Mike McMahan was working as a script physician on the Sonic the Hedgehog films when he obtained an unbelievable provide: A Sega govt approached him and requested if there have been every other properties the storied sport studio owned that he’d need to adapt right into a sequence.
Sega has been making video video games since 1973 and owns the rights to all the things from fashionable hit franchises like Yakuza and Persona to arcade mainstays like Crazy Taxi and Streets of Rage. The probabilities had been limitless. McMahan did not hesitate. He selected Golden Axe.
“I am very outdated,” McMahan tells Polygon by the use of explaining his considerably shocking selection. “When the NES got here out, that was wonderful for me, and earlier than then, I performed an insane quantity of Golden Axe.”
For the unfamiliar, Golden Axe is a sequence of beat-’em-up fantasy video video games launched by Sega. The primary one debuted in 1989 as an arcade cupboard. Seven sequels and spinoffs adopted, with the final being 1995’s Golden Axe: The Duel, although a brand new sport was announced by Sega at the 2023 Game Awards and is seemingly nonetheless in improvement.
In different phrases, Golden Axe isn’t precisely a sizzling commodity, however that did not cease McMahan, whose reminiscence of the sport dates again to his time at a Chicago summer time camp the place Golden Axe and some different arcade cupboards had been rigged up so you possibly can play them without cost.
“Whenever you’re a child, all the things will get magnified,” he says. “For lots of people, Golden Axe is not an enormous deal, however for this motherfucker, it was an enormous deal.”
Collection co-creator Joe Chandler, who additionally serves as showrunner, sees one other benefit to adapting a property like Golden Axe. Whereas the sport’s “swords and sorcery” world might seem to be one more generic excessive fantasy, it is also filled with weird, half-defined characters and settings that give the writers loads of room to discover.
“You’ve got all this bizarre stuff,” Chandler says, “just like the man you kick for potions.” (Extra on that later.)
“There are these huge visible signposts — a village on the again of a turtle or an eagle — that makes it actually enjoyable to adapt. You get to discover what these issues are with out the sport having it’s tremendous dictated beat by beat. In a contemporary sport, Eagle Village could be very well defined. On this sport, it is only a factor. That permits for some artistic freedom.”
All 10 episodes of Golden Axe season 1 are streaming now on Paramount Plus. Forward of the present’s launch, Polygon spoke to McMahan and Chandler about how they tailored a 37-year-old sport into a contemporary animated comedy and their potential Sega crossover plans for season 2.
“Clearly, we’ve to deal with this subject”
The premise of the unique Golden Axe sport is easy. The evil Loss of life Adder has captured the King of Yuria and brought management of the magical Golden Axe in an try to put in himself as ruler of this Tolkien-esque world. You play as one in all three warriors: the sword-wielding barbarian, Ax Battler; the Amazonian, Tyris Flare; or the dwarf, Gilius Thunderhead.
“You’ve got this huge buff Conan man, this Amazon warrior, and this little inexperienced dwarf,” Chandler says. “We each simply at all times picked the dwarf.”
The video games by no means give a lot thought to the disparity between these three heroes, however it’s one thing the sequence instantly leans into.
“Gilius is the third best warrior on this planet, however he is with the 2 others, so he by no means feels appreciated,” Chandler says. This gave the present a pure place to begin as these emotions of resentment lastly bubble up and Gilius (Matthew Rhys) units out on his personal journey. “It was a approach in that felt actually sincere. It looks like an actual story to inform on this world.”
As for Ax Battler (Liam McIntyre), the writers had one clear goal: level out the absurdity of a man with “ax” in his title who spends most of his time preventing with an enormous sword.
“It is loopy,” McMahan exclaims.
“That was on the record of like 10 issues we needed to do once we began the writers’ room,” Chandler provides. “Clearly, we’ve to deal with this subject.”
For McMahan, Ax Battler’s absurd misnaming speaks to a delightfully bizarre streak that is working by means of the complete Golden Axe franchise, particularly relating to the Americanized variations of the video games.
“There’s nearly an artwork appreciation of studying by means of the manuals and beginning to understand what the translators did,” he says.
For instance, the boss battles within the localized U.S. model of Golden Axe are named after a model of beer (Bud Brothers, Lt. Heineken, and many others). It is the form of factor a contemporary, big-budget online game might by no means get away with.
“It was once that all the things wasn’t so company,” McMahan says. “Now, all the things is so found out.”
“They’re having fun with getting their little butts kicked”
Of the core trio, Tyris Flare (Lisa Gilroy) most likely will get the least character improvement. In an early episode she feedback that her “battle bikini” covers approach an excessive amount of pores and skin, however that is concerning the extent of her self-awareness. As a substitute, the sequence makes extra time for viewers stand-in Hampton Squib (Danny Pudi), an inexperienced adventurer who tags together with Gilius when the unique group splits up.
Nonetheless, one character from the unique online game who will get a surprisingly deep backstory right here is the Thief (or Thieves). These gnome-like critters serve a selected operate within the video games: attacking the little guys causes them to drop magic pots that refuel your character’s particular skills.
“If you happen to’ve performed the sport even as soon as, you reference these little guys,” McMahan says. “They’re actually memorable, and it is an awesome mechanic.”
The sequence takes this easy premise about 10 steps additional, imagining a legion of Thieves that actually get off on being kicked within the butt by the heroes.
As soon as once more, it is an instance of the present’s creators taking one thing weird and under-explained from the sport and following it to its (principally) logical conclusion.
“The sprite has this little grin on his face,” Chandler says of the arcade sport character. “He appears to be like like he is having fun with it. What is occurring right here?”
The sequence affords a hilarious reply: as a result of it is their kink.
“They’re having fun with getting their little butts kicked,” McMahan says.
Nonetheless, a later episode of Golden Axe goes far deeper once we observe one Thief dwelling and study he is been dwelling a lie to cover his disgrace from his tiny household. This sudden sidequest results in a conclusion that is each hilarious and heartbreaking — identical to lots of the present’s finest moments.
“There’s comedy to it, however as a substitute of them simply being a element or a wallpaper, they’re additionally a factor that we need to give motivation to,” McMahan says. “These little guys have a perspective on this world.”
“Loss of life Adder at all times comes again”
With out entering into any spoilers, Golden Axe ends in triumph for its heroes, whereas additionally leaving the door open for season 2 and past. Primarily based on the video games, the trail ahead is fairly apparent: carry again the present’s defeated huge dangerous for an additional spherical.
“Loss of life Adder at all times comes again within the video games,” Chandler says. “There’s at all times a brand new journey for these heroes. And we have talked rather a lot about what these could be. In fact, we would like to do extra.”
There’s different Sega properties that form of contact on and cross paths with this sport that we might need to develop into that as nicely.
With eight present video games within the sequence, there’s additionally loads of supply materials to riff on if Golden Axe will get one other shot.
“There’s different attention-grabbing issues to tug from all the opposite video games,” McMahan says, earlier than including that he is additionally open to the thought of a brand-friendly crossover. “There’s different Sega properties that form of contact on and cross paths with this sport that we might need to develop into that as nicely.”
However for now, there’s nonetheless loads extra tales to inform within the fantasy land of Yuria with out crossing over into different properties. So do not count on to see Sonic or Loopy Taxi present up in Golden Axe season 2.
McMahan provides: “Proper now, we’re so happy with this primary season that we might need to spend extra time with these characters and see the place we might develop the present in a spot that also feels just like the video games.”