Golden Axe II^[a] is a side-scrolling beat ’em up video game developed and published by Sega, first released on the Sega Mega Drive in December 1991.^[1] It is the home console sequel to the popular game Golden Axe, marking the second game in the series, though the arcade did see a sequel of its own in 1992, titled Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder. 

Golden Axe II was only released on the Mega Drive, while the original was released on many other platforms. The game later appeared in Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as an iOS app on iTunes,^[2] and on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.

Plot – Golden Axe II

The three playable characters from the first Golden Axe – Ax Battler, Tyris Flare and Gilius Thunderhead — return in Golden Axe II to save the people of the land from a new clan of evil warriors and their lord Dark Guld and reclaim from him the legendary Golden Axe. The game features a total of seven levels: six scrolling levels and a final end of game boss battle against Dark Guld.

Gameplay – Golden Axe II

Golden Axe II is a side-scrolling arcade-style (it was also actually released on arcade machines) hack ‘n’ slash game, very similar to the first Golden Axe. The player is given a choice of three fighters: an axe-handling dwarf named Gilius Thunderhead, a barbarian named Ax Battler who wields a two-handed sword and longsword-brandishing amazon named Tyris Flare. Each of the fighters has a unique elemental form of magic which can be used at any time in the game to inflict damage upon enemies. Each player is given a set of life bars, which are lost one by one if the player is hit.

Though the characters and gameplay were virtually unchanged from the first game, there were a few improvements. The “back attack” (performed by pressing the Jump and Attack buttons simultaneously) for each character was changed to a more useful attack that hit enemies on all sides. Enemies could now be thrown in either direction by pressing right or left on the D-pad immediately after picking them up, making it easier to hit other enemies with them or throw them off cliffs.

Most importantly, the magic system was overhauled. Whereas in the first game, pressing the magic button used all of a player’s magic pots, one could now use part or all of one’s magic by holding the button and releasing it when the meter had reached the desired level. The magic was also changed; Ax Battler’s “exploding” magic from the first game was replaced with wind magic, and Gilius Thunderhead now used rock magic instead of lightning.

Tyris Flare retained her fire magic, but was still given entirely new animations for it. Ax Battler now has longer reach with his weapon than Tyris (in the first Golden Axe, Ax Battler and Tyris had identical reach) and can throw enemies higher and farther. Finally, there were small cosmetic changes in the form of a shoulder guard for Ax Battler and black gauntlets for Gilius Thunderhead.

Dark Guld’s Chamber

Castle

Credits

Boss Theme 1

Ruins