Golden Axe Series

Golden Axe
Golden Axe is a side-scrolling, beat 'em up, hack and slash arcade video game released in 1989 by Sega for the System 16-B arcade hardware. It is the first game in the Golden Axe series.

Makoto Uchida was the primary developer of the game and also was responsible for the creation of Altered Beast. Several ports of the game were created, most notably for the Mega Drive/Genesis andMaster System.

Plot
The game takes place in the fictional land of Yuria, a Conan the Barbarian-style high fantasy medieval world. An evil entity known as Death Adder has captured the King and his daughter, and holds them captive in their castle. He also finds the Golden Axe, the magical emblem of Yuria, and threatens to destroy both the axe and the royal family unless the people of Yuria accept him as their ruler. Three Warriors set out on a quest to rescue Yuria and avenge their losses at the hands of Death Adder. The first is a battle axe-wielding dwarf, Gilius Thunderhead, from the mines of Wolud, whose twin brother was killed by the soldiers of Death Adder. Another is a male barbarian, Ax Battler, wielding a two handed broadsword looking for revenge for the murder of his mother. The last is a long-sword-wielding Tyris Flare, an amazon, whose parents were both killed by Death Adder.

The warriors rescue the inhabitants of the ransacked Turtle Village, which turns out to be situated on the shell of a giant turtle. The turtle takes the characters across the sea, and they then fly to the castle itself on the back of a giant eagle. Once at the castle they defeat Death Adder, who is wielding the Golden Axe and save the land. In the Mega Drive and PC versions, and also in other ports, the characters also battle Death Adder's mentor, Death Bringer, as the true final boss.

Golden Axe II
Golden Axe II is a side-scrolling fighting game (or side-scrolling beat'em up) released for the Sega Mega Drive. It was released on December 26, 1991.[1] It is the home console sequel to the popular game Golden Axe, marking the second game in the series, though the arcade did see a sequel of its own called Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder a few years later. Golden Axe II was only released on the Mega Drive, while the original was released on many other platforms. The game has most recently appeared in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and as an iPhone port on iTunes.[2]

The box art was created by Boris Vallejo.

Plot
The three playable characters from the first Golden Axe, Ax Battler, Tyris Flare, and Gilius Thunderhead, return in Golden Axe II to save the people of the land by defeating the new evil clan, led by Dark Guld, and reclaim the Golden Axe, which is in his possession. The game features a total of seven levels: six scrolling levels and a final end of game boss battle against Dark Guld. === [edit] Golden Axe story (from SEGA Mega Drive PAL instruction manual)===

[edit] Save the World from Chaos!
The evil lord Dark Guld should have been put away for good the last time he was defeated in battle. But now he has recouped and is back in full force. And he’s accompanied by his clan of evil followers who are creepier, slimier and more disgusting than ever. Dark Guld has come for revenge and he is driven by the desire to see this world revert to chaos. He has taken the powerful Golden Axe, which is a symbol of peace and prosperity, to use for his own evil purposes. His creatures terrorize every town they descend upon. Someone must put a stop to this horror!

Once again, three warriors stand up to face the oppressors. One is Ax-Battler, the fierce barbarian; the second is Tyris-Flare, the ferocious Amazon; and the third is Gilius Thunderhead, the fearless dwarf. They are willing to risk their lives to put a stop to the terror. They won’t rest easy until the Golden Axe is returned to its rightful place.

Its time to start the long journey through enemy-infested territory. Don’t let the strange reptilian enemy creatures frighten you, because you’ll need every ounce of courage you can muster. Fight onward until you reach the final showdown, a battle with Dark Guld himself!

Golden Axe III
Golden Axe III (ゴールデンアックス III? ) is the last installment in the Golden Axe series released for the Sega Mega Drive on June 25, 1993. The cartridge unit was only released in Japan while the North American release was a Sega Channel exclusive. It was never released in Europe.

The game has been subsequently re-released (along with many other Mega Drive titles) for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable as part of the Sega Genesis Collection. It was also re-released on theWii Virtual Console in Japan on September 4, 2007, and in PAL regions on October 5, 2007. It was released on the North American Virtual Console on October 22, 2007. It also appeared in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Description
<p style="line-height:19px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;text-align:-webkit-auto;">The gameplay has been expanded slightly but is essentially the same hack n' slash as the previous games. New features to the series include new characters, new moves (special attacks, teamwork attacks and teamwork magic spells) and junction points where you can choose which path to take.Damud Hellbringer, the Prince of Darkness, has taken away the Golden Axe and put an evil curse over all the warriors. However, one of the heroes has their curse relieved and is sent to set things straight - lift the curse off the others, defeat the villain and return with the Golden Axe.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;text-align:-webkit-auto;">The characters include a giant, Proud Cragger (プラウド・クラッガー), a humanoid black panther Chronos "Evil" Rait (クロノス・”イビル”・レート), along with a swordsman, Kain Grinder (カイン・グリンダー), who resembles Ax Battler, and a swordswoman Sahra Burn (サラ・バーン) who resembles Tyris Flare.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Transliteration_0-0" style="line-height:1em;">[1] Gilius Thunderhead is the only character who appears from previous games, though he isn't playable and only appears during cut-scenes. Kain Grinder and Sahra Burn are referred to as Ax Battler and Tyris Flare respectively in the Sega Channel localization of the game.

Credits
Golden Axe Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Axe

Golden Axe II Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Axe_II

Golden Axe III Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Axe_III 

Golden Axe Series Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Axe_(series) 

Golden Axe Wikia: http://goldenaxe.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page 

SEGA Wikia: http://sega.wikia.com/wiki/Sega_Wiki

All information, citation, and reference can be found on these Wiki's.