Golden Axe III FAQ/Walkthrough v1.1 by glacialbear (viciousglacialbear@yahoo.com) Platform: Genesis/Mega Drive Last Updated: 3/22/2001 If you would like to email me about this game, please put something appropriate as the subject line, so that I know it isn't spam. If you would like to contribute something, credit will (of course) be given. Also, let me know how you want to be mentioned. If you give me a nickname, I won't include your email address or name (for your privacy) unless you tell me to, otherwise I'll just use the From: line. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents I Introduction/Game Information New In GA3 Story Modes of Play The Options Menu Codes and Oddities Hints/Tips Characters Character Attacks/Move List Character Magic Scoring Information Endings Items Heart Locations Thief Behavior Bizarrians Enemies Junction Points II Walkthrough The Vast Field Ancient Mound Tender Hamlet Dim Jungle Cave of Crystal The Scorching Sand Bloody Street Death Mountain A Voyage To Castle Ride The Whirlwind Cursed City The Gate of Fate/Castle III Frequently Asked Questions IV Credits V Version History ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I: Introduction/Game Information New In GA3 GA3 introduces a number of things you may want to be aware of if you've played previous Golden Axe games: - Gilius is gone, so if you liked his long range, you'll probably want to use Ax Battler (if that's even his name) in GA3. - You're actually rewarded every time you free someone being held captive in a stage in the form of an ankh. When you get an ankh, it'll appear under your character's life bar. Once you have five ankhs, you'll receive an extra life, and you'll have to collect another five to get more. - Characters (as well as some enemies) can now block incoming attacks, and end up taking no damage. However, some attacks can cancel blocking or are unblockable. - Junction points are present for the first time in a home version of the Golden Axe series. At various points, you'll have to choose which path you want to take to complete the stage. Different paths go to different parts of the same stage, or even to entirely different stages. See "Junction Points" for the complete list. - Slightly improved enemy AI. It isn't much, but they're a little smarter. They'll do certain moves in response to yours. - There isn't charge priority anymore. If two characters charge at each other, they'll (usually) both get hit and take damage. - A lot of new moves. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Story These are all of the dialogue snippets that can be found at various points in the game. (start of The Vast Field) Now that you have been released from the evil curse, your mission is to defeat the Prince of Darkness and return with the Golden Axe. Go now, brave warrior! (???? freed from the curse) I'm so ashamed that I fell under their curse. I must beg your pardon. (Tyris freed from the curse) Thank you. Be careful, the enemies around here are very powerful. (Panther freed from the curse) Fortunately, I regained conciousness. With your strength, we should be able to defeat the enemy. (Ax Battler freed from the curse) I'm still alive. Don't worry, I'll destroy the enemies around here. (end of Death Mountain/A Voyage To Castle) Nice job. However, it won't be so easy next time. (start of The Gate of Fate) So you finally got here. However, you won't be able to go on! (end of The Gate of Fate) Hhmmmmm... What have I been doing? The princess... I have a favor to ask of you. The princess is somewhere in the castle. Please help her. (Princess rescued) To have peace in this land again is like a dream come true. (Prince of Darkness second fight) You should realize the power hidden within the axe! (bad ending) The courageous warriors defeat the evil lord and save the princess. However, the resulting peace is only temporary. Without the Golden Axe, true peace cannot be obtained. The warriors must journey again to find true peace and the Golden Axe. (good ending) Finally, the courageous warriors defeat the evil lord. The castle strengthened by the evil magic turns to dust. And they retrieve the Golden Axe. Peace returns to the entire world. Time passes and their battles become legends that pass down forever. (vs mode 1P/2P win) (1P/2P) is the victor. (vs mode win) You are the victor. However, the next opponent is even more fierce. (end of vs mode) Congratulations! You have beaten all of the warriors. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Modes of Play 1P/2P Play - The main quest of the game. Two players can play cooperatively, but your attacks can damage each other if you aren't careful. Also, you'll share continues, and there will be more enemies than if there was only one player. The 1P/2P game can be played on two different levels of difficulty. Normal - The standard version of the game. You can still get the good ending on normal, so if hard is too difficult for you or you just don't want to play on it, you don't have to. Hard - Enemies are more plentiful and have more hit points. There will also be more food or magic pots at some points. VS Mode - Similar to The Duel of past games, but instead of fighting enemies, you fight the other characters controlled by the computer. When you beat one, you move on to the other and get your life gauge refilled. In this mode, you can play as the bird. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Options Menu Game Level - Choose normal or hard. The good ending can be gotten on either difficulty level, so choose whichever one you want. Control (1-6) - Lets you choose the way you want the buttons configured. There are six different combinations, which are all of the possible ones. The default is the first setup. Number Magic Attack Jump 1 A B C 2 A C B 3 B A C 4 C A B 5 B C A 6 C B A BGM - Lets you listen to the game's background music. Press A or C to start, and B to stop. Number Music 01 Title Screen 02 The Gate of Fate 03 Character Select Screen 04 End of Battle in vs mode 05 The Scorching Sand 06 The Vast Field 07 Ride The Whirlwind 08 Cave of Crystal 09 Bloody Street 10 Tender Hamlet 11 Ancient Mound 12 Castle 13 Good Ending 14 Intro Theme 15 Bonus Stage 16 Intermission Screen 17 Dim Jungle 18 Death Mountain 19 A Voyage To Castle 20 Boss Theme 2 (for the bird and the cursed characters) 21 Prince of Darkness' Theme 22 Bad Ending 23 Princess/Castle Destruction Theme 24 Cursed City 25 Game Over 26 Boss Theme SE - Lets you listen to all of the game's sound effects, from swings to the special magic attacks. There are 74 sounds in all. Press A or C to start, and B to stop. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Codes and Oddities Unfortunately, this seems to be the only code for the game that exists, but better this than a useless glitch or something, right? Level Select - At the character select screen, choose your character, then press A four times, start, then C five times. This must be done before the screen changes to the first stage. If done correctly, you'll arrive at a black screen with the number 1 on it. Move the directional pad up or down to increase/decrease the number corresponding to the stage you want to start on, then press start to make your choice. Note: In a two player game, the person that chooses their character last is the one that has to input the code. NOTE: YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GET THE GOOD ENDING ON THE SAME PLAYTHROUGH IF YOU USE THIS CODE. Key 1 The Vast Field 2A Ancient Mound 2B Tender Hamlet 3A Dim Jungle 3B Cave of Crystal 4A The Scorching Sand 4B Bloody Street 5A Death Mountain 5B A Voyage To Castle 6A Ride The Whirlwind 6B Cursed City 7 The Gate of Fate 8 Castle Free Meat - At a few points in the game, you may come across a heninger chewing on a piece of meat. Well, you wouldn't think so, but if you can hit him before he goes out of that frame and attacks, you can actually get the meat for yourself. The problem is he attacks after about five seconds, or if you go near him. The best way to do this that I've found is to use downward attacks, throws, projectiles, or any move that has your character go across the screen quickly, like Panther's downward smash or special. If you really need it, or only have one magic pot, magic works too. Their locations: Ancient Mound - Just after the only group of thieves in the stage. Cave of Crystal - At the fourth ankh, just before the boss. Bloody Street - After the first knight in the stage. Bloody Street (lower path) - Just before the boss. A Voyage To Castle - At the start of the stage. A Voyage To Castle - In the second segment, where the Heart is. The Mysterious White Longmoans - In A Voyage To Castle, the white longmoans after the junction point (lower path) have much darker colored headgear than all of the other white longmoans in the game. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Hints/Tips - Use the downward thrust. In GA3, this widely considered useless move is much easier to hit with, and is actually one of the best moves. - Timing is everything, especially against enemies who can block. Against bosses, just doing a move that works well against them won't guarantee you victory; you have to get the timing right, too. - Unlike GA2, you still lose hit points if hit while riding a Bizarrian, so you have to consider whether the Bizarrian you just found is really worth using, or will just hinder you. - To free a hostage, they'll either escape automatically after you kill their captor, or you'll have to attack and destroy whatever it is that's preventing them from leaving, like ropes or chains. - Knights are pretty easy: walk up to them, grab them, and combo them. Still, don't do anything silly like walk into their attack range to reach them; approach them from above or below. When fighting multiple knights at once and you're comboing one, do anything you can to keep the other(s) off your back; throw one at the other, end combos early to avoid getting tagged and losing all of your hit points, and so on. Play the waiting game and just chip away at them, gradually wearing them down. If you want to practice fighting knights, a great way to do so is to use the level select code and start at Cursed City. - Barbarians can't block, so as long as you're quick and have good timing when you attack, they won't stand a chance. Downward thrusts and similar attacks work especially well against them. - Fiends might seem impossible thanks to their clothesline move, but there's one thing they don't want you to know about: back attacks make short work of them. If a fiend is behind you and not so far away that he'll charge, face the direction opposite of him, let him come up to you, and do a back attack when he gets within your range. It works every time. You can also use sweep attacks to beat them. Whenever you do one, your character attacks below their arms, so their clothesline move can't hit you. All you have to do is keep doing this so as soon as they come out of their clothesline, they'll be hit. It's also possible to hit them with a downward thrust while they're in the clothesline, but you have to be high above them and strike them in the head. - Cursed characters can be tough, since they have access to a wide variety of moves. However, the back attack strategy used against fiends works on them, too. Just stay close to them (so they won't charge), face the direction opposite of them and wait for them to get within your attacking range, and then do a back attack as soon as they are. This also works on the bird. - The Prince of Darkness is easily defeated by downward thrusts and charges. If he happens to block either of them, just get out of the way before you get hit (or block his swing) and try again. - My back attack strategy against fiends and charge strategy against the Prince of Darkness can actually work against anything in the game, if you're inclined to use them and time it right. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Characters Note: I don't know who these people are. It isn't said anywhere in the game, so if anyone actually has the GA3 manual and can read japanese, you're welcome to enlighten me. Statistics Chart (without the bird) Name Damage Range ASpeed WSpeed RSpeed Magic Ax Battler B A C C B ? Tyris Flare C C A B B ? Panther D B A A A ? ???? A D D D C ? (with the bird) Name Damage Range ASpeed WSpeed RSpeed Magic Ax Battler C A C C C ? Tyris Flare D C A B C ? Panther E B A A B ? ???? A D D E D ? Bird B E B D A N/A Note: The attack range difference between ???? and the bird are very slight, so don't let the E fool you. Additionally, the damage, attack and, move speed differences between Ax Battler and the bird are very slight, but since they're different, they have seperate ranks. Finally, be aware that the bird is only slow when he walks - when he runs, he goes extremely fast, and leaves the others in the dust. Definitions Damage - The strength of an attack that would come from the character. Range - The attack range of the character. Characters with longer range can hit enemies from farther distances. ASpeed - The general attacking speed of the character. Characters with high attack speed end their combos faster and have little to no lag in their other attacks. WSpeed - The speed that the character walks. RSpeed - The speed that the character runs. Magic - The strength of the character's magic. I still need to figure this out, so this will be the most likely thing to end up in the next revision. Descriptions ???? (blue) - Long range, decent damage, and a bit slow. He doesn't really have any moves that especially stand out either way. I'll refer to this person as Ax Battler since Ax was the guy in previous games. ???? (red) - Low damage, short range, very fast. She's also one of two characters that can double jump, wall jump, and wall attack. I'll refer to this person as Tyris Flare since Tyris was the female in previous games. Moves that are good to use: Combos - Tyris' long range combo speed is pretty fast, so it makes dealing with multiple enemies easier. Double Jump - It's very useful for avoiding hits and making sure you land yours at the right time. Stationary Attack - Tyris' version is a quick kick. It's simple and fast, unlike every other character's version. It also does good damage. Moves that are dangerous to use: Downward Smash - Tyris' version is two kicks. Most of the time, only one will hit, but it doesn't matter, because it isn't very useful. Special - The projectile attack has a very long lag, as Tyris is unable to move until her sword returns to her. Be careful when you use it. ???? (panther) - Very low damage, second best range, very fast. The panther's also one of two characters that can double jump, wall jump, and wall attack. I'll refer to this guy as Panther, I guess. Moves that are good to use: Combos - Panther's long range combo speed is pretty fast, so it makes dealing with multiple enemies easier. Double Jump - It's very useful for avoiding hits and making sure you land yours at the right time. Downward Smash - Panther's version attacks the enemy really fast, and is a great move to use. Special - Panther literally flies across the screen when he does this. Not only is this move unblockable, it's so fast that if you do this against a fiend, they won't be able to do their clothesline in time and they'll get hit. Moves that are dangerous to use: Stationary Attack - Panther's version is very slow and leaves him vulnerable. Not worth the trouble. Throw - Panther kicks his opponent and leaps off in the other direction. This isn't bad if you're only facing one opponent, but against several it's going to get you hit. ???? (the other one) - High damage, very short range, very slow. This is the only character that can slam besides the bird. Um... I'm just going to call him ????. Moves that are good to use: Slam - If you grab someone, you might as well finish the combo with one after hitting them twice, because it does a lot of damage. Moves that are dangerous to use: Combos - ????'s speed and range make comboing tough when fighting multiples enemies. There's especially some lag right before the third hit of his long range combo. Just be careful when you use them. Downward Slash - This leaves you unable to do anything for about three seconds. Needless to say, you want to avoid doing this move at all costs when fighting multiple enemies, especially knights. Use downward thrusts or smashes instead. Back Attack - Due to ????'s short range, this move is almost worthless. Only use it for fiends or cursed characters, and be aware that it'll be much harder to pull off than if you were another character. ???? (bird) - Only playable in vs mode, the bird warrior doesn't have as many moves as the other characters, but his versions of the ones he does have are usually better. The moves he can use are: Walk Run Slash Long Range Combo Short Range Combo Grab Grab Combo Auto-Combo Throw (alternate) Block Jump High Jump Downward Slash Sweep Attack Slam Moves that are good to use: Run - The bird moves much faster than any other character when running. Charge - The bird's version of this move has him flying across the screen (it's a lot faster Panther's special) and will probably be too fast for your opponent to block. High Jump - The bird's version of this move is actually an attack, which is unblockable and does quite a bit of damage. Slam - If you grab someone, you might as well finish the combo with one after hitting them twice, because it does a lot of damage. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Character Attacks/Move List Note: New moves in GA3 are listed last, starting after downward thrust. This includes moves that were modified, or are executed differently since previous games. Walk - Hold down the directional pad in the direction you want to move. Slash - Press the attack button. Can go into one of two things depending on the proximity of your character's opponent: a long range combo or short range combo. Long Range Combo - Press the attack button repeatedly from a long distance, while still close enough to hit your character's opponent. You can make the last hit different by pressing forward and the attack button at the same time. Short Range Combo - Press the attack button repeatedly at close range. Run - Tap forward or away twice, holding it down on the second tap. To stop running, just let go of the directional pad. Can go into either a charge or high jump into a downward thrust. Charge - Press the attack button while running. Tyris does a flying kick, Panther throws himself forward, Ax Battler thrusts his sword, and ???? swings his fist. Jump - Press the jump button. Can go into a downward slash or smash. High Jump - Press the jump button while running. Can go into a downward thrust. Downward Slash - Jump and then the attack button while in the air. Back Attack - Press the attack and jump buttons at the same time. Tyris and Ax Battler quickly swing their sword in front of and behind them, Panther does a stationary backflip kick attack, and ???? swings an arm in front of and behind him. Downward Thrust - High jump and then press the attack button while in the air. Block - Press away and the attack button at the same time. To stay in the blocking stance, keep away held down. Note: Blocking only nullifies one attack. Auto-Combo - At either long or short range, press (and hold down) forward and the attack button at the same time. Grab - Press the attack button at very close range. Note: Grabs cancel blocking. Grab Combo - Grab an opponent then press the attack button repeatedly. Throw - Grab an opponent, and before they can recover, press forward or away and the attack button at the same time. Tyris and ???? throw in the opposite direction, Panther kicks his opponent and leaps off in the opposite direction, and Ax Battler throws over his shoulder. Throw (alternate) - Do a short range combo, but after the first or second hit, press forward or away and the attack button at the same time. You can choose which direction to throw your opponent by tapping forward or away. If you're playing as the bird, you have to do away and the attack button, however. Note: Sometimes this move can be done without having to start a combo first. Slam - Do a grab, and then press the jump button. You can hit them twice first to maximize damage, if you want. Note: Only ???? and the bird can do this move. Double Jump - Press the jump button again while already in the air. Unless you press it multiple times, you have to time it right. Note: Only Tyris and Panther can do this move. Wall Jump - Jump or high jump to a wall, and press the jump button when you hit it to jump off of the wall. Almost any surface works. Note: Only Tyris and Panther can do this move. Wall Attack - Jump or high jump to a wall, and press the jump button when you hit it to jump off of the wall, then press the attack button. Note: Only Tyris and Panther can do this move. Sweep Attack - Press down and the attack button at the same time. Tyris slides, Panther does a sweep using his tail, Ax Battler slashes with his sword, and ???? punches. Downward Smash - Jump and then press down and the attack button at the same time while in the air. Tyris kicks twice, Ax Battler and Panther quickly leap downward, and ???? swings with both fists. Stationary Attack - Press forward and the attack/jump buttons at the same time. Tyris kicks, Panther swipes twice with his claws, Ax Battler swings his sword after a little charging up, and ???? swings downward with both hands. Note: This is the most damaging character move in the game besides the 2 player special. Special (Tyris and Panther) - Block, and while still in the blocking frame, press forward and the attack/jump buttons at the same time. There are two other ways to do this move: one is to press forward, and then press back and the attack/jumps buttons at the same time. Or, press forward, back, and then forward and the attack/jump buttons at the same time (courtesy of BigBenDog). Tyris uses her sword as a boomerang, and Panther leaps forward about halfway across the screen and does an unblockable swipe with his claws. Anything in his way while he's leaping is hit also, with no chance to block. Only Tyris and Panther can do this move. Special (Ax Battler and ????) - Press forward, up, away, down, and then forward and the attack/jump buttons at the same time. This must be done quickly or it won't work. Ax Battler swings his sword causing a small flame wave to appear and travel across the screen until it either hits something or reaches the end of the screen and disappears, in the same way as the Fire Dragon's attack. ???? makes a gesture that causes three small tornadoes to appear and travel until they either hit something or go about halfway through the screen and disappear. Only Ax Battler and ???? can do this move. (Courtesy of BigBenDog) Special (2 players) - Face each other at close range, and after the characters nod at each other, press the attack button. Every pair of characters have a different attack. This can only be done if two people are playing. Special Magic (2 players) - Make sure there are at least 10 magic pots total between the two of you, and then face each other at close range, and after the characters nod at each other, press the magic button. The spell you see depends on who pressed the magic button. If you have more than 10 magic pots, it's the same, but I think it does more damage. This can only be done if two people are playing. (Courtesy of aax@tm.net.my) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Character Magic The magic meter is right below your life gauge. Every time you get a magic pot, it's added to your meter and your magic gets stronger. When you have a certain number of magic pots, you can use your next spell. Each character has four different spells. To gain access to the special spell, two people have to be playing and must have 10 magic pots total. So if Ax Battler and Panther are playing, and Ax has 6 magic pots while Panther has 4, either of them will be able to use their special spell. Ax Battler Level 1 Magic Pots: 1-2 Description: Five small geysers of water emerge from the ground. Level 2 Magic Pots: 3-5 Description: The screen is covered in a massive ice storm. Level 3 Magic Pots: 6 Description: A very large tornado (or is that water?) appears and travels about the screen for around ten seconds. Special Magic Pots: 4-6 Description: A water dragon bursts from the ground and flies off of the screen. The screen is then completely flooded in water. Tyris Flare Level 1 Magic Pots: 1-2 Description: A large number of fireballs rain down from the sky. Level 2 Magic Pots: 3-5 Description: A large fireball comes down from the sky and splits into three of them as they fly off of the screen. Level 3 Magic Pots: 6 Description: A fire-breathing dragon appears on the screen and engulfs half of the screen in flames. Special Magic Pots: 4-6 Description: A screen-filling burst of fire slowly comes down from the sky and hits the ground, causing an explosion of fire. Panther Level 1 Magic Pots: 1-2 Description: A thin mist travels across the screen at a moderate speed. Level 2 Magic Pots: 3-5 Description: A thick mist appears from above and below the screen, and ends up covering the screen for around ten seconds. Level 3 Magic Pots: 6 Description: A thin mist appears from above and below the screen as a lightning storm ensues. Special Magic Pots: 4-6 Description: A thin mist appears from above and below the screen as a Grim Reaper-looking fellow appears. A lightning storm then ensues. ???? Level 1 Magic Pots: 1-2 Description: A large number of debris rises to the top of the screen. Level 2 Magic Pots: 3-5 Description: A large number of debris appears on the screen and combine to create a large spiked ball that hits the ground and explodes. Level 3 Magic Pots: 6 Description: A large number of boulders fall from the sky. Special Magic Pots: 4-6 Description: A screen-filling stone golem appears and stomps the ground. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Scoring Information Every time you complete a stage and progress through the game, there's an intermission screen (after the bonus stage) where you can see your current score and rank, and what the next stage is. When the game's over (either by losing all of your lives and continues or completing the game), you'll see this screen again, except it'll have the path you took and where the game ended, as well as your final score and rank. As far as I know, there isn't anything special that happens if you get a high rank. If you're trying to get a high score, the only thing that will determine whether you do or don't is how many lives you lose. Note: A little of the following are estimates, as I'm figuring this out just by recording every score I've ever gotten and then narrowing down the possible ranges of the ranks. Level Score AAA 1500+ AA 1000-1499 A 600-999 B 400-599 C 200-399 D 100-199 E 50-99 F 0-49 The following increase your score: - Killing an enemy. Using magic doesn't increase your score higher than if you used a physical attack. If an enemy is knocked into a pit or falls into one, it seems to raise your score slightly higher. The following don't affect your score: - Losing hit points. - Damaging enemies. The following decrease your score: - Dying. And the things I haven't tested: - What effect destroying signs have on your score. - What effect destroying barrels/treasure chests have on your score. - What effect collecting ankhs/extra lives have on your score. - What effect picking up magic pots or other food have on your score. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Endings The bad ending - Seen after defeating the Prince of Darkness without fighting him a second time. Your character leaves the castle and the screen changes to black with the Golden Axe in the background, and the following dialogue: "The courageous warriors defeat the evil lord and save the princess. However, the resulting peace is only temporary. Without the Golden Axe, true peace cannot be obtained. The warriors must journey again to find true peace and the Golden Axe." The good ending - Seen after defeating the Prince of Darkness for the second time (in the same playthrough). Your character attempts to leave the castle, but lightning strikes in front of them, and they head back to find the Prince of Darkness still alive. For this to happen, you have to meet certain (currently unknown, see "Frequently Asked Questions") criteria. Once he's defeated, your character leaves the castle and travels back to the first stage with the Golden Axe in hand. The path your character takes actually reflects the path you took to get to the castle. When your character reaches the first stage, the credits roll. The following dialogue is shown while your character is going back to the first stage: "Finally, the courageous warriors defeat the evil lord. The castle strengthened by the evil magic turns to dust. And they retrieve the Golden Axe. Peace returns to the entire world. Time passes and their battles become legends that pass down forever." There's a way to change this, however. In some stages, the boss you'll fight will actually be a cursed version of one of the other characters from the game. When you defeat them, they're freed from the curse, and will even change the ending ever so slightly. If you take a certain path, it's possible to meet and free all three of the other characters in the same game. They're found at: Tender Hamlet - At the junction point, take either path, and you'll fight Cursed ????, or Cursed Ax Battler if you're using him. Bloody Street - Take either path at the junction point, and you'll fight Cursed Tyris, or Cursed Ax Battler if you're using her. Cursed City - At the end you'll fight Cursed Panther, or Cursed Ax Battler if you're using him. Note: If two people are playing, or the game started with two players, this changes, since there are only four characters. The game will start with two of the four characters already freed from the curse, and the Bloody Street boss will be a pair of green fiends instead of a cursed character. The other two stage bosses will still be cursed characters, although they'll be different to reflect who you're using. If you plan to get the complete ending, then you'll have to visit at least these three stages. The path you take to them doesn't matter, so if you want, you can go to Death Mountain instead of A Voyage To Castle to get to Cursed City, for example. See "Junction Points" for a quick way to get to these stages. The way the ending changes is just, when your character reaches the first stage (in the ending, of course) with the Golden Axe in hand, you'll see the characters you freed from the curse standing by the Gilius Thunderhead look-alike. If you only freed, say, Tyris, then you'll only see her there. If you got everyone, then they'll all be there. They won't say or do anything, they'll just be standing there. That's it. I told you it was a slight change. Another thing that would be interesting to see is what the ending would be like if all of the characters are freed in a two player game, but one of the two players got game over before the end. They were freed from the curse, but they "died", so would they be in the ending? I'm guessing they would only if they survived to the end of the game. Then, I guess, both players would be walking back to the first stage together, with the other two that were freed waiting. However, if you didn't fight the Prince of Darkness twice, none of this happens, as you'll just get the bad ending. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Items Note: To use an item, walk over it and press the attack button. Magic Pot Location: Various places, such as on blue thieves, or in containers like barrels or treasure chests. Effect: Adds one unit (or point) to your magic meter. The point is lost after using your magic, and you'll have to get more pots to fill up your meter again. Because of this reason, it's good to only use magic when you need it, or when you know you'll get more. Apple Location: Various places, such as on green thieves, or in containers like barrels or treasure chests. Effect: Replenishes a small amount of your life gauge. Meat Location: Various places, such as on green thieves, or in containers like barrels or treasure chests. Effect: Greatly replenishes your life gauge. Heart Location: See "Heart Locations." Effect: Completely fills your life gauge as well as permanently increasing it. Ankh Location: Reward for every hostage freed. They're automatically gotten. Note: If two people are playing, the person that frees the hostage gets the ankh. Effect: When you have five, you get an extra life. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Heart Locations Dim Jungle - At the junction point, go up, and the heart will be on the green thief just ahead. Dim Jungle - At the junction point, go east, and it'll be inside one of the nearby barrels. Cave of Crystal - At the first pit in the stage you'll run into a green thief who has it. Watch when you hit him for it, though - you don't want it to end up falling into the pit. Death Mountain - On a green thief after the pair of grey barbarians. A Voyage To Castle - Found in one of the barrels in the second segment of the stage, just before the path splits. Castle - After the yellow knights early in the stage, look for it on one of the green thieves. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Thief Behavior In bonus stages, thieves don't always run around as you try to get their magic pots. Depending on the stage, you might have to play a sort of mini-game to get the magic pots. Ancient Mound - The thieves will go underground and then suddenly rise up from another spot. Try to hit them before they go back down. Dim Jungle (upper path) - The thieves will throw a magic pot down to the ground, and then slide down on a vine to get it. Hit a thief one time as they come down and you'll get all of the magic pots they had. This mini-game is pretty easy, because you'll be able to tell where the thieves are going to come down from when they drop the magic pot. The Scorching Sand - The thieves will go underground and then suddenly rise up from another spot. Try to hit them before they go back down. Death Mountain - As soon as you wake up, the thieves will drop all of the magic pots they have and run away. A Voyage To Castle - Four green thieves will try to keep a piece of meat they have away from you. Hit the thief that has the meat to start. He'll throw it somewhere and you'll have to get the meat before the other thieves reach it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bizarrians Note: You can dismount a Bizarrian by doing a back attack, but it'll leave if you do. While on a Bizarrian, you can only walk, run, jump, high jump, use their primary attack, and charge. Bizarrian charges are unblockable. ???? Stage: The Vast Field, Tender Hamlet Description: Attacks in front of it using its tongue (at least I think that's what it is). The range is very short, although the delay isn't long. You're probably better off not using this Bizarrian. Green ???? Stage: Dim Jungle, Death Mountain Description: An improved version of the first Bizarrian. Their attack range is a LOT longer, rivaling that of GA2's Fire Dragon. This Bizarrian is pretty good, but keep in mind that enemies will try to jump whenever you attack with it. Fire Dragon Stage: The Scorching Sand, Cursed City Description: Fire Dragons emit a small flame wave from their mouth which travels across the screen until it either hits something or reaches the end of the screen and disappears. However, enemies tend to jump around like freaks trying to avoid the fire, so this Bizarrian isn't as good as it seems. Green Dragon Stage: Death Mountain Description: Green Dragons attack by throwing enemies across the screen with their mouth. The range is very short, but it's unblockable. Unfortunately, you don't get to use this Bizarrian for long. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Enemies Note: I've arbitrarily decided to borrow a couple of names from the original GA for the club/spear wielding enemies. The majority of the other names are tentative, as well. Longmoan Appearance: Shady character wielding a club. Varieties: Green, Grey, Blue, White, Yellow, Red, Dark Description: Nothing special. They just have standard attacks, although later varieties will charge or downward slash often. Note: The yellow, red, and dark varieties have a fire-breathing attack at close range. Heninger Appearance: Shady character wielding a spear. Varieties: Green, Brown, Purple, Grey, Red, Yellow, Dark Description: Nothing special. They just have standard attacks, although later varieties will charge or downward slash often. Thief Appearance: Small, elven person carrying a bag. Varieties: Blue, Green Description: Thieves are just as they were in previous games, but in bonus stages they behave differently depending on the stage. Don't expect them to hand over their magic pots without a game of tag. Amazon Appearance: Shady character wielding a spiked mace. Varieties: Green, Brown, Purple, Red, Dark Description: Amazons are just regular enemies, but are very jumpy in all varieties, so just use knockdown moves to kill them. Amazons can combo with their maces, charge, downward slash, and grab combo you if you try to grab them and don't do it fast enough. Skeleton Appearance: Animated skeleton body wielding a sickle, and carrying a small, round shield. Varieties: White, Grey Description: Skeletons can now block (as well as sweep attack), and are very good at it. Additionally, they have a new long range attack where they suddenly stretch out to hit you. However, they're no match for downward thrusts and other jumping attacks. Knight Appearance: Armored warrior wielding a sword and carrying a shield. Varieties: Green, Cobalt, Light Indigo, Yellow, Indigo, Red, Purple Description: Knights are some of the heaviest damage dealers in the game, as well as masters of blocking, but you can kill them easily just by using grab combos. Expect to see them a lot regardless. Knights can combo using their swords, use their shield, and block and run. Barbarian Appearance: Shady character wielding a hammer. Varieties: Green, Grey, Dark Description: Barbarians attack by swinging their hammers, can charge, kick at close range, and downward slash. They have a lot of hit points, and (save one instance) always appear in groups of two. Use well-timed downward thrusts or quick knockdown moves to kill them easily. Fiend Appearance: Mysterious four-armed creature. Varieties: Green, Orange, Purple Description: Fiends are one of the more annoying enemies in the game. They can swing with their arms, charge, and grab combo or throw at close range, but their favorite move is a stationary clothesline. It hits anything it touches as well as making them (almost) invulnerable to physical attacks for the duration. They can also block, but they're usually too busy doing their clothesline to do that. Use back/sweep attacks take care of them. Cursed Character Appearance: Palette-swapped, corrupted looking version of a character. Description: In some stages, the boss you'll fight will actually be a cursed version of one of the other characters from the game. The way they fight is identical to the way they do in VS mode. When you defeat them, they're freed from the curse, and will even change the ending ever so slightly. If you take a certain path, it's possible to meet and free all three of the other characters in the same game. For more on this, see "Endings." Bird Appearance: Bird warrior seen in various stages. Description: The bird's first seen dropping off the first stage boss and then flying away, but later on you'll clash with him. The bird has a lot of the moves that the other characters do. Note: He's playable in vs mode. ???? (Prince of Darkness) Appearance: Muscled figure wearing armor, and wielding the Golden Axe. Description: The Prince can swing his axe, downward slash, throw you at close range, stomp the ground to cause three small flame waves to go across the screen, and block. In his second form, all of his attacks (except the throw) do roughly three times the damage they did in his first form. In addition, his second form can use a lightning spell that does massive damage. Use downward thrusts and charges to take him down. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Junction Points The Vast Field North - to Ancient Mound East - to Tender Hamlet Ancient Mound - to Dim Jungle Tender Hamlet Upper Path - to Dim Jungle Lower Path - to Cave of Crystal Dim Jungle Upper Path - to The Scorching Sand Lower Path - to Bloody Street Cave of Crystal- to Bloody Street The Scorching Sand - to Death Mountain Bloody Street Upper Path - to Death Mountain Lower Path - to A Voyage To Castle Death Mountain West - to Ride The Whirlwind East - to Cursed City A Voyage To Castle - to Cursed City Ride The Whirlwind - to The Gate of Fate Cursed City - to The Gate of Fate ----------------------------------------------------------------------- II: Walkthrough Note: You'll fight more enemies than usual if two people are playing. The boss statistics are for one player. For the food statistics, the meat you can get from heningers aren't factored in. The Vast Field Magic Pots: 3 Food: Apple Ankhs: N/A Bizarrians: ???? Boss (Normal): Green Knight, Green Heninger x2 Boss (Hard): Green Knight, Green Heninger x2, Blue Longmoan Bonus Stage: Magic Pot x2 In the second segment of this stage, don't fall off of the cart or you'll lose a lot of life. If you want, knock the enemies off of it for an easy time. The boss is a green knight. Just walk up to him and grab him, then combo him. Repeat this until he dies. At the junction point, north goes to Ancient Mound, while east goes to Tender Hamlet. Ancient Mound Magic Pots: 6 Food: Apple, Meat Ankhs: 4 Bizarrians: N/A Boss: Grey Skeleton x2, White Skeleton x2 Bonus Stage: Magic Pot x2 Very similar to the first stage, although you'll fight skeletons for the first time here. Avoid falling in the pits that are about halfway through the stage or you'll lose a lot of life. The boss is a pair of grey skeletons accompanied by two white skeletons. Look for a hidden magic pot in the southeast corner of the screen here. For the skeletons, just use downward thrusts and other jumping attacks. If you'd rather not, just use your magic, and if you're at full power it'll kill them. After this, you'll go to Dim Jungle. Tender Hamlet Magic Pots: 3, 1 (upper path, 2 on normal), 2 (lower path) Food: Apple x2 (lower path) Ankhs: 2 Bizarrians: ???? Boss: Cursed ???? Bonus Stage: Magic Pot x2 Not really anything different from the first stage, just watch out for the pair of cobalt knights. At the junction point, the upper path goes to Dim Jungle, and the lower path goes to Cave of Crystal. The boss is Cursed ????, or Cursed Ax Battler if you're playing as him. If you still have that Bizarrian from early in the stage, use it to charge against him, because he won't be able to block it. If you don't have it anymore, use my (not so?) famous back attack strategy for an easy victory. Dim Jungle Magic Pots: 5 Food: Heart Ankhs: 2 Bizarrians: Green ???? x2 Boss (Normal, up): Green Barbarian x2, Green Heninger x2 Boss (Normal, east): Green Barbarian, Green Longmoan x2 Boss (Hard, up): Green Barbarian x2, Green Heninger x2 Boss (Hard, east): Green Barbarian x2, Green Longmoan x2 Bonus Stage: Magic Pot x2 The standard enemies are still really easy. At the junction point, up goes to The Scorching Sand, while east goes to Bloody Street. Take whichever path you want, because you'll still get the Heart that's in this stage regardless. If you go up, look for it on a green thief, and if you go east, it'll be in a barrel. The boss is a pair of green barbarians (only one if you're playing on normal and took the lower path, however) accompanied by either two green long longmoans or heningers, depending on which path you took. If you still have a Bizarrian from earlier in the stage, use it and it should be easy. If you don't, use downward thrusts or knockdown moves. Cave of Crystal Magic Pots: 3 Food: Heart, Meat, Apple Ankhs: 4 Bizarrians: N/A Boss: Green Fiend x2, White Skeleton x2 Bonus Stage: Magic Pot x2, Meat x2 The cave has quite a bit of stuff, like four ankhs, even a Heart. The Heart's found on the first green thief you'll see in this stage, but be careful not to let the Heart fall into the nearby pit. You'll also notice the large crystals littered across the stage; these aren't scenery, and you can shatter them by striking them three times to release what's inside (it's always either a white skeleton or ankh). The boss is a pair of green fiends accompanied by two white skeletons. Fiends are very annoying, because they constantly do this clothesline move they have that not only hits you, but ends up making them almost invulnerable to everything except magic and projectiles. However, you can kill them easily just by using back attacks. Stay close to one fiend, face the direction opposite of him, and then do a back attack as soon as he walks into your attacking range. Repeat until they're both dead. If you need to, use your magic on them. After this, you'll go to Bloody Street. The Scorching Sand Magic Pots: 4 Food: Meat (only on hard), Apple x4 Ankhs: N/A Bizarrians: Fire Dragon x2 Boss (Normal): Green Fiend x2, White Skeleton x2 Boss (Hard): Green Fiend x2, White Skeleton x4 Bonus Stage: Magic Pot x2, Meat The standard enemies come in some new colors and will now be much more annoying. Expect them to do things like charges and downward slashes in response to everything you do. You'll come across two Fire Dragons in this stage. I recommend getting the second Fire Dragon for the boss; a pair of green fiends accompanied by two white skeletons, and then two more if you're playing on hard. Fiends are very annoying, because they constantly do this clothesline move they have that not only hits you, but ends up making them almost invulnerable to everything except magic and projectiles. Well, this is where your Fire Dragon would come in. If you have one, just breathe fire and they won't be able to do anything about it. They might block it sometimes, but they'll still be helpless. Or you can just charge, because it'll override their clothesline move. If you don't still have a Fire Dragon, though, just use my (not so?) famous back attack strategy. Once they're dead, you'll go to Death Mountain. Bloody Street Magic Pots: 8 (7 on normal if you go up) Food: Meat, Meat x2 (upper path), Meat (lower path) Ankhs: 3 (upper path) Bizarrians: N/A Boss: Cursed Tyris Bonus Stage: Magic Pot x2, Meat (upper path) Not much new here. Just make sure to break all of the barrels to find the things hidden inside. At the junction point halfway through the stage, the upper path goes to Death Mountain, and the lower path goes to A Voyage To Castle. You'll fight Cursed Tyris at the end, or Cursed Ax Battler if you're playing as her. Use my (not so?) famous back attack strategy and you'll have no trouble at all. Death Mountain Magic Pots: 3, 3 (east path) Food: Heart, Apple x2, Meat (west path), Apple (west path) Ankhs: 2, 2 (east path) Bizarrians: Green ????, Green Dragon Boss (Normal, west): Bird, Dark Longmoan, Dark Heninger x3 Boss (Normal, east): Bird, White Skeleton x3 Boss (Hard, west): Bird, Dark Longmoan, Dark Heninger x4 Boss (Hard, east): Bird, White Skeleton x5 Bonus Stage: Magic Pot x3 No, not Zelda's. You'll get a Green ???? early in the stage. Keep it for the two grey barbarians just ahead. With the Bizarrian, they're helpless, but if you don't have it, use downward thrusts and other quick attacks. Just after this you'll run into some thieves. Make sure you get everything they have, because one of the green ones is carrying a Heart. After this, you'll notice some barrels are falling your way. Ignore (or destroy) them if you want, there's nothing inside of them, except for the ones that don't move. At the junction point (where you'll get a Green Dragon), west goes to Ride The Whirlwind, and east goes to Cursed City. The boss, the bird character from the first stage, is right ahead. Among other things, he can block, but if you still have that Green Dragon, you can beat him easily by just charging, since Bizarrian charges are unblockable. If you don't have the Green Dragon, use my (not so?) famous back attack strategy and you'll have no trouble at all. A Voyage To Castle Magic Pots: 4, 2 (upper path) Food: Apple x2, Heart, Meat, Meat (upper path) Ankhs: 4 (lower path) Bizarrians: N/A Boss: Bird, Yellow Knight x2 Bonus Stage: Meat Defeat the pair of cobalt knights at the door they're guarding to move on to the next segment of the stage. Make sure you break all of the barrels here, because a Heart's inside one of them. However, don't pick it up until you're either about to die or have reached the junction point at the end of this segment. The two doors lead to different parts of the stage, but won't determine where you go afterwards. The upper door has a couple of magic pots and one meat, but the lower door will get you a whopping four ankhs. That's almost an instant free life. Unless you don't have any ankhs and have this burning desire to fight a pair of grey barbarians, you should probably choose the lower door. Eventually, both paths will come to the same place on the outside of the ship. The bird from the first stage is waiting, and is accompanied by a pair of yellow knights. A trick you can use, if you don't need the food the treasure chests have at the moment, is to not pick them up and wait until you reach the bird to use them if you get low on hit points. Use my (not so?) famous back attack strategy and you'll defeat him easily. You'll go to Cursed City after he retreats. Ride The Whirlwind Magic Pots: 2 Food: Meat x2 Ankhs: N/A Bizarrians: N/A Boss (Normal): Dark Barbarian x2, Dark Heninger x2 Boss (Hard): Dark Barbarian x2, Dark Heninger x2, Dark Longmoan x3 Bonus Stage: N/A This is a very short stage. There's a lot of room to fight in, though, since you can actually scroll the screen back somewhat. Use it to your advantage. The boss is a pair of dark barbarians accompanied by two dark heningers. If you're playing on hard, as the heningers die, dark longmoans will appear on the screen until you've killed three of them. You'll need to decide whether you want to use your magic now, or on the bird, who's just ahead. It depends on who's easier for you. Cursed City Magic Pots: 6 Food: Meat x5 (4 on normal) Ankhs: N/A Bizarrians: Fire Dragon x2 Boss: Cursed Panther Bonus Stage: N/A This stage should be called Knight City. If you hate knights, or always have trouble with them, you're going to love this stage. The fun starts with the cobalt knight mixed in the group of standard enemies. After him, get ready for a pair of them on hard, and then another pair accompanied by two white skeletons. Don't worry, more up ahead when you fight two indigo knights. After that, two red knights, and then two orange fiends. That's not even the boss, either. The boss is Cursed Panther, or Cursed Ax Battler if you're playing as him. Use my (not so?) famous back attack strategy and you'll have no trouble at all. You'll need to decide whether you want to use your magic now, or on the bird, who's just ahead. It depends on who's easier for you. The Gate of Fate/Castle Magic Pots: 10 Food: Heart, Meat x3 (2 on normal) Ankhs: N/A Bizarrians: N/A Boss (Normal): Prince of Darkness, Purple Knight x4 Boss (Hard): Prince of Darkness, Purple Knight x6 Bonus Stage: N/A As soon as you get here, you'll fight the bird again. He's the same as before, although there won't be much room to fight in this time. If you need to, use your magic. Once he's defeated, you'll be inside the castle. The castle's quite long and full of enemies, so try your best here. You'll fight two groups of knights (be sure to get the Heart one of the green thieves have after the first group), a pair of dark barbarians, a pair of purple fiends, and finally the Prince of Darkness at the end of the stage. The Prince can swing his axe, downward slash, throw you at close range, stomp the ground to cause three small flame waves to go across the screen, and block. The Prince also has purple knight guards that fight on his side, two at a time. Every time you kill a knight, another will take his place until you've either defeated the Prince of Darkness, or kill four knights (six on hard). I recommend just focusing on the Prince of Darkness and only stopping to hit a knight if one gets in your way, unless you're trying for a really high score. To kill the Prince, either use downward thrusts, or move away from him (up or down), wait for him to come to you, and charge just as he reaches you. You'll hit him before he gets the chance to block or attack you. If not, you didn't time it right and he'll block. If he does, then run away and repeat the charging method, although you might want to block first yourself, since he'll probably swing at you. After defeating him, depending on whether or not you meet certain criteria, you may or may not fight him again. If you do, he'll be a different color and all of his attacks (except his throw) will do almost triple damage. He'll also have an unavoidable lightning spell he randomly uses that does massive damage. Once you defeat him again, he's gone for good and your character will make their way out of the castle with the Golden Axe. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- III: Frequently Asked Questions Q: Is Death Adder the Prince of Darkness? A: I don't think so... he looks nothing at all like him. I guess the manual could shed a little light on this, although I'm beginning to think that he doesn't have a name. Q: Is Gilius that dwarf guy? A: I don't have any way of knowing this. Q: What are all of the unblockable attacks? A: As far as I know, they are: Panther's special, the Green Dragon's attack, a charge from any Bizarrian, grabs, the bird's high jump, and all magic. The Green ????'s attack can be blocked, but it hits multiple times if you do, and since blocking only works against one attack, you'll get hit, so it could be considered unblockable. However, if you're only just within its attacking range, it won't hit twice. Q: What determines whether you fight the Prince of Darkness again? A: That's the million dollar question. Sorry, I'm not sure. I've already tried: - Finishing him with magic. - Losing various amounts of lives/continues before defeating the first form of the Prince. - Using the level select code to start at the Castle on both normal and hard, and then finishing that stage to see if it was just the difficulty level that determined it. I'm pretty sure using the level select code screws it up somehow. - Completing the game having freed a various number of cursed characters to see if they had something to do with it. They don't; I've gotten the good ending without freeing anybody, with only one or two, and with everybody. - Using different characters. It doesn't matter who you use. - Following a certain path. It doesn't matter where you go. - Completing the game twice. Don't take the bad ending literally; I've gotten the good ending on one playthrough. The only times I've personally gotten the good ending were when I did exceptionally well. I think that's what you have to do, but I'm not sure how many lives (or continues) you're allowed to lose before the good ending's closed off to you. On the other hand, it could be as simple as playing through the game without using the level select code. Q: What other Golden Axe games are there? A: I think the complete list is (in no particular order): Golden Axe - The first game, released in the arcades, and later for the Genesis and countless other platforms. The Genesis version features an extra stage. Golden Axe II - A sequel to the original, for the Genesis. Not to be confused with Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder, which is the second Golden Axe in the arcades. Golden Axe III - This game, for the Mega Drive. Never made it to the US. Not to be confused with Golden Axe: The Duel, which is the third Golden Axe in the arcades. Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe - Ax's own RPG for the Game Gear. Golden Axe Warrior - An RPG (of sorts) for the Master System. Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder - Sequel to the original Golden Axe in the arcades. Not to be confused with the home version of GA2. Golden Axe: The Duel - A fighting game (ala Street Fighter) for the arcade and Saturn. Not to be confused with Golden Axe III on the Mega Drive, which is the third home version of Golden Axe. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- IV: Credits BigBenDog - Informed me of the Ax Battler and ???? specials and how to do them. Also suggested another way to do the Tyris and Panther specials. aax@tm.net.my - Informed me of the special magic move and how to do it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- V: Version History v1.1 - A few minor errors were fixed, and some things were changed or added to slightly. Covered attacks and statistics for the bird, added some new sections such as the "Character Magic" section, received contributions from BigBenDog and aax@tm.net.my, and updated the "Character Attacks/Move List" section. v1.0 - The first version. Copyright Notice: This document Copyright 2001 glacialbear. It may not be distributed or reproduced in any form, for any reason, period. It may not be used for any commercial/profitable/promotional purposes whatsoever, under any circumstances. This document is solely intended for public viewing on the world wide web, at GameFAQs. All copyrights and trademarks not specifically mentioned are acknowledged and respected.