Software:Golden Axe Warrior

From HandWiki
Short description: 1991 video game
Golden Axe Warrior
Developer(s)Sega
Publisher(s)Sega
Designer(s)Gen Adachi
Takako Kawaguchi
Programmer(s)Pochi Nakamori
Composer(s)Chikako Kamatani
SeriesGolden Axe
Platform(s)Master System
Release
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Golden Axe Warrior is a 1991 action-adventure video game developed and published by Sega for the Master System. A spin-off of the Golden Axe series, the player controls a male human warrior in the fictional country of Firewood as they try to avenge the death of their parents by defeating the tyrant Death Adder and recovering nine missing crystals.

In a deviation from previous Golden Axe titles, the game incorporates gameplay similar to The Legend of Zelda. The player navigates an overworld and dungeons from a top-down perspective, defeating enemies, collecting items and discovering secrets. Traditional role-playing game elements, such as exploring towns, are also implemented.

Golden Axe Warrior is often subject to mixed critical reception, due to its similarities to titles in The Legend of Zelda series released around the time. The game was re-released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as part of the 2009 compilation Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection.

Plot

In ancient times, a horde of giants rebels against the country of Firewood and are successful. A brutal war ensues between the two sides and it seems that the giants will win. That is until an unknown hero drives back the giants using the power of the Golden Axe, the only weapon that is known to defeat them. In present day, Firewood is prosperous under a monarchical rule and the help of nine magic crystals, which contain powers that can harness magic and help ward off evil from the country.

One day, a government minister betrays the king by selling the nine crystals to the tyrant Death Adder who is a descendant of the giants from ancient times.[3] Immediately Death Adder invades the neighboring countries of Altorulia and Nendoria before invading Firewood too, killing the royal families of those countries in the process. He also creates ten labyrinths, one for his protection under the sea and the rest to house the crystals so that no one can halt his conquest. Hailing from the town of Miliver in Firewood, a young warrior sets off on a quest to kill the tyrant and to recover the crystals so he can avenge his parents, whom Death Adder killed. As the warrior travels throughout Firewood, Altorulia and Nendoria he traverses the labyrinths containing the crystals and obtains them, finds the Golden Axe and learns how to cast elemental magic. He also learns that he is the son of the king of Altorulia and that the princess of Firewood, Tyris, is still alive.

After obtaining the Golden Axe, the warrior enters the final labyrinth under the sea armed with the axe and crystals ready to kill Death Adder. After a fierce battle with the tyrant, the warrior successfully defeats Death Adder. The warrior returns home with great celebration from the people of Firewood, Nendoria, and Altorulia. A great feast and various other festivities are held in his honor. The people of the three countries then decide to unite as one collective country of Firewood under the rule of Princess Tyris. The Golden Axe returns to its resting place, away from the mortal world, as it awaits a time when the world will be in peril once more. It is promised that the warrior's battle with Death Adder will be told as legend for years to come.

Gameplay

Golden Axe Warrior is a fantasy action-adventure game. Players take control of the game's hero, who can be named at the start of a new quest.[4] The game features a large overworld with over 200 unique screens and many enemies. Players must retrieve each of the game's nine crystals by locating hidden labyrinths. Each labyrinth is guarded by monsters and full of puzzles that must be solved in order to reach the boss and retrieve the crystal. Throughout the game, players collect various items and abilities that allow access to previously unreachable areas.[1] The tenth labyrinth is only accessible after collecting the nine crystals. Players must then find the Golden Axe and use it to defeat Death Adder.[4]

Weapons and armor can be upgraded and several magic abilities can be learned.[5] Using magic requires the use of pots which are depleted after every use.[6]: 14  The game's currency is horns collected from enemies; these horns can be spent in towns throughout the game.[1] Hidden areas can be uncovered by chopping down trees with an axe or clearing rocks using Earth magic.

Development and release

The game is considered to be one of the system's rarest games.[7] It is included as an unlockable game in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[8]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
CVG42%[5]
GamePro5 / 5[2]
Ação Games4/4[9]
Joystick88%[10]
Mean Machines40%[1]
Player One88%[11]
Sega Pro67%[12]
Video Games81%[13]

Golden Axe Warrior received mixed reception upon release. American magazine GamePro scored it 5 out of 5, comparing it to NES titles Legend of Zelda and Willow, concluding that Golden Axe Warrior is "a great game".[2] It also received positive reviews from French magazines Joystick and Player One, each scoring it 88%,[10][11] and German magazine Video Games, which scored it 81%.[13] However, it received mixed reviews from British magazines, which pointed out that the game was vastly different from the original Golden Axe, including one in Sega Pro, which rated Golden Axe Warrior a 67%;[12] Computer and Video Games also pointed out the difference, calling it an "incredibly dull RPG."[5] Reviewers in Mean Machines called it "boring" and "tedious", recommending Ys and Lord of the Sword instead.[1]

IGN mentioned the game in its article "A History of Gaming's Most Shameless Rip-Offs", calling it a rip-off of The Legend of Zelda. They noted similarities in enemies and map designs, and called the soundtrack "eerily similar" to Zelda but without any of the personality.[14]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Golden Axe Warrior - Sega Review". Mean Machines (7): 72–73. April 1991. http://www.meanmachinesmag.co.uk/pdf/goldenaxewarriorms.pdf. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Buzz, Bro. (May 1991). "Sega ProView: Golden Axe Warrior". GamePro (IDG) (22): 40. https://archive.org/details/game-pro-issue-22-may-1991/page/n43/mode/1up. 
  3. ↑ Sutyak, Jonathan. "Golden Axe Warrior – Overview". Allgame. Rovi. //www.allgame.com/game.php?id=12028&tab=overview. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Buchanan, Levi (September 25, 2008). "Golden Axe Retrospective". http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/09/25/golden-axe-retrospective. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Golden Axe Warrior". Computer + Video Games: The Complete Guide to Sega: 98. https://www.smspower.org/Scans/CVGCompleteGuideToSega-Magazine-Issue1. Retrieved 22 June 2023. 
  6. ↑ Golden Axe Warrior Manual (USA). https://segaretro.org/images/e/eb/Goldenaxewarrior_sms_us_manual.pdf. 
  7. ↑ "Sega Master Rarity Guide". http://www.rarityguide.com/segamaster_view.php. 
  8. ↑ Miller, Greg (February 12, 2009). "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection Review". http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/953/953832p1.html. 
  9. ↑ "Lancamentos internationais" (in PT). Ação Games: 42–43. July 1991. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Joystick, issue 17, page 128
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Player One, issue 12, pages 54-55
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Golden Axe Warrior". Sega Pro. 1991. "Old Death Adder is back, but before you try to defeat him, remember that there's no arcade action – just lots of adventuring.". 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Kultpower Archiv: Komplettscan Videogames 2/1991". http://www.kultpower.de/archiv/heft_videogames_1991-02_seite76. 
  14. ↑ Grayson, Nathan (February 28, 2012). "A History of Gaming's Most Shameless Rip-Offs". http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/02/28/a-history-of-gamings-most-shameless-rip-offs. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari





Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Golden_Axe_Warrior&oldid=3964237"