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. 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.
port on iTunes.
Plot
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.
Save the World from Chaos!
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!
Gameplay
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
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.
Duel mode
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.
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