11:23 It was a mistake that the 32X made Death Adder appearing from nowhere. In my opinion, their artists should retouch that background. 14:17 Death Bringer pose when he 's on his throne is the Conan the Barbarian's pose. As you said throughout this video, Genesis/Mega Drive developers shown they're smart thinking in this port.
That's an interesting spin in 32X game development, instead of having the Genesis render the background and the 32X render the characters (and some foreground) they went vice versa with really nice resuilts. Probably would have been harder to manage a smooth frame-rate if there was parallax scrolling.
My best friend in grade 4 got a Genesis WAY before it was available in Canada, and this was his first game (aside from the pack in Altered Beast). I know the 32X is a far newer system and can do some really neat tricks... but playing this on the Genesis on day 1 was something I won't ever forget. It was the arcade.
The 32X has no hardware accelerated sprites and scrolling capabilities. The fact that the background scrolls smoothly is already a feat in itself. Most devs back then did it the other way around and let the Genesis handle backgrounds because it's more demanding while having the 32X dealing with sprites. This is probably why there's no paralax, the 32X simply can't handle it on its own. On the other hand the absence of paralax on the Genesis version is probably another side effect of trying to cram the game in a 4Mb cartridge.
@@playnalisis The 32X was good at doing what the Genesis couldn't: basic 3D (Virtua Racing, Virtua Fighter, Doom) and sprite scaling games (like Space Harrier, Afterburner). In conventional 2D games the Genesis still had to do most of the heavy lifting. They could have shipped the 32X with some more 2D capable hardware, but then if the Genesis wasn't needed that much to make it run why sell it as an add-on and not a stand alone console in the first place? It was too niche to actually work. The only two options were either an add-on that still needed to rely heavily on the host console's hardware to keep costs down with all the limitations it implies or a more powerful system that would question its own the relevance as an add-on and not a stand alone console and that would also compete with the Saturn on top of that. They went with the former which is the lesser of two evils, but still a pretty bad solution. If we're playing "what if", I would have done what NEC did with their PC Engine: no 32X, just a RAM expansion for the SEGA CD instead and call it a day. Most CD consoles back then were held back by a lack of memory. Way less wasted R&D resources, much cheaper to produce, more affordable and no internal competition with the Saturn.
@playnalisis So do I, but it would have been fatal, financially. Sega couldn't get a good deal on chips the way Nintendo could. It's why they had to charge so much for Virtua Racing and games like Phantasy Star IV, just to turn a profit. And why they preferred add-ons, which were just a one time investment for a future library. But it's worse than that makes it sound. Leaked financial documents reveal retailers overestimated demand for late release Genesis titles, and Sega had to both meet that demand and buy back any unsold stock. They were bleeding money, and Sega of America's generous contracts were to blame. Perhaps this helps to explain why Sega of Japan wasn't their biggest fan...though they'd soon have their own chance to screw themselves over with American retailers.
To those that dont know because of the way this video is presented, the 32x version is a hack of the Genesis version as the game was never offically ported to 32x and in that respect it makes sense why things missing on the Genesis are also missing on the 32x version.
@@playnalisis In the genesis version, in the later levels, some doorways and windows in the bg have strange street numbers and things written above them. Thought you might have some answers as to where these came from or what they're in reference to. As far as I'm aware, these didn't appear in the other versions of the game.
The Sega Genesis port of Golden Axe was incredible in 1989. It has more content than the arcade original but is invariably constrained by a much smaller ROM size. I see no viable reason the Sega Genesis couldn't play an almost arcade perfect version of Golden Axe without a 32X or any helper chips.
@brazilmugenteam Oh yes, a bigger ROM is all the game needs to reach arcade perfection. Would 8MB be enough? Probably. Honestly, I don't think there was an arcade game from 1988/1989 that the Genesis couldn't do with the right amount of memory. Addendum- Can you imagine releasing Thunder Force IV and Streets of Rage II in 1989? Sega would have to change their marketing strategy completely. From The Sega Genesis brings the arcade home...to the Genesis murders the arcades completely.
@playnalisis No, you need to reread what I said and look at the context. The Sega Genesis launched in 1989 with the tagline "bringing the arcade home." They even had a ridiculous commercial featuring parents getting their son a Golden Axe arcade can- "Ted, your Golden Axe finally arrived!" The commercial follows with "or you can get the Genesis and play the full arcade experience in your home." Having said that, with a larger ROM, the commercial would have been 100% accurate. If you factor in the Genesis port has an extra level and a verses mode....that's what I call murdering the arcades. Arcade perfect (of which the Genesis can absolutely do) with bonus content and no quarter munching. Now, you throw the incredibly close Ghouls n' Ghosts with a 16meg ROM, and you have yourself another arcade perfect port. Do you not understand now? The Genesis has the chops to do this for most arcade hits of 1988/1989. I would say Strider is where it hits a brick wall, and while it might get close to arcade accurate, it can not match the CPS-1 when it is pushed. The number of sprites in certain areas would have to be faked, and then it's not the same thing. For reference- Golden Axe Arcade Edition exists right now on the Genesis. There is an indy developer doing the exact same thing with Final Fight as I type this, and it looks fantastic. There is an arcade perfect port of Final Fight on the Sega CD right now. Just to throw this in here but you should also check out Mortal Kombat Arcade for the Genesis as well. That last one is actually shocking.
For me, it looks like Genesis version could be a lot more faithful to the arcade, they redrawn the backgrounds for Genesis but it looks like more a design choice than objecctively hardware demanding, except for color palete of course, since it's the bottleneck of Genesis. For example, the trees in the myst on Arcade, bushes instead of myst on genesis. It looks like the myst version is totally possible with Genesis capabalities, it's just different.
Even lacking details, i like the Genesis version a lot. The dark colors fits better the game tone. I just wished Sega coukd use a bigger cartidge size on the Genesis conversion
the genesis colors look terrible in some of the skin tones, but especially in the neon lime green or purple armors. this is clearly due to the genesis' limited color pallete and not in any way an advantage
great analysis, but i'm confused. you do know 32x version is homebrew right? because throughout the video i hear stuff like "why did sega removed it from the 32x version"
I played so much Golden Axe back in the Genesis days. One of my favorites. The colors are an improvement on the Genesis. The arcade looks faded and dull.
Reg genesis has more tecture in the rocks like stones pop out more than arckade. Even back forests in some parts of sega has more deataled like the sign with forests has more texture and details.At same time arckade has more bigger washed out sprites and extra detail animation scenes like kicking enemies.
This 32X emulator is not good, you could notice in the game's intro that the sky with the clouds was missing and in SELECT PLAYER that the background is completely dark. Not so on original hardware and decent emulators.
The game was fun to play but disappointing how short it is ... and that's even though I just played the Genesis version and didn't know the Arcade version is even shorter.
Update the 32X versión to v0.9.1: This hack enhances the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version of Golden Axe by using the 32X’s graphics capabilities. The maps are reworked based on the arcade version of the game and displayed using the 32X. Eye animations for the turtle and eagle are back in Uses the arcade version of the door open/close animation Demo/Attract mode resembles the arcade game more closely The cast screen had been moved to the main menu and is now interactive Credits are skippable The duel mode had been removed (for now).
@yoshi_da_nenelandia_CE my problem is that the GBA is, probably running on some type of emulator and not ported directly. Its a collection. It's basically a Genesis port. It should of looked better with more accurate to the arcade.
@@playnalisis I agree, I played it a while ago but I had a different gaming experience compared to the Sega Genesis even though it was a port. The Sonic's port was more faithful to the original game
I'm a SEGA fan but I disagree with you 50%. Captain Commando. Anyway, I don't know if you're talking about SEGA made games or any software house that made games for the Genesis.
For me is a lifesaver because I write the script, but then I have a hard time reading the script. It makes my life easier. I did a video a while back of me talking and it was really bad.
@@playnalisis It's completely acceptable and there are only a handful of giveaways where AI mispronounces or pauses at an odd moment. The long-term outcome of AI narrators means more technical stuff makes it to RUclips which I'll appreciate.
taking in count the 32x version is not oficial but fanmade... you could compare the hackrom version of genesis (which looks better and closer to the arcade version than the original version) ruclips.net/video/_Hk0N3HUaOE/видео.html
7:02 the reason the doors are not circular is very easy to answer... they are saving space and memory by not adding different pixel tiles, they simply rehuse the same sprite and utilize less memory (even when the cartridge can hold a LOT more space than the space they used for golden axe, this is an early genesis game in a small rom).
The 32x is fully able to run its own sprites and backgroun and polygond! Note virtua racing and mortal konbat! The 32x goldenaxe is lazy programming period!!! The sprite power of 32x can produce over 3,700 sprites! There is no reason to make genesis sized sprites!!! Thats lazy!!! And static sound of genesis!!! True programmers made 32x games with real 32x sprites, polygons, and scale rotatio sprites and background!
THIS VIDEO CONFUSES PEOPLE, THE SEGA GENESIS COULD'VE GOTTEN ARCADE PERFECT, but there's an AGENDA to "not to admit" the real capabilities of certain consoles, i encourage you and everybody to take a look at games like Real Bout Fatal Fury Special, or many other homebrew tech demos (arcade ports) that PROVE THIS VIDEO WRONG, BETTER RESEARCH NEXT TIME WHEN MAKING A VIDEO. CHRISTUS VINCIT, CHRISTUS IMPERAT. DEUS BENEDICAT TIBI.
Serious? Have you not heard of cart sizes? Earlier games were limited by smaller cart sizes. As the developers got more familiar over time, Sega allowed increased cart sizes for them to take advantage of. Nintendo did the same thing with the SNES. Next time I encourage YOU to do some research before ignorantly running off at the mouth.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm glad that YT recommended this video. Very detailed. Nice work!
Subscribed.👍
The Genesis version lacks detail, but the darker colors look more pleasant.
Completely agree, if the arcade used darker tones it'd been better
@@asturides Maybe it's an issue with the emulation, or the arcade's monitor is calibrated differently.
Agree.
Arcade ending is present in Amiga 500 version.
That is good news. Maybe one day I’ll do a video on it.
This is an awesome video, great info!
11:23
It was a mistake that the 32X made Death Adder appearing from nowhere. In my opinion, their artists should retouch that background.
14:17
Death Bringer pose when he 's on his throne is the Conan the Barbarian's pose. As you said throughout this video, Genesis/Mega Drive developers shown they're smart thinking in this port.
That's an interesting spin in 32X game development, instead of having the Genesis render the background and the 32X render the characters (and some foreground) they went vice versa with really nice resuilts. Probably would have been harder to manage a smooth frame-rate if there was parallax scrolling.
Your video is pure gold!
Great video, great analysis.
Thank you for this!
I was waiting for the analysis on the spells.
I was gonna do that but the video was already getting long.
Great video thanks :)
Glad you liked it!
Great video!
I loved tge comparison thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent job, i can now really appreciate the differences with the 32x version.
Thank you.
I laughed out loud when the level with the tortoise shell was compared to a giant toe nail with fungus. 🤣
I mean it looks
Like a huge fungus toe. 😂😂😂😂😂
Very good detail. Thanks.
My best friend in grade 4 got a Genesis WAY before it was available in Canada, and this was his first game (aside from the pack in Altered Beast). I know the 32X is a far newer system and can do some really neat tricks... but playing this on the Genesis on day 1 was something I won't ever forget. It was the arcade.
Yep it was a great port. I am sure with a bigger cart they would of done more
Very nice video.
The 32X has no hardware accelerated sprites and scrolling capabilities. The fact that the background scrolls smoothly is already a feat in itself. Most devs back then did it the other way around and let the Genesis handle backgrounds because it's more demanding while having the 32X dealing with sprites. This is probably why there's no paralax, the 32X simply can't handle it on its own. On the other hand the absence of paralax on the Genesis version is probably another side effect of trying to cram the game in a 4Mb cartridge.
Thanks. So you think that the drive was just a waste of hardware?
@@playnalisis The 32X was good at doing what the Genesis couldn't: basic 3D (Virtua Racing, Virtua Fighter, Doom) and sprite scaling games (like Space Harrier, Afterburner). In conventional 2D games the Genesis still had to do most of the heavy lifting.
They could have shipped the 32X with some more 2D capable hardware, but then if the Genesis wasn't needed that much to make it run why sell it as an add-on and not a stand alone console in the first place? It was too niche to actually work. The only two options were either an add-on that still needed to rely heavily on the host console's hardware to keep costs down with all the limitations it implies or a more powerful system that would question its own the relevance as an add-on and not a stand alone console and that would also compete with the Saturn on top of that. They went with the former which is the lesser of two evils, but still a pretty bad solution.
If we're playing "what if", I would have done what NEC did with their PC Engine: no 32X, just a RAM expansion for the SEGA CD instead and call it a day. Most CD consoles back then were held back by a lack of memory. Way less wasted R&D resources, much cheaper to produce, more affordable and no internal competition with the Saturn.
@kathleendelcourt8136 I wished they didn’t release it and stuck with the SVP Chip for a little more games.
@playnalisis
So do I, but it would have been fatal, financially. Sega couldn't get a good deal on chips the way Nintendo could. It's why they had to charge so much for Virtua Racing and games like Phantasy Star IV, just to turn a profit.
And why they preferred add-ons, which were just a one time investment for a future library.
But it's worse than that makes it sound. Leaked financial documents reveal retailers overestimated demand for late release Genesis titles, and Sega had to both meet that demand and buy back any unsold stock.
They were bleeding money, and Sega of America's generous contracts were to blame.
Perhaps this helps to explain why Sega of Japan wasn't their biggest fan...though they'd soon have their own chance to screw themselves over with American retailers.
@@kathleendelcourt8136yeah I always thought Sega should have made Sega CD and 32x into a single add-on. Maybe things would be different
To those that dont know because of the way this video is presented, the 32x version is a hack of the Genesis version as the game was never offically ported to 32x and in that respect it makes sense why things missing on the Genesis are also missing on the 32x version.
Great video, i hoped you might cover the weird labels above some dwellings in the genesis version 🤔
I don’t understand.
@@playnalisis In the genesis version, in the later levels, some doorways and windows in the bg have strange street numbers and things written above them. Thought you might have some answers as to where these came from or what they're in reference to. As far as I'm aware, these didn't appear in the other versions of the game.
The extra level but it’s not in the other version to compare it to. I did mention it but didn’t cover it.
The Sega Genesis port of Golden Axe was incredible in 1989. It has more content than the arcade original but is invariably constrained by a much smaller ROM size. I see no viable reason the Sega Genesis couldn't play an almost arcade perfect version of Golden Axe without a 32X or any helper chips.
Yea it was for being a 4 megacart game
Just imagine if Sega allowed a bigger ROM size, like 8 MB...
@brazilmugenteam
Oh yes, a bigger ROM is all the game needs to reach arcade perfection. Would 8MB be enough? Probably. Honestly, I don't think there was an arcade game from 1988/1989 that the Genesis couldn't do with the right amount of memory.
Addendum- Can you imagine releasing Thunder Force IV and Streets of Rage II in 1989? Sega would have to change their marketing strategy completely. From The Sega Genesis brings the arcade home...to the Genesis murders the arcades completely.
@Sinn0100 the Genesis doesn't murder arcades at all. It has its limitations.
@playnalisis
No, you need to reread what I said and look at the context. The Sega Genesis launched in 1989 with the tagline "bringing the arcade home." They even had a ridiculous commercial featuring parents getting their son a Golden Axe arcade can- "Ted, your Golden Axe finally arrived!" The commercial follows with "or you can get the Genesis and play the full arcade experience in your home."
Having said that, with a larger ROM, the commercial would have been 100% accurate. If you factor in the Genesis port has an extra level and a verses mode....that's what I call murdering the arcades. Arcade perfect (of which the Genesis can absolutely do) with bonus content and no quarter munching. Now, you throw the incredibly close Ghouls n' Ghosts with a 16meg ROM, and you have yourself another arcade perfect port. Do you not understand now? The Genesis has the chops to do this for most arcade hits of 1988/1989. I would say Strider is where it hits a brick wall, and while it might get close to arcade accurate, it can not match the CPS-1 when it is pushed. The number of sprites in certain areas would have to be faked, and then it's not the same thing.
For reference- Golden Axe Arcade Edition exists right now on the Genesis. There is an indy developer doing the exact same thing with Final Fight as I type this, and it looks fantastic. There is an arcade perfect port of Final Fight on the Sega CD right now. Just to throw this in here but you should also check out Mortal Kombat Arcade for the Genesis as well. That last one is actually shocking.
Oh man, I never paid attention! I only looked at enemies, trying to beat them!
Which part?
For me, it looks like Genesis version could be a lot more faithful to the arcade, they redrawn the backgrounds for Genesis but it looks like more a design choice than objecctively hardware demanding, except for color palete of course, since it's the bottleneck of Genesis. For example, the trees in the myst on Arcade, bushes instead of myst on genesis. It looks like the myst version is totally possible with Genesis capabalities, it's just different.
Even lacking details, i like the Genesis version a lot. The dark colors fits better the game tone. I just wished Sega coukd use a bigger cartidge size on the Genesis conversion
I was looking at Golden Axe 2 and it looks really good b
8 mgbt would of been amazing.
My version of 32X includes the arcade background in the warrior select screen
Weird.
@@playnalisis watch some longplays of it on RUclips. It has the arcade background and also the clouds on the title screen!
Wait a minute. I do not remember the arcade ending having a character saying to like the video and subscribe (16:10)
I quite like the more saturated colors on the Genesis. Too bad there's so many cut scenery.
the genesis colors look terrible in some of the skin tones, but especially in the neon lime green or purple armors. this is clearly due to the genesis' limited color pallete and not in any way an advantage
Great and interesting video of my childhood game, keep up the good work
Thank you. 😊
great analysis, but i'm confused. you do know 32x version is homebrew right? because throughout the video i hear stuff like "why did sega removed it from the 32x version"
Oh i did. I apologize.
Btw what part of the video is the “why Sega removed it from 32x”
Awesome vid
Thank you. 🙏
oh man thts rery gg 5 dorrah
Great analysis. They should have just done a 32Mbit Genesis conversion. It would look almost identical.
I don’t think it would have. Maybe close but not perfect.
It would have been nice to get some sprite scaling in
I always wondered why it said DEB above the door on turtle island for the genesis
It's an inn, but the devs wrote it as BED. However, they wrote it from right to left as in Japanese writing.
Weird. Maybe because Japan read book from right to left?
@@3jane821 lifelong mystery solved! Thanks kind stranger
@@playnalisis Correct.
I played so much Golden Axe back in the Genesis days. One of my favorites. The colors are an improvement on the Genesis. The arcade looks faded and dull.
Yeah the contrast is high.
Where's the cloud background on the title screen?
I think I got a version that doesn’t have it
Reg genesis has more tecture in the rocks like stones pop out more than arckade. Even back forests in some parts of sega has more deataled like the sign with forests has more texture and details.At same time arckade has more bigger washed out sprites and extra detail animation scenes like kicking enemies.
Nice Video ! Sub & Big Like ! Love Retro Genesis Games !
Thanks I got more videos coming.
This 32X emulator is not good, you could notice in the game's intro that the sky with the clouds was missing and in SELECT PLAYER that the background is completely dark. Not so on original hardware and decent emulators.
Megadrive version is the best.
Ah, Golden Axe, great game. Ported to anything with a hamster wheel! (talking about the micro computers, obviously, especially the Speccy!)
Which micro computers? Speccy?
@@playnalisis ZX Spectrum
The game was fun to play but disappointing how short it is ... and that's even though I just played the Genesis version and didn't know the Arcade version is even shorter.
The extra level is just a big room. No big deal.
Update the 32X versión to v0.9.1: This hack enhances the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version of Golden Axe by using the 32X’s graphics capabilities.
The maps are reworked based on the arcade version of the game and displayed using the 32X.
Eye animations for the turtle and eagle are back in
Uses the arcade version of the door open/close animation
Demo/Attract mode resembles the arcade game more closely
The cast screen had been moved to the main menu and is now interactive
Credits are skippable
The duel mode had been removed (for now).
Awesome. Need to check out this update
I feel like the arcade and 32x versions are so washed that the characters look out of place
Is there any comparison to the GBA?
Of Golden Axe?
@@playnalisis Yes
@yoshi_da_nenelandia_CE my problem is that the GBA is, probably running on some type of emulator and not ported directly. Its a collection. It's basically a Genesis port. It should of looked better with more accurate to the arcade.
@@playnalisis I agree, I played it a while ago but I had a different gaming experience compared to the Sega Genesis even though it was a port. The Sonic's port was more faithful to the original game
Pensei que o de 32X teria fase extra igual ao do Mega Drive.
Decepcionei.
Confesso que esperava que tivesse tbem
Sega Genesis is the only console that has all the greatest games on😊
Sorry but I disagree.
@@playnalisis it's my option
@damin9913 that is fine by me.❤️
I'm a SEGA fan but I disagree with you 50%. Captain Commando. Anyway, I don't know if you're talking about SEGA made games or any software house that made games for the Genesis.
@antoniostrina82 I'm only talking about Sega genesis no other console
Gilius needs a gold axe or there is no point
Those are King and Princess, not Queen.
Yeah, I noticed that when the video went live. Sorry. 😞
Totally forgot when I got to the end as I was editing the video. They look like king and queen.
AI narrator is interesting.
For me is a lifesaver because I write the script, but then I have a hard time reading the script. It makes my life easier. I did a video a while back of me talking and it was really bad.
@@playnalisis It's completely acceptable and there are only a handful of giveaways where AI mispronounces or pauses at an odd moment. The long-term outcome of AI narrators means more technical stuff makes it to RUclips which I'll appreciate.
taking in count the 32x version is not oficial but fanmade...
you could compare the hackrom version of genesis (which looks better and closer to the arcade version than the original version)
ruclips.net/video/_Hk0N3HUaOE/видео.html
7:02 the reason the doors are not circular is very easy to answer... they are saving space and memory by not adding different pixel tiles, they simply rehuse the same sprite and utilize less memory (even when the cartridge can hold a LOT more space than the space they used for golden axe, this is an early genesis game in a small rom).
The 32x is fully able to run its own sprites and backgroun and polygond! Note virtua racing and mortal konbat! The 32x goldenaxe is lazy programming period!!! The sprite power of 32x can produce over 3,700 sprites! There is no reason to make genesis sized sprites!!! Thats lazy!!! And static sound of genesis!!! True programmers made 32x games with real 32x sprites, polygons, and scale rotatio sprites and background!
The 32x relied on Genesis. So it can’t work along. Maybe for 3D games
32X version is fanmade and free, I'd never call them "lazy"
THIS VIDEO CONFUSES PEOPLE, THE SEGA GENESIS COULD'VE GOTTEN ARCADE PERFECT, but there's an AGENDA to "not to admit" the real capabilities of certain consoles, i encourage you and everybody to take a look at games like Real Bout Fatal Fury Special, or many other homebrew tech demos (arcade ports) that PROVE THIS VIDEO WRONG, BETTER RESEARCH NEXT TIME WHEN MAKING A VIDEO. CHRISTUS VINCIT, CHRISTUS IMPERAT. DEUS BENEDICAT TIBI.
Serious? Have you not heard of cart sizes? Earlier games were limited by smaller cart sizes. As the developers got more familiar over time, Sega allowed increased cart sizes for them to take advantage of. Nintendo did the same thing with the SNES. Next time I encourage YOU to do some research before ignorantly running off at the mouth.