Golden Axe is one of those titles that Sega had exclusively and did almost nothing to advertise it. During a time when Sega needed every bit of help, they could get, they constantly shot themselves in the foot. I barely remember one single ad for Golden Axe II, certainly none that mentioned Golden Axe was available for the Sega Master System (SMS).
Fans have taken that version and updated the graphics and changed a bit of the characters around. For the better or not is up to you to decide.
Brawlers was a genre Nintendo did not bother attempting until their Nintendo 64 with Super Smash Bros. Even then, it’s a different style brawler, more akin to Street Fighter II than Final Fight.
Sega was almost exclusively alone in this genre.
Golden Axe was a pretty good entry in the genre too. While I felt the controls were a bit stiff, something the sequel fixed quite well, there are still many fans of the original. It is hard to deny the allure of this franchise though – fantasy beat em ups that allowed you to fight mythical creatures? Who would not enjoy that?This port was very lacking but still quite impressive. Visually, Sega was doing things with their 8-bit console that Nintendo simply could not. Shading via dithering was very well used, as well as detailed sprites.
For all Sega got right with the Master System port, there is just as much wrong with it. Much of the graphical problems were fixed by fans in this update.
Buildings now have weathered boards, the ground is more dirt looking. Even characters have seen graphical improvements. While not nearly as detailed as the Sega Genesis version, this fan update adds quite a bit to the overall title.
Source: SMS Power via IndieRetroNews
Let me know in the comments below what your favorite brawler is. Mine is Final Fight.
