Golden Axe Walkthrough/FAQ. For Sega Genesis Written by CNash. Version 1.0 July 2000. This is a FAQ for Golden Axe, for the Sega Genesis/Megadrive. My other FAQs, Genesis Streets of Rage 2, and Sonic and Knuckles, can be found online at http://www.gamefaqs.com or the About.com game guides archive (not sure of the address). Copyright Blurb: This FAQ must not be re-typed, corrected, added to, or changedin any other way without express permision of CNash. If you wish to link to this FAQ, don't link to the copy archived at GameFAQS, instead, e-mail me first at chris_1256@yahoo.com, then download it and store it on your own system. If you want to include this FAQ on a magazine cover disk or in the text of a magazine itself, e-mail me and we'll talk shop. Contents: 1.) What is Golden Axe? 2.) The Characters, and their attacks. 3.) Two Player Mode 4.) The Enemies, and their attacks. 5.) The Two-Combo Rule. 6.) Magic and Thieves. 7.) Creatures. 8.) The Walkthrough: a.) Level 1: The Wilderness. b.) Level 2: Turtle Village. c.) Level 3: The Mainland. d.) Level 4: Fiend's Path. e.) Level 5: Palace Gates. f.) Level 6: Death Adder. g.) Level 7: The Dungeon. h.) Level 8: The Battle with...? 9.) Beginner Mode. 10.) Duel Mode. 12.) Cheats, Cartridge codes. 13.) The End. 1.) What is Golden Axe? A two-player medieval hack-and-slash combat game. You control one of three characters, and have to journey through 6-8 levels slicing enemies up. It became popular in the arcades, and was one of the first Sega Genesis games to be released. It's vastly similar to another early Genesis relase, Streets of Rage. It was availible in three forms: 1.) A stand-alone cartridge. 2.) As part of Mega Games 2, an early Genesis pack-in. 3.) As part of Mega 6, a later Genesis pack-in. (Sega Genesis consoles can still be bought with the Mega 6 pack-in in Europe, under the name Sega Megadrive, and you'll still find second hand Mega Games 2, Mega 6 and Golden Axe cartridges all over the world). It spawned a sequel, called....Golden Axe 2 (surprising), and a Master System version. 2.)The Characters, and their attacks. You can control one of three characters. All are similar, and no character has a physical advantage over another. The characters could be counted as the game's difficulty setting, as Tyris Flare (red) is easier to use, Ax-Battler (blue) is quite hard to use and Gillius Thunderhead (green) is somewhere in the middle. Each character has roughly the same attacks. Performing Them: Weapon Combo: keep tapping B at close range. Jump-Slice: C, then B in midair. Run: tap twice in the direction you are facing. You cannot run Up or Down. Flying Attack: press B while running. Death-Jab: while running, perform a Jump-Slice. Show-off skill: B and C together. Description: Weapon Combo: close range hacking. Has various stages of effectivness: at long range, will jab at the enemy, at medium range, will kick the enemy, at short range, will throw the enemy. Jump-Slice: a straight slash down the front of the enemy. Run: useful for getaways. Flying Attack: one of the most widely used attacks, and mandatory for the Two-Combo rule (see below). Death-Jab: instant death to weaker enemies, severe damage to stronger ones. They tend to dodge away, though. Show-off skill: A powerful attack but very tricky to pull off, so many players just use it to 'show off' their playing skill. Flying Attacks: Ax-Battler: an inaccurate shoulder barge. Gillius Thunderhead: a more reliable headbutt. Tyris Flare: a flying kick, almost never misses. 4.) Two Player Mode. To get into this mode, press Start on the second control pad while on the main title screen (not the game select screen). The levels are exactly the same as One Player mode (you can also play Beginner mode), but having two players makes them easier. Both players cannot choose the same character, and although each of you have different magic bars, the amount of magic that you can steal from Thieves stays the same, so it must be shared. And one more thing: you can attackand kill the other player, so try not to get in the way of their attacks. Duel mode is also playable: each player selects one character and you battle in the style of conventional fighting games. 5.) The Enemies, and their attacks. There are only seven main types of enemy, but they are colored differently to indicate strength. The values beside the attacks indicate how many life blocks are removed by them, and the letters beside the colors indicate the strength and speed of the enemy (this may change their attack values). (Attack Level,Move Level) Heninger: This enemy uses a mace. Colors: Silver (D,C), Purple (D,C), Green(C,C) Red (A,B), Gold (C,B), Dark (B,B), Bronze(B,C). Attacks: Weapon Combo (1/2) Flying Attack (1/2) Notes: Bear in mind that if you are in the vicinity of a Flying Attack, it cannot be blocked in any physical way. Magic will stop it, but that is inadvisable as you waste all the magic that you have. Longmoan: This enemy uses a spiked club. Colors: Silver (D,C), Purple (D,C), Green (C,C), Red (A,B), Gold (C, B), Dark (B,B), Bronze (B,C). Attacks: Weapon Combo (1/2) Flying Attack (1/2) Notes: The Longmoan's Flying Attack can be blocked, but only by your own flying attack. Amazon Women: They all use a one-edged axe. Colors: Purple (Storchinaya, B,C), Green (Strobaya, B,B), Red (Lemonaya, A,A), Dark (Gruziya, A,B). Attacks: Weapon Combo (1/2) Flying Attack (1/2) Notes: Flying Attacks can't be blocked. Skeleton: Uses a schmitar. Colors: White (B,B), Purple (Duel only, A,A). Attacks: Weapon Combo (1) Jump-Slice (1/2) Flying Attack (1/2) Death-Jab (2) Notes: The only enemy capable of using the Death-Jab skill. You can easily avoid it. Flying Attacks can be blocked. Cannot use Creatures. The following all appear as bosses or other big enemies. Bad Brothers, Sgt. Malt and Sgt. Hop, Gen. Heartland. These guys are dangerous. They use giant hammers. Colors: Green (Level 1, C,C), Silver (Level 3, B,C), Red (Level 6, A,C). Attacks: Hammerblow (2) Kick (1) Flying Attack (1/2) Notes: Cannot use Creatures (too heavy?). Flying Attacks can be blocked. Lt. Bitter, Col. Bitter, Gen. Bitter. Even more dangerous. They use giant swords! Colors: Silver (Level 3, A,B), Red (Level 5, A,A), Gold (Level 7, Genesis only, A, A). Attacks: Shield Strike (1) Sword Slash (1) Notes: Incapable of running due to heavy armor. Death Adder Jr. (A,B) Easier and weaker than Death Adder, he takes the place of Lt. Bitter at the end of Stage 3 in the Beginner game. Attacks: Axe-Slash (1) Electric Spark (1) Notes: No running attacks. Death Adder: (A,B) The boss of Level 6. Attacks: Axe-Slash (1) Electric Spark (2) Notes: To stop the Electric Spark, just attack him. No running attacks. Death Bringer: (A,A) The final boss. Attacks: Axe-Slash (1) Multiple Electric Sparks (2 per spark) Dragon Rage (3) Anger Of The Land (2) Thunderbolt (2) Notes: This guy is capable of using your own magic against you! He'll cast a spell when he knocks you down with either of his other two skills. At the start, he'll use Gillius Thunderhead's Thunderbolt magic, when he's sustained a fair amount of damage he'll use Ax-Battler's Anger Of The Land, when he's almost dead he'll use Tyris Flare's Dragon Rage. 6.) The Two-Combo Rule (TCR) This term is what I use to describe the trick used when there are more than one enemy on screen. If you try and enter into a Weapon Combo with one enemy, the others will see you as fair game and attack you. In two player mode, you can use the TCR as well! Combating the rule is quite simple. Refrain from Weapon Combos altogether (unless there is only one enemy on screen, or two enemies are on the same section of the screen), and instead try using flying attacks on enemies: while one is floored, attack the other, then as the first one gets up, attack him again. Then repeat with the second. 7.) Magic and Thieves. In times of great need, you may use special powers known as magic to severely damage all enemies on screen. Magic comes in varying levels of strength, and is contained in pots that are carried by creatures known as Thieves (because they steal magic from sleeping travelers).You'll come across them running around the levels. To get the magic that is in their sack, attack them and they'll drop one pot. You start Level 1 with one pot of magic. After each level, the bonus round appears. Thieves steal some of your magic pots, and you must win them all back, plus interest! This is also the only place you'll find green Thieves, who carry meat that restores one life bar. Magic Guide: All of the names were made up by me, so you might see a few names that are used by other games, like Final Fantasy 7 and Pokemon. Gillius Thunderhead: The little dwarf uses Lightning Magic that's easy to build up, but not as powerful as the other two magics. Stage One: Thunder Wave: A bolt of lightning covers Gillius as waves of electricity move out to hit the enemies (similar to Death Adder's Electric Spark power). Stage Two: Thunderbolt : Two bolts of lightning move across the screen twice. (Death Bringer uses this skill). Stage Three: Electrocute: Multiple bolts of lightning strike every enemy on screen, causing heavy damage. Ax-Battler: He uses Earth Magic, which has more levels than Lightning and is subsequently more powerful. Stage One: Tremor: The earth shakes a little, and lots of miniature nuclear explosions take place. Stage Two: Earthshaker: The earth shakes some more, and larger nuclear explosions appear. Stage Three: Quake: A lot of shaking goes on, and it looks like comets are hitting the earth. Stage Four: Anger of the Land: A large nuclear explosion throws out lots of big rocks. (Death Bringer uses this skill). Tyris Flare: The tough girl uses powerful Fire magic that is more powerful than the other two, but has many more levels. Stage One: Ember: Small fires fly around the screen, burning all enemies. Stage Two: Lava Flow: Small-ish lava mountains erupt on the screen. Stage Three: Flame Demons: Small fiery demons circle around the screen, then a larger demon flies across it. Stage Four: Great Balls O' Fire: Large flaming rocks move across the screen. Stage Five: Volcanic Panic: A volcano appears on the screen and fireballs erupt from it. Stage Six: Dragon Rage: My personal favorite and the best magic skill. A dragon appears and blasts everyone with it's fiery breath. (Death Bringer uses this skill). 8.) Creatures. On your epic journey, you will encounter creatures that will help your quest. Most of them will be 'already taken' by enemies, but you can reserve your place by kicking them off it (note that they will not recieve any damage when you do this, but you do if they decide they want your creature!) If they get ridden on more than three times, they'll run away. Creatures have a special attack and some other skills. Special Skill: use the B Button. Run: tap twice in the direction you are facing. You cannot run Up or Down. Flying Attack: press B while running. The Death-Jab skill cannot be performed, although you can do a high jump. There are three creatures, each is unique. Chicken Leg: Special Skill: Wagging Tail. Blue Dragon: Special Skill: Breath of fire (like a smaller version of Tyris's Dragon Rage magic). Red Dragon: Special Skill: Fireball. Most smaller enemies can also use creatures, but not bosses or skeletons. 9.) The Walkthrough. Finally, we're here. This is where I tell you how to actually complete the game, from start to finish. a.) Level One: The Wilderness. First up, a Silver Longmoan and Heninger. Then, a Purple pair, followed by a thief and another Silver Heninger and Purple Amazon riding a Chicken Leg. You can only get to the ledge from this point, so jump up and get the thief on it, then the thief below. Following the ledge come yet another Silver Longmoan and Heninger, then the boss. Boss: Meniger Green (x2), Bad Brothers. One Heninger will be riding a Chicken Leg, so take it if you lost the previous one. The Bad Brothers won't attack unless you attack them, or until the Heningers are dead. Once they start to attack, use the TCR. Bonus Level: Thief with two magic pots. Notes: With the Purple enemies, I think the programmers screwed up the colors, as they are not mentioned on the credits at all! b.) Level Two: Turtle Village. There is a pit on this level, and you can push enemies off it. But they can also push you off. You'll start with a Red Heninger, then a Red Longmoan. Work your way down and forward to meet a Red Longmoan and Heninger using the TCR. The next screen has a Silver Heninger, and a Purple Amazon riding a Blue Dragon. Hitch a ride (haha) and get the thief's pots, and then see the boss. Boss: Heninger Silver, Strobaya (x2), Storchinaya (x2), Skeleton. One Storchinaya will be riding a Red Dragon. This boss is just a case of beating all the enemies. Bonus Level: Green thief and thief with 2 pots. Notes: Again, they screwed up the colors on the Purple Amazon. And it is not possible to kill the villagers, no matter how hard you try. c.) Level 3: The Mainland. Another 'pit' level. This time you'll have to fight a Silver Longmoan and Heninger, with a Storchinaya on a Blue Dragon. Crossing the pit, fight two Strobayas and Sgt. Malt and Sgt. Hop. Get more pots and then there is a boss. Boss: Heninger Gold (x2), Longmoan Gold, Heninger Silver, Longmoan Silver, Lt. Bitter. Defeat the Gold guys and then use your magic on Lt. Bitter. Finally, finish him off. Bonus Level: Thief (x2), one pot each, Green thief (x2). Notes: If you only go towards the D.E.B door a little, only one Sargeant will come out at a time. d.) Level 4: Fiend's Path. Just one pit at the start to worry about, it's at the edge of the wooden platform. Two Red Heningers and a Red Longmoan to deal with, then a Skeleton (logical question: how do you kill what does not live?) and finally two more Skeletons and a thief. Boss: Heninger Dark (x2), Longmoan Dark (x3), Skeleton (x3). First up, one Heninger and two Longmoan, then one Skeleton and one Heninger, rounding off with two Skeletons and one Longmoan. Bonus Level: Notes: This one was very short. e.) Level 5: Palace Gates. A very large pit at the end and the edge of the narrow platform, a good way for dealing with unwanted bones. Following them up, a Storchinaya on a Blue Dragon, then a Red Heninger and Longmoan, finishing with two more Red Heningers and a Red Longmoan. Boss: Col. Bitter (x2). Easily dealt with by the TCR, but they are potentially deadly at close range. Stun them with magic if you feel like it, but you really be saving it for Death Adder. Bonus Level: None. Notes: The pits are far too convenient in this level. f.) Death Adder Stock up on magic, then straight into a boss fight. Boss: Longmoan/Heninger Red, Gen. Heartland, Skeleton (x2), Death Adder. Defeat Heninger/Longmoan and Gen. Heartland, then throw your best magic at Death Adder. The skeletons should die instantly, and then just hammer away at DA using Flying Attack and Death-Jab (if you time it right). INTERLUDE: Saving the King and Princess. They'll automatically come down and say a few words,then they'll tell you to go into battle once more, for two more levels. g.) Level 7: The Dungeon. More pits than ever before. A lot of Dark enemies show up, as well as the mysterious Purple Heninger and Longmoan. Just throw them all down the pits, but try not to do the same with the thieves. Boss: Heninger Bronze, Longmoan Bronze, Skeleton (x2), Gen. Bitter (x2). Easiest boss fight of the entire game. Just kick them all down the pits! Bonus Level: None. Notes: Easiest level of the game. h.) The Battle with...? Boss: Death Bringer, Skeleton (x2). Deal with DB the same way as you did DA. The Skeletons are indestructable, so just avoid their attacks. See the enemy guide for more info on this boss's magic attacks. Once he's dead, the Skeletons mysteriously vanish, and his own axe falls into him. Congrats, you've completed the game, and can now see the credits, which go into great detail about the height and weight of the enemies. Fascinating. 9.) Beginner Mode. The Beginner mode is simply the first three levels of the Arcade game, but with easier enemies. This was designed as a warm-up for players who need to practice their skills before attempting the full Arcade game. Other things to note: -Magic only uses two pots. -No credits at the end of Level 3. -Death Adder Jr. replaces Lt. Bitter as the boss of Level 3. -No bonus levels or map. 10.) Duel Mode. This can be played in one or two player modes. In 1P mode, the player battles with enemies in 12 rounds, with an extended life bar. In 2P mode, both players fight eachother. If you don't complete a fight before the timer runs out, your life will go down. 1P Battling List: 1.) Longmoan Silver on Chicken Leg 2.) Heninger Green x2. 3.) Heninger Silver on Red Dragon. 4.) Skeleton (x2). 5.) Longmoan Red (x2). 6.) Storchinaya (x2) both on Red Dragons. 7.) Heninger Dark (x2), Longmoan Dark. 8.) Skeleton Purple (x2) (unique colors). 9.) Bad Brothers. 10.) Lt. Bitter. 11.) Gen. Heartland (x2) 12.) Gen. Bitter (x2) 11.) Cheats, Game Genie Codes. In the interests of preserving gameplay, please don't use these cheats until you've completed the full game once or twice. Level Select: This only works on the Arcade game. At the character select screen, hold Down-Left and press B+Start, then pick your level from the number in the top-left corner of the screen by using Up and Down. Select your character and press Start. 9 Continues: Again, only works on the Arcade game. At the character select screen, hold Down-Left, press A+C and then release all the buttons. Game Genie Codes: These only work if you have a game enhancement device called a Game Genie: BB0A-AA8E Infinite life bars. RF7A-A6WA Infinite magic. KB7T-AA4A Infinite lives. AJTT-AA8L Infinite credits. AJ6T-BA6T Start with 2 credits. A26T-BA6T Start with 6 credits. BA6T-BA6T Start with 8 credits. AATT-ACHJ Start with 1 life after each credit. AATT-ALHJ Start with 5 lives after each credit. AATT-ARHJ Start with 7 lives after each credit. AATT-AWHJ Start with 9 lives after each credit. ABAA-ACFW Start with 1 life, only on the 1st credit. ABAA-ALFW Start with 5 lives, only on the 1st credit. ABAA-ARFW Start with 7 lives, only on the 1st credit. ABAA-AWFW Start with 9 lives, only on the 1st credit. ABAA-AEF2 Start with 2 magic pots. ABAA-AJF2 Start with 4 magic pots. FGXA-BJX6 Each magic pot is worth 2. FGXA-BNX6 Each magic pot is worth 3. SA7A-BEYL Start on stage 2. SA7A-BJYL Start on stage 3. SA7A-BNYL Start on stage 4. SA7A-BTYL Start on stage 5. SA7A-BYYL Start on stage 6. SA7A-B2YL Start on stage 7. SA7A-B6YL Start on stage 8. These next codes are only for the 'Sega Classic' version of the game. BB1A-AA78 Infinite hit points. RF8A-A6W6 Infinite magic. KB8T-AA46 Infinite lives. AJVT-AA2T Infinite credits. AJ7T-BA28 Start with 2 credits. A27T-BA28 Start with 6 credits. BA7T-BA28 Start with 8 credits. ABBA-ACC4 Start with 1 life, only on the 1st credit. ABBA-ALC4 Start with 5 lives, only on the 1st credit. ABBA-ARC4 Start with 7 lives, only on the 1st credit. ABBA-AWC4 Start with 9 lives, only on the 1st credit. AAVT-ACBR Start with 1 life after each credit. AAVT-ALBR Start with 5 lives after each credit. AAVT-ARBR Start with 7 lives after each credit. AAVT-AWBR Start with 9 lives after each credit. ABBA-AEDA Start with 2 magic pots. ABBA-AJDA Start with 4 magic pots. FGYT-BJVY Each magic pot is worth 2. FGYT-BNVY Each magic pot is worth 3. SA8A-BET2 Start on stage 2. SA8A-BJT2 Start on stage 3. SA8A-BNT2 Start on stage 4. SA8A-BTT2 Start on stage 5. SA8A-BYT2 Start on stage 6. SA8A-B2T2 Start on stage 7. SA8A-B6T2 Start on stage 8. 13.) The End. Well, that's the end of the FAQ. Remember, if you want to correct me on anything I've said, or give me new info, the address to e-mail is: chris_1256@yahoo.com. Heed the words of the Copyright Blurb, and farewell! All work copyright CNash, 2000.