Golden Axe Warrior
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| Golden Axe Warrior | |
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 The North American box art of Golden Axe Warrior |
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| Developer(s) | Sega |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Programmer(s) | Pochi Nakamori[1] |
| Series | Golden Axe |
| Platform(s) | Sega Master System |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure Medieval / Fantasy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Media/distribution | 8-bit cartridge |
Golden Axe Warrior (ゴールデンア ックスウォーリア) is an action-adventure spin-off of the popular Golden Axe video game series. The game was released on the Sega Master System in 1991. The game follows a young warrior who tries to avenge the death of his parents by exploring ten labyrinths, collecting nine missing crystals, and battling with Death Adder. All the major characters from Golden Axe—the warrior Ax Battler, the amazon Tyris Flare, and the dwarf Gilius Thunderhead—help the player throughout the game by bestowing him with magic.
Although some gaming magazines derided it for being a rip-off of The Legend of Zelda, the game is commonly welcomed[by whom?] as a SEGA classic. Although it is certainly derivative of Zelda, many Sega fans[who?] feel that it is also a fitting follow-up to the original Golden Axe, wherein the player needs to cross a big world, fight enemies, seek mysterious labyrinths, fight bosses, and obtain crystals guarded by many monsters.
It is often speculated[by whom?] that Golden Axe Warrior was meant to kick-start a series, but rumors of any planned sequels are baseless. A Game Gear title was planned, but became another game instead (not to be confused with the Golden Axe themed Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe, which has several similarities to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link).
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[edit] Story
The evil giant, Death Adder, has invaded the continents Firewood, Nendoria and Altorulia and killed the royal families. A young hero from Firewood sets out on a quest to destroy Death Adder. To counter the evil magic of Death Adder he has to find the nine crystals of the royal family from Firewood. These crystals warded off Death Adder until the king was betrayed by a minister who sold the crystals to Death Adder. Death Adder has hidden the crystals in nine labyrinths. On his quest the hero visits numerous villages, discovers numerous people hiding from Death Adder. He can learn the Thunder, Earth, Fire and Water magics. He learns that the princess of Firewood is still alive and that he is the son of the king of Altorulia. After finding all nine crystals the hero is able to enter the tenth and final labyrinth where he must find the mythical Golden Axe, the only weapon that can harm Death Adder before facing the giant himself.
[edit] Difficulty
The game had a commendable difficulty curve in the classic RPG style, which involves constantly strengthening enemies being offset by constantly improving weapons and magic. The magic was almost entirely optional as the people who could bestow the player with attacking spells had to be discovered, and then paid, before they would teach him.
The game featured a 15x15 grid with over 200 unique screens.
The tenth labyrinth was only accessible after collecting the nine crystals.
[edit] Reception
Although initially dismissed as a Zelda clone upon first release, the game has since been highly revered by Master System fans, recently being voted the 11th best game for the entire system from Sega8Bit users. [1]
[edit] Re-release
The game is included as an unlockable game in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection/Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
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