Golden Axe (series)

The Golden Axe (ゴールデンアックス, Gōruden Akkusu) series is a side-scrolling, beat 'em up, hack and slash arcade video game series developed by Sega. The series takes place in a medieval-fantasy world where several heroes have the task of recovering the legendary Golden Axe, the mainstay element of the series.

Main series

Golden Axe

Golden Axe is a side-scrolling arcade hack 'n' slash game released in 1989 by Sega. Makoto Uchida was the primary developer of the game and also was responsible for the creation of Altered Beast. The game places the player in control of one of three warriors each bent on revenge against the vile dictator Death Adder. Death Adder has taken over the once peaceful land of Yuria and murdered their friend and partner, Alex. According to the Killer List of Videogames, Golden Axe is the most important arcade game of the year 1989. Several ports of the game were created, most notably for the Mega Drive/Genesis and Sega Master System. Several sequels followed.

Golden Axe III

Golden Axe III (ゴールデンアックス III) is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game developed and published by Sega, released for the Sega Mega Drive in Japan on June 25, 1993. A North American version was released as a Sega Channel exclusive.

The game was subsequently re-released (along with many other Mega Drive titles) for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable as part of the Sega Genesis Collection. It was also re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on September 4, 2007, and in PAL regions on October 5, 2007. It was released on the North American Virtual Console on October 22, 2007. It also appeared in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Plot and gameplay

Damud Hellstrike, the Prince of Darkness, has taken away the Golden Axe and put an evil curse over all the warriors. However, one of the heroes has their curse relieved and is sent to set things straight – lift the curse off the others, defeat the villain and return with the Golden Axe.

The gameplay has been expanded slightly but is essentially the same hack n' slash as the previous games. New features to the series include new characters, new moves (special attacks, teamwork attacks and teamwork magic spells) and junction points where the players can choose which path to take.

Golden Axe: Beast Rider

Golden Axe: Beast Rider is an action-adventure hack and slash video game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, published by Sega and developed by Secret Level. It is the first 3D entry in the Golden Axe franchise, as well as the first "mature" game in the series (for featuring blood and partial nudity). The game was released in North America on October 14, 2008 and in Europe on October 17.

Gameplay

Beast Rider is the first Golden Axe game in 3D as opposed to side scrolling hack and slash. While this is a major shift in game style from the previous games, Beast Rider maintains many of the elements from the originals such as magic and riding beasts, as well as sending the player on a quest to defeat Death Adder.

Gameplay is divided into three types: Campaign, Challenge and Trials. Each mode allows for the collection of tribute, which is used to increase magic strength and unlock weapons. Armor is unlocked as one progresses through the story or Campaign.

This is the story mode of Beast Rider where the player controls Tyris Flare, an amazon from the original games. Through the story mode the player is introduced to two non-player characters (NPC's) Gilius Thunderhead the dwarf and Tarik the Ax Battler. Tribute is awarded at the end of each level based on the amount collected multiplied by the players performance during the level, which also affects the players Class or "grade" per level. Such multipliers include time, damage taken, dismemberments and difficulty settings.