Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe

Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe
European cover art by Julie Bell
DeveloperAspect Co.
PublisherSega
ProgrammersNoriyuki Tabata
Kazuyuki Oikawa
ComposerKeisuke Tsukahara
SeriesGolden Axe
PlatformGame Gear
Release
  • JP: November 1, 1991
  • NA: March 1992
  • PAL: 1992
GenreAction-adventure
ModeSingle-player

Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe[a] is a 1991 action-adventure game developed by Aspect Co. and published by Sega for the Game Gear. The game is a spin-off of the popular Golden Axe series.

The protagonist is Ax Battler, the male barbarian character from the original Golden Axe game. The series' primary villain, Death Adder, is laying siege to the entire world. He steals the Golden Axe, a magical weapon that grants its wielder unimaginable power, from its hiding place in Firewood Castle. To prevent Death Adder using its powers to destroy the world, the king of Firewood Castle calls upon the help of his strongest warrior: Ax Battler. During his journey, Ax Battler must battle through the following "special landmarks": The Spooky Cave, Peninsula Tower, Turtle's Back, Death Pyramid, Evil Cave, Maze Wood, Gayn Mountain, Eagle's Back, Ice Cliffs and Death Adder's Castle.

Gameplay

Unlike the original side-scrolling beat 'em up Golden Axe games, Ax Battler is divided into three different sections of gameplay:

  • Map scene: This mode shows the player's movements in a top-view overworld as he moves across the wilderness. Enemies randomly attack, prompting the game to switch to the below Action Screen.
  • Town scene: Similar in appearance to the Map Scenes, except this mode shows the player's actions in a town. The core difference is the ability to talk to NPCs and visit stores.
  • Action screen: The game switches to Action Screen when the player encounters an enemy or enters one of the special landmarks. This is a side-scrolling beat 'em up/platform environment.

Ax Battler can collect magic vases, which can be used for his magical attacks or as currency in the towns. He can also learn new attacks in the Training Houses.

Passwords can be collected from the towns to serve as a 'saving' system.

Reception

Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe received a 4.5937/10 score in a 1995 readers' poll conducted by the Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine, ranking among Game Gear titles at the number 125 spot.[16] The game received a mixed reception from critics.[6][13][15][17] Zero proclaimed that Ax Battler successfully expanded on the premise of the original games and called it a "surefire winner".[7] Mean Machines Sega called the beat'em up aspect of the game "extremely poor" and called the quest "dull and uninspiring." They compared playing Ax Battler to jumping off a cliff – stating that "one go is more than enough, and isn't really recommended at all".[5]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ アックスバトラー ゴールデンアックス伝説, Ax Battler: Golden Axe Densetsu

References

  1. ↑ "BEメガ･ドッグレース: アックスバトラーゴールデンアックス伝説". Beep! Mega Drive (in Japanese). Vol. 7, no. 11. SoftBank Creative. November 1991. p. 37.
  2. ↑ Harris, Steve; Semrad, Ed; Alessi, Martin; Williams, Ken (April 1992). "Review Crew: Ax Battler (Game Gear)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 33. Sendai Publishing. p. 32. Retrieved 2026-08-26 – via Video Game History Foundation.
  3. ↑ "New Games Cross Review: アックスバトラー–ゴールデンアックス伝説–". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 150. ASCII Corporation. November 1, 1993. p. 39.
  4. ↑ "Console Connexions: Ax Battler – A Legend of Golden Axe". Games-X. No. 30. Europress. November 14–20, 1991. p. 35.
  5. 1 2 "Games Index: Game Gear". Mean Machines Sega. No. 1. EMAP. October 1992. p. 143.
  6. 1 2 Bieniek, Chris (May 1992). "Gaming on the Go: Ax Battler - For the Sega Game Gear". VideoGames & Computer Entertainment. No. 40. Larry Flynt Publications. pp. 54–56.
  7. 1 2 "Hand Jobs: Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe". Zero. No. 33. Dennis Publishing. July 1992. p. 78.
  8. ↑ "Software A-Z: Game Gear". Console XS. No. 1. Paragon Publishing. June–July 1992. pp. 147–149.
  9. ↑ Lee, Onn (1992). "Briefs: Ax Battler (Game Gear)". Electric Brain. No. 24. Onn Lee. p. 31.
  10. ↑ Ferrari Man; ????; Carter, Bryan; Salamander (August–September 1992). "The Final Word game reviews: Axe Battler: A Legend of the Golden Axe -- Sega". Game Zero Magazine. Vol. 1, no. 3. Cheap Zines-O'-Plenty. (Transcription by Game Zero. Archived 1998-01-21 at the Wayback Machine).
  11. ↑ Lakin, Paul (January 1992). "Import Review: Ax Battler — A Legend of Golden Axe". Game Zone. No. 3. Dennis Publishing. p. 57.
  12. ↑ Narusawa, Daisuke (November 4, 1991). "TV Game Broad-Way MD (GGゲームギア): アックスバトラー~ゴールデンアックス伝説~". Hippon Super! (in Japanese). Vol. 6, no. 11. JICC Publishing Bureau. p. 89.
  13. 1 2 Ariel Aeronaut (August–September 1992). "Handhelds - Sega: Ax Battler". MegaZone. No. 23. Sega Ozisoft. p. 23.
  14. ↑ "The Hard Line: Game Gear". Sega Power. No. 49. Future Publishing. December 1993. pp. 132–133.
  15. 1 2 Scullion, James (June 1992). "Game Gear ProReview: Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe". Sega Pro. No. 8. Paragon Publishing. p. 68.
  16. ↑ "GGソフト読者レース". Sega Saturn Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 11, no. 9. SoftBank Creative. September 1995. p. 86.
  17. ↑ Monty Haul (May 1992). "Game Gear Pro Review: Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe". GamePro. No. 34. IDG. p. 74.
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