The game later appeared in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as an iOS app on iTunes,[2] and on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.

In this game, the player could now use part or all of their magic by holding the button and releasing it when the meter reached the desired level.

Finally, there were small cosmetic changes in the form of a shoulder guard for Ax Battler and black gauntlets for Gilius Thunderhead.

Normal mode puts the player into the story of the game, where they must recover the golden axe from Dark Guld.

On June 1, 2010, Sega Mega Drive and Genesis Classics was released on Steam and the Golden Axe trilogy became available for PC.

On June 29, 2018, the collection Sega Genesis Classics was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, with a Nintendo Switch version following in December that same year.

Console XS gave an overall score of 75/100 and felt that Golden Axe II was easier than its predecessor.

[6] Mega Action gave an overall score of 90% initially praising the game for being bigger and better than the original, but criticizing it for not having much to offer, concluding: "If you want more of the same, then this is for you.

"[7] Allgame gave a review score of 3 out of five stars commenting that the game has almost exactly the same graphics, sound, and options and nothing really different which makes the sequel stand out, concluding: “The game is still enjoyable for what it is, however, and fans of the original probably won't mind that it's more of the same.”[8] Illusionware praised the game for having slightly improved graphics compared to its predecessor, although commenting that the gameplay remains unchanged stating: "A nice little sequel with slightly better graphics, but nothing really new on the gameplay side."