Streets Of Rage shows porting 16 bit beat em ups to an 8 bit system can be succefull.
Not just successful, but add something unique to the game through it's own aesthetics and exclusive content, appealing not just to those who didn't own a 16 bit system, but also fans of series seeking out additional content.
Golden Axe on the Master System, is the polar opposite.
While Streets Of Rage on the Master System is one of the systems best looking titles with cool neo-noir blues, pinks and reds, coupled with well animated models and a constantly silky framerate - Golden Axe is a bland, visually unappealing with a framerate that starts poor then proceeds to nose dive into the single digits.
Additionally, Streets Of Rage's control input is slick and esponsive, a perfect translation to the 8 bit system, Golden Axe on the other hand chugs along, with a delayed reaction to player input, resulting in multiple deaths.
Much like Streets Of Rage, Golden Axe strips content, while the first makes up for the omission with exclusive content, here an already bare game, is stripped to the bone.
Only one selectable character, not even the hot women in the bikini (which is bullshit) and about 20 minutes worth of clunky content that attempts to inflate itself through difficulty.
Even then, Golden Axe is easily exploitable. That's how you win in this game, not through a series of combos or following a series of carefully orchestrated enemy patterns, just jump and hit attack over and over.
When jumping and attacking is the obvious tactic to win, the games most unique and under utilized feature, beast riding, is pointless. Rather than giving the player an advantage, they are more likely to take hits.
Golden Axe has always been a flawed game, but it's still been enjoyable. This isn't.
