Play Golden Axe - The Duel Online Free for Sega Saturn.
That clip up top is the real Golden Axe - The Duel — the actual Sega Saturn game from its publisher. Grab the free RetroPlayers.Club Player and it runs full-speed on your PC, no cartridge required.
Golden Axe - The Duel
Play this Game The Right Way Now -> Download Our Mini App & Start PlayingThe RetroPlayers.Club Player is a Premium perk. Go Premium or sign in to play Golden Axe - The Duel at full speed on your own PC.
Golden Axe - The Duel can be relived on your own PC through the free RetroPlayers.Club Player app — full speed, with a controller and saves just like your hardware. You confirm you own the game from your library, and no need to connect your console.
🎮 Bluetooth Controller? Click Here
| Action | Keyboard | Controller |
|---|---|---|
| D-Pad Up | ↑ | D-Pad up |
| D-Pad Down | ↓ | D-Pad down |
| D-Pad Left | ← | D-Pad left |
| D-Pad Right | → | D-Pad right |
| B (bottom) | X | Bottom face |
| A (right) | Z | Right face |
| Y (left) | S | Left face |
| X (top) | A | Top face |
| L | Q | Left shoulder |
| R | E | Right shoulder |
| Start | Enter | Start |
| Select | V | Select |
🎮 Sega Saturn controls
These are the keys the RetroPlayers.Club Player app uses for Sega Saturn, shown for reference. Your controller still lights up below so you can confirm it is detected — Premium members can remap here (keyboard or USB controller) and the app applies the map at the next launch.
No controller detected yet — plug one in and press any button.
Press buttons — your controller lights up here so you can see it is detected. Go Premium to save a custom map.
| Action | Keyboard | Controller |
|---|---|---|
| Up | W | D-Pad up |
| Down | S | D-Pad down |
| Left | A | D-Pad left |
| Right | D | D-Pad right |
| A | J | Right face |
| B | K | Bottom face |
| C | L | Extra face |
| X | U | Top face |
| Y | I | Left face |
| Z | O | Extra face |
| L | Q | Left shoulder |
| R | E | Right shoulder |
| Start | F | Start |
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The game was later ported to the Sega Saturn. A spin-off of the Golden Axe series, it is the third and final arcade installment in the franchise.
How to Play Golden Axe - The Duel
Here is the default control layout for Golden Axe - The Duel in the RetroPlayers.Club Player. Open Controller Mapping in the app to reassign anything to your own keys or gamepad.
The Story Behind Golden Axe - The Duel
The game was unveiled at the 1995 Amusement Operators' Union (AOU) show in Tokyo. These include Kain Blade, a wandering swordsman; Milan Flare, a princess and descendant of Tyris Flare; Gillius Rockhead, great grandson of Gillius Thunderhead; Zoma, a power-hungry sorcerer; Doc, a katana-wielding healer; Keel, an elf who is brainwashed into a bloodthirsty serial killer; Jamm, a girl raised by beasts; Panchos, a bomb-maker and inventor; Green, a giant human-plant hybrid; and Death Adder, revealed to have survived his supposed demise. The game was later ported to the Sega Saturn.
is a 1995 fighting game developed and published by Sega for arcades. Numerous warriors now fight to obtain the powerful axe. A spin-off of the Golden Axe series, it is the third and final arcade installment in the franchise.
What You'll Play
Eighty years after the evil Death Adder was slain by Gillius Thunderhead, the magical Golden Axe is rediscovered, its powers having grown over time. Numerous warriors now fight to obtain the powerful axe. These include Kain Blade, a wandering swordsman; Milan Flare, a princess and descendant of Tyris Flare; Gillius Rockhead, great grandson of Gillius Thunderhead; Zoma, a power-hungry sorcerer; Doc, a katana-wielding healer; Keel, an elf who is brainwashed into a bloodthirsty serial killer; Jamm, a girl raised by beasts; Panchos, a bomb-maker and inventor; Green, a giant human-plant hybrid; and Death Adder, revealed to have survived his supposed demise.
is a 1995 fighting game developed and published by Sega for arcades. A spin-off of the Golden Axe series, it is the third and final arcade installment in the franchise. The game was later ported to the Sega Saturn.
Why It Still Hits
Sega Saturn Magazines Tom Guise praised the "arcade exact" conversion, the potion-dropping imp mechanic, the impressive graphics, and the music, but felt that the game was "outclassed" by the imminent ports of Virtua Fighter 2 and X-Men: Children of the Atom. They summarized the game as "a clear example of competent programmers coding up a lacking concept". The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly also praised the potion-dropping imp mechanic, but felt that the game simply did not stand out from previous 2D fighters, and in particular its visuals were overly similar to Samurai Shodown.
Golden Axe: The Duel received a score of 7.0253 out of 10 in a 2000 readers' poll conducted by the Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine, ranking among Saturn titles at the number 637 spot. GamePros Lawrence Neves said it was "a lame fighting game at its best", citing the dull moves, absence of combos, and the difficulty in getting the moves to work. Eighty years after the evil Death Adder was slain by Gillius Thunderhead, the magical Golden Axe is rediscovered, its powers having grown over time.
Golden Axe - The Duel — Frequently Asked Questions
Can I remap the controls in Golden Axe - The Duel?
Absolutely. Inside the app, Controller Mapping lets you change every Golden Axe - The Duel binding to whatever keyboard keys or pad buttons you prefer.
Can I play Golden Axe - The Duel with a friend?
Golden Axe - The Duel supports local versus and drop-in 2-player in the RetroPlayers.Club Player, and Premium members can play online too.
Where can I buy the original Golden Axe - The Duel?
Scroll to "Other Places You Can Get This Game" beneath the write-up — it lists trusted stores selling official copies.
Do I need to download anything to play Golden Axe - The Duel?
Yes — Sega Saturn games run in the RetroPlayers.Club Player desktop app, a quick free download. The video on this page is real Golden Axe - The Duel gameplay so you know exactly what you are getting before you install.