Golden Axe III - Thoughts
Released in June 1993 for the Sega Mega Drive in Japan and Europe (and much later on the short lived Sega Channel in the United States in 1995), Golden Axe III marked the final mainline entry in Sega’s classic fantasy beat ’em up trilogy on home consoles. Developed by Sega AM1, the game attempted to modernize the series with new mechanics, branching paths, and a revamped combat system, all while moving away from some of the elements that defined the earlier titles. Instead of stalwart returning heroes Ax Battler, Tyris Flare and Gilius Thunderhead (Gilius is still in the game, but not playable), Golden Axe III introduced an all-new cast of 4 heroes, signaling a deliberate shift in tone and direction.
At release, Golden Axe III received a mixed to negative critical reception, especially when compared to the popularity of Golden Axe and Golden Axe II. Reviewers appreciated the added depth to combat such as character-specific techniques, as well as the branching level structure that encouraged replayability. However, criticism was frequently directed at the game’s simpler visual style. Many felt the game lacked the raw power fantasy and arcade energy that defined its predecessors.
Commercially, Golden Axe III performed modestly at best, particularly outside Japan. Its limited Western release and the rising dominance of newer franchises and 3D-focused experiences meant it never reached the sales heights of the earlier entries. Over time, however, the game has gained a modest cult following, with fans reevaluating it as an experimental but flawed send-off and a title that tried to evolve Golden Axe into something deeper and more technical, even if it lost some of the series’ signature charm along the way.
What I Liked 😃
More Character Choice
Gone are Ax Battler, Tyris Flare and Gilius Thunderhead. They have better things to do than to go on yet another harrowing adventure. They probably retired at some medieval resort. Or, since Ax and Tyris were humans, maybe this takes place hundreds of years later, after they had died. Who knows? What we do know is that once again, the Golden Axe has been stolen. This time Damud Hellstrike, THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS (!!) has taken the Axe and the Princess of Yuria. To add insult to injury, he morphed the King of Yuria into a Griffon named Eve (huh?).
Anyway, he ALSO curses all warriors for good measure. Somehow Gilius is not cursed himself and is able to remove the curse from one warrior, that being the warrior that the player chooses at the beginning of the game. Those warriors are: the giant Proud Cragger, the humanoid black panther Chronos “Evil” Rait, the swordsman Kain Grinder and the swordswoman Sarah Burn. What is the deal with the character names in this series?? Proud Cragger? Kain Grinder? Then you have Sarah Burn….one of these things is not like the other 🎵.
Despite the silly names, I did find it refreshing to have a new set of characters to pick from. Each hero is distinctive in their looks. In previous games we had 2 humans and a dwarf. This time we have a giant, 2 humans and a panther. Any game with a playable panther has to be fun, right?
Branching Pathways
At certain moments within a stage, the player can choose between one of two pathways. I liked this added level of choice. It gives the game another reason to be replayed on top of playing with different characters. That being said, I did not replay any of the stages, so I don’t know how different the pathways are from one another. But, for the person who is only going to play this game through one time (like me), it at least appears as though there’s a whole new section of the stage that you could have chosen. The players imagination can run wild.
Varied Enemies
A very welcome change in my opinion was a wider variety of enemies. Instead of the same skeletons and gobin/orc things on every stage, there’s a nice mixture of human male and female enemies as well as skeletons. The bosses are also more interesting. Some of the bosses are the cursed heroes that you could have chosen as a playable character at the beginning, which give the fights a little more high stakes. I also appreciated that the death sound effect for each type of enemy was different from one another unlike Golden Axe II (see my review of Golden Axe II).
What I Didn’t Like ☹️
Combat is Still Annoying
Despite new characters, new moves and new enemies, the combat in Golden Axe III is largely unchanged. Enemies come from all sides and try to flank the player. If they manage to flank, our hero is very much in peril. Jump kicking still becomes the best option, especially with mini bosses and bosses if you’ve already used up your special power. Sega tried to add in some variety in the combat with some special moves that don’t require magic pots, but it doesn’t move the needle with change the combat that much. I think of all the games, this one is probably the least annoying when it comes to the combat. Unfortunately, I did not have fun jump kicking all the enemies even still.
Overall Thoughts 🤔
Golden Axe III is the final entry on home consoles for the series and it wasn’t even really released in the US until the PS2 era, nearly 10 years after the original release. I enjoyed the new characters to choose from and I thought this one finally gave us a nice range of enemies. Branching pathways were a nice touch. But, looking back, I haven’t really enjoyed any of these games. The fantasy setting is right up my alley but the actual gameplay has always been annoying. Golden Axe III doesn’t really change my mind even if I do get to play as a panther.
Where Can I Play This? 🕹️
Golden Axe III has been released in the US on several Sega compilations including: The Sega Genesis Collection for PS2, Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and the Sega Genesis Classics compilation on Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
I played Golden Axe III via the Sega Genesis Classics compilation. I beat the game with Chronos “Evil” Rait, the black panther.
Up Next 📅
Up next, it’s Mega Man 9 originally released for WiiWare, PSN and Xbox Live Arcade!
I definitely respect Golden Axe 3 for its weird character roster and branching paths. I feel like the game was a bit too ambitious for its own good. Like, if you took these ideas and made a really polished 32-bit beat 'em up on the Saturn, I can see this being a classic of the genre. As it stands, Golden Axe 3 is obviously flawed and pretty half-baked, but I still have a soft spot for it. The game's little intro sequence always gets me hyped!
I never understood how Sega nailed Streets of Rage's beat em up gameplay, yet Golden Axe feels so clunky and, like you said, not that enjoyable to play. So weird!