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Whether it's compilation titles like the Genesis Mega Collection, emulation-based mini consoles like the Sega Genesis Mini, or any other list of titles that are generally considered to be representative of Sega's iconic 4th generation console, there will always be a couple of series that you can practically guarantee will be represented in some capacity. Sonic the Hedgehog is an obvious choice, but games like Shining Force or Streets of Rage are almost equally as omnipresent. One frequent inclusion that may surprise some modern players is Golden Axe, a series of beat-em-up titles that started life in arcades.

With the success of its first 1989 release, and indeed coinciding with the release of the 16-bit Genesis, Golden Axe was ported to console, and, before you know it, a sequel was produced in 1991, this time exclusively for the home console. Golden Axe II, then, was in a position to become the definitive version of the series and cultivate a strong fan base on home consoles. What it did, instead, was demonstrate the sometimes overly iterative nature of early console titles and fail to meaningfully improve upon its original effort.

Now, it wouldn't be fair to say that Golden Axe II offers nothing compared to its arcade and port prequel. Its home console controls have been improved, it offers more options in terms of difficulty, and the visuals have been improved upon a bit. It also adds a slight layer of flexibility to your magic use, which now allows you to choose how much magic to spend on an attack, rather than just using all you have. The soundtrack is pretty good as well. But when even a deep examination of GA2 reveals so few differences, it's pretty clear that the game is far too reminiscent of what came before it.

It's generally a pretty easy game, even if you decide to try out the hardest difficulty, and it will likely take most beat-em-up novices only a few tries before reaching the end stages. This is thanks in part to the frequent appearance of mounts, which up your damage considerably, as well as the charge attack, which makes any encounter with two or fewer enemies on the screen a formality.

Of course, having an array of difficulty options and being, in general, an easier game is nothing against Golden Axe II; all it means is that your time with it is likely to be finished pretty quickly, and it's a shame that there weren't more efforts made to make it feel like something unique. This is 1991, after all; the genre is thriving with titles like Streets of Rage 2 and a pair of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles titles, all while Golden Axe II is offering up pretty standard beat-em-up fare. It's relatively polished, mind you—everything works as it should. It's competently made. It looks pretty nice. There's just...not enough of it.

As many of its contemporaries did, Golden Axe II does offer split-screen multiplayer mode, although oddly enough the number of enemies or their health isn't adjusted in this mode, so a pretty beatable game becomes an overly simple one.

It does, at least, offer a new addition to the duel mode, which allows two players to fight to the death. If nothing else, it's a somewhat amusing option to try out once or twice, or perhaps it created some childhood gaming memories for those who weren't allowed to play Mortal Kombat.

Golden Axe II feels like the definition of a rental title. This is the type of game you could pick up from Blockbuster on a Friday night and have back in the store by Sunday morning. It's less complex and less forward-thinking than many of its competitors, and that sentiment hasn't really changed over time. So what now that rental game stores have long since become a thing of the past? Well, Golden Axe swaps its life as rental fodder for a permanent space occupier (and not much more) on a litany of Sega classic compilations. It's like they always say: the more things change, the more they stay the same.

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