder: Ax Battler the barbarian, Tyris Flair the amazon and Gilius Thunderhead, the dwarf. Each of the characters differs in striking distance and possesses differing levels of magical power.
On the subject of magic, this is one of the key features of the game. Small impish thieves will occasionally appear during play and will drop magic potions when attacked. Collecting these potions will fill the player's magic bar located to the top of the screen. The more potions the player carries, the more powerful the spell that can be unleashed. The artwork used in the spell casting looks truly excellent, even to this day; the massive fire-breathing dragon that Tyris Flare can summon is both devastating and brilliant to behold! Casting the spell will consume all of the potions currently held, so the player must make a considered choice regarding when to cast magic.
The game mixes things up by introducing beasts that can be mounted and used in combat. Capturing a dragon from an enemy quickly gives you the advantage, although taking damage will will instantly dismount you and gives the enemy the opportunity to steal the animal back. Unfortunately, the beasts can only be used on the level where they were found and will run off between levels.
One unusual thing about the game is the level of difficulty, which is relatively low. The purpose of coin-op games was to keep the player pumping money into the slot in a bid to reach the end of the game, yet Golden Axe can be beaten relatively easily providing that the player doesn't get surrounded by enemies or takes undue risks.
Although it might be something of a disservice to describe the game as Double Dragon with swords, the tried-and-tested beat 'em up mechanics and high fantasy setting combine to deliver one of the best arcade experiences ever. The game would receive an excellent conversion to Sega's own Mega Drive console the same year and would be ported to every major home computer system available, which would only continue to cement it's cult status amongst gamers for many years to come.
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