Headscratchers / Golden Axe

• Why was III so widely disliked? Graphics-wise, it is indeed not the best (that will be Revenge of Death Adder), but many reviews claim that it is a game that is really bad.
  • I think it was more of a combination of a Tough Act to Follow and people have been wanting a port of Revenge of Death Adder. While II was not the port everyone hoped, it was a Mission-Pack Sequel that still played kind of like I, thus people could still feel the spirit of Golden Axe. Plus you know, it's still using the iconic characters. III, however, made the fighting engine feel a bit more like other beat'em ups like Streets of Rage, while it was good on its own, fans felt like it didn't fit the style of Golden Axe and once again, nothing like Revenge of Death Adder. (Unfamiliar characters felt like a non-factor here because for the longest time, people thought Kain and Sarah were Ax and Tyris, so people never minded that one. The loss of Gillius' playability is still a sore point though) So yeah, I think that's how, people thought that it was straying from a usual Golden Axe game and felt more like a generic weapon-based beat'em up carrying the Golden Axe name along with the dumbed down graphics, and had the unfortunate time of being under the shadow of Revenge of Death Adder. So far, it's been Vindicated by History though, so there's that.
  • Its limited release didn't help either, meaning that most people, unable to play it themselves, just took second hand accounts of it not being as good at face value.