Maker - Sega   Catalogue No. - G-4062

Type - Action

The follow up to Sega's all time classic Golden Axe comes exclusively to the Mega Drive and surprisingly it's the best Golden Axe on the system.  Golden Axe II offers bigger, more defined sprites as well as a more beefier soundtrack.  Playability is also a lot more solid than the original giving you a much more satisfying feeling when you hit enemies.  As with the original game you collect magic icons to help you throughout the quest.  However in Golden Axe II there are two modes available for using Magic.  The default is a new mode that allows you to use magic per how many pellets you have. The more pellets you have the more you can use the magic button.  You can choose to use one pellet at a time or use all of them by holding down the magic button to "power up" the magic bar to make a better magic attack.  While the other mode is pretty much the same as the original.  I must admit that I prefer the original mode over the new default mode.  I must also mention that in Golden Axe 2 the characters all have special moves similar to those found in the like of Bare Knuckle.  This came as quite a surprise at first since I never bother reading instruction manuals.

Over all Golden Axe II doesn't looks as good as the likes of Bare Knuckle 2 these days but still holds it's own in the world of slash'em ups.