This conversion of the classic Sega arcade game was first released on the Megadrive/Genesis in 1989 and is a reasonably accurate port of the famous hack and slash action game.

In fact, the Megadrive port does feature a number of enhancements over the original. The game can be played in “Arcade” or “Beginner” difficulty, with either one player or two players simultaneously. You can increase your life meter in the options setup if you want to. This port also includes an extra challenge called “The Duel” where one or two players can fight their way through a series of consecutive, increasingly tougher battles.

This port also features an extra level, not seen in the arcade original, and there’s a different ending (apparently, although I’ve not seen it), so Sega did try to give fans of the arcade game – and Megadrive/Genesis owners – something extra with this port.

Overall, Golden Axe on the Megadrive is a very good game and is still fun to play now. It’s not quite as slick as its arcade parent, but home console ports of the late 1980s were never expected to be.

Two sequels were released on the Megadrive/Genesis – Golden Axe II in 1991, and Golden Axe III in 1993. It’s still possible (at the time of writing) to buy all three Megadrive Golden Axe games on Steam.

More: Golden Axe on Wikipedia
Steam: Golden Axe on Steam