Topic: Golden Axe 3

Ah, good old Golden Axe, one of the most famous game series of all time. Now, while they may have had a cult following, they are beat'em ups. With style.
Tonight, I shall express my thoughts on Golden Axe 3, so far:
Golden Axe 3 was the third MegaDrive installment of the Golden Axe trilogy, and the only Japan-only GA title yet, for reasons of self-doubt from Sega (I looked it up). However, this iteration is quite different from the first two, and I'm not just talking graphic-style and control-style. Graphically, it's one of the best games for the system. The characters, enemies, and bosses look buff; albeit with less fluidity in their animation. The background graphics are really great, and a far departure from the first two games. That first stage alone looks impressive with the desert in the backdrop. The controls are topnotch, mostly, with some added features; your characters have the ability to double jump, which is a nice touch. The magic spells are back, where you can have up to six potions (the more the better).
But that's not all: your characters now have special abilities that are executed through button combinations. The soundtrack is decent, though could use some work in some places. I do like the ambient piece that plays during Dim Forest, given the location's atmosphere. The sound effects, mostly, need a serious overhaul. I don't mind when there's a metallic sound when an enemy or boss uses his shield. But when you swing your sword it makes a rather inappropriate sound for that weapon. I guess it's due to the MegaDrive's sound limitations. What makes this game stand out from the rest is that this game has a nonlinear pace. I'm not kidding; you actually have the ability to choose where to go, choose one way or another. It gives this game an edge over other beat'em ups, and is never really tedious and adds some replay value.
The main gripe I have is that it can be quite repetitive, like the genre itself. More often than not you will find yourself headbutting toward an enemy back and forth until they are down for the count. I do like how you can ride on the animals(?), and you can actually hop off in this game. The game can be a bit difficult later on in the game, especially when it comes to the later bosses (like those Aries-lookalikes). And those said Aries-lookalikes is always where I end up losing all my continues, and for understandable reasons. I've still yet to beat this game on Normal mode, but I'll bet Hard mode will be ridiculous.
The Duel Mode is back, and plays better than ever. IMO, this is the better of the three, though I probably shouldn't say so seeing as I never even got to beat this game before. It's not great, but it's quite decent.
Peace.

3 - Its my least favourite, I just don't like those chunky sprites and the enemies look a bit silly. Its also 50Hz here so dead slow on the VC. I like it, but prefer 1, 2 and the arcade version, which I used to play after school in the early 90s - before Street fighter 2 took over y'know. I was a bit fan or 80s fantasy films as a child so the aesthetic of Golden Axe had quite an appeal...

Well, to each his own. That's what I say.

Yeah - but, y'know it could be the nostalgia for me, its hard to be objective about these things... The 50Hz port is also a major pain too, you are luck to escape slooow game play and squashed graphics!

I thought the game was pretty good. It does have nice backdrops but a little on the grainy side. The music is much improved with the use of snare drums but the sound effects are weak( the whole series has poor sound effects as well). Still worth a look if you like GA 1 and GA 2

I think 1 is best then 2 then 3, the third didn't feel much like a GA game it had some Streets of Rage like elements such as having to press a button to pick up items, which just felt out of place in GA, the absolute best version IMO though is Revenge of Death Adder, hope it comes to VCA.

Revenge of Death Adder is far so far above the rest of the series that I rarely compare them. It it hits the VCA its a must download

I agree, Reala. Golden Axe 3 does lean more to the true beat'em up side, like Streets of Rage. Though I still feel 1-3 are very decent. How's Revenge of Death Adder? Is it good? Is it worth checking out?

Revenge of Death Adder is an amazing game, why they never brought it to the Saturn I'll never know, it seems to be generally regarded as the best in the series.

@Reala Sadly, I think the fetish for 3D games was taking hold to demonstrate what the 'next gen' offered at that point. May have had something to do with it, and why we never got some of the great ports such as Metal Slug. The Saturn was great for importers though, X-men Vs. Street Fighter was so much better than the PSX version and I still play Capcom Gen 5... Sega always seem to miss the obvious money, the Golden Axe sequel on VC Arcade would be awesome.

Revenge Of Death Adder makes this game look like garbage.