If I could pick two games that defined my youth, my gaming past, I would almost certainly
pick Golden Axe and Gauntlet. These epic adventure fantasy quests pulled me directly into their
universe, but they did it in such different but yet, familiar, ways.
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Golden Axe was released into arcades in 1989 by Sega, a side scrolling beat’em up where
your objective is to battle through demons, knights and foes to destroy Death Adder. Gauntlet,
released in 1985 by Atari felt like it was in a similar universe, but this time our perspective
is one of top down dungeon crawling, and our mechanic was more hack and slash than beat’em
up.
But what’s key, is they sold you into this world of magic, wizardry, goblins, skeletons
and steel, and I loved it.
Fast forward to January 2020 and Henk Nieborg, a pixel artist, animator and designer who
has worked on games like Lionheart on the Amiga, and Flink on the Mega Drive, teamed
up with Bitmap Bureau to make a game which seemingly combines the two concepts into one
game.
Now, I didn’t actually back it, because, well, I didn’t find out about it until much
later in the year, but never the less I’ve managed to obtain the Ultimate Physical Edition,
so let’s take a look at that and then see if the game really is the Golden Gauntlet.
OK, so in this box, there’s a whole host of goodies. Let’s see what we’ve got.
So first up is this shadow box.
This is number 134 and it has been signed by the man himself. This is a shadow box.
It’s really nice; we have this magnificent art book, which has got all the pixel art
from the game over many pages.
Oh, it’s a fresh new book, Smell. This is really nice, actually.
Really shows up the graphics and how well they are created. An A2 Size Poster, which
is glorious. The soundtrack on CD with 13 tracks.
And then I’ve got various versions of the game, physical versions for the PS4, the Switch
version, PlayStation 4.
And then there’s two badge editions, each with different characters on the front. So
inside the Switch version, we get this lovely badge set.
We’ve got Fae, Rooney, Iolo, the Battleaxe logo and these two daggers knives and then
we’ve got Henk Nieborg’s signature.
So I guess that’s very nice. I’ve got quite a few of these games, so see the first
comment below for a Twitter competition.
Let’s get back to the game.
The game is available on PS4, Switch and PC. They’re all identical games, but I’m going
to dive in with the PC version first;
Well, it certainly looks the part. There isn’t much story line. If you wait at the title
screen, you get the idea that this villain, named Etheldred is causing some disruption
over the land, in the form of these goblin generators. We’ll get to that in a minute.
Options allow you to change between Easy and Hard mode, put a CRT filter on, and take a
look at the controls. Other than that, we’re left to start the game as either single player
or two player. Followed by a choice between Arcade and Infinite mode. Arcade is the obvious
first choice.
We can choose from one of three characters; Rooney; a surly pirate who carries a deadly
cannon. Fae; a skilled fighter who wields two blades, or Iolo; an aged mage who has
history with the sorceress Etheldred. As you might imagine, these characters have varying
strengths and weaknesses.
Fae is the fastest, with a dash ability, but slow dagger projecticles.
Rooney is the strongest, with rapid fire ability.
Iolo is the slowest, and weakest in melee combat, but has excellent magic projectiles
and the ability to teleport.
Personally, I find Fae the most satisfying to play with.
We begin in the seemingly floating islands of Hamwic; a peaceful retreat high in the
mountains. Apart from the fact, that there are a host of foes to dispense of;
Goblins are the most abundant and simple to dispense with, but can get quite upsetting
in large numbers. Plus they often stand atop of towers which need to be destroyed.
Mandragore are projectile firing plants. They’re a pain in the arse. There are a whole host
of other enemies too, some aren’t actually enemies, like the plants, they’re just trying
to defend themselves. Others like these mutant fly faces are enemies and need to be destroyed,
swiftly.
Enemies are conjured by these generators. This is a concept from Gauntlet, that exists
in many games these days, known as spawners. Take these out and the goblins stop coming.
Which is nice.
Then we’ve got these guys, who apparently need to be saved. Even though they’re just
loitering around the place.
We have three main buttons at disposal to take out enemies. The first is a melee attack,
the second is a projectile and the third is your special ability that has a small cool
down. In this case a forward slashing action.
All of these attacks are actually a lot of fun, and on the default Hard mode, you also
need to employ a lot of evading tactics, adding to the gameplay. This is a game that is really
designed for gamepad play, but if you like, you can also use keyboard, employing the good
old fashioned arrow keys along with ZXC and V. It works, but a lot of firing needs to
be performed diagonally, that a D-Pad of analogue stick is best suited. Although we are still
restricted to eight directions of movement rather than limitless fluid spinning… after
all, it’s supposed to be like an old school game.
At the end of each level, you get some horrific boss. In this case, some geezer on a ship
with a cannon. In this instance, it would be much easier with a rapid firing character.
Especially because the longer you take, the more of these bastard goblins start to appear.
Still, like bosses in most games, there is a method to take each of them out, and once
you work it out, it’s pretty easy.
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I’ve only just thought of it, but this game feels a lot like the Chaos Engine, an Amiga
classic. In looks and play style… and much like the Chaos Engine….. The REAL fun comes
in two player mode, and for this I’m going to switch to the Switch. In fact, the Switch
also feels like the platform this game is most at home on, even in one player mode.
BUT THIS, THIS is where it’s at… and it’s what I’d expect. Golden Axe and Gauntlet
were infinitely better with a friend. Having a pair of protagonists with different strengths
and weaknesses adds an element of strategy and teamwork in a subtle way, but a way which
quickly gives you an intuitive sense of placement in each level.
You might get a feeling that Rooney is a little overpowered from this footage. I mean he can
literally blast everything in sight whilst walking, and he gets an extra energy bar.
Compare that to Iolo who can rapid fire, but only standing still, and Fae’s single blades,
and he looks like an absolute powerhouse. But a couple of points;
The game is now in easy mode, which you really need to be in to progress, especially when
making a video. In two player, the difficulty is again adjusted
accordingly, even on easy mode. You now only get 1 life each, as opposed to 2 and foes
are harder. Foes will eventually surround to to the point
where the cannon doesn’t seem that much of an advantage, and you’ll wish you have
one of the other players. Honestly, this game is exceptionally well balanced.
Here we find ourselves in the Mines of Morlok, and you quickly feel like this game has a
Lord of the Rings progression to it. In fact, Etheldred’s lair consists of something called
“The Evil Eye”; a huge lens crafted with the darkest of sorcery. So if that’s not
a direct rip off, I don’t know what is. Anyway, the Mines; this is much more my kind
of vibe over the sunny skys of the Shire. The darkness, fire lanterns, flaming tiger
mouth statues, Tremor like creatures and SKELETONS. My favourite foes. Yes, this is much more
like home.
I’m not going to reveal the end of level boss on this level, as I don’t want to pour
spoilers out like a pot of bad tea. But he’s a big bugger, I’ll tell you that.
In-between levels you get visited, by a somewhat unenthused retailer. I preferred the little
guys from Golden Axe personally, but this is where all those coins you’ve collected
during the level come in handy.
You can get some chicken, full health, an extra life bar, extra speed, extra strength
or a magical scroll. The magic scroll is MAGIC, which comes in use. But you can only carry
one item, whether that’s a scroll, a chicken, a revitalising potion or even a bomb you find
laying about so choose wisely. A chicken will restore one bar of health, but it you have
full health you can carry it for use during a round, so that’s a nice touch. The extra
power ups have their own slots, so don’t worry about that.
Unfortunately all those gems you can collect, are just for point purposes. Same with the
villagers, so you might as well just let them rot. Although very occasionally one will give
you a bonus item as a thank you.
By the third level, we’re getting somewhere. We’re getting bigger and harder enemies
and everything looks more important. This surely must be Etheldred’s castle grounds.
Surely?! Well, I have no idea. The furthest I got was in the castle dungeons, which is
still part of this third level and then I died. Actually, that’s a lie, my 10 year
old son got this far, I died a while beforehand.
So this is the game. This is how it plays out from level to level… and it does remind
me of lot of Golden Axe and Gauntlet. It’s enjoyable. Henk Nieborg’s pixel art bedazzles
the eyes continuously. The sound track by VGM composer Manami Matsumae is incredible
and keeps you coming back alone. The collision detection is spot on. The balancing is supreme.
Everything feels coherent. But once you’re dead you are dead. Whether that’s after
2 lives in single player or 1 life in 2 player. THERE IS NO SAVE.
YOU DIE. YOU DIE. YOU START AGAIN.
And that’s what really cripples you in this game. The levels aren’t difficult to get
through. The bosses aren’t difficult to defeat. But if you’re not exceptionally
careful, that energy will slip away, and you’ll die, over and over again.
I know it’s supposed to be old school but come on lads. PLEASE GOD HAVE MERCY.
But despite this, you’ll come back. Again, and again, and you’ll get a bit better each
time and try to get further.
BUT, once you’ve mastered it. Once you’ve got further. You quickly stop, because this
game only has 4 levels.. since I captured this footage and wrote most of this script,
I persevered onto the fourth level, although I won’t show it here, because I presume
you want some surprises. But we’re talking a few hours of gameplay if you sit down and
get stuck into it, which is easy to do. Those few hours will grant you the whole land of
Mercia, which I keep reading as Merica, in a George W Bush style.
There is an infinite mode, which just has you stomping through these ruin arenas. The
KickStarter campaign said you’d be trudging around Etheldred’s dungeons, which honestly
would have been cooler. But we’re just out and about, killing foes, which is nice. But
these modes never really appeal to me. I’d rather sit down and see how many digestives
I can eat in an hour.
What’s more interesting is the GAME+ mode. So if you beat the arcade game, then you can
unlock an even more punishing mode, with more enemies, harder bosses and less power ups.
So that does give you some further play value. Even though you’ve seen everything there
is to offer, the fact that Battle Axe manages to pull you into this world of fantasy through
music, graphics and spot on gameplay, means it offers the same pull that Golden Axe did.
Let’s be honest, Golden Axe is an incredibly short game. But I played that over and over
and over and over. Still, that was 3 decades ago when choice was slimmer and imagination
was more vivid. These days there is more choice and more distraction. But, if I had Battle
Axe at that same point in time, I’d probably play it over and over and over as well.
What’s key for me, is that Battle Axe manages to conjure a sense of Anemoia; a sense of
nostalgia in something new. Something that you’ve never actually experienced before…
and that’s exactly what you need from a title that’s trying to be a retro in it’s
very roots. Otherwise it’s failed.
Iolo, Fae, Rooney. They exude enough character to draw you in. The enemies have the visual
charm to convey an interaction, and the lands you roam across feel tangible in this fantastical
context.
It’s also fun, it’s challenging and it’s nice that, through the easy mode, it offers
a degree of accessibility for players not versed in game mechanics of old.
If you like Golden Axe or Gauntlet or the Chaos Engine, then this is a good game, and
you’ll enjoy it. It’s not quite a full merging of Gauntlet and Golden Axe. It would
need about 50 levels and a distinct lake of hope from about level 30 to achieve that.
But it’s a nice experience and great fun with two players.
Until next time, I’ve been Nostalgia Nerd. Toodleoo.