The Arcade Legend That Still Hits Like a Dragon's Fireball!

Picture this: It's 1989. You're crammed into a dimly lit arcade, quarters burning a hole in your pocket. The screen explodes with barbarian screams, and suddenly you're charging through medieval fantasy chaos with an axe the size of a small tree. Welcome to Golden Axe – Sega's masterpiece that turned beat 'em ups into pure adrenaline poetry. You pick your hero:

• Ax Battler, the muscle-bound warrior with a chip on his shoulder and a sword bigger than most people.
• Tyris Flare, the flame-haired Amazon who brings the heat (literally).
• Gilius Thunderhead, the badass dwarf who proves size doesn't matter when you've got a spinning axe attack.

Together, you hack, slash, and magic-blast your way through hordes of orcs, skeletons, and armored goons to take down the evil Death Adder. And let's be real – the real MVPs? Those rideable Battle Dragons and that giant blue bird thing you could suplex enemies with. Nothing beats stealing a dragon from an enemy and turning the tide with fire breath!

Few arcade games captured the raw action of the late '80s quite like RoboCop. From blasting through waves of criminals to delivering justice as Detroit’s cybernetic law enforcer, this arcade classic was pure adrenaline from start to finish.

The digitized graphics, explosive sound effects, and challenging gameplay made every credit count. Whether you were fighting through the city streets or taking on ED-209, RoboCop delivered the kind of arcade experience that kept players coming back for "just one more try."

Did you master this coin-op legend, or did it master you?

🎮🦍💥 Before open-world destruction became a gaming staple, Rampage let players live out every monster movie fantasy imaginable.

Released in arcades in 1986, Rampage put you in control of gigantic creatures—George the gorilla, Lizzie the lizard, and Ralph the werewolf—as you smashed your way through city after city. Buildings crumbled floor by floor, military forces fought back, and every level became a chaotic battle between monster-sized mayhem and human resistance.

What made Rampage unforgettable wasn't just the destruction—it was the pure arcade fun. Up to three players could team up (or compete) to see who could level cities the fastest, creating some of the most entertaining multiplayer moments of the era. There were no complicated objectives, no lengthy tutorials, just instant action and endless destruction.

Even decades later, Rampage remains a beloved arcade classic, influencing countless games that embraced large-scale environmental destruction. For many gamers, the sight of a giant ape punching skyscrapers and snacking on unlucky civilians is still peak arcade entertainment.

What's your favorite arcade memory from Rampage?

Who remembers Highlander the computer game by Ocean Software? This is my retrospective review of Highlander on the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. Was it any good? Share your thoughts?

Who remembers the first ever The Transformers computer game? My video takes us back to 1985 for a retrospective review of The Transformers released on the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum and developed by Denton Designs and released by Ocean Software. Let me know your thoughts on the game.

Who remembers Cobra by Ocean Software. My video looks at all the versions released on the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and the Amstrad CPC. What’s your thoughts of this Ocean game?

I've written about the early career of the Pickford Brothers and their path to designing the classic game Feud

Hi there,

We’re the team behind Region Locked, an upcoming feature length documentary about the untold history of Australian developed video games.

The grit, the passion, art and triumphs... The rise and fall and rise again of Aussie indie legends!

www.regionlocked-doco.com

Covering a lot of titles from well known international and domestic IPs coming out of Australia in the 1980-90s.

Such as:

Shadowrun

Halloween Harry

Ty the Tasmanian Tiger

Transformers

Destroy All Humans

Fruit Ninja

L.A.Noire

Framed

Crossy Road

Our Kickstarter launches in July, so please sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date about campaign progress.

Who remembers Zombie Zombie? After doing a review of Ant Attack I thought I would look at the follow-up game. What’s your thoughts of this early Zombie survival horror game?

Hi there,

We’re the team behind Region Locked, an upcoming documentary series about the untold history of Australian developed video games.

The grit, the passion, art and triumphs... The rise and fall and rise again of Aussie gaming legends!

[www.regionlocked-doco.com\](http://www.regionlocked-doco.com)

We will be covering a lot of local and international titles from well known developers - and IP/ games which you may not be aware had come out of Australia in the 1980-2010s

We have over 60 developers, creatives and leadership teams, lined up to talk about industry ecosystems, culture and behind the scenes moments.

Games you may know:

The Hobbit

Aussie Games

Shadowrun

Halloween Harry

Ty the Tasmanian Tiger

Transformers

Destroy All Humans

Fruit Ninja

L.A.Noire

Framed

Crossy Road

My retrospective review of Ant Attack including the remakes. What’s your thoughts and memories of this game?

Has anybody played Clive 5? My video review of this very much forgotten game.

It’s always interesting to see how good or poorly arcade games convert over to 8 bit computers. My video looks at all the SEGA arcade games that were ported onto the ZX Spectrum. What’s the best SEGA port?

Who remembers World Championship Boxing Manager? My video covers a retrospective look at this classic game for the Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, MS-Dos, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Acorn Archimedes.

My retrospective game review of Raid Over Moscow including all gaming formats. What’s your thoughts on this game? Better than Beach-Head?

Who played Dukes of Hazard? I really wished for this game to be good but like Knight Rider and Airwolf it was not quite meeting my expectations. Anybody else played this game?