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Golden Axe II Cheats & Cheat Codes for Sega Genesis

Published: December 14, 2023 by Daniel Morris | Leave a comment

Golden Axe II is a side-scrolling beat-em-up game released in 1991, developed and published by Sega. While the original release was exclusive to the Sega Genesis, the game eventually made its way to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as part of Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection. Nowadays, you can find the game on Steam, where it sells for under a dollar.

Reception to Golden Axe II in 1991 was very positive. Gamers already knew they liked the formula after the original title, and this release was just even more of the same. While no official sales figures were ever released for the game, it did get a few sequels in the years that followed, indicating that the game was an overall commercial success.

Golden Axe II Premise

An in-game screenshot from Golden Axe II. — ©Screenshot from Golden Axe II

The gameplay of Golden Axe II heavily resembles the original, with slightly upgraded graphics. It remains a side-scrolling beat-em-up, where you choose one of three characters to play, as each with their own abilities. In each level, you’re given several life bars, which indicate how many hits you can take before you die. The main objective is to clear the level of enemies, and the game throws more at you as the difficulty ramps up. You can also take charge Bizarrians, dragon-type creatures that you ride into combat. These are only available in certain sections, and add a fun dynamic to the fighting.

Golden Axe II has two main game modes. The first is known as Duel Mode. This throws you into an arena as a character of your choice, to face 15 waves of enemies which become progressively more difficult. If you can withstand all 15 waves, you complete the duel. This mode exists to give the game more replayability after the main story has been completed.

The other mode is Normal Mode. This is the main story of the game, where you must battle throughout the land to reclaim the golden axe from the evil giant Dark Guld. You’ll traverse through seven different stages, which are:

Ravaged Village
Ruins
Tower
Dragon’s Throat Cave
Castle Gates
Castle
Dark Guld’s Chamber

Whenever you reach the end of a stage, you must take part in a boss fight. Not only does this include a powerful boss, but it also throws a ton of easier enemies your way to try to defeat. Because of this, there’s no doubt that Normal Mode is the way that Golden Axe II was intended to be played by the developers, as of the two game modes, it provides the most variety for players.

Golden Axe II Main Characters

At the very beginning of Golden Axe II, you’re presented with three characters to choose from. This is who you’ll play as throughout the course of the game, with the trio of potential protagonists all returning from the original game.

Each character has their own unique weapon sets and form of magic, meaning you can do a few different playthroughs of Golden Axe II and have a different experience every time. In terms of the story itself, the characters represent typical fantasy archetypes, and the game leans into that rather than trying to subvert it. It’s not bad, necessarily, especially in the context of Golden Axe II releasing in 1991. However, we’ve had over three decades of fantasy since then, so to the modern gamer, it might feel a little stale.

Here’s everything you need to know about Golden Axe II‘s trio of protagonists.

Ax Battler: Ax Battler is the barbarian fighter of the group. He wields a huge two-handed sword, hacking and slashing his way through the land.
Tyris Flare: Tyris Flare is an amazon warrior, who uses elemental fire attacks to her advantage. While she does have a melee weapon in the form of a longsword, magic is her specialty.
Gilius Thunderhead: Gilius Thunderhead is an axe-wielding dwarf who takes up arms to fight against Dark Guld.

Golden Axe II Titles in the Series

The Golden Axe series is a product of its time, shining brightly in the early ’90s before mostly disappearing. Despite this, it remained extremely popular in its heyday, gathering a dedicated fanbase across the years, with several spin-offs released.

The most recent release in the franchise, Golden Axe: Beast Rider, received poor reviews and flopped commercially. With this in mind, it’s easy to see how the series has remained dormant for a while, especially in a world with an abundance of great fantasy. If you can’t do it right, why do it at all?

Although there has been no new release since 2008, for fans of the franchise, there is hope going forward. At The Game Awards 2023, Sega revealed plans for a future Golden Axe game, reviving the franchise from the grave one more time. No other details were revealed beyond the fact that a game in the series is in development, but it’s still more concrete news than anything we’ve had in a long time.

Golden Axe (1989)
Golden Axe II (1991)
Golden Axe Warrior (1991)
Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe (1991)
Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder (1992)
Golden Axe III (1993)
Golden Axe: The Duel (1995)
Golden Axe: Beast Rider (2008)

Golden Axe II Cheat Codes

The original version of Golden Axe II on Sega Genesis doesn’t have any cheat codes unfortunately. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t one important option available. If you play the game on a Sega Genesis emulator, or own a Game Genie cartridge for the original console, you can use any of the Game Genie cheats below.

These cheats are far more versatile than anything you might find in the base game, allowing you to affect just about every element of the game. To enter these on an emulator, you should be able to do so in the Cheats section. Where to find this will differ for every emulator out there.

Golden Axe II Game Genie Codes

Cheat Code	Cheat Effect
SNEA-ABAG	Gives all characters full dragon spell.
AAFT-AAB0	Gives all characters infinite magic.
CAMA-AAAY CAMA-AA46 S2SA-AAEE	Makes it so that all enemies automatically die.
AZJA-AA9A	Makes it so that all enemies don’t fight back.
ATMT-AS5T	Makes you almost invincible.
ABRA-AATG	You only have to defeat one enemy to beat the game.
M6YA-AXMJ	Makes books and food restore you automatically after you collect them.
AGXA-AADR	Gives both players one life.
ALXA-AADR	Gives both players two lives.
A0XA-AADR	Gives both players five lives.
A8XA-AADR	Gives both players seven lives.
BGXA-AADR	Gives both players nine lives.
DKXA-AA9J	Makes it so that you can no longer ride dragons.
AAKA-AAA4	Makes it so that you can’t run.
FCJA-BW0C	With this cheat active, you die if you get knocked down.
AAJA-AABA	Makes it so that dying from enemies doesn’t result in you losing a life.
PBXA-BA1L	Makes it so that dragons don’t run away.
RZYT-A6VG	The dragon idle timer no longer reset.
FEPA-BJYA	Makes each magic book worth two.
FEPA-BNYA	Makes each magic book worth three.
AMCT-AA70	Enables Level Select.
2ESA-AARE	Makes enemies die whenever they get knocked down.
ALJA-BKFJ	Makes enemies do full bar damage during combat.
BBRA-AA3Y	All enemies get up instantly after being knocked down.
RC2A-A04R	Makes enemies wear different colours.
AAMA-AADL	Allows you to hit enemies from anywhere.
9X1A-BGA0 AS1A-AAA2 991A-AAA4 H51A-ATA6 R11A-A6T8	Gives you infinite energy.
ZAJA-BGW8	Gives you infinite lives.
BTJA-AA48	Gives both players infinite lives.
AJFT-AA30	Gives you infinite magic
RYNA-A6TA RYNT-A61R R11A-A6T0	Gives you invincibility.
RYMT-A6XY	Gives you invincibility, but just against all physical attacks.
AAGA-AACC	Activates auto attack while jumping.
AYBT-AAB0 STBA-BLSC AABA-ANHE ETBA-AAHG 4ABA-AA9J	Allows you to jump in mid-air.
S2SA-AAEE	Allows you to kill every enemy with one hit.
FD0T-BJ0J	Allows you to use any level magic in the game.
ABXA-AAHL	Lizards never run while sleeping.
FAFT-AEV0	You lose all magic after using it.
HFTA-BAAC	Makes magic books come out of enemies.
BCWA-BE5L AJFT-AA30	Gives you max and infinite amazon magic.
AWWA-BE5L AJFT-AA30	Gives you max and infinite dwarf magic.
A0WA-BE5L AJFT-AA30	Gives you max and infinite fighter magic.
AAPA-AAG8	Disables grabbing.
VLWA-APRR	Removes all music during gameplay.
AEBT-AADN	Makes player one start with one life.
AJBT-AADN	Makes player one start with two lives.
AYBT-AADN	Makes player one start with five lives.
A6BT-AADN	Makes player one start with seven lives.
BEBT-AADN	Makes player one start with nine lives.
AEBT-AAE2	Makes player two start with one life.
AJBT-AAE2	Makes player two start with two lives.
AYBT-AAE2	Makes player two start with five lives.
A6BT-AAE2	Makes player two start with seven lives.
BEBT-AAE2	Makes player two start with nine lives.
AABA-AAX0	Skips all the intros before the game starts.
AAJA-BYV8	Allows you to start each life with more energy.
AAJA-BAV8	Allows you to start each life with much more energy.
AAFT-AABW	Allows the barbarian to use full fire magic.
AAFT-AABL	Allows the barbarian to use full rock magic.
AAPA-AA9T	Both you and your enemies are able to walk off-screen.
AAEA-AAYA	Both you and enemies are able to walk off-screen.
AADA-AADR	Allows you to run instantly by moving forward.
AART-AAA2	Makes enemies move faster, and your attacks push enemies far away.

Golden Axe II Cheat Code FAQs

What Is The Invincibility Cheat in Golden Axe II?

Assuming you’re using the Game Genie cheats above, the code for invincibility is “RYNA-A6TA RYNT-A61R R11A-A6T0“. This will make you invincible to all enemy attacks in Golden Axe II, making the game an absolute breeze.

Alternatively, you can always use the infinite lives cheat, which is “ZAJA-BGW8“. This will still allow you to die, but you never have to worry about

How Do I Use Cheats in Golden Axe II?

For the purpose of this, we’re going to assume you’re using an emulator, as nowadays it’s far more common than owning an actual Sega Genesis.

In your emulator, you should have some form of settings menu. Within that, you’ll usually find a cheats menu, where you can enter cheat codes from a variety of cheat makers. In here, you may have to specify that you’re using Game Genie codes – most emulators support them, so this likely won’t be an issue. After this is done, you should be able to copy and paste any of the codes above to cheat in Golden Axe II.

Do Cheats Work on Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection Version of Golden Axe II?

No. To use the Game Genie cheats, you need to either be playing an original Sega Genesis version of Golden Axe II, or an emulated version. The Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection Version is only available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, so there’s no way to use these same cheats here. It’s the same story with the newer Steam version. There’s just no way to enter the cheats on this version of the game.