game
icon
title Golden Axe (set 4, Japan, FD1094 317-0121)
set name goldnaxj
manufacturer Sega
year 1989
genre Fighter (hof)
category Fighter / 2.5D (hof)
driver status good
driver source segas16b.c
snapshots MW: in game | parent / CT: in game | title | select | wallpaper | parent / Mr. Do: parent / EJ: parent / PS: in game | title | parent
zoom
rating

73.2% after 45 votes
 
parent Golden Axe (set 6, US, 8751 317-123A)
other clones Golden Axe (bootleg)
Golden Axe (bootleg, encrypted)
Golden Axe (set 1, World, FD1094 317-0110)
Golden Axe (set 2, US, 8751 317-0112)
Golden Axe (set 3, World, FD1094 317-0120)
Golden Axe (set 5, US, FD1094 317-0122)
display
colour emulation good
palette 6144
display type raster
orientation horizontal
resolution 320x224
frequency 60.054389Hz
sound
sound emulation good
channels mono
controls
players 2
nplayers 2P sim
controls 8 way joystick
buttons 3
coin slots 2
hardware
cpu 68000 @ 10MHz
cpu Z80 @ 5MHz
audio YM2151 @ 4MHz
audio UPD7759 @ 0.64MHz
data
version added .036b15
last change(s) .092 .088u6
roms
name size crc set flags sha1
epr12540.a7  131072  0c7ccc6d  goldnaxj    25bc29eee731befc665472c2c1998cac8447cc21 
epr12539.a5  131072  1f24f7d0  goldnaxj    a09cdf394c03069707f7ed400b8fbdc13674fa74 
epr12521.a8  131072  5001d713  goldnaxj    68cf3f48d6e440e5b800503a211adda02107d956 
epr12519.a6  131072  4438ca8e  goldnaxj    0af53d64f06abf41f4c46540d28d5f008a4835a3 
317-0121.key  8192  72afed01  goldnaxj    3967390fde63fa5961e71ab49b6e71c4be2ac96f 
epr12385  131072  b8a4e7e0  goldnaxe    9b36f50209d45a835ded53eb045f63c649b02fc9 
epr12386  131072  25d7d779  goldnaxe    2de14a76a5176d5abc7e7f7f723146c620927610 
epr12387  131072  c7fcadf3  goldnaxe    5f0fd600a75a02749935af21e1e0d2c714c6417e 
mpr12378.b1  262144  119e5a82  goldnaxe    261ed2bc4ebac7142e2ecca9f03c91242e792a98 
mpr12379.b4  262144  1a0e8c57  goldnaxe    674f1ae7db632876fff346e76786801ae19d9799 
mpr12380.b2  262144  bb2c0853  goldnaxe    3f3b546d078f22d787c93ee74d9ad3a6e84383ac 
mpr12381.b5  262144  81ba6ecc  goldnaxe    7f59e4d86a192b97e92729371b78c3f1c784a0b5 
mpr12382.b3  262144  81601c6f  goldnaxe    604bc5613c6c734a06860303ba36d61bb54508a0 
mpr12383.b6  262144  5dbacf7a  goldnaxe    236866fb94672b13cbb2cb479324e61de87eeb34 
epr12390  32768  399fc5f5  goldnaxe    6f290b36dc71ff4759598e2a9c185a8945a3c9e7 
mpr12384.a11  131072  6218d8e7  goldnaxe    5a745c750efb4a61716f99befb7ed14cc84e9973 
cabinet art
cabinet goldnaxe.png
marquee goldnaxe.png
control panel goldnaxe.png
flyer goldnaxj.png
PCB goldnaxe.png
additional information
info 0.33b3 [Mirko Buffoni]

TODO:
  • Wanted: 317-0112/0123A 8751 MCUs
Bugs:
  • All three Golden Axe sets based on the 5704 ROM board (goldnax2, goldnax3 and goldnaxj) have two of their four CPU ROMs in common: epr12521.a8 and epr12519.a6. However, I believe that these ROMs are incorrect for goldnax3 and goldnaxj, since both these sets fail their ROM test in service mode (see screenshot). goldnax2 does pass the ROM test. Updated by AWJ: I've asked CGFM about this and he says the ROMs pass the test on the PCB. So the failed test in MAME is caused by an emulation problem, not mismatched ROMs. From Haze: passing shot sets also fail their rom check fwiw. goldnaxe0103u2ora AWJ / Haze (ID 00003)
WIP:
  • 0.119u1: Added clone Golden Axe (bootleg).
  • 0.112u2: Aaron Giles fixed bad bits in a couple of FD1094 keys and added a small optimization to the FD1094 decoding step. Added new FD1094 317-0122 key to clone Golden Axe (set 5, US, FD1094 317-0122).
  • 0.97u5: Aaron Giles hooked up missing P2 inputs in I8751 versions Golden Axe (set 6) and clone (set 2).
  • 0.92: Renamed (goldnaxe) to clone (goldnax2), (goldnaxa) to (goldnaxe), (goldnaxc) to (goldnaxu) and (goldnxj2) to (goldnax3).
  • 0.89u2: Moved Golden Axe (8751) to the new segas16b driver. Changed Z80 CPU2 clock speed to 5MHz. Added I8751 (8Mhz) MCU and mcu fake rom. Fixed gfx2 roms addresses.
  • 0.88u6: Added clone Golden Axe (Version 1, World, FD1094 317-0120).
  • 17th November 2004: Charles MacDonald - Dumped the cpu from what appears to be a *real* japanese set of Golden Axe (i suspect all the other japanese sets are world sets). This set has a japan warning on startup, blood dripping on the player select screen, japanese subtitles and it does have the extra scene.
  • 0.88u3: Added new 317-0122.key to clone Golden Axe (Version 2).
  • 0.88u2: Added FD1094 317-0122.key to clone Golden Axe (Version 2).
  • 0.88u1: Charles MacDonald and Nicola Salmoria improved the FD1094 emulation. More sets now run (eswatu, fpoint, goldnaxc and cltchitr).
  • 4th October 2004: Charles MacDonald - I'm looking for information about the System 16B version of Golden Axe, using a FD1094 with part number 317-0122. If someone can provide a description or scans of the ROM board, please get in touch.
  • 0.36b15: Added clone Golden Axe (Version 1, Japan).
  • 0.36b2: Andrew Prime added clones Golden Axe (bootleg), (Version 2 317-0110) and (Version 2 317-0122).
  • 0.36b1: Andrew Prime added clone Golden Axe (Version 2).
  • 0.34b4: Phil Stroffolino support sound in all of the working System 16 games. Added Z80 (4096000 Hz) CPU2 and YM-2151 (4096000 Hz) sound.
  • 0.33b3: Mirko Buffoni added Golden Axe (Sega 1989).
LEVELS: 5 (cut in 10 stages)

Other Emulators:
  • Calice
  • Final Burn
  • System 16
Recommended Games (Warriors):

Genpei ToumaDen

Rygar

Rygar (PlayChoice-10)

Black Tiger

Karnov

Rastan / Rastan Saga

Nastar / Rastan Saga 2

Warrior Blade - Rastan Saga Episode III

Altered Beast

Altered Beast (Mega-Tech)

Chelnov - Atomic Runner

Haunted Castle

Legend of Makai

The Astyanax

Dynasty Wars

Golden Axe

Golden Axe (Mega-Tech)

Golden Axe II (Mega-Tech)

Golden Axe II (Mega Play)

Golden Axe - The Revenge of Death Adder

Strider

Strider 2

Trio The Punch

Wild Fang

Magic Sword

Big Karnak

Blade Master

Act Raiser (Nintendo Super System)

Arabian Fight

Arabian Magic

Warriors of Fate

Denjin Makai

Guardians / Denjin Makai II

Gaiapolis

Metamorphic Force

Monster Maulers

Oriental Legend

Romset: 2596 kb / 14 files / 1.06 zip
history Golden Axe (c) 1989 Sega.


A classic sideways scrolling beat-em-up set in a traditional fantasy world, in which between 1 and 3 warriors take up arms to save the King from the evil Death Adder. The 3 different player characters are an Amazonian warrior, a barbarian hero and a viking dwarf. Each hero uses a different kind of magic : the barbarian uses earth magic, the amazon uses fire magic and the viking dwarf uses lightning magic. In addition : each player character also carried a different weapon : the amazonian warrior and the barbarian both use swords while the viking dwarf uses the Golden Axe itself.


Each character in the game has a special attack move that is activated by pressing both JUMP and ATTACK at the same time. Also, double-tapping the joystick right or left will cause the player to charge and smash into opponents. At certain points during the game, players will come across certain creatures (such as dragons) which, once their original riders have been knocked from the saddle, can be mounted and used against the enemy.


At certain points during a level, as well as at the end of each level, drawfs appears carrying a sack on their back. Players can hit the drawfs causing them to drop food and magic potions.


Once the game has been beaten, the ending will show a view of an arcade where the characters 'jump out' of the game, run out of the arcade and down the street.


- TECHNICAL -


Sega System 16B hardware

Game ID : 317-0110 / 317-0112 / 317-0120 / 317-0121 / 317-0122 / 317-0123a


Main CPU : 68000 (@ 10 Mhz)

Sound CPU : Z80 (@ 5 Mhz)

Sound Chips : YM2151 (@ 4 Mhz), UPD7759 (@ 640 Khz)


Screen orientation : Horizontal

Video resolution : 320 x 224 pixels

Screen refresh : 60.00 Hz

Palette colors : 6144


Players : 2

Control : 8-way joystick

Buttons : 3

=> [A] JUMP, [B] ATTACK, [C] MAGIC


- TRIVIA -


Released in June 1989.


Uchida originally wanted to make a theme similar to "Dragon Quest", but seeing as how the higher ups at Sega didn't quite see the charm in that, Uchida and his team ended up making Golden Axe, thinking that selectable characters and flashy magic spells would make for a success. The game did end up becoming one of Sega's big franchises early on and spawned multiple sequels.


Note : 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.


Many of the samples used for Golden Axe and its sequel were taken from the movies 'Rambo - First Blood' and 'Conan the Cimmerian'. More specific when you kill bad guys sometimes they scream something like 'Oooh God!' which was taken from Rambo at the scene which takes place in the forest when one of the policemen fell into a trap and gets impaled by sharp pieces of wood. The sample used for the man who gets trampled by a bad guy in Golden Axe and the scream of Death-Adder when falling from the dragon at the final scene of "Golden Axe - Revenge of Death-Adder" was taken from the policeman who also fell from the helicopter pursuiting Rambo. Finally the battle cry used for the big baddies when they die in Golden Axe and the scream for the big chained green monster on "Golden Axe - Revenge of Death-Adder" on stage 3 are the same and taken from Conan's scene where Arnold Schwarzenegger fights the two villains on a Stonehenge like background and again one of them gets impaled by a trap.


Pony Canyon / Scitron released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Super Sonic Team : G.S.M. SEGA 3 - PCCB-00009) on 21/10/1989.

Wave Master released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Golden Axe The Music - WM-0595~7) on 21/02/2008 containing music from the original arcade and Sega Mega Drive/Genesis series.


Two limited Edition Comic Book Series' to accompany the game were published in the UK in the early 1990's. They can be found along with other Sega related adaptions in fleetways 'Sonic The Comic' which ran for approximately 200 issues.


- UPDATES -


FD1094 317-0110

* World version.


8751 317-0112

* US version.

* Uses an additional I8751 @ 8 Mhz

* Additional 'Winners Don't Use Drugs' screen.


FD1094 317-0120

* World version.


FD1094 317-0121

* Japanese version.

* Additional 'warning' screen.

* Added blood dripping on the character selection screen.

* Added in-game Japanese subtitles.

* Contains an extra violent scene.


FD1094 317-0122

* US version.

* Additional 'Winners Don't Use Drugs' screen.


8751 317-0123a

* US version.

* Uses an additional I8751 @ 8 Mhz

* Additional 'Winners Don't Use Drugs' screen.


- TIPS AND TRICKS -


* Two Player Health Restoral : If a player's health is at zero (no life bar visible) when the bonus level/intermission ends, s/he will begin the next level at full health (three life bars). So if you CAREFULLY hack one another, you can restore your health. You should allow the other character to recover after each swipe, otherwise you may throw or kick and actually kill the other player.


- SERIES -
  1. Golden Axe (1989)
  2. Golden Axe Warrior (1990, Sega Master System)
  3. Ax Battler - A Legend of Golden Axe (1991, Sega Game Gear)
  4. Golden Axe II (1991)
  5. Golden Axe - The Revenge of Death Adder (1992)
  6. Golden Axe III (1993, Sega Mega Drive)
  7. Golden Axe - The Duel (1995)
  8. Golden Axe - Beast Rider (2008, PS3 /XBOX 360)
  9. - STAFF -
    • Designed by : Makoto Uchida
    • ...and Team Shinobi.
    • - PORTS -
    • * Consoles :
    • Sega Mega Drive (1989)
    • Sega Master System (1989)
    • NEC PC-Engine Super CD-ROM2 (1990)
    • Sega Mega-CD (1992, "Sega Classics Arcade Collection 4-in-1")
    • Sega Mega Drive (1994, "MegaGames 3in1 Vol 2")
    • Sega Mega Drive (1995, "6-PAK")
    • Bandai WonderSwan Color (2002)
    • Nintendo Game Boy Advance (2002,"Sega Smash Pack")
    • Sony PlayStation 2 (2003, "Sega Ages 2500 Vol. 5 : Golden Axe")
    • Sega Dreamcast ("Sega Smash Pack Vol. 1")
    • Sony PlayStation 2 (2006, "Genesis Collection")
    • Sony PSP (2006, "Genesis Collection")
    • Nintendo Wii (2006, "Virtual Console" - Mega Drive version)
    • Microsoft XBOX 360 (2007, as a downloadable Live Arcade game)
    • * Computers :
    • Atari ST (1990)
    • Amstrad CPC (1990)
    • PC [MS-DOS, 5.25''] (1990)
    • Commodore C64 (1991)
    • Commodore Amiga (1991)
    • Sinclair ZX Spectrum (1991)
    • Commodore C64 (1991, "2 Hot 2 Handle")
    • Commodore Amiga (1991, "2 Hot 2 Handle")
    • PC [MS Windows, CD-ROM] (1999, "Sega Smash Pack")
    • * Others :
    • Tiger Handheld LCD Game (1987)
    • - SOURCES -
    • Game's rom.
    • Machine's picture.
    • Edit this entry at Arcade-History.com: http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=golden-axe&page=detail&id=978&o=2
resource links view in MAWS
view in CAESAR
view high score and replay at MARP
view in Progetto EMMA (Italian)
view in arcade-history.com
view in arcade-history.com
view in GameFAQs
view in GameFAQs
view in KLOV
view in KLOV
view in MamEnd
view in MamEnd
view in System16
view in System16
view in System16
view in System16
view in The Arcade Flyer Archive
view in VGMuseum Game Endings
view in VGMuseum Game Endings
view in VGMuseum Game Endings
view in VGMuseum Gamepics
view in VGMuseum Gamepics
view in VGMuseum Gamepics
cheats
cheats
code comments
00000000:FFE018:00000005:FFFFFFFF  Infinite Lives PL1
00000000:FFC070:00000030:FFFFFFFF  Infinite Energy PL1
00000000:FFE030:00000004:FFFFFFFF  Infinite Magic - Green D PL1
00000000:FFE030:00000006:FFFFFFFF  Infinite Magic - Blue W PL1
00000000:FFE030:00000009:FFFFFFFF  Infinite Magic - Red V PL1
60000000:000000:00000000:00000000 
00000000:FFE098:00000005:FFFFFFFF  Infinite Lives PL2
00000000:FFC270:00000030:FFFFFFFF  Infinite Energy PL2
00000000:FFE0B0:00000004:FFFFFFFF  Infinite Magic - Green D PL2
00000000:FFE0B0:00000006:FFFFFFFF  Infinite Magic - Blue W PL2
00000000:FFE0B0:00000009:FFFFFFFF  Infinite Magic - Red V PL2
2004-2008 MAWS all copyrights belong to their respective owners