Golden Axe Speed Run (

At last a really solid run with some good thief RNG. It's not perfect, I made a few small mistakes and the rng could always be better. The fact it has taken me this long (one and a half years!) is testament to how good InTheMug's record run is. I am using a lot of strategies to save time that were not known then and it was still very difficult to beat. Sub 7:30 is definitely possible, but would need close to perfect play and extremely favorable RNG with current strategies.
Recorded on JVC X'Eye (Genesis + Sega CD console combo), with OSSC and Elgato camlink.

[@marian20012]

finally, after almost 30 years I can see second half of this game and even final battle 😂

[@stevenlornie1261]

? The game is a doddle. lol

[@RobJT]

@@stevenlornie1261 innit. This person must have never played Ghouls and Ghosts 🤣

[@nunyanunya4147]

fuck everyone above me. they are just trying to look cool on the internet. they watched the same speed run and marveled the same as you. its just hedonistic hubris filled snobbing.

[@jrbarbosa8342]

fuck the guys above me as well. what was the part you got stuck in @marian20012 ?

[@RobJT]

@@nunyanunya4147 well not really. I played a lot of games of that time and Golden Axe wasn't a stand out game for difficulty. I'm trying to imagine saying "It's just hedonistic hubris filled sobbing." and being a real person... It's proving difficult 🤣

[@Eddyhartz]

Lol I see that even speed runners still have time to attack the defenseless fleeing villagers.

[@Booruvcheek]

You mean, the indestructible villagers :)

[@toddkes5890]

10:59 - the reason she missed is that those villagers were really short, and not carrying bags over their shoulders to slow them down

[@danielcox6251]

Everyone attacks them. Everyone

[@mariopatrino3453]

Classic 😂

[@blahblahblahdeeblah]

The enemy suicides in the dungeon were glorious.

[@liamriddy358]

4:07 is some seriously skilled play.

[@01garland01]

Thanks! Timing that down stab is very difficult for me. Unfortunately I missed the timing for the second spin attack afterwards as I intended to hit two enemies but one of them moved down (off screen) out of the way.

[@jamesnunya5833]

this game and Altered Beast were my first Genesis games.... loved them both!

[@richardkilley6838]

Gouls and ghosts for me!

[@XC1t3]

Haha, yes me too! They were so good, also played Mystic Defender.

[@luismaldonado5519]

Do you PS4? There's a Sega genesis anthology with both games, plus golden axe 2 and 3 and other titles like streets of rage. (Dont mean to sound like an advertisement)

[@TheMysticalNinja65]

Not gonna lie, i hate altered beast. Love Golden axe though

[@ShapeyFiend]

Those were the first two games I got with the system so I played them over and over and over. Something quietly satisfying in playing something for 12 to 15mins and being done.

[@zepphed7276]

I don’t recall this game being so easy

[@lucagiovanninieddu2603]

When I was a kid one of my favourite. Very hard for me

[@DezorianGuy]

You grow older and once difficult games become things you finish while chatting with a good friend.

[@terryirawan440]

Exactly, playing with my friends for more or less an hour and really hard to beat this game.

[@faustomadebr]

There was no RNG back then, so you could easilly just memorize each step and learn how AI behave (walk themselves to a cliff, for instance).

[@filipraos8072]

He just makes it seem easy, try it out and its really hard still

[@francescodeleonardis7621]

The ending Is longer than the gameplay itself.

[@villagernumber9233]

First time I completed Golden Axe was with playing as Tyris Flare. Remember as a kid being absolutely mind blown knowing she could summon a dragon!!

[@siler7]

Definitely the best part of the game.

[@villagernumber9233]

@@siler7 oh yes indeed. Since we got Streets of Rage 4 I keep hoping for another Golden Axe, aahhh if only...

[@Supergoon1989]

I always picked Gillius - his standard attack has longer range, and his [B+C] attack has MUCH longer range, and can even damage things offscreen since that attack isn't blocked by the 'invisible wall' at both ends.

[@SkeletorTclaws]

I was amazed by her thong 😆

[@SkeletorTclaws]

@Supergoon1989 he was the easiest to use but had the weakest magic. Sometimes you could get enemies stuck in an infinit hack loop it you hit the with "just the tip" of the axeI hated how axe battler's shoulder charge didnt hit enemies deep in the corners. Awesome game. The first game I got on my megadrive along with super shinobi and strider.

[@DJdoodoo]

What did I just witness, absolutely amazing.

[@youtubecheckunit3135]

What did you witness son?

[@youtubecheckunit3135]

RIGHT E O call 000 please press or say G and you should be able to tell of your witnessings

[@KennyMcCormick99]

IKR?! If someone were to show me this live back when I was 8 years old, my head would literally explode!!🤯

[@Slashco]

I like how the final fight actually syncs up with the music.

[@ShapeyFiend]

Having finished this a bajillion times as a kid I was doing a lot of these tricks myself already but seeing it all put together along with the predictive offscreen attacking its pretty incredible.

[@cidpsg]

Soundtrack are absolutely amazing ! We don’t réalise how this game was good for his time !

[@ComicsGateIsComicsGreat]

TFW you spent years trying to beat this game as a kid and never could then you watch this guy destroy it in seven minutes.

[@kenbell3101]

You suck if you couldn't beat this game

[@brunocpimenta]

I couldnt stop lauthing at that poor guy 1:16.

[@KingStr0ng]

Bro fell into the backrooms. 💀

[@rulhalfelven]

Skilled! Hats off to you. Those two attacks have the strongest hit

[@sesimie]

Golden Axe 1 is the First game I ever beat with one coin at my arcade in the '80s. It started my love affair with one life challenges! I also listen to the soundtrack in my car with subwoofers! Every car ride becomes an Epic adventure!

[@asilver50]

I love how the ending makes the life or death struggle seem whimsical.

[@pirajacinto4]

2:22 that was so smooth o_o I can't BELEVE the speed I'm seeing here! This is AMAZING!!

[@ih8stuff3]

I just rewatched Conan the Barbarian, and I recognized the bad guy death sound! Turns out they sampled a bunch of things. That's awesome.

[@Jexel999]

This was my first time watching a golden axe speed run .. ur super great !!

[@-BuddyGuy]

That was insane. I played this for years as a kid and considered myself a total boss for doing it without dying

[@nosirrahx]

There is a hilarious bug in this game. If you kill Death Bringer with magic while he is already in the air from a hit, the game recalculates his falling axe coordinate based on the height of his fall arc and it ends up looking like it sticks into the ground instead of his body.

[@flinten7485]

Fantastic sound design MOTO CBX1000, HAM TAK and WAKA! Let's not forget all the hard work KYONSY KYONSY put into the visuals! I also love IMOCKY and DECKY as a team, epic soundtacks! BROS 400 should direct feature films, I adore his work especially with OPA-OPA at his side....=P

[@paulsmith9786]

7:23 Oh yeah, time for that awesome music 7:39 God damn it

[@gullyfoyle2615]

That was the most impressive thing ive ever seen. And I watched the moonlanding!

[@joshuavd5194]

yeah and they are both fake

[@KingStr0ng]

​@@joshuavd5194Nah, just the moon fake.

[@ChicagoRetroGamer]

Wow, awesome game play! I think the last time I beat it, it was well over 20 minutes, so mad props!

[@Kugrox]

Yeah about 20 minutes is what it takes me, though im not abusing the 1-hit kill moves. Also, I noticed that if you dont have a good controller, you cant execute those moves perfectly every time. So hes probably playing on an emulator which makes it way easier.

[@Bart-Did-it]

Thank you for this It gave me gooseBumps the good old days of pure simple fun .

[@MengskGX]

wow every enemy is choreographed to perfection

[@CarfDarko]

Holy shiiiii.... That was amazing!!

[@InTheMug]

Congratulations man :) Well deserved!

[@sariusmonk]

Your deeds will be known for years. Yes that 10 minute sojourn to the palace and killing the henchmen, didn't even break a sweat.

[@jehovasabettor9080]

I actually broke a keyboard playing this. One of the first games I played, so I still remember the enemy placement, the way they couldn't reliably target you if you ram them back and forth all the time, and, of course, the power of the downward thrust. Tried this game a while ago on an emulator - and stopped half way. Not only my reflexes deteriorated in the last 30 years, but the bloody keyboards appear to have really ramped up their prices. Good run, makes it look much easier than it is.

[@01garland01]

Sad to hear about your keyboard, hope you can get a new one. I am playing on megadrive so I just use the 6 button gamepad. I don't think I could play very well without a good d-pad.

[@MashTec]

This game got an awesome soundtrack…i love the music!

[@KennyMcCormick99]

I LITERALLY JUST PUT MY HEAD DOWN FOR A MINUTE... And when I look backup, dudes over halfway through!! NICE!! 👏😯

[@TheNeoVid]

Two things came to mind watching this: First, I never would have realized that there could be this level of technique in this game, and second, it's still good for a laugh that the Golden Axe is green in the Genesis version.

[@SolidSnake55]

This brings back SO much memories.

[@villevenetjoki7633]

this was like a flawless guitar solo.

[@rezievil4ever]

This game was so hard for me as a kid speed runners are so amazing! Good job!

[@diegoq8417]

De niño jugaba ésta maravilla, pero no sabía ni leer... entonces nunca supe el nombre, hasta ahora que lo vuelvo a ver. Es cómo cuando se reúne un hermano con otro, gracias al internet, después de estar años separados ha ha 👌🏻🤘🏻

[@Myself-zn8ws]

7:38 And award goes to the Skeleton who finaly hits

[@joshuaDstarks]

You’d have been t h e coolest kid on our block if we saw this. No doubt about it. You’d get the best controller every time, for life.

[@Patriot-1973]

Wow..... appreciate the effort it took to be flawless. Well done

[@01garland01]

Thanks very much

[@fizzlepop9451]

Well, the jumping downward sword attack was something I learned here!

[@splatbubble]

Once you get into a rhythm with it you rule all. But you effectively are doing a reverse Shoryuken every time you try to pull it off :)

[@shererid]

Not even mounting the dragons after their riders fall?! Thug life dude...

[@01garland01]

It genuinely pains me not to use the dragons. It used to be in my speed run route but sadly I found a faster route. Stupid me!

[@01garland01]

@@strastven5475 All the characters do the same damage, they just have different magic abilities. The down stab attack does significantly more damage than normal attacks but it is hard to land it as enemies will dodge it. A normal attack does 2 damage compared to 16 for the down stab. Enemies on stage 1 have 16-24 health so most of them can be killed with one down stab. Even the giants at the end of stage 1 only have 32 health so two down stabs is enough to kill them. There is a full list of attack damage and enemy health values here hackmd.io/RXGnpTdSQFOtWgHQr9zNmQ?view

[@szabolcsmate5254]

This isn't how I played this game. :D

[@DezorianGuy]

Try it and feel like a king.

[@hermit4706]

The music on the mega drive was epic

[@errolneptune3995]

Remember as a kid this was the second game i clocked after cool spot. Don't play games anymore but ive only ever clocked 3 games total with the last being medal of honour on the PlayStation 1. Good days those!

[@headboil]

Awesome tactic using the pitfalls. Well played, sir!

[@caseyj789456]

Omg! I use to play so much to this game arcade but wow this guy is sooo fast and effective! Bravo!

[@IllumatrixMusic]

Wow, this is so amazing. Nice run, we're proud of you!!!

[@Supergoon1989]

1:46 The perfect planning as already shown earlier by pre-attacking things not even on the screen yet, but this part here is absolutely perfect - for no reason, the player purposefully ignores the magic pots because they know that a strength '4' attack is enough to kill everything on the screen on the last battle of this act. Shows exceptional understanding of the game! :D

[@Supergoon1989]

...actually, there might be a reason. I think that spell animation has a shorter duration than the max-magic dragon ability, and still kills everything on the screen...player uses the 4 strength spell at 4:20 as well...this must be intentional! wow!

[@Raziel_Plisken]

I'm just getting into Golden axe and find this casually. Simply fantastic

[@01garland01]

Thanks, hope you enjoy the game

[@Vic-rq9hu]

Still one of the best soundtracks ever

[@Nolasco.]

Seriously, I feel like the crappiest player now 😅

[@dannyx1791]

No bro, you are an amazing player. Never forget that ☺️

[@Nolasco.]

@@dannyx1791 💕

[@Argilla.]

@@Nolasco. 🤮🤮🤮

[@IGRETRO]

6:34 - 6:49 so smooth

[@zombieking6079]

My parents got me the sega and golden axe to keep busy during bad weather imagine me beating the game in just over 7 mins.......parents be like refund

[@EatMyShortsAU]

Back when I was a kid I Golden Axe, Streets of Rage ETC. Sure they weren't the longest games but it takes time to get good at them, plus you play as other characters and with 2 players so I never really got bored of the games. Especially since they were made so good.

[@Yusukeleon]

@@EatMyShortsAU Salute SOR series. Sega Mega drive memory.

[@phantomantichrist3719]

Forgot how awesome the music for this game is.

[@MonkeyTornado]

Not bad, considering the Genesis/Megadrive GA port is slightly wonkier/slower/harder, and you didn't use any glitches (at least none against Death Adder/Bringer) except tricking the enemies to fall, and knocking the gold knights over in Stage 7. Feel you could have reacted to the dwarf magic thief bonus stages a bit quicker, but a pretty near flawless run. Nice. :)

[@01garland01]

Thanks! Stage 4 thief camp was the biggest time loss. Missed the first attack as I was too close and lost about 3 seconds. I would have used glitches if I knew of any that saved time but still haven't found any.

[@CantinhodoSaber]

Watching this i came back when i was a kid amazing run

[@michal153]

that stab from high up is the bomb .... you did it well without a mistake !!!!

[@jokersplayground7223]

It takes me 7:33 just picking a character.

[@albertsmith99]

Awesome speed run. Well done. Thanks for sharing

[@evilotis01]

i feel like this game would have been way easier back in the day if i'd realised the enemies were dumb enough to just yeet themselves into oblivion given half a chance

[@unoreversecard1442]

the true meaning of ankle breaking 1:15

[@udellacrewgamer4192]

Woah so crazy awesome 👍👌

[@markm4033]

Wow that blew my mind! I gotta try this. Dust out my Genesis and give it a go. Cool man!

[@carlocavallo3739]

Absolute insane ability. Congratulations

[@UltimaKeyMaster]

No wonder Wind Waker Link's downstab was so powerful it ended Ganon for good. Tyris showed him how it's done.

[@g-chanthesage79]

Like to point out the credits run almost as long as the speedrun

[@motion_deep]

That was very satisfying to watch! Amazing run!

[@jayganzon8978]

I never finished this game in the arcade. Im glad im seeing this now. Thanks for sharing

[@Winslinator]

Very very nice job, somehow you guys just keep squeezing the seconds out. I couldn't quite figure out which strategies were new but yeah with some lucky campfires there's even more to look forward to

[@DezorianGuy]

Camp fires are the only random factor here right?

[@01garland01]

@@DezorianGuy At a specific range the skeletons will either shoulder barge you are try a down stab. At the end of stage 4 I gamble with a skeleton hoping for a down stab (which paid off this time). The thieves on stage 7 are the biggest rng factor and with a bad pattern can waste a lot of time and kill the run. Fortunately since this run was performed we have discovered the 6-pak genesis cartridge can be used to overcome this (on all stages rng is fixed for the first 30 seconds). There is also some very tight positioning that is effectively rng unless you are a computer. At the start of stage 4 some good luck can get you a triple downstab on the first wave of enemies. At the start of stage 7 both enemies sometimes sprint onstage together and can be downstabbed in one go. Both are extremely rare though.

[@clarkesuperman]

@@01garland01 my cherished 6-pak has more value!! 😆

[@faultysauces]

How do you only have 21 subscribers? You should be in the millions.

[@sylvionovaes5491]

I LOVE THIS OLD GAME 1,2,3 THIS PERFECT IN ALL

[@donkiko6708]

I’m watching this because I’m getting the golden axe arcade :)

[@samuelg3432]

Its on mobile version

[@avalonjustin]

As InTheMug would say, "Everyone goes in the pit!"

[@dq7860]

I never knew Tyris was that powerful.

[@abepcf1526]

I love watching these because it makes me realize as a kid I was complete dogshit at this game and sunk crazy quarters and this guy didn’t even get hit lol

[@SuperMontsta]

Yeah, but playing the arcade, probably didn't get to practice it as much as this dude. I remember having only a couple of tries each time, that's it.

[@01garland01]

This is the mega drive/genesis console port. I lost track of how many tries it took but probably in the thousands. So not really fair to compare to casual attempts in a real arcade, don't put yourself down 🙂

[@fabiendubost284]

Wait... We have the weight of the female villager, the female baddies (except Gruziya) but not Tyris'?

[@Taterzz]

tyris and blaze awakened things in a growing boy

[@ivanivan-fe2pp]

the best story and characters

[@joemullaley6531]

i love that 3 hit combo to do to the elves, lol.

[@felipedeoliveiragomesolive7247]

Amazing player big Record 🇧🇷

[@DicklessHipster]

Yo, wtf! You the real Death Adder.

[@DarkerPhoenix1]

I just did it downstab on the boss After watching you do it an amazingly enough you can kill them with five or six of them

[@pompapa5095]

Great playing

[@GritterTheBuckethead]

After playing the three characters, I wonder if Tyris has ANY weaknesses at all. She seems to have every upside you’d want in this game. I’m not going to complain if the most badass one of the three is the best though.

[@01garland01]

Gilius can be better in some niche situations. His attack+jump rolling attack has a longer range than the spin attack you get with Tyris or Ax. It can hit enemies while they are off screen, but it’s less useful in close quarters. I also prefer the hitbox on his headbutt compared to Tyris‘ flying kick. At the moment Gilius is even the fastest character for beginner difficulty speed runs where current stats don’t use magic. Having said that, I still think Tyris is the strongest character overall by a long way.

[@GritterTheBuckethead]

@@01garland01 I’ll say one thing, both characters are cool. Too bad I can’t say the same to Ax Battler.

[@01garland01]

@@GritterTheBuckethead Ax has no redeeming features haha.

[@incisor78]

I used to finish this game in 10 mins (played over 200 times at least) losing maybe 1 life and I thought I was Boss. This guy makes anyone look like a noob🤣

[@01garland01]

To be fair you were boss. Practising the speed run route makes the game much easier one you get the muscle memory. Doing it without a "script" is way harder so hats off to you.

[@incisor78]

@@01garland01 No way🤣🤣

[@gp.5989]

I used to have a poster of this in my room as a kid.

[@imaca6538]

When you watch your whole childhood fly by in 7 minutes...

[@Tabootrinket]

My brother and I made a point to play this game like pokemon trainers back in the day. I was utterly shocked when they skipped all the mounts.

[@trenthulkinberry7526]

Watching that guy at 1:14 jump off was hilarious

[@DezorianGuy]

07:24 You got the rhythm right old chap.

[@Supergoon1989]

1:28 OMG XD - I literally used to slash at the kids running past as well! Wow so weird to see someone else do it, there's no reason for it, it just naturally came to mind...kinda fucked up now that I think about it, but just a game.

[@01garland01]

If it makes your conscience clearer they are just described as villagers in the credits, and the sprites in the arcade version reveal they are adults. They are just very short. I can't help swiping at them now it's muscle memory.

[@Supergoon1989]

@@01garland01 Same! Any game like this when there are a few dead-second of no action my fidgety-self is always just running around or practising the [>>B] or [B+C] combo. Exactly the same for me - muscle memory!

[@sbash3003]

sick win

[@jcw5288]

Level 6 King has a bug. Wait at the door, when he comes out, quickly jump attack him. If done at the correct position, he will fall offscreen.

[@01garland01]

You are correct, I made a video that shows off the bug but I have not found a setup that it faster than just killing him.

[@webster7222]

This is replacing the definition of precision in the dictionary

[@zeliard79]

You’re an excellent player!

[@truearea53]

What a coincidence, I always choose Tyrus flare. For not only she’s sexy but her magic meter packs a heavy punch.

[@hesss79]

Wow! That was awesome 😄💪