Golden Axe - Versions Comparison (Plus all character's magic attacks) (HD 60 FPS)

Comparison video of Golden Axe / ゴールデンアックス (Sega 1989) featuring gameplay of the first level and all character's magic attacks of the following versions:
0:00 Arcade (1989)
2:02 Sega Master System / SMS (1989)
4:25 Sega Genesis / Megadrive (1989)
6:58 Amiga (1990)
10:39 Atari ST (1990)
15:28 PC DOS (1990)
18:41 TurboGrafx-CD / PC Engine CD (1990)
20:45 Commodore 64 / C64 (1990)
27:09 Amstrad CPC (1990)
30:29 ZX Spectrum (1990)
34:14 Sega CD / Mega CD (1992)
36:31 Dreamcast (2001)
39:19 WonderSwan Color (2002)
41:41 Game Boy Advance / GBA (2002)
43:50 PlayStation 2 / PS2 (2003)
50:21 Xbox 360 (2007)
52:47 J2ME / Java Mobile (2007)
🌋⚡🔥 Check out all magics of every version: • All Magics of Every Go...
Decide which are the all-time best Arcade beat 'em ups:
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NOTE: Although Dreamcast version is an emulation of Genesis port, we have included it because it was full of issues, specifically with the sound.
Regarding Xbox 360 version, has been included as well because it's an arcade emulation with some optional enhancements, like an smoothing filter and enhanced sound.
Which version is your favorite? If you liked the video give us a like, comment and subscribe, and don't forget to click the bell icon to receive new updates.

[@retrosutra]

🌋⚡🔥 Check out all magics of every Golden Axe version: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5ncYXuXdqaGiZo

[@steuph1976]

The Master System version was crazy. I recently realized there's no sprite in this , everything is drawn with tiles, and it still plays like Golden Axe, just like Altered Beast I still really enjoyed playing this game before I got a Megadrive.

[@EuMesmoVII]

So that's because this game and "Beast" are so choppy? The characters transfer themselves into the nearest tiles? How strange... Is it supposed to prevent the game from slowing down?

[@steuph1976]

@@EuMesmoVII On Altered Beast, the main character is tiles, and the enemies are sprites. On Golden Axe, EVERYTHING is tiles, if you turn off the tiles layer in an emulator that allows you to do this like good old Meka, all that's left on the screen is the life and magic bar, which are drawn as sprites. :)

[@rodrigoalves-cg6xv]

@@EuMesmoVII I think it's because the characters are too big. But that's just a guess.

[@juliaboguslawska4794]

Ye they did this because the characters are too big but the downside of doing evrything using backgrond tiles is the massive amounts of choppyness.

[@FinancialHealth-ku1ry]

Someone xplain what 'tiles' are ?

[@golligato791]

the sega genesis version was a very good port, it even featured an extra stage with a harder boss called death bringer and a duel mode

[@EuMesmoVII]

The PC-DOS followed the Genesis/Mega steps. However, for some reason, they chose to not feature the fireballs and Lightning bolts of Death-Adder, Death-Adder Jr. (the final enemy at the "practice" mode) and Death Bringer.

[@Grzegorz54321]

Arcade, Sega CD, Sega Genesis are the best.

[@luisreyes1963]

The SEGA CD version has comical sounding death yells from enemies. 😅

[@darkfalzx]

@@luisreyes1963 Less a death scream, more stubbed their toe on the bed post.

[@Leandronery10]

Agree

[@JordetheArtist]

Did you see the xbox360?? It looks nearly arcade perfect and only sounds a little off

[@BradleyQuerruel]

@@JordetheArtist nope the graphics filter over the top of it just ruins its look.

[@f3rns]

I’m loving this kind of videos. Man if I had more money as a kid I would love to have every Golden axe, Golden Axe 2 and Golden Axe 3 version.

[@stoltobot]

C64 ver is surprisingly respectable, especially the music

[@balorduomo]

played the hell out if it. It was a great achievement being able to complete it.BTW in the video the colours seem quite off. Probably a problem with emulator settings

[@JordetheArtist]

Yes c64 actually has a very good rep for epic tunes. It really does rock hard.

[@JordetheArtist]

I really appreciate that the c64 has the season changes. This is a major factor in the arcade experience and missing from many versions

[@dakentaijutsu2010]

Love this, ya know? As someone who grew up playing the sega genesis version, I never played the arcade version, I never even knew there was an arcade version of Golden axe, still you learn something new everyday!

[@AgeofReason]

That's really cool, man. You're the second person who I heard say they never knew about the arcade version.

[@theselfproclaimedretrogame9383]

huh???

[@dakentaijutsu2010]

@@theselfproclaimedretrogame9383 what do you mean huh?

[@iiizeroiii1636]

Thanks for making this! This must have been a ton of work! That last port is wild!

[@glenaitken3471]

My fave game on my Amiga as a kid. Awesome port.

[@Yukatoshi]

If only all Amiga ports were at least trying lol

[@raid1946]

The music for PC-Engine CD kicks ass!!

[@luisreyes1963]

Too bad the graphics are an eyesore, Telenet Japan wasted their resources on the anime-style cutscenes while failing to improve the game itself.

[@JordetheArtist]

Dude seriously wow!! The C64 version ROCKS . I love that gritty illustration style and that music is badass. I would have been thrilled to have got that version for my c64. It has this epic 80s vibe. Very impressed. They even have the season changes which the genesis does not and all three characters to choose from. The sprites and big and detailed. The magic effects are intense. Great job c64!

[@JordetheArtist]

Listen at 22:10 to hear an especially epic part....

[@sheppeyfishtales]

I had it on c64 😎👌

[@peterwright6721]

Megadrive for me.

[@darkfalzx]

The very first version I ever played was the MS-DOS one, and to this day I think it was surprisingly decent. I think the art in it was based on the Mega Drive release, though it was certainly missing some bells and whistles. The game also tended to slow down a lot on my 286, and didn't bother loading certain enemy types if it couldn't find enough memory. Of the 16-bit iterations, the Amiga one looks the most unique, as if it was created from scratch, using none of the original assets. A rare case when the team took the base game and loosely remade it, playing to hardware's strengths, and dodging its weaknesses! Also, OMG! What the hell is wrong with the TG-CD version! I remember some janky Sega ports to TG-16, but this is the jankiest by far!

[@Deimos_Fresh]

I have Sega CD version of this game. It's really good and smooth, but I don't understand why it was made singleplayer only? Streets of Rage on very same CD have multiplayer...

[@mattm7798]

Little surprised the sega cd wasnt an arcade perfect port.

[@jmtrad1906]

Golden axe was made eary in genesis lifespan. Until the time the sega cd was released they had plenty of experience to take more from the machine.

[@mattm7798]

@Lagartão Lizard Not sure that's true. There are quite a few games that even getting away from the FMV apsect, could not be done on the genesis alone without the sega cd. Joe Montana football comes to mind.

[@Deimos_Fresh]

@Lagartão Lizard They might be the same graphically, but CD version plays much smoother.

[@JuntosXlaLibertadMileyBuIIrich]

@@Deimos_Fresh Spiderman vs the Kingping for mega CD improves a lot the graphics over the megadrive version

[@ninguemconfia7544]

rest in peace Alex you were one of the least appeared characters in the series

[@franikator2]

The C64 soundtrack is SO EPIC, SUPERB!!

[@Soulintent95]

Wow, wonderswan and amiga are impressive. Had no clue it was on either of the 2. I used to play this game at the dentist believe it or not. In the waiting room he had a mini arcade, and there was a mature room with a curtain that had this and a few other games. Id always sneak in and watch until one day my mom let me play with my brother. Now i own the genesis version and i play it a lot. Probably my all time favorite arcade game.

[@grindhousefan80]

I really like these videos, well done

[@MrFredson91]

I think it’s absolutely insane we didn’t get a remastered version of the PS2 version on modern day consoles

[@PalloneWafer]

Wilderness: my phone ring since 2007

[@CL-Filmz]

Dreamcast be like; "We're more than capable of an arcade perfect, but lets make dog shit instead"

[@TornacenseDeFuturo]

My favorite game in the 90s

[@baseballsoffury642]

The Dreamcast should have sounded better than that...

[@retrosutra]

It sounds that bad, sega smash pack featured an horrible emulation on many Genesis titles, there's a lot of sound issues

[@baseballsoffury642]

retrosutra Oh I believe it. I am just disappointed because the Dreamcast usually has good sound quality at least in my mind

[@iwanttocomplain]

Ah the Smash Pack. This was hacked for the Obsidian emulator which is why the sound is so bad on that emulator.

[@dtester]

@@retrosutra omg, I didn't realize it was that bad

[@retrosutra]

@@baseballsoffury642 Indeed, this mess is because smash pack was entirely based on emulation, was not a native development. Dreamcast had good audio quality in most of its games

[@piratesephiroth]

what the heck happened to the Dreamcast's audio

[@luisreyes1963]

A poor emulation of the Genesis game.

[@Cool-Spot]

Is it weird I really like the TurboGrafx CD versions music? I know it's different from the arcade but it has its own style.

[@ameriscm7351]

the zx spectrum got competent port actually

[@Halbared]

I had the Megadrive version. Loved it.

[@fernandocollazo8705]

Back in the day I played the Amiga version to death... But I prefer the Megadrive one

[@segaking5846]

I specifically remember the genesis version i played it only a few times on a plug n play atgames genesis when i was young (even tho i was born in 2004)

[@h.junior2692]

Conheci no master system. Adorava esse jogo.

[@leap123_]

I had no idea Atari ST version of Golden Axe is different than the Amiga version, I thought Amiga version of Golden Axe would be the direct port of Atari ST one but it turned out it's actually not! Since many games in Amiga were direct port from Atari ST.

[@daishi5571]

By 1990 developers had started to enhance Amiga ports on a more regular basis. If you take a look at the sprites they are the same then retouched for the palette. The background got the biggest change (other than the obvious sound) due to the Amiga having a larger scroll area. My would say it was primary ST, with an enhanced Amiga port that included a good graphical overall with the background, scrolling, palette change and larger playfield. It's nice to see a port that got some attention.

[@MichalBergseth-AmitopiaTV]

I like the music on the Amiga version

[@mushroomhead3619]

Lol the enemies in the 89 version use sound effects from Conan the barbarian and Rambo!

[@luisreyes1963]

As I suspected, the Commodore 64 & ZX Spectrum versions of Golden Axe are inferior & the PC Engine CD version was equally bad. The only ones that were good are the SEGA Genesis, SEGA CD & PC DOS versions.

[@EuMesmoVII]

But you at least have to give some credit to PC Engine's and C64's music!

[@danielt.8573]

Arcade and Mega Drive versions are the best.

[@christopherlock4703]

pc dos or genisis version

[@bigalejoshileno]

PC DOS pushes hard the limits of the VGA display. Perhaps is a non-protected mode game, thus a little more on the latency side.

[@retrogameroom9019]

Yes yes yes.....I speedran them all back to back....what a rush of nostalgia

[@demonsty]

you do good work sir

[@dbpaperclip]

Wow I never knew there were MS DOS and ZX Spectrum ports! And thanks for reminding me how horrible that PS2 remake looked!

[@systemchris]

The pc dos people should have done more dos games to this standard for sure, it's actually a good port unlike many sega to dos games

[@pololangg]

Played this on Amiga for hours wondering why the warrior was fighting wearing speedos

[@AgeofReason]

Ahhhhhahahgagggghahhahahahhahahahhahaa

[@stevenspx6226]

Had it on master system then amiga got it recently on mega drive classic for my Xbox x

[@RUTHAN667]

Does have any other than PC version 8 levels + Duel mode? If not PC version is best one..

[@mrnicktoyou]

Not a single version is as good as the arcade original. The Dreamcast version appears to be a port of the Genesis but with worse sound, and the X360 is the arcade version but with a weird smoothing filter which makes it look worse. In the end, the Genesis version is probably the best, especially for its time.

[@REALMARCHINADER]

You can turn off filters in the xbox 360 version

[@retrosutra]

Yes, actually filter is off by default, but I've turned It on for the video to show the differences with the arcade version. Also, enhanced sound is on as well

[@soylentgreenb]

Is MAME on a CRT a "port"?

[@eddu2397]

who made the atari sound chip ... how bad it is?

[@AgeofReason]

Motorola?

[@EuMesmoVII]

It's not bad for me... Not as good as the 16-bit systems, but still enjoyable!

[@DigiSpaceProductions]

Question: How did they fuck up the dreamcast port

[@JudgmentStorm]

Arcade and Xbox 360 are best. Master System's version is surprisingly good, even if the characters are all made of tiles. You can only play as Ax Battler (renamed Tarik for some reason) but all 3 magics are available. The PC Engine version is a total loss.

[@chrism2027]

It's great to see the different versions. It's a great hack and slayer on the Megadrive. I still love it very much today. GRade the 2 and 3 part too. I only have it on various Sega gaming collections for different systems, but on PS 2, PS3, or even switch I also play it every now and then.

[@JordetheArtist]

The xbox360 looks nearly arcade perfect but the sound effects seem a bit off?

[@hayleywaalen2612]

Commodore 64 version sounds like the Mine Kart stage in Donkey Kong Country.

[@tanzimi5518]

Megadrive is no doubt the best version

[@jimkrom]

That would be the arcade version, then megadrive OR gba (yeah less screen real estate, but better sound and more faithful gfx than the MD)

[@silvervalleystudios2486]

Its on every Megadrive/Genesis classic collection disc. I have the Amiga version, PS3 Mega Drive Collection, PS4 Megadrive collection, its also a built in game on my AT Games Megadrive clone.

[@JordetheArtist]

Listen at 22:10 to hear an especially epic part....

[@-neurasthenie-]

All things considered, Commodore and TurboGrafx have kick ass soundtracks Dreamcast what happun? Xbox360 what happun? And OMG THIS IS THE VERY FIRST TIME I'M SEEING THE PS2 GAME

[@steventotsrusselldj.]

The music and sound on the dreamcast version is terrible ??

[@luisreyes1963]

A bad emulation of the Genesis version.

[@MrBenjenko]

I had remembered the MegaDrive version being a closer clone to the arcade!

[@ameriscm7351]

the music on the turbografx sounds like "semi-midi" to me

[@AndrewSouzaGames555]

30:40 Scary

[@hazyincolour]

the PS2 version is astonishing

[@scififantasyfanatic6536]

👍👍🧡

[@donfalcone7560]

There is nothing worse than the Сomodor-64 version. Only one opponent per screen, lol. Even on the Spectrum there are 2 of them, despite the fact that the Сomodor is more powerful than the Spectrum.

[@wyomaddoxgarcia464]

Is the music good though Yes

[@saturn1returns]

The best attack dragon was the blue one that shot fire balls out at the enemies.

[@Maxyrivero6074]

Porque la versión de Dreamcast suena tan mal??

[@stolz_ar]

The Turbografx-CD version looks like it's running on a roided up Master System.

[@darkfalzx]

I thought the Master System version looked way better than the TG-CD disaster. That system was capable of so much more, but somehow got one of the jankiest ports.

[@javaykirk2688]

It is by far the worst version of the game. Completely unplayable.

[@aulaals]

Arcade ,Sega CD, Genesis, Xbox

[@iwanttocomplain]

I think the Sega Ages PS2 version looks quite good really.

[@luisreyes1963]

Like many SEGA AGES games for the PS2, they were never released outside Japan.

[@EduardoSilva-ze8tp]

Excelente vídeos de comparações, like e um novo inscrito

[@ICHa-be9wf]

C64 bgm is good

[@ryzmaker11]

Sega's legendary take on Conan the Barbarian, an arcade classic and one of the most ported games in gaming history! My personal ranking about the versions that I know the most: 1° arcade 2° Mega Drive (great port for the time (1989, same year as the arcade) that comes with some nice extras: a new level, a true last boss, 1 new music, a versus mode...) 3° WonderSwan Color (a surprisingly good version. It has everything: all 3 playable characters, 2 player option and even the extras from the Mega Drive version! An excellent way to play this game on the go which puts to shame the awful GBA version) 4° Mega-CD (was included in the compilation "Sega Classics Arcade Collection". a good version except that it's single player only which is a shame given that Final Fight CD allows for 2 players...) 5° Amiga (quite good port and impressive for the system (it's the most impressive Amiga beat 'em up) but it has average frame rate and lacks many music (including my favorite, "Turtle Village 1")) 6° MS-DOS (bad frame rate and bad sound but has the extras from the Mega Drive version) 7° Atari ST (quite good considering the ST's release date and retail price) 8° Master System (a nice version for a 3rd generation ("8-bit") system but very choppy and lacks 2 playable characters) 9° GBA (tiny resolution, awful sound, lacks many music... it's bad but not even the worst...) 10° PC Engine CD (adds some decent cutscenes but otherwise awful version limited to single player, with crappy gameplay, poor visuals and sound FX so bad it's hilarious... BUT, even though this version could have fared better than how it turned out, the PC Engine hardware is still quite limited to handle heavy/complex games such as beat 'em ups or run 'n guns) And then there are the 8-bit computer versions (ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC) which seem pretty... decent? Well, anyway, it would be interesting if someone (maybe even Sega themselves?) would release a new Mega Drive port using a larger memory cart (16 or 24 meg) to make a closer port but still with all the extras from the already existing Mega Drive version. I'm sure many people would love that :)

[@ryzmaker11]

@Veit Zeret Eh. Well, seems that you have good taste in games and girls :P

[@cristianmastrocicco4552]

A 24Mbit 32X version would've been amazing

[@CountryBallOfficial2024]

My Favorite Is GBA And Arcade And Sega Genesis

[@The90sGamingGuy]

I played the arcade version of Golden Axe back in about 1993 or 1995 on a PC a few times. Since then i've only played the Genesis version and that is very close to the arcade version. Would be cool if Sega rleeased the arcade version on Steam and for modern gaming consoles, i think it would sell well.

[@FabioAlmeidaMelo]

A versão do Xbox 360 é fiel ao do Arcade, porém com filtro aplicado nas texturas dos pixels.

[@krissymarklewis1793]

Amiga is my fave, nicer than the arcade game with better colours and music.

[@cimbrelus]

Como me alegro de haber descubierto este canal.Aunque esto de las comparaciones de versiones no es nuevo me encanta como lo haces

[@retrosutra]

Muchas gracias, @Datech. Comentarios como éste nos animan a seguir con este proyecto con aún más ganas.

[@cimbrelus]

@@retrosutra ¡Un placer!¿Sabías como curiosidad que algunos de los sonidos de los enemigos en el juego fueron extraídos de películas como Rambo first blood y Conan?

[@giansa6818]

@@cimbrelusun dato que no muchos sabían

[@retrosutra]

@@cimbrelus pues no tenía ni idea. Un dato muy interesante, gracias.

[@h.junior2692]

Na versão do amiga uns pivete de 2020 passa correndo.kkk

[@michel462]

Inacreditável o que fizeram com a versão do dreamcast. A versão do ps2 perdeu completamente a essência do que é golden axe. A que mais me agrada é a do genesis.

[@AndrewSouzaGames555]

Genesis

[@RolyWestYT]

Why the hell did the dreamcast one sound so bad!

[@djcuebass7559]

I had sega version

[@psovegeta]

Poor Alex can't catch a break

[@McClane47]

Sublime! Qué subidón de suscriptores, buen trabajo!

[@retrosutra]

Muchas gracias, @McClane-47 por estar durante todo este tiempo por aquí.

[@davidresmond4332]

the best music is the megadrive music

[@vincentim8800]

dreamcast sounds version are a shame !

[@luisreyes1963]

Blame poor emulation.

[@jasonlee7816]

Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive emulation

[@sonicphoenix7]

choong

[@jaycee1980]

It would be nice to see an Amiga version that made full use of the machine, rather than a quick Atari port constrained by only 512K of RAM

[@cristianmastrocicco4552]

I wish there was a port for Amiga 1200

[@leighbyford635]

Wasn’t the Amiga 512k? Was it a bad business decision to make a game that required 1mb back then? Would that have alienated a portion of your market?

[@jaycee1980]

@@leighbyford635 The A500 was 512K stock but by the 1990s a lot of people wouldve added an expansion. The A500+ shipped with 1MB.

[@najhydro]

Wonderswarm Color does have some potenial.

[@baalfgames5318]

In spite of the animation looking a little clunky, it's arguably the most playable of the non Sega console versions.

[@scottbreon9448]

WonderSWAN not WonderSWARM

[@najhydro]

@@scottbreon9448 oh

[@xonox_868]

wtf is going on with the dreamcast

[@Artur-vh3nk]

The C64 version looks awful. One opponent at a time.

[@wyomaddoxgarcia464]

But at least the music is catchy

[@nasanchez964]

The music sounds great. So 8 bit.

[@nomdplume1606]

Yeah, I'd play that version just for the music.

[@scottbreon9448]

Pretty much all the 8-bit computer versions were crap. The C64 version may have looked awful, but at least it had proper scrolling unlike the CPC which had to rely on flick scrolling in every game.

[@trocoloco]

@@scottbreon9448 yet CPC gameplay is far better than c64

[@stephandolby]

The Mega Drive version was rather special for a launch title. Sure, some palette tweaks, fixing the sound engine to prevent pausing to play samples, one or two more death samples etc. would've added some polish, but it looked good and played excellently. The Mega CD version, however... would it have hurt to use the original samples? There was also no attempt to use the hardware sprite scaling for the magic attacks - it could've been a nice showcase for the hardware.

[@DDRUTOU]

Ok, why didn't the Sega CD use the music from the Turbo Graphx CD? And what the heck is up with the Dreamcast version???

[@daneast]

I didn't realize the Amiga version was that inferior to the arcade. The parallax scrolling would have been very easy for the Amiga to handle, so that was just corner-cutting by the devs. The lower-quality graphics were surely to get the game to fit onto a single floppy.

[@CalaTec]

So guys, what's the version to go for???

[@isaias4016]

Yo le di mucha caña en spectrum y megadrive. Las peores las de turbografxt cd,commodore 64 y ps2.

[@elrote1980]

La de turbografx cd me dicen que es un port a atari 2600 y casi que me lo creeria, esos sonidos y esos graficos......duelen. se podria haber aprovechado mucho mas la maquina y hacer la conversion mas potente de todas.

[@zachgaskins3731]

Only the arcade and XBox 360 version (which I suspect is just run under emulation) have the original clips of David Caruso getting shivved and that one dude falling out of the helicopter kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6a4c6amZtCdeNU

[@JB.zero.zero.1]

Enough adverts?

[@andrewpattie3528]

How come the Master System version got a jump animation for the bird beast and not MD?

[@slickrichelicopter8977]

Arcade kill = AGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!! Saga CD kill = ow...🤣

[@VenomSk8]

genial

[@diusgxbasico7509]

Puedes hacer de todas las versiones de earthworm jim

[@ravelinoadityaa.k.amasamun7721]

Space Invader? Or Other's?

[@uriituw]

Other’s what?

[@ravelinoadityaa.k.amasamun7721]

@@uriituw If He's Do Space Invader or Other's Like Ghost and Goblin's

[@uriituw]

Ravelino Aditya a.k.a Masamune Ray Other’s what?

[@ravelinoadityaa.k.amasamun7721]

@@uriituw Basically Other Arcade Port

[@Mortalcastor]

Cuanta paciencia para hacer ese video, en especial por el de PS2 :(