Golden Axe is a side-scrolling, beat 'em up, hack and slash arcade video game released in 1989 by Sega for the System 16-B arcade hardware. It is the first game in the Golden Axe series. Makoto Uchida was the primary developer of the game and also was responsible for the creation of Altered Beast. Several ports of the game were created, most notably for the Mega Drive/Genesis and Master System.

The game takes place in the fictional land of Yuria, a Conan the Barbarian-style high fantasy medieval world. An evil entity known as Death Adder has captured the King and his daughter, and holds them captive in their castle. He also finds the Golden Axe, the magical emblem of Yuria, and threatens to destroy both the axe and the royal family unless the people of Yuria accept him as their ruler. Three warriors set out on a quest to rescue Yuria and avenge their losses at the hands of Death Adder.

An enhanced remake with 3D graphics and orchestral music was released for PlayStation 2 as part of the Sega Ages line. The Sega Ages 2500 remake of Golden Axe features landscapes and enemy fighters which are fully rendered in 3-D. Muscle-heads bound around swinging hammers and eerie skeletal warriors rise from the ground in ramshackle fashion. Kill an enemy soldier and he'll blink a couple of times and disappear in a puff of smoke. To show the force of every swing, each sword stroke and poke from a hero leaves a light trail which we suppose conveys the power of the weapon.

The sound and music have also been remixed and enhanced for thunderous effects and trilling melodies enhanced by background bass. The action consists of the usual punch, slash, and kick attacks but collect enough elixirs and you'll throw out magical attacks which fill the screen and animate for a few seconds of cinematic grandeur. Tyris' max-power dragon attack is particularly special to watch, at least for the first viewing.

Similar to all other Sega Ages releases on the PS2, a sheet of notes on the history of the game are included inside the game package for inclusion in your Sega Ages binder (which was given away with Phantasy Star).

MANUFACTURER'S DESCRIPTION:

Classic Action game "Golden Axe" is back in the PS2. Graphic renewal to 3D. It is drawn with three-dimensional characters and enemies, of course, to items and background. Production, such as magic attacks and actions to enemy powers up the flashy further. Raise the sound quality further, BGM was higher evaluation., Enlivens the magnificent story.

FEATURES:
Third person perspective.
3D graphics
Cartoon graphics
Medieval Fantasy theme.