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Post by Neo Rasa on Jul 29, 2008 22:10:58 GMT -5
Two additions: * You CAN kill the skeletons with the final boss in the Genesis version. They just take a bazillion hits.. This is awesome. Speaking of which, I forgot to check, does the Genesis version have the shadow skeletons? In the arcade version they run out and hurt you very badly if you don't scroll the screen for a while. I forget if they just leave or if you have to actually kill them once they appear though.
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Post by kal on Jul 30, 2008 2:53:02 GMT -5
Again I don't want to argue with the overwhelming majority of the internet but a friend of mine owned Golden Axe 3...I don't have anything other then anecdotal proof but he wasn't the kind of person to import games. This was in Australia where we did have had a few bizarre exclusive releases. Echo Jr for instance...I wouldn't raise this but I feel there's potential for there to have been a PAL Australian release that slipped through the cracks. For more examples of games that have unknown/dubious releases check for the N64 version of 40 winks.
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Post by vysethebold on Jul 30, 2008 3:02:52 GMT -5
Kal, we had Ecco, Jr. in the States as well. I played it as a kid a bunch of times.
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Post by chaoticgood on Jul 30, 2008 8:57:00 GMT -5
Kal, we had Ecco, Jr. in the States as well. I played it as a kid a bunch of times. I think he means the PAL version was only released in Australia, not in Europe... Which is definitely very uncommon.
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Post by kal on Jul 30, 2008 9:37:54 GMT -5
Kal, we had Ecco, Jr. in the States as well. I played it as a kid a bunch of times. I think he means the PAL version was only released in Australia, not in Europe... Which is definitely very uncommon. That's exactly what I meant though I articulated it poorly, sorry, bizarre stuff.
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Post by Stuart Gipp on Jul 30, 2008 10:30:01 GMT -5
A quick correction - that Golden Axe "novel" pictured towards the bottom was never "published" as such. It was a free gift with the UK's Sega Power magazine (from Future Publishing) and it was less of a novel than a walkthrough with a vague narrative, like Prima's old RPG guides. The magazine also produced variants for Road Rash and Desert Strike.
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Post by onoff456 on Aug 1, 2008 0:29:02 GMT -5
Nice article. It seems very talkative on page 1, then sort of short on pages 2 and 3. Actually I rather like that it didn't go into so much descriptive depth on the latter parts.
If it weren't for that last sentence I would have thought it was implied GA1 is better graphically than GA2, which clashes against my experience with the genesis games.
I terms of gameplay I found GA2 to be the best one to play co-op. Of the three genesis games GA2 is the one you can play with a friend and last longer before your pool of continues dry out (and forced to restart again).
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Post by fireskull on Aug 1, 2008 12:30:33 GMT -5
Hi there, its my first post . Actually I registered only because of the GA article. Though its a excellent article , and one I have been hopping to be written for quite a while, I feel the need to come and defend GA II. Though I believe it ins't as good as GA for the arcade, it has a few things over GA for genesis, and even the arcade version, that weren't mentioned. Namely, better controls and atmosphere. When I first began playing the game the first thing I noticed was how better the controls are. They answered faster, and hitting the enemies was more precise and combos came out quicker. It is also easier to control things when you have more than 2 enemies against you, what is a boon when you have to deal with two bosses at once. Many of the new enemies behave a lot like the ones from GA I, only with new sprites. But I I'd like to argue that, though they could have been more creative when it came to gameplay, the new enemies look great. I feel the game is darker and more barbaric with those huge minotaurs and headless knights around. I really like what they did with the skeletons, and how they have a more wide presence in this game. In the fire cave level, they even have skeletons on the ground that begin crackling and rise up, instead of just crawling from under the earth like the first game. These aren't particulary breakthrough ideas, but they add to the atmosphere. Another aspect that wans't mentioned ( minor spoiler here... but i think all of you finished the game ) is how the intro leads the player to believe that dark guld is the guy sitting on the throne, when truthfully he appears after you beat that boss. Speaking of atmosphere, I find the intro music to be really epical and tone setting. I believe the game music is better than the first one, and, according to the game's tone, darker. Besides the intro and first level music, I believe bgm 7 ( from the sound test ) is also really memorable. It does shows that a lot of effort went into renewing the game, and myself am glad they didn't change much of the gameplay. The latter games ( GA III and revenge of death adder ) changed this, and lost what could be called the games "charm"
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Post by Neo Rasa on Aug 1, 2008 12:48:42 GMT -5
It's just personal preference. I see the animal-based enemies and think fantasy instead of sword and sorcery. Some details though like the final boss, we tend to leave out of the articles. I mentioned Death Adder's awesome formation in this thread but would never put it in the article. We want to leave some surprises for any potential first time players. I know these games aren't exactly Planescape: Torment in terms of plot twists but I still think it's worth not revealing it all. Golden Axe II is unfairly maligned by a lot of people, though I feel most of the minor complaints (the backgrounds, the soundtrack when compared to the original) are valid. GAII has some very powerful songs in it (especially that intro as you said) but I feel like it has a weak middle third. It's still a beat'em up I play pretty regularly on the Genesis, I actually prefer GAI and II over the Streets or Rage series to be honest. III's the only one you could make an argument for being a real stinker, but even that's a decent enough game, just not on par with the first two.
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Post by onoff456 on Aug 1, 2008 18:00:09 GMT -5
Well if it was you who wrote the GA2 part then your bias is evident in those paragraphs. GA1 is the shining star of the series so it seems logical to devote more time to it. It also goes back to what I mentioned about the unbalanced attention to each game installment. GA1 gets a lot of content (and pics) devoted to it and it goes as far as describing very minor details (so much for wanting to leave some surprises for potential first time players). In comparison GA2 and 3 were not given as much thought. I still prefer the shortness of the latter two games though. Made for a more interesting reading IMO. It's unfortunate GA2 was more of a personal review than an actual article. Maybe if pics supporting the graphical criticism were shown (other than just making another gallery section) as well as comparison sound clips (instead of a link to a random song) would have given the argument more significance.
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Post by Neo Rasa on Aug 1, 2008 19:57:32 GMT -5
That's not a bad idea actually. Part of the purpose of this site was to provide a lot of imagery, sound can be more of a pain to implement in an intuitive way thanks to FilePlanet but it's worth looking into. The main reason for GA1 getting so much coverage though is because it was the first in the series and relatively groundbreaking for its time. I wouldn't be opposed to expanding or tightening up any of the segments either, though that's something that will have to wait for now. To be less opinionated and more technical in this specific criticism, I find that not only the design but the music itself kind of veers into more generic fantasy territory rather than the more desperate atmosphere created in the first game: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c-FmTBMfeswww.youtube.com/watch?v=9yVqgy_KqRYThat's not to say I'm opposed to fantastical elements. I mean I like GA1's art direction more even though it involves a village on the back of a giant turtle and a "great great" eagle. The gigantic nature of these things is in line with the sword and sorcery nature of the game. That creatures like this are unique and such. With GAII, you have graphics that are technically more detailed, but take you through less interesting locales overall.
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Post by cj iwakura on Aug 1, 2008 21:08:36 GMT -5
Now I really want to play Revenge of Death(=)Adder again.
Come on, Sega Arcade Classics!
(And include Moonwalker while you're at it)
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Post by Neo Rasa on Aug 1, 2008 21:19:57 GMT -5
Sega Michael Jackson Anthology Michael Jackson Moonwalker Moonwalker Ready 2 Rumble 2 Space Channel 5
C'mon Sega.
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Post by cj iwakura on Aug 1, 2008 21:41:24 GMT -5
MJ was in Ready 2 Rumble? Geez, they really do like the guy.
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Post by Discoalucard on Aug 1, 2008 21:44:46 GMT -5
The GA2 section is so short because it's pretty much just Golden Axe 1 with new levels and music and stuff. There's very little different about it. GA3 is a bit longer because it has a whole new cast and different mechanics, but again, not too much to say about it. Most articles here at top heavy, in that the first game is described in great detail, and the sequel pieces are shorter because it just talks about what was different from the first game. Also, there are TONS of ports of Golden Axe which takes up a huge chunk of that text, which in turn allows for more pictures/etc.
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