In the grand pantheon of beat-em-ups, brawlers, hack-and-slashers, kiss-your-mother-with-that-mouth-ya-jerk, dick-punching games, Golden Axe is a middleweight. Hell, it started as a welterweight in 1989. The fantasy setting, magic powers, and ride-able dragons and chicken-salamanders were novel, certainly, but how could it compete with Final Fight, a game that let you be a pro-wrestling mayor who compulsively took off his clothing? How could its triumphant trio of sword-guy-in-underpants, little person, and Red Sonja-cosplayer compete with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Golden Axe was plain outclassed for its first couple of games. That is, until arcade-only sequel Death Adder’s Revenge came out, a game so gorgeous, strange, and playable that it stands as the best beat ‘em up ever made outside of Capcom and Konami (yeah, that’s right. It’s better than Streets of Rage. All of them.) Right when the series started showing its mettle, it all but disappeared. Death Adder’s Revenge’s legacy lived on in a cruddy Genesis sequel, a Saturn fighting game, and a bizarro PS2 remake of the series debut. Until now! Yes, the new Golden Axe that Sega first showed way back at E3 2006 is finally coming out and, as you can see from this trailer, it’s got a case of the browns. Golden Axe: Beast Rider looks competent for a modern beat ‘em up; not quite a God of War or Devil May Cry, but at least on par with Conan or Heavenly Sword (though more brazenly cheesecake than either.) Returning Red Sonja-cosplayer-protagonist Tyris Flare actually appears to be wearing more clothing than she used to, but not much, and her vocabulary has been greatly expanded. The biggest problem here? No multiplayer. Golden Axe’s best selling point, stripped right out.
I’m actually kind of excited about this game. It looks like readymade Up All Night fare.
Related links:
A Perfectly Cromulent Beat-Em-Up
Previous Trailer Reviews:
House of the Dead: Overkill
Riz-Zoawd
Idolm@ster PSP
The Last Guy
Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff
Captain Rainbow
The Past and Future With Mega Man 9 and Chrono Trigger DS
Densetsu no Stafi 5
Sonic Unleashed
Infinite Undiscovery
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Street Fighter 4
The Conduit
Mirror’s Edge