Golden Axe/Gameplay

Controls

Arcade	Genesis	Sega Master System	Description
			Move your character in any one of eight directions. Double-tap left or right to run.
			Attack with your weapon. Can be used in combination with other moves.
			Jump in the air. The height of the jump is the same no matter how long jump is pressed. Jump while dashing to leap higher.
		+	Use magic. This will consume every magic potion in your possession.
			Pause the action mid-game.

Combat Moves

Combos

Tap attack repeatedly to combo. Combos only begin when an attack connects. There are two combos. If you are far from an enemy, the combo is two swings and a thrust (or overhead chop for Gilius). If you are close, after the two swings, there will be two knocks to the top of the head, followed by a kick. Unless the enemy is out of health, only the thrust and the kick knock down.

Throw

While an enemy is stunned, close in and press attack to throw them. Knocks down, but does little damage. Useful for tossing an enemy into a pit to eliminate them quickly.

Jump attack

Jump, then hit attack while in mid-air. This will always knock enemies down. Highly effective in the arcade, less so on home versions.

Dash Attack

Tap left or right twice, then hit attack when within melee range of the target. Very useful against bosses that have slower or no dash ability. Always knocks down.

Special Attack

Hit attack and jump at the same time. Your hero will swirl the sword around his head and strike behind (Ax Battler, Tyris Flare) or do a rolling attack to hit enemies behind (Gilius Thunderhead). Can't be done while riding. Always knocks down, does high damage. Very effective against smaller enemies when they aren't dashing.

Death stab

Dash, then jump, then press attack to thrust your blade into your enemy's skull. This will always knock enemies down, and deals very high damage. Can't be done while riding. Enemies will try to dodge this attack. If you are slightly above the bottom of the screen though, they will usually try to dodge low, and still get hit. This doesn't work as well on the arcade, but you can stun them first with normal attacks. Note that the skeletons know this move too, and it hurts just as much when they do it.

Magic

In order to use magic, you must collect a number of magic potions. The number of magic potions that you have determines the type and strength of the spell cast. Each character is capable of a different suite of magic spells. See the Characters page for more information. Once the magic button is pressed, all magic potions are consumed, and you cast the spell at the current level of strength those magic potions provide. You cannot preserve some magic potions for later use. It's all or nothing. Magic potions are primarily obtained by attacking the small thieves dressed in blue.

Health

Throughout the game, you must guard your character's health in order to prevent them from dying. For each life that you have, your character will have three health bars. Each bar is not removed from a single attack, but attacks will continue to wear away at a health bar until it is depleted. Once all three health bars are eliminated, the character dies and loses one life. If all three lives are lost, the game is over.

It is possible to recover health in the bonus stages. The thieves dressed in green drop food when attacked, as opposed to the magic potions that the blue thieves drop. Collect the food to restore no more than two health bars, for a maximum of three health bars. It is not possible to obtain more health beyond three bars.