Progress is made through the game by fighting through Death Adder's henchmen, including men armed with clubs and maces, skeleton warriors, and knights. Players are able to attack using their weapon, jump and cast spells that hurt all enemies on the screen. The force of this magic depends on the number of "bars" of magic power currently available. The bars are filled by collecting blue 'magic potions' attained by kicking little sprites who then drop the potions. These sprites appear during regular levels and during bonus stages in between levels. The male warrior Ax is able to cast earth spells. The dwarf Gilius, casts lightning spells and the female warrior Tyris casts fire magic. Each character has a different number of maximum magic bars and varying ranges of attack. Various steeds known as bizarrians are found in the game. These can be ridden when the enemy rider is knocked off, or if one is found dormant. The least powerful steed is known as the Cockatrice, which can be used to knock down enemies with a swipe of its tail. The more powerful dragon, which can either shoot fireballs or breathe fire, is found later in the game.
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Despite its status as a landmark Sega title, I really think that Golden Axe will turn off a majority of players who pick it up for the first time in 2024. There's just a little too much friction here between the archaic mechanics and the sensibilities of modern game design. GA's color palette is washed out, hit detection can feel awkward, and the game often rewards spammy attacks and the exploitation of dumb AI.
Yet, it's these awkward features that sort of make GA stand out to me. The muted colors add a sense of grittiness to the world, complimented by the agonizing screams and the way corpses just lay there after they've been dealt with. The lack of crowd-control mechanics, while a negative in any other game, adds a genuine feeling of helplessness in GA. This leads to an interesting meta where you often have to awkwardly walk past enemies to avoid them, rather than simply shoving them away. Even more interesting is the mechanic where enemies will bum-rush you if you push them too far away. This is a rare beatemup where distancing yourself from enemies too well is a bad idea.
Despite being quite easy to beat with just 2 credits, the eccentricities of GA make every battle feel like an awkward, brutal struggle against enemies that are as flimsy as you are. This isn't a game that makes you feel like a badass...it's a game that takes you on a journey through an uncaring, Conan-like world where your best tactic is to stay cautious and fight dirty. Open yourself up to the clumsiness of Golden Axe, and you may just be rewarded with an arcade experience that's equal parts delightful and dangerous. My only complaint is that there isn't enough depth to keep me coming back, even though what's here is fantastic.