Golden Axe

If you’re a fan of the original Golden Axe, this is definitely worth a download, as it’s essentially the exact same game you played in the arcade. The combat is just as basic, the magic looks just as bad-ass, and the end boss is still frustratingly tough.

Co-op play over Xbox Live greatly extends the game's lifeline, and its emphasis on using a degree of strategy and communication over much more frantic titles such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles provides a nice change of pace. Its charm will probably wear off after two or three times.

It's enjoyable enough for a few go-rounds, especially in co-op mode, and that makes it one of the more endearing retro ports to hit Live Arcade. [Oct 2007, p.78]

Much like a lot of the arcade games back then, Golden Axe is fairly short and doesn't have a lot of replayability, as every enemy will appear in the exact same spot every time you play, and there are no branching paths. But for 400 MS points, a classic brawler with functional online play is something that belongs in your Live Arcade library.

Short but still ass-kickingly sweet! [Sept 2007, p.110]

Between its unlimited continues and crusty looks, you're probably only going to be interested in this game if you liked it back in 1989.

Golden Axe, then. Big, brutish, three-button sprite-based fantasy brawler with bags of nostalgic moments and inexplicable co-op charm: Yours to buy for the 39th time for just 400 points.

There's online co-op available too, but, unlike Sonic's outing, we feel it would be hard pushed to attract many beyond-nostalgia hunters. [Issue#24, p.100]