Golden Axe Series - Retro Playthrough - July 2015

[singlebanana]

Coming your way

Thanks buddy!  That will complete my boxed copy, so I am very stoked.

My buddy Cameron came over again last night and we played some more Golden Axe and Golden Axe III co-op. We made to to Death Adder again in the first game, but for whatever reason, we just can't get him down. A few questions if I might:

Last night, I let Cameron deal with the adds while I took on Death Adder. We were mildly successful for a while, but the skeletons never died and DA started spamming magic to where we couldn't even stand up.

(1) Are the skeleton adds that accompany him defeatable?

(2) Is there a certain time limit that you have to kill him in before he starts spamming magic?

[Disposed Hero]

I made my first real attempt at playing through the Genesis version of Golden Axe last night, but I encountered one technical problem after another.  I have a ton of Genesis controllers lying around, some I'm pretty sure I never used before, so it turns out that the B button doesn't work on the first controller I tried.  No big deal, as soon as I discovered that, I just plugged in another controller.  The second controller's D-pad isn't very responsive.  I wasn't sure if it was the controller or if the game just felt like that, so I stuck it out and kept using it until I got a Game Over.

When I started the game again, I decided to try a different controller just in case, and lo and behold, the difference was night and day.  I was actually able to reliably dash this time!  So I'm doing fairly well on this playthrough, and then I encounter the section at the end of one of the later levels where the skeletons start rising up out of the ground.  What I think happened is that one of the skeletons just said "Screw this!" and walked off the screen, so I couldn't kill him.  So I waited around for a couple of minutes, hoping that by some chance he would come back, or maybe he would walk off a ledge and kill himself or something and the level would end, but it never happened.  I had no choice but to turn the game off.  *sigh*

Anyway, I'll give it another shot this weekend.

[JerryGreenwood]

(1) Are the skeleton adds that accompany him defeatable?

(2) Is there a certain time limit that you have to kill him in before he starts spamming magic?

(1) No, they are invincible
(2) No, he only uses magic when he knocks you down. He will throw down the yellow electricity, but that's avoidable.

[singlebanana]

(1) Are the skeleton adds that accompany him defeatable?

(2) Is there a certain time limit that you have to kill him in before he starts spamming magic?

(1) No, they are invincible
(2) No, he only uses magic when he knocks you down. He will throw down the yellow electricity, but that's avoidable.

Thanks. I figured the skeletons were invincible. The problem I am having with this magic is that he repeatedly uses it while I am on the ground and there is no way to defend that.

[singlebanana]

Also, I wanted to mention that if anyone is having trouble making that big chasm jump at the beginning of Stage 8 (I think...), instead of running and jumping as many people suggest, you can run and shoulder charge (press attack while running) over it, which is easier and works better.

[Disposed Hero]

Also, I wanted to mention that if anyone is having trouble making that big chasm jump at the beginning of Stage 8 (I think...), instead of running and jumping as many people suggest, you can run and shoulder charge (press attack while running) over it, which is easier and works better.

+1.  I used to always try to jump over it back in the day and would end up falling in the chasm until my friend told me to just dash/charge over it.  Definitely the way to go.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

Yeah, Shoulder Charge is definitely the way to go. When I played the XBLA version, it's the only way I got across.

[MaterialHandlerMike]

Popped in my recently acquired copy for TurboCD the other day. It's....not that good. I didn't play for long, before it made me want to pop in my Genesis collection on PS3, and play it that way.

[MetalFRO]

Did anyone else notice that Tyris' sprite in the 2nd game looks kind of different than the 1st?  In that she has been, erm....augmented?  Isn't it silly that Sega decided to do that?  It actually makes her look stupid, and despite the 2nd game having crisper, better looking graphics overall, I prefer her sprite from the 1st game, because at least she looks like a normal human being.

On the actual gameplay front, I haven't quite been able to reach the end of GA2 with Ax Battler yet.  I need to practice some more and try to make it further so I can actually reach the end boss.  One thing I thought was interesting is the change in the way magic works.  In the first game, it's one and done, and whatever power level you're at, that's the magic you use.  In GA2, it defaults to the lowest level, and you have to hold the button down to charge to the level you want to use.  I think that's a neat mechanic, because weaker enemies can sometimes be taken out with Level 2 or 3 magic, and you can get more use out of the magic ability you have.  I haven't experimented with it much, but it is a nice addition to the magic ability.  It also gives you more reason to use magic, given the 2nd game's more liberal availability and distribution of it.

[JerryGreenwood]

The problem I am having with this magic is that he repeatedly uses it while I am on the ground and there is no way to defend that.

Sure there is. Don't let him hit you. As I said above, he ONLY uses magic when HE knocks you down. I'm not counting the ground pound because that's avoidable.

The difficulty is really unbalanced because of this. The game is extremely easy until you get to Death Bringer.

[Disposed Hero]

My end game screen for beating Golden Axe:

[img width=700 height=525]http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm155/DisposedHero/Community%20Playthrough%20Scores/CAM01438.jpg[/img]

...and The Duel:

[img width=700 height=525]http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm155/DisposedHero/Community%20Playthrough%20Scores/CAM01439.jpg[/img]

I was doing extremely well during most of the game, then I got to Death Bringer and barely scraped by.  That whole fight is really cheap.  If only you could kill those damn skeletons....

After using all three characters, I came to the conclusion that I like Tyris the best.  Her running attack is by far the best of all three characters, and it is excellent for crowd control.  Obviously her magic is the best, although to get the full effect you have to use it pretty sparingly, but I think I've figured out the best places in the game to use it.

I also want to mention that the ending to the arcade version of Golden Axe is way better than the Genesis version.  I've always loved that ending sequence.

On to Golden Axe II!

[Disposed Hero]

.....and my end game screen for Golden Axe II.  This one was way easier than the first game.

[img width=700 height=525]http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm155/DisposedHero/Community%20Playthrough%20Scores/CAM01440.jpg[/img]

[Fokakis79]

.....and my end game screen for Golden Axe II.  This one was way easier than the first game.

[img width=700 height=525]http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm155/DisposedHero/Community%20Playthrough%20Scores/CAM01440.jpg[/img]

Nice rating, and yes I agree with GAII being easier

[shaggy]

Beat GA I.  Tried GA II once, got to level 5.

[singlebanana]

Brought the Death this morning around 11:00 PM. Golden Axe & Golden Axe II down.

[img width=700 height=522]http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y359/necrom99/Playthroughs/EC70A262-840E-44FB-BF96-D8593B4B3472_zpswnrdyhrl.jpg[/img]