Let's Compare ( Golden Axe )

[@SomeOrangeCat]

The Genesis version was really something back then. Here you had an arcade-to-home conversion that was VERY close to the original, without very much being sacrificed.

[@JCM-x84]

Andrew Vrba And it added even more to the experience :D Although it would have been cool if it had the extra death screams of the enemies, but that's of no consequence

[@SomeOrangeCat]

ragemishima Yup! For what it was, that was about as close to arcade perfect as you could get on an early 16 bit console.

[@Nico-rr5co]

Andrew Vrba Yeah the Genesis/Mega Drive was adapted from the Sega Arcade System 16 to bring home the arcade feel but I'm sure it was mostly to help with home ports of the games too. I can remember getting my new Sega back then and it was mind blowing with my jump from the NES and Atari 400 8-bit I had to something that felt like a super computer to a kid. Good times!

[@jasonlee7816]

Golden Axe Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive wasn't as close to arcade perfect as possible or you could get on an early 16-bit console

[@zaphod77]

@@jasonlee7816 Like other conversions of the day for the system, it seems arcade perfect until you go back and play the arcade. And you realize that plenty of cheese that works in it doesn't work in the arcade. altered beast was even worse.

[@brandon9271]

Man, check out that EPIC C64 music! lol C64 had its own vibe like no other that's for sure! :)

[@ricsim78]

I love Commodore 64's SID music, I would like to hear the whole soundtrack rendered on C64.

[@purrbox7514]

Nothing beats the c64 filter sweep bass sounds, NOTHING! Hook up a c64 to a huge sound system and prepare for EARTH shattering BASS.

[@nawletorre7136]

tal cual ,actualmente lo tengo conectado a un sony gn880 para escuchar sidtunes ;)

[@robertkramer90]

The best version when its about the sound like with Turrican

[@clarenceboddicker6679]

For an 8-bit system the Sega Master System version looks remarkably good.

[@clarenceboddicker6679]

+Mark Kram Yeah the master system music for this game is really horrible and crappy.

[@sonikku1011]

I disagree, it sounds way better than the music from the C64. IMO the C64 has the worst sound track out of all the versions of the game. It sounds shaky, choppy, and some of the notes sound flat. Also they're playing the SMS version in PAL mode, which makes it sound slow and choppy.

[@sonikku1011]

***** Some games make good use out of the SMS sound chip, such as the Sonic games. (Especially Sonic Chaos) Golden Axe really doesn't. I will admit though the noise channel on the drums could be louder.

[@sonikku1011]

***** Yeah Psycho Fox does sound good. I've never played it, only watched people play it here on KZbin. Might have to give it a go soon. But I wish we got the FM chip that was in the Sega Mark III, the Japanese SMS. Phantasy Star sounds amazing on the Japanese console.

[@purrbox7514]

I loved playing golden axe on my master system, i don't think I noticed the choppyness back then as a child. One thing that did stand out was the appealing sound chip on the master system. Such a shame that they didn't give us the FM sound chip. That was a big mistake on Sega's part. The graphics were amazing and had we had that FM sound the master system really would have been a true arcade experience.

[@billyrigney4455]

God bless the little Speccy eh! The magic animations are awesome

[@DatBeastard]

I like that Commodore 64 remix.

I had the ms-dos version in this old times. Well done, good work!!!

[@q2rlz]

C64 music. It has the BASS!

[@suchwowstudios2688]

Prefer the art style on the Megadrive version over the Arcade! The Wanderswan version is seriously good for a handheld tho!

[@SianaGearz]

SuchWowStudios WonderSwan Color has an advantage of being a year 2000 handheld console, the direct rival of which was Gameboy Advance. The latter was obviously much faster than SNES, the former was a lot less powerful than GBA, but still easily more powerful than home consoles released 10 years prior. The NEC V20/V30 series of processors has always surprised me a bit. They managed to create a processor at the same transistor and power budget as Intel 8088 in the late 70ies/early 80ies, 100% compatible but faster, and it evolved into an extremely power-saving embedded processor by the end of 90ies, which is surprising given its original design constraints. Here it looks like scrolling in MegaDrive is a lot smoother than in the Arcade version. Wonder whether that's the case or an artifact of emulation quality?

[@b213videoz]

@@SianaGearz with year 1983 cpu in it

[@DevilMaster]

And the Amiga version has the best music. So, to get the best of both worlds, I made myself a custom version of Sega Classics Arcade Collection that replaces the Golden Axe CD audio tracks with the music from the Amiga version.

[@GamingHistorySource]

Some of these videos are old & need to be updated. a lot of them are missing several versions. Sometimes it's isn't possible to add some versions. :(

[@diegobras]

I really can not believe that the 1982 Zx Spectrum computer had a playable version of Golden Axe. Awesome!

[@wingnut4427]

@dannyofthededd I'll make a note of Forgotten worlds & check it out. I try & do comparisons where there are multiple versions. Thanks for commenting.

[@ArabKatib]

The Genesis/ Mega Drive version is the best port! :-) Nice video!

[@andresvelasco2633]

+Arab Katib Amiga

[@craigcotter7476]

+Andres Velasco no

[@andresvelasco2633]

+craig cotter yes So Craig, from a visual standpoint, which one do you say is best then. I can tell you that from the ones on this video, the closest graphics to the arcade is the Amiga, that said, I have no idea how it plays

[@GamingHistorySource]

Thanks ! Made it a lot easier on me ! It's in the description now. Feel free to do that to other videos. lol

[@wingnut4427]

this is an old video. A lot of My older videos weren't complete. I do intend to remake some of these older videos in the future. Thanks for commenting though. :)

[@dannyofthededd]

@S0ryiu hehe..yeh o course! i kinda forgot about that little detail while i was ranting :)

[@wingnut4427]

Wikipedia definition; Wonderswan was a line of handheld game consoles produced in Japan by Bandai between 1999 and 2003. It was developed by the late Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto and Bandai. The WonderSwan was made to compete with the Neo Geo Pocket Color and the market leader Nintendo's Game Boy Color (even though the developer for the WonderSwan, Gunpei Yokoi, developed the original Nintendo Game Boy). The original WonderSwan was later replaced by the WonderSwan Color;

[@wingnut4427]

part 2 although some WonderSwan Color games are compatible with the original WonderSwan, many are designed exclusively for the WonderSwan Color and show a message such as "This cartridge is for WonderSwan Color only" when run on the original WonderSwan. The WonderSwan are playable both vertically and horizontally, and feature a fairly large library of games, including numerous first-party titles based on licensed anime properties, with significant third-party support from Square and Capcom.

[@Abrimaal]

Atari ST is 9:27 I think Arcade version should be shown as the last, it is usually the best and watching the 8bit versions right after this show them in very bad light, and the gameplay is often very good on 8bits.

[@BenjyDale]

Another great "let's compare" video, thanks :-) I didn't know that this game got ported to 8-bit systems, but the Speccy seemed to have handled it quite well. Never heard of the Wonder Swan before.

[@VenomKing5000]

A lot of you are hating on the graphics and audio; but, if you look at the timeframe of when these games came out, it was very steller for first time/early gamers.

[@MrNotgonnatellya]

Thats what i been knowing a long time! I thought i was the only one. Yes it appears they ripped the screams and wailing from those movies. Pretty brilliant idea.

[@loneshewolf74]

I used to play this on Sega Genesis with my cousins and my brother as a kid. The turtle village was pretty cool but I used to wonder if the turtle ever dived completely underwater and drowned everyone on it. Maybe he stayed on the surface to "protect" the villagers? :)

[@wingnut4427]

I'm going to be remaking some of these older videos soon. Hang tight ;)

[@stufaman]

I do have to credit the SMS version. Considering it's power, it did an awesome conversion.

[@wingnut4427]

That's very true ! Considering hardware limitations. Memory, Processing, load times, and disk capacity. Some versions were very well done.

[@TeeDohJackson]

1. Arcade 00:18 2. ZX Spectrum 01:48 3. Commodore 64 03:21 4. PC Engine CD 04:54 5. Sega Master System 06:24 6. Wonder Swan 07:56 7. Atari ST 08:27 8. Amiga 10:59 9. Sega Genesis - Mega Drive 12:39 You're Welcome!!

[@clerwer]

Podría decirte que si, aunque la verdad es que no he escuchado mucho la de esa versión, pero me ha impresionado tanto como la de Commodore 64 y PC Engine CD.

[@philrangersfootball]

Which of the home versions had 2 player co-op?

[@andyukmonkey]

The Atari st version doesn't start until 9:28

[@wingnut4427]

That's very true & is noteworthy ! I appreciate You sharing that. Indeed it is true but another thing to consider is the fact that game company's didn't invest as much money into a project like they do now. Now a development can rival a block buster movie. Secondly the developers were often times treated shitty by the company they worked for & were under insane deadlines to get a game finished before the Christmas deadline & often times the games & customers suffered greatly for it.

[@wingnut4427]

I really need to remake this video.

[@lehiboo]

Genesis rules.

[@ArabKatib]

***** Yup! :^)

[@WellBeSerious12]

With that atrocious audio. Atari wins.

[@Toggle64]

The Commodore 64 version is not even half as good as it should have been but it surely has the best music by far.

[@DigitalHaze65536]

The arcade version is available on Playstation store and Xbox live! (PS3 and Xbox 360...don't have the newer ones so I don't know about them, but I doubt they have it.)

[@dannyofthededd]

@wingnut4427 that's great.Thanks for the vid! I love to see the different hardware contrasts/interpritations from back in the days when the popular arcade games had a big influence on the the home computer/console trends.I am pretty sure Forgotten Worlds had lots of different home releases.It was also one of those interesting 're-programmed by Sega' capcom games that some might argue were better than Sega's ports of their own Games to the Megadrive.: cheers anyway :)

[@dark1ankh]

I wish there was a MSX version. It could easily have been the best 8 bit conversion, wiping the floor with the spectrum version !

[@corgan59]

yes tx you, i saw it on wikipedia. nice console

[@figment1988]

i always was partial to the Arcade version since it had the voice samples from both Conan the Destroyer and of course First Blood.

[@infantiltinferno]

DAT C64 SOUNDTRACK

[@brazilmugenteam]

Indeed! What a nice fat synth tone.

[@stringanime]

Although it ain't right, there's something awesome about the sprite of Gilius for the Amiga that's awesome.

[@wingnut4427]

part 3 As it was a console designed essentially for the Japanese market, most of the games are in Japanese, with only a few featuring English text.

[@chameleonquest]

I'm clicking through all these videos just to see the ZX Spectrum version of everything. I never heard of this platform. It looks crazy, lol.

[@jonclay1]

It had it's moment, check out Chase HQ :-)

[@Ba1k3n]

I'm sure I'll get ripped to shreds for this but to me the Sega Genesis version is the best, only one I played, love how the music was and overall control was very tight

[@parallaxcraze958]

The Mega Drive port is notoriously great and considered by some to be even better than the arcade original so only an idiot would blame you for liking it ;)

[@wingnut4427]

@cosmic25sheep it was extremely limited in it's capabilities. This is very common with ancient systems like this. :)

[@cosmic25sheep]

Could the C64 game only manage one enemy sprite on screen at a time?

[@stringanime]

Although it ain't right, there's something awesome about the sprite of Gilius for the Amiga that's awesome. 11:00

[@Imgema]

are the frame rates of PC Engine and ST really that bad or is it the video? I know the arcade version is smoother ofc.

[@trustobey1016]

I heard those death cries in First Blood and another one in Conan the barbarian

[@peloquin1979]

@htdmc2010 I've played the Atari ST version, and it runs a lot smoother than it is suggested here on this vid.

[@NickBFTD]

The wonderswan version looks good but is annoying as the music keeps cutting out in order to play the sound effects.

[@1goshortplay]

Awesome achievement on the Spectrum, this. Was less than impressed with the C64 version though. My fave is definitely the Mega Drive version with its extra content. The Amiga had a really good port too though.

[@wingnut4427]

wasn't any weirder than the giant turtle that flew around in space on Disk World. ^_^

[@johnnyxsi]

Wonder swan was a cool handheld, didn't think it could handle a game like this

[@mdjcsmith]

Wonderswan version looks quite difficult.

[@vau0807]

Oh man, I rofl'd at the ZX Spectrum version. The dwarf looks like a bipedal insect carrying a big cheese wedge.

[@amigakidful]

Amiga has my vote. Close second is PC engine, although not as smooth and Atari ST is very jumpy. The Spectrum looks like it is hard (bad collision detection)

[@roartjrhom4932]

Mine too! :-D :-D

[@rennmaxbeta]

Looks like the dwarf is fighting a guy with pink pompoms in the Spectrum version, lol

[@SecondControlgamestutoriais]

Muito bom o video, parabéns!

[@sandman5214]

One of my all-time fave games. A lot of the comments here focus on Megadrive vs Amiga. Having played both, my opinion is that the Amiga version follows the arcade version the closest in terms of design -- the enemies all turn to stone when defeated, it has the same number of stages etc.. it even has the 'dark' skeletons that appear whenever a player stays idle too long, and the much superior ending sequence of the coin op. Megadrive has far more content however, much better sound & (arguably) better graphics. Both are fantastic conversions and it really depends on which way you want to call it. The Wonderswan version looks fantastic for a handheld, btw.

[@Jutrzen]

Never had Mega Drive beter sound than the Amiga. Besides this spot on.

[@andyukmonkey]

Never? on any game? Dunno about that.

[@brazilmugenteam]

Wordernswan version is very good. It even has some extra animations.

[@lbrdar16]

wheres the Amstrad CPC version which is also a good version?

[@NightSprinter]

Also, as someone that owns the original floppies, it's annoying for the DOS version due to requiring the instructions for anti-piracy. You weren't really missing much from the Genesis/MegaDrive version aside from 256-colour VGA graphics. The controls were rather bad, due to the analog joysticks.

[@carolafelicio87]

ZX Spectrum the brave! Though small was not afraid to tackle the big ones... and sometimes even won the fight! but ...not this time!! The winner is Sega Master System!!

[@carolafelicio87]

+DejaVoodooDoll : You're right dude! Beauty isn't all!!

[@MetalSonicodraco7342]

Its brave when the progammers were not the tiertex!

[@alkenstein]

The MSDOS version was 99% arcade perfect! VGA 256 colour graphics, adlib fm music and soundblaster sampled sound, the best home port out of this bunch. Some of these recordings are very choppy though, the arcade version should be completely smooth

[@alkenstein]

***** Eh? MSDOS was official licenced conversion, released in 1989! www.mobygames.com/game/dos/golden-axe/cover-art/gameCoverId,63163/ www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,19696/ To be fair the two versions look very very similar: www.mobygames.com/game/dos/golden-axe/screenshots www.mobygames.com/game/genesis/golden-axe/screenshots

[@SianaGearz]

alkenstein The DOS version is an extremely good game, but it's not faithful to the arcade in gameplay details - the dragons are overpowered, etc. Still it should have been included in this comparison.

[@alkenstein]

Siana Gearz Good point :-)

[@tbone2646]

I don't think any other version was really accurate to the arcade though. At least the DOS one looked good.

[@HECROD48]

7. Atari ST is at 9:27, not 8:27 ;)

[@DGneoseeker1]

How odd. The Golden Axe is apparently used by Death Adder, but in most versions of this the dwarf has one too. Not on the Wonderswan though...

[@Miesiu]

For Atari ST index is 9:27 - please correct. The game for Atari ST is extremally wrong !!! Developers [...xyz@@@zyx...] the game. This game doesn't require fast screen moving but looks like any crap.

[@davarosmith1334]

The Spectrum version is pretty good better than the c64. The master system is great for a 8 bit machine. I had the Mega Drive version when it was out! I loved it as a two player. I played both the c64 and Spectrum version's. The Spectrum was surprisingly fast , and colourful. While the c64 had music it was easier with hardly any folk to fight at one time. I also played the master system version and it is great. Anyway this is a good video!

[@jazzygeofferz]

It sounds epic.

[@wingnut4427]

The master system only gives You one character to play with. So to compensate for this short coming they gave You a choice of magic instead.

[@Danielhyam1]

Arcade Version was more visually pleasing but the Sega Genesis version had 2 extra stages and seemed harder.

[@wickywoo1635]

Ohhhh Godd! it hurts!

[@chrispacheco8590]

This is a game I always hated home ports of they could never get it exactly right...the Genesis version was perhaps the closest to it but still lacked a bit as far as visuals were concerned, thank goodness for MAME...

[@JudgmentStorm]

Arcade has the best graphics and audio of course. Mega Drive plays a bit better because of more responsive control. MD doesn't have the re-kill though... after you kill an enemy and hear their death cry, the arcade one lets you immediately use magic to re-kill them for extra points. This really pays if you do it to a boss. Maybe Sega considered it a bug and felt it needed "fixed", but I'd rather have had it stay in.

[@MyBrainIsPrettier]

02:00: ...he only wanted to give you some flowers...

[@Bu33ab3]

The Genesis/Mega Drive version rule them all

[@Themaniacnextdoor]

what is wonder swan?

[@clashJoze]

I always liked the arcade most

[@Novabug]

No Amstrad cpc version?

[@GamingHistorySource]

This is an old video. I missed a lot of stuff in the older stuff.

[@Novabug]

Fair play mate. Good vid anyhow. :)

[@cLaRkDamn]

what is the google?

[@andyukmonkey]

Sega really weren't bothered about their games being exclusive to their own consoles. If it was easier to get a license from Nintendo they'd probably have converted this to the Nes too.

[@EuricDinkins]

Why does the Barbarian use Fire Power on the Master system???? he was suppose to have rock power???

[@ItaloDiscogs]

the spectrum version is a nightmare

[@Delta225]

Best graphics: Arcade Best music: C64

[@dannyofthededd]

why are peeps mentioning the snes..as far as i'm aware it never got a version as people weren't really still playing golden axe by then..can't people just see both megadrive and snes for how individual they were..good grief,go buy one of each and enjoy em..they're only about twenty quid each these days :/ I remember thinking the MD version was just like the arcade when i was a kid but my imagination filled in all the gaps back then! have you compared forgotten worlds yet?

[@stufaman]

The master system version was surprisingly good.

[@Tamis1991]

Atari ST version is at 09:27,not 08:27

[@trustobey1016]

I think it's a cool idea too

[@MetalSonicodraco7342]

The PC ENGINE CD, SEGA MASTER SYSTEM, BANDAI WONDERSWAN COLOR, AMIGA & SEGA GENESIS / SEGA MEGA DRIVE VERSION'S Are ''Perfect Translation of Arcade Version (Q=10)'' The ATARI-ST VERSION Are ''Great, but the Music Volume are too down (Q=9)'' The ZX SPECTRUM VERSION Are ''Have SFX but no Music (Q=7)'' The COMMODORE 64 VERSION Are ''Have Music but no SFX (Q=7)''

[@exitplanetduster]

Atari ST version starts at 9.27, not 8.27

[@The90sGamingGuy]

I use to think the Genesis port of this game was the best until playing it on MAME.

[@a2n59]

La version arcade est très bien , j'aime les différentes voix des personnages, j' ai connu ce jeu sur Atari st , jai ce jeu sur mega drive ,mais je suis surpris par la version arcade , la version Commodore a une bonne musique

[@Bloodlyshiva]

Hmm? I owned the ST version. And I never saw that disk symbol once. ????

[@corgan59]

what is "wonder swan" plz?

[@TheTurnipKing]

It's a shame that they decided to try and include colour instead of just going with monochrome. The Spectrum version really should have looked like Master System version in black and white.

[@giannisfousekis7306]

great game !!!!!!!

[@demonsty]

why do all except genesis version have choppy scrolling!? i thought only master system ver was like that! even the arcade had choppy scrolling wtf!

[@htdmc2010]

Wow didn thought the Atari ST version would look so awful. Also i heard on a sega Compilation for MCD there is a unique Golden Axe version with new Voice overs. Other than that the SMS, MD and Arcade Versions are good though the SMS Version is different as far as i remember it [I played that game as a kid]

[@LuisLevy]

C64 version sounds epic.