Golden Axe was one of many ultra successful popular side scrolling combat games and was essentially a fantasy version of Double Dragon (1987).
Choosing your character out of the dwarf, amazon or barbarian you battled across 8 stages with simple melee attacks and powerful magics.
At the time this was still pretty revolutionary stuff, it looked good, it sounded good and was a very enjoyable title. It's one of those games that people look back on with great fondness but might be a tad blinded by nostalgia.
It was hokey, bit buggy and had a very small array of foes. The game was badly flawed but made up for it with sheer unadulterated charm. Sadly this was not the beginning of a great franchise, the sequels went downhill and it died altogether way before it's time! We've not seen a competent modern one in several console generations.
Despite all this the original Golden Axe is an enjoyable classic, it just came out at a time where there was a lot of very stiff competition.
The Good:
Great charm
Very playable
The Bad:
Hokey combat
Not much variety
