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GOLDEN AXE II (SMD)
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Publisher: SEGA.
Developer: SEGA. Released: 1992 (Europe). Genre: Roaming hack 'n' slash. Posted 23rd May 2022. By Tom Clare © 2022 |
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Golden Axe II’s grand introduction, revealing the menacing usurper Dark Guld astride a throne and surrounded by his legion of underlings, makes a powerful statement. It establishes echoes of its predecessor’s greatness straight from the off. A grandiose, call-to-arms title theme is arguably even more spine-tingling, more affecting than the iconic rolling drums the original opened with. Like many of SEGA’s early nineties sequels, the implication was clear: the follow-up to the game you love would be bigger, brighter, faster, better.
Unlike Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Revenge of Shinobi and Streets of Rage 2, Golden Axe II couldn’t make good on this promise. That Golden Axe II failed to build on the original’s excellence means it has to be viewed as a disappointment. Not a disaster, by any means, but it never quite kicks on to write its own page in gaming history. Mega Drive owners would have to content themselves with a comparatively safe sequel. It nevertheless retains a lot of good qualities and is, particularly in two-player, plenty of fun. The trouble is, a lot of Golden Axe II feels like retreading old ground.
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Golden Axe II provides a good chunk of fun in two-player, but is disappointing for its lack of new ideas
The character selection is a perfect case in point. The three brawlers available for selection are the same trio who appeared in the first game. Magic-specialist Amazonian Tyris Flare, axe-wielding dwarf Gilius Thunderhead and perennially underdressed, Barbarian all-rounder Ax Battler. They’re a good mix, helping offer a solid degree of variety, but there are no new personalities to try out. More surprising is the lack of design evolution. Characters are slightly more responsive than before and have undergone small balancing tweaks (Tyris seems a bit handier in physical combat this time around), but there’s a paucity of new attacks that would help distinguish it from its predecessor. The sole notable difference is the choice to deploy a specific quantity of magic attack reserves, as opposed to using all you have in one go, which remains an option.
It’s a similar story regarding the gameplay. Things start fairly strongly, with the “Ravaged Village” level parading some atmospheric touches, such as villagers fleeing or being crowded by foes, adding an urgency to proceedings. However, many of the game’s levels feel uninspired, lacking creativity or technical sparkle. “The Tower”, with its garish, one-tone turquoise skies would’ve looked more at home on a Master System. The fiery “Dragon’s Throat Cave” is suitably ominous, whilst the “Castle Gates” level delivers a rousing bit of hack ‘n’ slash action, evoking memories of the first game. However, none of the locations offers anything adventurous in terms of design or visual splendour, dominated as they are by bare landscapes, plain skies and a general absence of detail. It isn’t until Dark Guld’s castle at the climax of the game, that Golden Axe II gets out of second gear.
It’s a similar story regarding the gameplay. Things start fairly strongly, with the “Ravaged Village” level parading some atmospheric touches, such as villagers fleeing or being crowded by foes, adding an urgency to proceedings. However, many of the game’s levels feel uninspired, lacking creativity or technical sparkle. “The Tower”, with its garish, one-tone turquoise skies would’ve looked more at home on a Master System. The fiery “Dragon’s Throat Cave” is suitably ominous, whilst the “Castle Gates” level delivers a rousing bit of hack ‘n’ slash action, evoking memories of the first game. However, none of the locations offers anything adventurous in terms of design or visual splendour, dominated as they are by bare landscapes, plain skies and a general absence of detail. It isn’t until Dark Guld’s castle at the climax of the game, that Golden Axe II gets out of second gear.
FOCAL POINT: THE REAL GOLDEN AXE II?
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Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder (1992, Arcade)
Whilst Golden Axe II was met with a fair-to-middling response on its release, another Golden Axe would roar into arcades in 1992 to significant acclaim. The Revenge of Death Adder would never see a port to a home console and this is a real shame, as it marked a more significant step forward for the series, a more complete evolution of the first game. Fans will note four new playable characters, a raft of new magic animations, environmental hazards and interactive weaponry such as catapults. Unsurprisingly, its visuals are some way above what the Mega Drive was thought to be capable of at the time. Huge sprites, tonnes of enemies fighting at once and a wealth of gorgeous backgrounds bring into sharp relief the disappointing standards set by Golden Axe II.
There may not be a great deal of ambition, but cracking reanimated skeletons over the head with the butt of a sword remains uniquely compelling. GAII’s controls have been refined, with the dash move now more achievable and a general nudge forward in terms of responsiveness. There are still a couple of instances where you can coax enemies to blunder to their deaths down pits, something that never gets old. A signature of the series, the magic attacks have been beefed up, with Tyris’s in particular making for some much-needed graphical fireworks.
Golden Axe II shares many of its predecessor’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s nicely presented, with the aforementioned impressive intro, neat title screen and attractive map/storytelling elements bookending levels. Though quite a few enemies are reused, sprites look more impressive this time around, with the shield-carrying reptilian foes among the most eye-catching enemies. The backdrops look mediocre, however. There’s little in the way of parallax scrolling, leaving many of the locations lacking a sense of scale and some potentially exciting locations instead feel sparse and lacking personality.
Golden Axe II shares many of its predecessor’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s nicely presented, with the aforementioned impressive intro, neat title screen and attractive map/storytelling elements bookending levels. Though quite a few enemies are reused, sprites look more impressive this time around, with the shield-carrying reptilian foes among the most eye-catching enemies. The backdrops look mediocre, however. There’s little in the way of parallax scrolling, leaving many of the locations lacking a sense of scale and some potentially exciting locations instead feel sparse and lacking personality.
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The music is really good though, once again fitting this brand of sword ‘n’ sandal fantasy to a tee and helping conjure a great atmosphere for fantasy-themed heroism. It’s not clear what happened with the sound effects, however, with the blood-curdling death cries of the original replaced by farcical groans of “bleh!”. These are utterly ridiculous and bad to the point of funny.
Seven stages mark the game at a similar length to its predecessor. Not especially long, but challenging enough to require a few return plays to beat it. GAII retains the practice-style Easy mode, which only allows for a certain degree of progress before instructing the player to tackle it on a higher setting, of which there are two. Then there’s Duel, essentially a waves mode. The player fights a sequence of small-scale arena battles, with each foe (or set of foes) proving a little tougher than the one that went before. Surviving the whole lot on one health bar is tricky, especially as you’ll be tackling bosses as well as groups of goons, but it’s good, simple fun.
Seven stages mark the game at a similar length to its predecessor. Not especially long, but challenging enough to require a few return plays to beat it. GAII retains the practice-style Easy mode, which only allows for a certain degree of progress before instructing the player to tackle it on a higher setting, of which there are two. Then there’s Duel, essentially a waves mode. The player fights a sequence of small-scale arena battles, with each foe (or set of foes) proving a little tougher than the one that went before. Surviving the whole lot on one health bar is tricky, especially as you’ll be tackling bosses as well as groups of goons, but it’s good, simple fun.
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Golden Axe II is unlikely to reel you back in playing alone, but its long-term prospects are improved significantly should you have like-minded friends to play it with. A partner can watch your back, as on your own, it’s easy to become surrounded and overwhelmed. In its own right, GAII is an enjoyable hack ‘n’ slash romp. It’s a case of what might have been, however, as this brawler’s potential is checked by a surprisingly conservative design approach and little in the way of new ideas, characters or moves. The visuals are retrograde by SEGA standards and whilst the gameplay holds up okay, Golden Axe II doesn’t represent the kind of step forward fans could reasonably have hoped for.
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VERDICT
"Fans would have to content themselves with a comparatively safe sequel. Golden Axe II retains a lot of good qualities and is, particularly in two-player, plenty of fun. The trouble is, a lot of it retreads old ground." OVERALL: 6/10 |