Looking back with a more critical eye, Golden Axe 2 is one of those sequels that probably shouldn't have happened. My reasoning is simple, put both this and its predecessor side-by-side; point out everything that they have in common. I'm not trying to be rude here, but let's break it down a little. The first Golden Axe took place in a fantastical world with giant turtles and hawks, but the enemies were mere humans who thrived on the suffering of the innocent. Drakes and Chicken Legs were tools used to serve their horrific purpose. Death=Adder being the descendant of titans, a hundred snakes taking the form of a human, or the restless embodiment of evil is really just a smokescreen. Ultimately, he's a man with no empathy who obtained endless power.
I don't want to assign too much gravitas to a game that ends with its villains breaking out of an arcade and wreaking havoc on the real world, but it's clear that the developers got the appeal of Conan the Barbarian, something that so many fantasy movies failed to capture even a fraction of. As much as I'd prefer to avoid comparing Golden Axe 2 to Conan the Destroyer, it's hard to ignore all the ways it feels like a cheap cash-in designed to reach a younger audience. The Strongmen were replaced by Minotaurs. Instead of heavily armored guys with swords & shields, you face headless suits of armor. You'll square off with a couple dozen Lizardmen. The villain this time around is Emperor Guld. He might be a necromancer, but unlike Death=Adder, he doesn't have a fetish for murdering the families of random people in the hopes that they'll seek revenge upon him.
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| Sad sight. Some people just can't hold their soda. |
Look directly above and tell me you don't see a man who's passed out after partying a little too hard the night before. Seriously though, I have an unserious theory that Sega wanted to sell Golden Axe again, but with less references to Conan the Barbarian. Let's call it "futureproofing", a means to ensure their fantasy hack & slashers don't eventually get them into legal trouble. Perhaps these fears were unfounded, or maybe Sega actually didn't give a damn. I mean, around the same time they were lifting samples from Prince songs for some obscure beatemup. This was not a game company that ever seemed worried about litigation (especially considering how poorly their employees were treated in the 80s & 90s).
I know I just spent like three paragraphs shitting on Golden Axe 2, but the honest truth is that I think it kicks ass. The developer took everything that worked in the original and made some tweaks. This refined take on the formula is just as easy to pick up yet feels more satisfying to play. A lot of the refinement is in the mechanical sense. Attacks lead into each other with more fluidity. One surprisingly common incident in the original game - or at least the Mega Drive port - is that pommel attacks will sometimes strike thin air instead of someone's skull, leaving the heroes open to a pummeling. This nuisance was fixed. Stunned enemies can not only be picked up and tossed, but their bodies will collide with other foes, adding depth where there was originally none. Actually, let me amend that by saying it's possible to throw an enemy who isn't stunned, provided they're close enough to whomever is. It's fun and gives players extra frame advantage, so I have no complaints. Strikes are faster in general, feeling less like everyone is swinging while underwater.
Enemies have also become noticeably more adept at fighting. Almost all of them have the advantage when it comes to range, so you can't stand idly and hope they'll walk into your outstretched blade. Maybe this was always the case before, but it feels more pronounced here. Extra care must be taken when trying to distance yourself from adversaries, because they'll immediately respond with a dash-attack when you're far enough away. Dash-attacks are still powerful but don't rely too heavily on them. Someone will punish the heroes while they're recovering; it's just a matter of when. Still, there's a ton of value in spacing and positioning. Case in point, when facing two Minotaurs, I find that it's best to keep them on opposite sides of the screen while keeping the main character closer to one or the other. This makes it easier to keep both fiends down with repeat dashes. If one tries this while standing in the center, eventually they'll get knocked down by the Minotaur's running shoulder bash.
Also, while the bad guys tend to be quicker and more aggressive, they're also not as cheap. I recall an instance in the first game where a Strongman could knock someone to the ground, then kick them the instant they got up. I'm fairly sure there's a way out of this loop, but it isn't immediately obvious. Now, enemies don't immediately attack the instant the hero gets up after a knockdown. Players are given just enough time to land a couple of hits or retreat and reassess. More importantly, they don't feel cheated out of a life because they got caught in a trap. It's also worth mentioning that unlike Death=Adder, Emperor Guld isn't constantly flanked by allies and spamming inescapable spells. That miserable fight - and the platforming sections - are things that I never look forward to when replaying Golden Axe.
What really brings everything in this sequel together is how entertaining it is to use a warrior's entire repertoire. Every move has value to it, and being able to commit to the attack or employ hit & run tactics contributes a lot to every encounter. There is this swell of pride that comes from watching the enemy swing at air while my chosen champion is about to end them with a powerful down-stab. I never get tired of that. Destroying four foes in a single encounter without ever taking damage is also an incredible rush, even when it's exponentially less flashy than something from the modern era.
I could chide Golden Axe 2 endlessly for being a repeat of the first game, but that'd mean ignoring all of the changes that make it such a well-rounded and enjoyable hack & slash.
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