Together Retro: Golden Axe Warrior
 Presented by noiseredux
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In 1990 Sega released a spin-off of the Golden Axe series for their Master System which played nothing like prior slash-em-ups that the Golden Axe name was known for. Instead, it was bore a striking resemblance to the NES hit The Legend of Zelda. In fact, it was so similar that it’s long been cast aside as nothing but a Zelda clone. This month we’ll be playing through this lost classic and no doubt comparing and contrasting it to Nintendo’s classic, while hopefully finding all of its own originality and charm as well.
It is also worth noting that further in the game there are a few cameos by the heroes of Golden Axe. And, although it’s been a while since any of has played this title, it seemed to offer a fair amount of “improvements” (such as spells) over the relatively basic Zelda – so it is not just a clone but a clone with bells and whistles on.
Story
When Golden Axe mainstay Death Adder invades a peaceful village known as Firewood, it’s up to a lone hero to set out and destroy him. Of course this won’t be an easy task. First our hero must learn elemental magic and make his way through eight progressively more difficult dungeons before the final showdown with Death Adder.
Controls
- D-Pad: move
- Button 1: access inventory
- Button 2: attack
Legacy
Sadly, Golden Axe Warrior’s legacy has been slight. This would be the sole Action RPG title in the Golden Axe series to date. Although our hero does look suspiciously similar to Frum, the protagonist in Atlus’ own Zelda homage 3D Dot Game Heroes.
Ports
Though certainly the original SMS cartridge is the purest way to play the game, Sega’s recent PS3 and 360 compilation Sonic’s Ultimate Sega Genesis Collection features a perfect emulation of the game that easily unlocked by simply using magic ten times in Golden Axe 3.
Together Retro Discussion
Instead of posting in the comments section of the blog, we will be using the forum for all of our discussion in order to keep things more organized. So play the Golden Axe Warrior and talk to us about your thoughts and play experiences in the forums.
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“Sole Action RPG title in the Golden Axe series to date”?
Are we forgetting Ax Battler for the Game Gear?
“Legacy
Sadly, Golden Axe Warrior’s legacy has been slight. This would be the sole Action RPG title in the Golden Axe series to date. Although our hero does look suspiciously similar to Frum, the protagonist in Atlus’ own Zelda homage 3D Dot Game Heroes.”
Wrong. Golden Axe Warrior got a sequel – Ax Battler: The Legend of Golden Axe. It’s the Zelda II sequel to GaW’s Zelda 1.