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Sega Genesis/MegaDrive Appreciation Thread: Alien Storm > Golden Axe

In the summer of '89 I knew nothing of Golden Axe. EGM hadn't covered it IIRC.
First time I heard about it was in GamePro, pictured below.

Because of the way this was originally split across two pages, and even then the picture was never really one compete picture, I laid this out side by side as best as I could.

ywFZVnW.png


Then here is part of the Genesis Golden Axe advert:

xLmllcE.jpg


I remember that ad. I was playing Golden Axe in the arcades quite often at that point. I associate the game with Friday nights at the local pizza place with my parents and sister haha..
 

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Is the Genesis thread really so busy and hard to follow that you need to splinter Sega CD to its own thread?
 
Don't forget Landstalker!

For Zelda-style games on the Genesis, I'd say that Landstalker is #1, Crusader of Centy is #2, and Beyond Oasis is #3. All three are very good games well worth getting for anyone who likes the genre. There are other action-RPGs on the system, of course, but those are the best ones, and the ones most like Zelda.

Of those three Landstalker is less like Zelda than the others, it's really an action-RPG and not a Zelda-style game like Crusader of Centy is, but as I said quite recently it's a pretty great game, and I like that the game isn't just a Zelda clone but tries to do some new things. The isometric platforming does take getting used to, but it does get easier with time.

If yo uwant the Genesis game that looks and plays the most like LttP, though, get Crusader of Centy. It's expensive, but visually blatantly copies LttP's style in a lot of ways. It's impressive how good it looks o na system with a lot less colors available. The gameplay is very good too, and the story is unique and original.

As for Beyond Oasis, it's got great graphics with large sprites and good animation. Gameplay-wise it's good, but I don't like it quite as much as the others. The game has a more complex fighting system than the other two, though, probably. It's the shortest game of the three.


As for other games, it's a very different kind of thing, but Gauntlet IV is a great action-RPG. Arcus Odyssey is another good game in that style. Oh, and as for Light Crusader, that is another isometric action-RPG, but I don't think it's anywhere near as great as Landstalker is. It is a simpler game though, focused on just exploring a dungeon.

For side-scrolling action-RPGs, the best ones are the Monster World games on Genesis and Popful Mail on Sega CD. Those three games (Wonder Boy in Monster World, Monster World IV, and Popful Mail) are all great.
 
What's this now?
Crusader of Centy/Soleil in Japan.

I mean, CoC is like $150 or so cart-only now (probably more like $200 since it's been a while since I've checked), so getting a version whose price hasn't skyrocketed due to the language barrier would be an option for BrokeGAF. Makes sense, right?
 
Crusader of Centy/Soleil in Japan.

I mean, CoC is like $150 or so cart-only now (probably more like $200 since it's been a while since I've checked), so getting a version whose price hasn't skyrocketed due to the language barrier would be an option for BrokeGAF. Makes sense, right?

It does, that's why I got my copy of Ragnacenty for $20 about 2 years ago.
 

catabarez

Member
Crusader of Centy/Soleil in Japan.

I mean, CoC is like $150 or so cart-only now (probably more like $200 since it's been a while since I've checked), so getting a version whose price hasn't skyrocketed due to the language barrier would be an option for BrokeGAF. Makes sense, right?

Yeah I suppose it does. Does the game not have much story?
 

AmyS

Member
Crusader of Centy/Soleil in Japan.

I mean, CoC is like $150 or so cart-only now (probably more like $200 since it's been a while since I've checked), so getting a version whose price hasn't skyrocketed due to the language barrier would be an option for BrokeGAF. Makes sense, right?

Holy shit I've gotta get this;


Going for $55 - $75 ebay.

Edit: Soleil / Crusader of Centy / Ragnacenty preview in EGM.

Tz21ezM.jpg
 
what's the best way of playng a mega drive/genesis on a HD TV...?

I'm guessing probably none, but I don't know what to do.
Well, the best way is over RGB SCART hooked up to an XRGB-Mini... but it's not a cheap route.

Just using the RGB SCART port on your TV would probably do, but you'd have to have such a TV (ie: you live in Europe).

Transcoding the RGB SCART signal to component would be the next best thing (perhaps even higher than the last step), but the Genesis outputs 240p and most modern HDTVs simply refuse to display 240p over component. (If you have a Wii - not Wii U, the original Wii - hooked up via component and a Virtual Console game to try it with, you can force it to output in 240p using this method, as a means of testing your HDTV's capability to handle such a signal.)

Modding the console to output S-Video is the next step down. It's pretty sharp-lookin', although there's these faint jailbars on the image that might be really distracting. Also, unless you know your soldering, you'd have to pay somebody else to do this for you.

If you've gotten this far down without finding anything acceptable, you're stuck with composite and RF, sorry.
 

Samuray

Member
Crusader of Centy/Soleil in Japan.

I mean, CoC is like $150 or so cart-only now (probably more like $200 since it's been a while since I've checked), so getting a version whose price hasn't skyrocketed due to the language barrier would be an option for BrokeGAF. Makes sense, right?

How about importing the PAL game, "Soleil"? Pretty sure it's around 20€.
Beware, though: The German version has German text only, not sure about other countries. May be wise to stick to UK.

(I got a game in a trade a while back and while I prefer English language in my games, I can live with a German-language "Soleil"....the translation seems to be okay and it's my native language anyway ^^)
 

AmyS

Member
I've been wanting to delve into a game that I never really played much of.

htPfxBL.jpg

iroAnQN.jpg


7tNxUUz.jpg


Produced by Makoto Uchida of Golden Axe fame.
 

D.Lo

Member
I enjoyed Golden Axe 2.

All those games have such scabby animation though. It was an issue with 16 bit beat em ups, low frames looks normal on NES, but very silly with huge sprites. One of the reasons I liked Return of Double Dragon, the animation (choppy framerate kind of sucks though).
 

D.Lo

Member
Lol that is a super bad list anyway.

What should make it though? SOR2, Gunstar Heroes, Sonic 2 I guess are contenders.

Edit oh and maybe Snatcher.
 

D.Lo

Member
I think older Sega games don't fit the type of design that gets rewarded in 'greatest' lists though.

Sega's best games are mostly arcade fun - unambitious in the 'art' of gaming type ideas, but finely tuned instruments for entertainment (and in arcades themselves often technical achievements too).

I mean, SOR2 is great, best beat em up of the generation. But it's not 'brilliant genius' like say Link to the Past.

Not to say that type of stuff doesn't have high value either, it's just not the type of value that gets recognised when trying to think of 'true greats'.
 
... How in the world do you make a top 100 games without, at minimum, including Sonic 2 and/or Sonic 3 & Knuckles? That's crazy! And they should be in the upper parts of the list, too. Mega Turrican and Sonic 1 would also make my top 100. Landstalker, Golden Axe, Shadow Dancer, Aladdin, Streets of Rage 2, Lightening Force, The Adventures of Batman & Robin, Lunar 2 (SCD), and Silpheed (SCD) are close to making my top 100 list too, and probably some would.

Yeah I suppose it does. Does the game not have much story?

It actually has a somewhat interesting story, you would miss out by getting the Japanese version.
 

IrishNinja

Member
Not to say that type of stuff doesn't have high value either, it's just not the type of value that gets recognised when trying to think of 'true greats'.

yeah, it's really shitty but that's the pervading mentality - let's all line up to praise Super Metroid and the same handful of titles on every list (lest someone scan it, not see that & say "LIST INVALIDATED" etc), making for really boring, sterile lists that are clearly only looking for certain types of games...hey, maybe this is how film buffs feel about oscars/etc

I think I've gotten to the point where I stopped caring about clickbait articles like that.

much smarter stance, honestly
 

catabarez

Member
... How in the world do you make a top 100 games without, at minimum, including Sonic 2 and/or Sonic 3 & Knuckles? That's crazy! And they should be in the upper parts of the list, too. Mega Turrican and Sonic 1 would also make my top 100. Landstalker, Golden Axe, Shadow Dancer, Aladdin, Streets of Rage 2, Lightening Force, The Adventures of Batman & Robin, Lunar 2 (SCD), and Silpheed (SCD) are close to making my top 100 list too, and probably some would.



It actually has a somewhat interesting story, you would miss out by getting the Japanese version.

Ah well. Time to save up.
 

MikeMyers

Member
It'd be interesting to see a top 10 GAF Meagdrive games. Shall we do a poll?

Also, would "FMV's do what Nintendont" be a good subtitle for a Sega CD thread?
 
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