PORTS: Golden Axe - Genesis/Mega Drive (1989)

 Sega didn't waste much time porting Golden Axe to its new Mega Drive/Genesis console, getting it out just in time for Christmas the same year it debuted in the arcades.

They did a pretty good job on it. It's a slight downgrade in audio and video, lacking the great First Blood voice samples and the parallax scrolling of the arcade, but for audiences accustomed to NES games, it would have looked spectacular having something so close to the arcade version at home. More importantly, it plays just about right, too. Techniques that work well in the arcade version still work well in the home version as it moves at a very similar speed and the collision detection seems pretty close as well.

The best home ports usually do something extra with the game and in this case Sega added an extra, final level to the game. It plays out just like the arcade version, with the heroes travelling to Death Adder's castle on the backs of the giant turtle and eagle, but after facing the villain in the throne room and saving the king and princess, instead of the farcical, Blazing Saddles-like ending of the cast breaking out of the arcade, the king informs you that you only faced an underling and the master is somewhere behind the door from which Death Adder appeared. So you head through the door and tackle the final stage.

The last stage is slightly disappointing in its look. Instead of something wild and creative, like maybe dragging the heroes into another dimension or something, it's just a dungeon with some tougher enemies within, many of whom can be cheaply defeated by knocking them into bottomless pits. Before long, you face the true villain, Death Bringer, who's just like Death Adder except getting hit by him is extremely costly because in addition to taking damage from his giant axe, a hit also triggers a magical explosion similar to what the players can do with their fully charged magic attacks. It's a good challenge. Overcoming him leads to the heroes emerging back into the throne room and receiving some thanks from the king and a congratulatory message from the game before some credits roll.