Golden Axe is a fantasy beat 'em up that debuted in Japanese arcades on 27 January 1989 on Sega's System 16B hardware. It was designed by Makoto Uchida of Team Shinobi, who had earlier made Altered Beast. Uchida wanted 'a Double Dragon that was not a Double Dragon' and drew on Conan films and Dragon Quest. Up to two players pick the dwarf Gilius Thunderhead, the barbarian Ax Battler or the amazon Tyris Flare and set out to defeat Death Adder.
The Mega Drive version came out in Japan on 23 December 1989 and became the best-known home release. The game was also ported to the Master System, PC Engine CD, IBM PC, Amiga, Atari ST, C64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, and several of those versions tell a different story or drop co-op.
Later re-releases include Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, Steam and Sega Forever. The sequels began with Golden Axe II in 1991.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Golden Axealso Europe, May 1989 | Arcade | May 1989 | Sega | 1 |
| NA | Golden Axe | Genesis | January 1990 | Sega | 1 |
| NA | Golden Axesingle-player 8-bit version; also Europe | Master System | 1990 | Sega | 1 |
| JP | ゴールデンアックスSega System 16B | Arcade | Jan 27, 1989 | Sega | 1 |
| JP | ゴールデンアックス | Genesis | Dec 23, 1989 | Sega | 1 |
| JP | ゴールデンアックスCD-ROM²; English Wikipedia gives 10 March, Japanese Wikipedia 16 March 1990 | TurboGrafx-16 | March 1990 | Telenet | 1 |
| EU | Golden AxeUK; Atari ST, C64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC versions also November 1990 | Amiga | November 1990 | Virgin | 1 |
| EU | Golden Axe | Genesis | November 1990 | Sega | 1 |
| WW | Golden Axe | MS-DOS | 1990 | — | 1 |
| JP | ゴールデンアックスWonderSwan Color | Other | Feb 28, 2002 | Sega | 1 |
| WW | Golden AxeXbox Live Arcade, arcade version | Xbox 360 | Jul 11, 2007 | Sega | 2 |
| WW | Golden AxeSteam, Mega Drive version | Windows | Jun 1, 2010 | Sega | 2 |
| WW | Golden AxePlayStation Network, arcade version | PlayStation 3 | Jul 12, 2011 | Sega | 1 |
| WW | Golden AxeSega Forever; iOS same period | Android | Aug 31, 2017 | Sega | 2 |
| WW | Golden AxeNintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, Mega Drive version | Switch | Oct 25, 2021 | Nintendo | 1 |
Also known as: ゴールデンアックス JP2Gōruden Akkusu JP2戦斧 JP2
Box art by region
NA Golden Axe 
EU Golden Axe 
JP ゴールデンアックス
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
-
ContentMega Drive/GenesisArcade
The Mega Drive version stays close to the arcade game but adds an extra level, a one-on-one Duel mode and a new ending in which Death Bringer is the true final boss.1
-
ContentArcade
The arcade ending breaks the fourth wall: the heroes escape from an arcade machine into the real world.1
-
ContentPC Engine CD
The PC Engine CD version is single-player only, makes Ax Battler the fixed hero, adds voiced still-image cutscenes and tells a quite different story with three possible endings.1
Where to play legally today
-
Nintendo Switch Online Subscription
Golden Axe (SEGA Mega Drive - Nintendo Switch Online)
Mega Drive/Genesis version
Checked: 2026-10-133ec.nintendo.com
Reception
It was the 18th highest-grossing arcade game of 1989 in Japan and the top-grossing US arcade game of January 1990. The ZX Spectrum version reached number 2 on the UK full-price chart in 1991, and the XBLA release sold 167,935 units by 2011.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.