Golden Axe III

About Golden Axe III

Golden Axe III (1993) is Sega's Japan-only Mega Drive sequel in which four new warriors battle Damud Hellstrike, who has stolen the Golden Axe and cursed the land's heroes.

Golden Axe III in Depth

Damud Hellstrike, the Prince of Darkness, has taken the Golden Axe, kidnapped the princess of Yuria, turned the king into a griffin minion called Eve and cursed all the warriors. The dwarf Gilius Thunderhead from the first game lifts the curse from one hero, who must free the others, defeat the villain and bring back the axe. The heroes are the giant Proud Cragger, the humanoid black panther Chronos "Evil" Rait, the swordsman Kain Grinder, who resembles Ax Battler, and the swordswoman Sarah Burn, who resembles Tyris Flare; Gilius appears only in cut-scenes.

Play is essentially that of the earlier games, side-scrolling through levels and fighting with weapons, fists, ridden Bizarrians and elemental magic, but with new moves: blocking, sweeps, projectiles, special attacks and improved grappling. Proud has a devastating air-slam throw, Chronos and Sarah can double jump and wall jump, and each character has a super move, a screen-crossing projectile or, for Chronos, an unstoppable lunge. In co-op, players can perform team attacks such as a human slingshot. Branching paths let players choose routes, freeing enough prisoners from barrels, crystal cells and guards earns extra lives, and the potion-carrying gnomes of the first game return, as does its all-at-once magic system.

Making Golden Axe III

Sega developed and published it for the Mega Drive in 1993 as the sequel to Golden Axe II, bringing back features dropped from that game while adding new characters, moves and branching routes. Reception was mixed. Japanese readers of Mega Drive Fan and Sega Saturn Magazine rated it modestly, and Electronic Gaming Monthly said Sega of Japan was right not to release it in the US, calling its graphics "some of the most plain looking on the Mega Drive" and its magic effects unimpressive. IGN's Virtual Console review agreed that its quality was low. It was later re-released on PlayStation 2, PSP, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, the Wii Virtual Console and Sega Genesis Classics.