Golden Axe [EGA / Adlib]

I switch to Adlib sound. It improves the experience. However, the controls and the hitboxes are very bad, and it's the main drawback of this game. ______ About the Game ___________________________ When it comes to Golden Axe, the MS-DOS version is a fascinating disaster. I’ll be blunt: this is a terrible port, possibly the worst I’ve ever played, and it’s practically unplayable for anyone looking for a decent experience. On the surface, it’s a bit of a tease. It features good graphics and the AdLib music and FX are actually decent. Even with the PC Speaker, the digitized FX are well-done and the music is a "valiant effort"—though, honestly, it’s better to turn the PC speaker music off before it starts grating on your nerves. However, once you start moving, everything falls apart. The scroll is horrendous, shifting at the wrong times and ruining the flow. The controls are mediocre at best, making it feel stiff and unresponsive. One of its biggest flaws is how extremely dependent it is on CPU cycles; if you don't get them exactly right, your combos won't stun enemies, making combat a nightmare. Because you have to keep the cycles low for the gameplay to function, the loading times become painfully slow. The list of bugs and bad design choices is long: The hitboxes are broken, making every strike a gamble. Dragons vanish if they stay on screen for more than a few seconds. The tail-whip dragon can be mounted but simply doesn't work correctly. Items frequently drop off-screen, making them impossible to collect. With Hercules graphics, the game crash at startup It suffers from occasional crashes. To save memory, they only included one magic animation per character. Beyond the technical mess, there are several odd changes compared to the Arcade and Mega Drive versions that just feel "off." It’s a shame because the visuals had potential, but the execution is a textbook example of how not to port a classic.