Golden Axe (ゴールデンアックス, Gōruden Akkusu) is a series of side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade video games developed by Sega.

The game places the player in control of one of three warriors each bent on revenge against the vile dictator Death Adder.

One of them is a battle-axe-wielding dwarf, Gilius Thunderhead, from the mines of Wolud, whose twin brother was killed by the soldiers of Death Adder.

The female warrior Tyris can cast devastating fire magic, but her most powerful spell costs 6 bars.

The rest of the cast is all new and includes Stern Blade the barbarian, Dora the female centaur, and Little Trix, a young lad who carries a pitch fork.

The Revenge of Death Adder was the only Golden Axe game in which one of the magic attacks was not offensive, as Little Trix grew apple trees with fruit that replenished health.

The game's lineup of playable characters includes swordsman Kain Grinder (カイン・グリンダー), swordswoman Sarah Barn (サラ・バーン), giant Braoude Cragger (プラウド・クラッガー) and beastman Chronos "Evil" Lait (クロノス・”イビル”・レート).

A king turned into an anthropomorphic eagle is a recurring boss who may possibly be Prince Hellbringer's right-hand man, and is playable in VS mode.

[3][4] Golden Axe: Beast Rider features the return of Tyris Flare, the female amazon warrior from the first installments of the series.

Unlike previous Golden Axe games, the player can learn new attacks and moves at the training dojos in each town.

[7] The release of the prototype received controversy from fans and critics when one of its original developers, Tim Dawson, spoke up in opposition to the lack of any credits on the cancelled game.

Ax Battler, Gilius Thunderhead and Tyris Flare all make a cameo appearance in the arcade version of Alien Storm.

Gilius Thunderhead makes another cameo appearance in the game, as part of a panel of judges rating the player's score.

Gilius Thunderhead is also a playable character in Sega Superstars Tennis and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.

Ax Battler and Tyris Flare are available as playable characters in the Easy Mode of the Sega Ages 2500 version of Dynamite Deka.

On April 17, 2024, it was announced that a comedic animated series based on the games will air on Comedy Central; the series will feature Liam McIntyre as Ax Battler, Lisa Gilroy as Tyris Flare, Matthew Rhys as Gillius Thunderhead, Carl Tart as Chronos "Evil" Lait, and Danny Pudi as new character Hampton Squib.

The series was titled "The Legend of the Golden Axe" and had two six-issue runs, written by Mark Eyles and illustrated by Mike White.

Issues 1–6 feature the story "Citadel of Dead Souls", wherein a necromancer attempts to resurrect Dark Guld.

Issues 13–18 have the story "Plague of Serpents", which involves a snake-charmer named Cobraxis kidnapping the Queen of Gilius' dwarf race.

Characters from Golden Axe would later appear in the Worlds Unite crossover from Archie Comics alongside several other Sega and Capcom franchises.