Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder/Walkthrough

=Introduction / Game Information=

New In The Revenge of Death Adder
The Revenge of Death Adder (hereafter RODA for simplicity) introduces many new features, most notably being that it adopts the advanced system of object interaction that has since been seen in Golden Axe III (a Genesis-only game). Now, magic pots and food are only picked up when you intend to by pressing attack when on top of them, rather than just stepping on them. GAIII owes a lot to the heritage of RODA, as that was the first game to introduce such a system to the home series, and also featured the "new" style of smoothened character art (as opposed to the "flat" art of the original and its Genesis-only sequel). And so there are barrels, flags, statues, and other things you can destroy at will.

The magic has been simplified unfortunately, and each character now has only a single mind-blowingly amazing power to use. Also, as in the later Golden Axe III, each time you die you get another dose of magic as a sort of "last chance" option to even the odds. GA III gave just a single pot, but because there is no magic levelling up RODA gives a top-up of however many pots you need. So playing as Goah you may be down to 8 pots (not enough to cast) and so when you respawn, the game gives you enough pots to make up the required 13.

Story
In short, it seems Death Adder didn't really die in the last game (or he did and was then resurrected?); regardless, he's back to wreak havoc. He's regained the Golden Axe and is out to get his titular Revenge. This is only based on outward appearances, it isn't stated explicitly anywhere within in the game or its documentation.

Dip Switches
The following switches are available on both the real machine and when using an emulator (Modeler or MAME).


 * Game Difficulty: 1 - 8 (affects Vitality; 1 being Easy and 8 being Hard)
 * Initial Players: 1-4
 * Initial Vitality: 16-48 (affects Difficulty)
 * Advertise Sound: On/Off (aka Attract Mode)
 * Monitor Flip: Normal / Reverse
 * Cabinet Type: 2P / 3P / 4P
 * Start Button: Use / No Use

Cheats
The following codes are ONLY available when using the MAME emulator to play the game. You will need to download Cheat.dat from the Retrogames MAME Cheat page. First you will need to set the -cheat option in the game's properties.

Then press Tab and choose Cheat>Enable/Disable a Cheat. Then can choose to turn on or off Infinite Lives, Infinite Energy (hit points), Inifinite Magic cheats for each player.

Map Screen
According to Arcade-History.com, the map has some interesting things too. "Each time when you win a stage a map screen shows up. That map screen actually contains ancient greek words!!!" And what's the title screen say? Well, once again, Arcade-History to the rescue! "The kanji on the title screen actually reads 'Senpu', meaning 'Fighting Axe'. This is an example of 'gikun', where Japanese artists use the phonetic value of a character to determine the game's name and not the meaning of the character itself."
 * The word at the bottom means 'river'.
 * The bottom-left word means 'cave'.
 * The bottom-right word means 'forest'.
 * The word in the center means 'town'.
 * The upper-left word means 'graveyard'.
 * The word in the upper-right corner means 'sea'.
 * And finally the word on top is the name of an ancient greek mythological monster!

Different Versions
There are two known versions, US and Japan. The Japanese version has some notable differences from US:
 * It contains 5 scenes instead of 7
 * a default of 2 players rather than 4 (this can be changed by swapping the board into any 4-player System 32 cabinet and changing the dip settings accordingly)
 * The default settings give you 2 lives and 24 HP instead of 1 life and 40 HP.

Characters
Of all the characters, probably the best for learning players would be Dora the Centauress or Trix the peasant. Dora has cheap magic (6 pots/shot) and starts with enough magic pots for 3 doses worth of blasting, while Trix has even cheaper magic (4 pots/shot) and the power to spawn a pile of apples for each player&mdash;a very useful non-offensive power that makes him an instant favourite for teamplay. Drop him before you get to Death Adder, however (see Strategies).

Best character overall: for your money's worth, start with Goah no matter what. He gives you 13 initial magic pots. Then when you die you can change to a cheaper character and keep your bonus bottles! Note that magic is the same strength (as such) for each character it's just more bottles equal more damage. So Goah is the most powerful and Dora the weakest, but compared pot-for-pot they are all even. Also keep in mind the spell names are not mentioned ingame so are made up.

Sternblade

 * Weapon: Broadsword
 * Special: Spinning Slash
 * Initial magic pots: 9/9

Sternblade plays very much the same as Ax Battler from past games. His magic attack is Firestorm, which uses 9 pots. All enemies are burned up, bodies and all. If one of its victims is a soldier there is a closeup of his face as he burns!

Goah

 * Weapon: Really Big Axe
 * Special: Cannonball
 * Initial magic pots: 13/13

Gilius rides on his back in a sack and can be somewhat controlled at a certain point. He also casts the "cloud-fog being" spell, which is the most powerful of all RODA spells. It costs 13 pots. A giant hairy skull appears and breathes a cloud of deadly smoke; human foes turn to stone before smashing to pieces.

Dora

 * Weapon: (? sort of a padded club thingy)
 * Special: (Hind Kick)
 * Initial magic pots: 12/4

Dora is a Centaur, but her legs shapeshift into a normal human to ride Bizaarians. She is very fast (of course). Note that when using her special she turns to face the other direction, so you want to keep holding the direction you are facing, using the classic Chicken Leg Strategy.

Note that Dora will be facing the opposite direction after executing this move exactly like the Chicken Leg on the original game, so just hold the direction you want to go while doing this attack, in similar style to the Chicken Leg Strategy of previous games.

Her magic is Earth's Fury: chunks of earth fly up, interspersed with lightning.

Trix

 * Weapon: Pitchfork
 * Special: "Ninja" Kick
 * Initial magic pots: 6/6

The most unique of all characters. Fastest attack but very easily knocked down. His restoring magic make him a popular choice for both group and single play. RODA is unfortunately his only appearance in the saga.

Trix's Apple Tree spell grows one tree per player (max. 4). Each disappears leaving a pile of apples. Each pile restores 100% HP regardless of the difficulty setting.

Items
Note: To collect an item, walk over it and press the attack button.

Magic Pot

 * Location: Various places, such as on blue thieves, or in containers like barrels or treasure chests.
 * Effect: Adds one unit (or point) to your magic meter. The point is lost after using your magic, and you'll have to get more pots to fill up your meter again. Because of this reason, it's good to only use magic when you need it, or when you know you'll get more.

Food

 * Location: Various places, such as on green thieves, or in containers like barrels or treasure chests.
 * Effect: Replenishes your life gauge. The amount recovered depends on the Difficulty level and Vitality settings (see Dip Switches)

=Enemies=

Swordsman/Soldier
This basic grunt comes in various colours: red, blue, grey, green, Dark. Note that Swordsmen are sometimes armed with a spear or bow.

Clubman
Another grunt. Sometimes uses throwing axes as ranged attack.

Evil Trees
These trees are quite nasty. Watch out for their lethal toadstool ammunition (which seems to have very limited ammo). They have a great aversion to being burnt or drop-kicked. When dead, they shriek and usually burst into little scraps of firewood.

Strategies: in Scene 2A: Cave, you can chop at the stalagmites littered around the subterranean arena. If one of these flying stone daggers hits an Evil Tree, it is an instant kill. In Scene 2B: Forest, twigs will fall down around you and make a crunching sound, or ones already on the ground will levitate. Don't try to bash them before they are fully grown or your blows will fall harmlessly and they will get a chance to stab you. Failing this, a quick drop-kick, cannonball, etc. will shatter them. If you time it correctly while they are growing, you can get a free hit, and sometimes even turn them into matchsticks instantly.

Natives
These big guys wield either knobby bone clubs or big wooden clubs. For projectiles, they can carry flaming boulders, or spears to throw at you. The men with boulders will throw them instantly, rather than when they are likely to hit you. They can also inadvertently hit an ally.

Strategies: On the ship, there is a massive area with Natives dancing (for no good reason) and initially ignoring you. This is the time to strike, death-jabbing and drop-kicking all who stand in your way.

Skeletons
These would be your top enemy. Most notably they keep rebuilding themselves over and over until they are finally killed, so you have to watch for the death cry and subtle darkening of the bones. They can also withstand a single drop-kick.

Even more so than other enemies, they pride themselves with lightning-fast reflexes (their attacks usually halve your health!) and, if it can be believed, are even more death-jab-happy than in the original game!

Strategies: Note that they have a stunned period just like most other enemies. When they are a pile of bones, they are invulnerable to death-jabs or other ground-attacks (but still vulnerable to magic)

=Bosses=

General Boss tips
Bosses in RODA have a health bar display. You can therefore work out how close you are to imminent victory.

All bosses have an "invulnerable lunge". When they get up from being knocked down or recover from stunning, they throw their arms up in the air and scream. If you are in the wake of their arms, you will be hit, and there is only a slight chance that you can death-jab them safely during this time.

Wild Woman
There are two forms. Both use plain melee attacks against you.

Red Wild Woman
Take the advantage to Death-jab her before she finishes eating that chicken leg.

Green Wild Woman
Watch out for the army of green Swordsmen eating with her. You can destroy the bar stools if you like.

Both Wild Women
Much as before, just tougher.

Troll
There are two forms. The first has a normal mace, the second has a lightning mace.

First Troll
Listen for his screeching. He will make a certain type of cry when he is going to try to ram you. Take any and all chances to Death-pin him.

Second Troll
Much the same as the First Troll. Watch for his electric-shock mace. He will use it just as often as the previous one used his normal mace.

Death Reaper
There are three forms. They are all more or less the same, except the last two can spawn aid.

First Reaper strategies
just keep pummeling in front of you (or use magic). Once he is sufficiently hurt, the lights come on. Like all skeletons, he has a stunned period but watch out for his lunge when he gets up.

Second Reaper strategies
This is the tough one. You want to keep hitting him and never let him escape (except to do his lunge). If he has a spare second, he will throw objects on the ground; skulls turn into Skeletons, and twigs into Evil Trees.

Camp
When you camp, any Bizarrian you have managed to keep beyond the boss will be asleep in front of you. Rush to sit on it before it wakes up and runs away, and then worry about magic pots. With other players this is easier to do.

Shops
With the shops you don't have time to pick and choose. Just keep hacking or ramming at the stalls and hope that mainly potions get knocked down. Before long the shopowners will put up CLOSED signs. It is easier to shop if you jump off the Bizarrian (if you still have it), but be sure to hop back on it when the shops close. Treasure you picked up on the way here doesn't seem to affect how long the shops stay open, or alter the percentages of the merchandise they offer.

Bizarrians
Which beast is best? Unlike in previous games where each had an individual power and therefore some were definitely better than others, these new beasts are somewhat more evenly matched as they have no long-range attacks. The skeletal dragon is one of the best, having the only ranged bizarrian attack in the game as well as a more efficient death-pin. But unfortunately you only get to keep it for a while. Next would be the Preying Mantis or the Zapping Scorpion. They can execute all attacks except drop-kicking. This action will instead make you jump off the beast. Note that most enemies can use them against you if you are knocked off. The enemies who can't are: bosses, Brothers, Skeletons, and Evil Trees.

Ground Artillery
These are wheeled onto the field by Death Adder's men. You can easily avoid being hit by staying out of their horizontal trajectory.

A catapault has 6 shots, a flame catapault has 6, a crossbow has 6, and a ballista has 6. NOTE that you can ram or slice at the shot fired by any of these to deflect it&mdash;or just jump over it! Also note that a soldier will abandon the weapon if you come too close or if he doesn't shoot at you for a while.

Mounted Artillery
When you come across a catapault, flame catapault, giant crossbow, or ballista, you can actually pick it up if you are riding a bizarrian. Then you have a fully portable artillery unit, that can still ram, jump-button-kick, and death-pin, as well as firing the limited ammo of the artillery.

Game Notifications
"GO" is not merely a useless directional marker: it tells you that the enemies are truly dead (and not just KOed offscreen) and reminds you of the fact this is an arcade game. Whereas some games encourage you with stupid indicators saying such things as "Hurry", this feels more laid back. But if you wait too long, Dark soldiers appear that are very hard to kill.

Insert Coin means to pop in another quarter and then hurriedly hit Start before the 10-second countdown finishes. This is quite different from Press Start notification which means that someone else has already bunged their quarters in and you can have a round or so at their expense.

Some arcade owners are mean (read: greedy) and will set it so that you need more than one coin to start. If so it will say "2 Credits to Start" or whatever.

Moves
Note that, unlike in previous games, in RODA the Bizarrians can also execute any move listed here except the spinning attack (which instead dismounts).

Moving
Tap the stick (or keyboard keys!) in the direction you want to go. Double tap (left/right only) to run

Attacking
Press Attack repeatedly to execute the standard three-hit combo.

Jumping
Press Jump to jump. If you Jump while running you will go higher.

Jump-button kick
Press Jump repeatedly to kick.

Jump-Attack
Press Jump, then Attack. Gives more strength to the attack, while a running jump attack is the strongest.

Ramming attack
Run, then press Attack when right up to an enemy.

Drop-kick/Spinning attack
Press Attack and Jump at the same time to execute this move. This will (usually) kill in a single hit and so is the best attack when you are not too overwhelmed by foes. Other than that, you can (in theory) go through the entire game with just this move alone. This special is actually quite slow to execute AND you must be facing the right way! It is NOT a defense against all sides like the special spinning attacks seen in other games.

Death-jab
Run, then Jump and press Attack, Jump, Down simultaneously. The enemy you stab will roll over with their arms raised up trying to remove the blade. Unless they are a boss, they fail. Even the bizarrians can death-jab, so don't worry about being mounted or not. It is very difficult to land this attack (slightly easier with a bizarrian) as the enemies insist on constantly moving, so it is best to do this when they are stationary (like the sleeping/dancing guards at some points, or when dizzy (they will stand "panting" looking downwards).

BONUS Stage secret
During a bonus stage, you can hit other players! Rather than hurting them, you make them drop a magic pot. This is a good thing to use if, say, one player has just too few magic pots and the other has plenty. This is a strange but useful secret. Of course you could always deliberately steal their magic...

=Walkthrough= This walkthrough is written with the US cabinet set to the highest difficulty level, so there may be more enemies or different numbers of powerups depending on what difficulty your machine is set to (see Dip Switches). There may also be some differences between the US and Jap versions. Note that the totals given for magic pots will not reflect what you possess, as you start with a certain number, and so the pots on each stage are in addition to your own. It is also geared towards a single player getting through the game, but also offers useful group strategies.

Scene 1: Rescue the Villagers!

 * Magic Pots: x10 (+4 BONUS Stage)
 * Food: Meat x1 (+1 BONUS Stage)
 * Bizarrians: 1x Flame Mantis, 1x Zapping Scorpion
 * Boss: Red Wild Woman ... Red Bad Brother
 * BONUS Stage: Magic Pot x4, Food x1

As you enter, helpless villagers are taken away in Bizarrian-driven carts, screaming piteously. This initial area will let you try out your special moves on the weak enemies. A Brown Soldier comes towards you. If you head towards the right, a Blue Soldier will follow. Drop-kick both of them. Next a Red Soldier and two Brown Soldiers. Watch out for the red soldier's alternate bow attack. You can smash the arrows midflight with the right timing.

Now you will find a woman being helplessly whipped by a Blue Swordsman. Kill him and the woman will drop a magic pot. Then you will be attacked from the left by another Blue Soldier, followed by two Orange Clubmen. Finally, yet another Orange Clubman attacks from the right on a Flame Mantis bizarrian. Drop-kick or ram him off and finish him quickly with the mantis. Next jump up onto the waterfall area. Kill the sleeping Orange Clubman and Blue Soldier quickly, or just ram them to death. Or you could death-jab the first (see Moves) and fry the other. Next 2-3 Blue Soldiers will jump out of the water. Watch out for their spears, as they can knock you off the ledge and into the water. Move constantly up and down in the centre of the screen until they throw their spears (and miss) then fry or ram them. Next you will come across a single Blue Thief. Fry him to get the single potion he carries. Next, death-jab the barrels below (to smash them quickly) or just jump-button-kick them. Together they contain 4 potions, so you've just got 5 magic points in one go!

Next you see a poor man being forced to drag a statue of Death Adder. Quickly smash the statue to free him, or if you're too slow he'll run away himself when the statue runs into a tree and gets stuck. The slave-driver is the all-new Green Soldier. As you fight him, a Blue Clubman will wheel a catapault up. Move out of his direct line of fire and go close enough to encourage him to hop off, then fry him and sit on the catapault to pick it up. Another Blue Clubman comes to get you, and then two Aquamarine Clubmen rush up.

Now blast the next two soldiers and move on to the Wild Woman. Repeatedly fry her, then when she is dizzy (she will stand panting looking downwards) death-jab her. Repeat as necessary. Now the empty Chicken-Leg prison cart will roll away, allowing you to walk upwards towards that Food Elf in the distance. Don't worry about him running away before you get there, as he never leaves until you take his single piece of food. Now you come into the road. You will be caught in a fork between a Purple Soldier to your left and a Blue Soldier to your right. Drop-kick the guy behind you and the one behind the skull poles and demolish any poles left standing (see Scoring).

Head towards the tent and out comes a Red Soldier. Head a little to the right, and out comes another one! Head towards the campfire, where a Blue Soldier and a Aquamarine Soldier are napping. A Red Clubman comes out of the tent behind you. Free the women in the cage by pulling the chain and pull to the left to make sure you don't miss collecting their potion reward. Now smash the two DA statues and hit the women to break their chains and get yet another pot, all the while whacking the heck out of the Aquamarine Clubman and Blue Soldier who are exchanging a private joke about what happens to the women captured for DA... but wait! Two more Aquamarine Clubmen rush up to join the party! Two Blue Swordsmen come up next, followed by two Red Soldiers. Not to be outdone, two Red Clubmen rush up behind. 2 Blue Thieves run up. Hit them VERY QUICKLY. The upper one has 1 pot, while the lower one has 2.

Now you can choose to either stupidly pull that flashing rope, or just let the tent fall down by itself. Either way a Red Brother comes out, and a Green Clubman on a Zapping Scorpion. When you finally kill the Brother the tent (that he threw off previously) finally returns from the sky and lands conveniently on top of his body.

BONUS STAGE

 * Blue Thief: 4 pots
 * Green Thief: 1 Meat

MAP: "It appears the villagers were cap-tured and taken to the enemies' town. We are on our way to that town."

Scene 2: The trail to the enemies' town. ..
Decision time. Going North leads to the Cave while East leads on to the Forest. You now have to decide if you want a shorter encounter with a dozen-or-so Evil Trees with lots of food strewn throughout the level (and during the BONUS stage), or fight with a whole tribe of Natives in an area rich with fighting and magic-pots aplenty. It's your choice. And so both are covered.

Scene 2A: Cave

 * Magic Pots: +18 (+2 BONUS Stage)
 * Food: Meat x1
 * Bizarrians: 1x Preying
 * Mantis, 1x Zapping Scorpion
 * Boss: NONE
 * Bonus Stage: Magic Pot x2

In this area, as a rule none of the DA statues can be smashed. Enter and be confronted by 2 Dark/Yellow Bone Natives. Drop down onto the lower level, and fight with 2 Dark/White Club Natives. Pull the switch (if you wish) to light up the area. Free the man (who gives you a pot). Now go on to find a Green Bone Native mercilessly whipping some poor guy to drag a statue somewhere. Next two Orange/White Club Natives throw burning boulders at you, while in the background a White/Yellow/Purple Bone Native is whipping another guy. As you fight him two more come from behind, and a White/Aqua Club Native drags in a flame catapault. Behind you yet another White/Yellow/Purple Bone Native comes up on a Preying Mantis. Now free the next guy who also gets a "thanks" spoken line and happens to be possessing a magic pot. A Dark/Yellow Bone Native emerges to hurt you. Next 2 Dark/White Club Natives appear out of nowhere. Free the guy and get TWO pots!

Go down to the totally dark area. Secret tip: to kill all the enemies in this next point effortlessly, ignore them and smash 2 of the statues. Now 2 Dark/Yellow Bone Natives appear and an Orange/White Club Native comes from behind. Open the food room and get 2 free Evil Trees at no extra cost! Get the food, and go onwards! Now you fight two Dark/Yellow Bone Natives beside the glow-in-the-dark white DA statues. Next not one, not two, but three Dark/White Club Natives come out.

Next we have a shameless Indiana Jones ripoff rolling rock scene, and then smash more statues to enter the Stalagmite Cave. Almost instantly, a Green Evil Tree attacks. Next you will encounter 8 in quick succession. Next 3 magic pots and a chest (containing a gold Rubber Ducky) beckon from a pile of bones. But first a White/Yellow/Purple Bone Native attacks on a Zapping Scorpion. Now jump over the hole (notice how the legs of your scorpion as you jump look like the spiders on Eight-Legged Freaks). Zap the skele in the rope-pull room and collect the 2 magic pots and single piece of food. Now a White/Yellow/Purple Bone Native jumps up the rock steps, followed by 2 more. Now a Dark/Yellow Bone Native tries to stop you. Kill him and collect the magic pot in the chest. He is followed by another, and two Dark/White Club Natives. In the room on the left are 2 pots and 2 trees. The room on the right has 2 pots and FOUR trees!

Now a Dark/Blue/Cyan Bone Native throws a spear at you, while a Dark/White Club Native rolls up a catapault. Now 2 Red/Yellow Club Natives attack you. Watch out, they can throw their clubs&mdash;and yet oddly never run out of ammo.... Now 3 more Dark/Bule/Cyan Bone Natives attack from behind. In the chests around you are 5 more potions. But now the skeles attack! Get the 8 piles of goodies before you kill the enemies or you have no chance to get them... ever!

BONUS: Now a little thief comes out, turns off the fire, and steals 2 potions. You get 2 more back as well as the ones he stole. Turning the fire on is not *that* important. Notice he's all blackened from the soot!

Scene 2B: Forest

 * Magic Pots: +3
 * Food: ?
 * Bizarrians: ?
 * Boss: ?
 * Bonus Stage: Magic Pot x?, Food x4 (+1 per player)

Look out for bunches of grapes hidden all over this area. Some need to be cut down or even require a double jump to reach them. Their habit of glinting brightly usually gives them away. As you head towards the right, you auto-scroll into two Gold Soldiers. Kill them and knock down the two DA flags. Now drop down onto the lilypads and fight 7 Evil Trees in quick succession. Drop off the lilypads, and a Blue Thief carrying a single pot will head towards you. Head to the right, and another will pop out of that little door. Grab his pot too, and quickly! Head a little further, and yet another pops out! Head to the right and lots of little halfling villagers run past you. No matter what you try, you can't kill them.

Now as you head to the right you find out why they were running: up comes a Green/Yellow Bone Native, and a Purple/White Club Native on a Preying Mantis. You can slide down the clotheslines if you wish, and besides being fun you'll also hit the enemies (hopefully). After 3 slides, each line breaks. So, 6 goes and then it's all over. Now 3 Red/Yellow Bone Natives attack. Watch out for their alternate bow attack. Head right, where a Yellow Green Club Native tries to throw a burning boulder at you. It can be deflected, with skill. He is followd by another, and 2 Orange/White Club Natives wheel up burning catapaults. Now two red Bone Natives attack.

Then 2 White/Yellow/Purple Bone Natives attack from in front while 2 White/Aqua/Yellow Club Natives throw burning boulders from behind. Then another White/Yellow/Purple Bone Native comes up from the right on a fighting scorpion. Be sure to ram to the left as you pass this little door, as a burning Green Thief runs out. Put out his fire for him, and grab the food he drops!

Climb the steps and a twig levitates in front of you. No it's not water divination, it's an Evil Tree! Move to the right and two more grow, one on each side of you. Next four more grow up around you. Watch for the sparkling grapes growing overhead. They don't restore much health, but it's better than nothing. Head right to get another hanging bunch, and two on the ground. Now another Evil Tree, and when you head to the right 5 more drop down from above and grow... Now you get picked up in a biiiig sack. Don't struggle, it does no good. Now you drop down into a campfire where 4 White/Yellow/Aqua Club Natives and 4 White/Yellow/Purple Bone Natives wait hungrily for your arrival. Pull the chain to the right to free the two Chicken Legs, who rush away and knock over some of your foes! Free the two midgets, who run away without giving you any pots. There are also two in a tree (jump-attack to free them). Now 2 Green/Yellow Club Natives and two Black/Blue/Aqua Spear (Bone) Natives attack, followed when dead by 3 White/Aqua/Yellow Club Natives with flaming boulders. A White/Yellow/Purple Bone Native joins them soon after. Now 3 barrels full of treasure await&mdash;BUT that pile of bones turns into... 3 Skeletons!

BONUS Stage: Bash the heck out of that bouncing hunk of meat to get 4 pieces of food! Each player also has a plate in front of them. So the more players, the more food!

MAP: "Seeing the enemies' town, we renewed our oach to save the villagers." (yes, it actually says "oach")

Scene 3: Sneak into the town. ..

 * Magic Pots: +4 (+2 BONUS Stage) (depends on SHOP purchases)
 * Food: +1? (depends on SHOP purchases)
 * Bizarrians: ?
 * Boss: Green Wild Woman ... Cyclops ... Bad Brothers
 * Bonus Stage: Magic Pot x?, Food x?

This should have been called "Bosses' Home Stage". You will fight all of the bosses you encountered previously all over again. Most are in pairs to be even more annoying. 4 Brown Soldiers and 2 Orange Clubmen attack all at once (so much for being quiet). Break the flags and head onwards to be attacked by 2 Blue Spear Soldiers while 2 Green Clubmen wheel up ballistas behind. Now 4 Blue Spear Soldiers try to pin you between them. Ready to spoil your fun, a Green Clubman rides up on a Flame Mantis. He is followed by 2 Cyan Clubmen with flaming boulders.

Green Wild Woman strategies
Shoot the spears into her, then finish her off with the Bizarrian.

Now walk past the brick wall. Jump off your Bizarrian and hack like crazy at the shops whenever they offer magic pots. Food is less important. After about 6 items per player (a vague guesstimate) they say SOLD OUT.

Now reclaim your ride beast and head on to where a Green Clubman and Green Soldier are laughing evilly. Then 3 White Soldiers comes out of the inn to get you. 2 more White Soldiers and 2 super-rare Purple Clubmen are sleeping and joking outside the Cyclops enclosure. 2 more Purple Clubmen come out of the inn. Next of course the Cyclops breaks free and comes to whack you. You can go get that food Elf any time now. He only has a single scrap of meat.

Now a Green Soldier appears carrying a unique skull flag. He will throw this as a spear from a distance OR shove it in the ground and attack. 2 Red Soldiers attack next. Now move on to the chained women. Free them and keep to the left or you won't be able to collect the magic pots. The upper row gives 1, the lower gives 2. Now a Red Soldier and Red Clubman attack, while a Cyan Clubman wheels up a Crossbow.

Grab the crossbow and get ready to fry! A small army of 4 Purple Soldiers (one on a Zapping Scorpion) and 2 Red Clubmen attack. Swap for the Zapping Scorpion, as it has more range. Now you come across the Bad Brothers abusing a woman. She gives you a magic pot of course.

Red Brother II strategies
Now he's back for more! This time, simply hit him once then get out of his way. He will run away and smash through the door in order to escape. If you are in his path, you are mowed down.

Silver Brother strategies
Just keep beating him to death. Be sure to hit the Red Brother first, so he will run away like the chicken he is and bother you no further. Now you go into a room where 6 Green Soldiers, the Red Brother, and the Red Wild Woman are having din-dins.

Curiously enough, you can break the bar-stools. Next is the sleeping quarters, containing 6 Green Clubmen napping all over the place, and the Bad Brother again! It is unclear as to whether you can slide down this clothesline or not. In the next room, a dark reaper guy and the bad brother await. Bash about half of the reaper's health off to turn the lights back on. Then kill him. Suddenly the bars come down and you're trapped.

BONUS Stage: The Blue Thief steals 2 pots from each of you and holds 2 more. Press left and right or Attack repeatedly to break free, or as Goah see a cute little Gilius come out with a knife.

Unlike the tried-and-true "lock up the hero so he can then escape" levels of games such as Duke Nukem 3D and Dark Forces where capture means you lose all your gear, in this game you only lose the magic pots that drop if you are stupid and let the Thief get away. If you do nothing, the stage will eventually end and you will be magically freed from your captivity.

MAP: "We rescued all of the villagers, but some of them had been recaptured and taken to the Castle of Death-Adder!

Scene 4: March forth to the Castle of Death-Adder.
No actual fighting before your path choice, so choose wisely.

If at this point the player playing Trix is almost dead, it might be a good idea to deliberately die somehow, then change to another character. If all four are playing this isn't an option, however. This is because once you come to DA himself you want offense-only magic, as there's scarcely breathing space to spawn a health boost.

Scene 4A: Doomed Lands

 * Magic Pots: ?
 * Food: ?
 * Bizarrians: ?
 * Boss: Yellow Reaper
 * BONUS Stage: Magic Pot x?, Food x?

First the old "come from behind" trick. 2 Green Clubmen, 2 Green Swordsmen, and a Red clubman attack from the rear. Smash the 9 skull posts after killing the sleeping Gold Clubman and Gold Swordsman. Two more Gold Clubmen come from behind, one with a Catapault.

Then you look at the DOOMED ONLY sign. Well, the whole blasted land of Yuria IS doomed if you don't defeat Death Adder so make yourself welcome after dealing to the unruly bouncers at the gate. Now an Aquamarine Clubman and two Purple Swordsmen attack you. Watch those graves, because in a moment a Skeleton comes out. Another rides up on a Bone Dragon.

Scene 4B: Pier

 * Magic Pots: ?
 * Food: ?
 * Bizarrians: ?
 * Boss: Orange Reaper
 * BONUS Stage: Magic Pot x?, Food x?

Walk towards the Pier. You will be automatically controlled for a short time. During this time you pass a Blue Clubman and a White Swordsman. Once on the ship you will be attacked from behind by 2 Red Clubmen, 2 Gold Swordsmen, and a Gold Clubman runs up shortly after. As you scroll to the right, the ship will start moving and a Skeleton will jump out of a hole in the floorboards. Jump up onto the higher area and of course 2/3 Skeletons jump out behind you.

Scene 5: Defeat The Death-Adder!

 * Magic Pots: ?
 * Food: ?
 * Bizarrians: ?
 * Boss: Death Adder's Shield // Death Adder // Final Death Adder
 * Bonus Stage: none, as the game ends

OK now you fight Death Adder himself. Unlike in the last game the linking symbol has changed, turning him from Death=Adder into Death-Adder. Notice the snake insignia on the wooden floor panel? Suddenly, in a burst of flame, Death Adder rises out amidst smoke and flames! If by some magic chance you still had a bizarrian, you will notice that this is the one scene where you couldn't keep it throughout. Even if you could, you wouldn't have it for long!

Death Adder's Shield Strategies
No magic. Period. You will see what happens if you do. If you feel you can spare the bottles, try using magic; Death Adder's evil dragon shield will suck the bottles up before they can activate and eats them *crunch!* It does not appear to give him a power boost or heal him in any way, but it's still very annoying to lose your hard-won bottles. If you look at the icon beside the health bar you will see the shield NOT Death Adder. You need to destroy his shield in order to be able to use magic against him. Well, there IS another way...

Despite outward appearances, when he is KOed you can use your magic! But you have to be quick as the first thing he does when he gets up is to shove his shield in the air and ready it for more bottle-munching fun. Don't leave a gap between blasts if you intend to hit him with more than one type. If you repeatedly smack him with magic you can see him hilariously being pushed up and down in the air as you use magic, then he recovers and gravity takes over, only for him to be thrown around again! Death Adder's shield responds quite negatively to being hacked, rammed, or death-jabbed. Don't stand over DA when he gets up, as he has a split-second "invincible lunge" like all RODA bosses, and will knock you down before your blows register.

Don't stand right lined up with the mouth of the shield, as it will unleash either lightning or red-black flames on the hapless hero! Back-attacks would be the best option. Running jump over him, then come down behind him and smash him with a spinning attack. This works best with a friend or two. He is rarely stunned, but when he is take full advantage of this rare chance to death-jab him. With other players, you can execute the cooperative attack at this time (see Moves) or just all death-jab him at the same time.

Shieldless Death Adder Strategies
OK now nuke him with all your might. If he is knocked down at the time, let him get up and use his invincible lunge before hitting the Magic button. Watch out for his new half-circle Ring of Cloudy Evil spell. This can be avoided by jumping or using magic. A running jump gives the best chance of getting over it, as it is actually slightly wider at the points where it curves. When he is finally defeated you will flee the castle.

But wait, why aren't the credits rolling? Well, he's not quite dead yet!

FINAL SCENE
Boss: Final Death Adder

The screen now reads FINAL SCENE in big letters so anyone watching can be duly impressed with your gameplaying prowess to get this far. And certainly by this point many may be down to their last quarter.

Final Death Adder Strategies
Use all the techniques as before. It's such as small arena that you will have trouble not getting hit by his Ring of Cloudy Evil power, but he has less chance of avoiding a death-jab. Use your magic (if you have any left) or just keep hitting him until he's finished. This is an especially good location for the cooperative attack. Instead of dying, DA jumps into the middle of the platform and says (through text) "Chew on this guys!" He now summons a halo of energy above his head. Don't even try to attack him; he'll repel you and you'll get hurt. Just wait.

Cutscene: now suddenly all four heroes are on the platform together (even the ones you and your buddies didn't use). But wait! Goah's backpack is empty! Where is Gilius? Suddenly he bursts down from an unseen location and strikes DA smack in the center of his skull. They both fall off the platform and there is an agonising combined scream from them. They explode into a cloud of magic dust. The others stand on the dragon's back with the axe behind them, and silently fly onwards as the classic "Fin" displays onscreen.

Ending Scene
Now you see a big room. All the villagers and freed prisoners you saw fleeing appear one by one in the room. Then the players arrive. There is the feeling of a party in the air. The various bizarrians and enemies appear, and finally DA himself. Then the players are rewarded with a big banner like on the title screen, saying "See you next game!"

It seems this is saying DA and Gilius didn't really die as they live on time and time again every time you play the game again. The game doesn't scroll any credits, so you are left to assume that some of the authors of the original were involved.

Hi-Scores and Scoring information
Golden Axe doesn't have names or hi-score lists. You are anonymous. However, the machine's Bookkeeping info does store how many coins were entered, how many players reached a certain score, etc. (consult your manual or emulator documentation to find the Test/Settings switch/key). You can download the official RODA technical manual for more on this. The score equations used for the original game may or may not apply to this game. It certainly does not rate you in quite the same manner.

Points are awarded in the following categories:
 * Destroy (enemies, maybe breakables too?)
 * Items (Food, Magic Pots, Treasure)
 * Death (subtracts points)

The following may lead to a higher score:
 * smashing all destructibles in the game (Death Adder statues, flags, skull posts, barstools, etc.)
 * taking as little damage as possible, or even no damage at all
 * freeing prisoners
 * an enemy falling down a hole upon death (not many places where you can do this)

The following definitely alter your score:
 * collecting Treasure increases your score (however Food and Magic Pots may have no effect)
 * dying subtracts 10 points per death. You usually get 2 lives per credit, so it (theoretically) comes in units of 20 points for each credit spent. And so spending lots of credits to reach the end will result in a lower score.