# Arcade1up GoldenAxe "REVIEW" - BACK IN STOCK - Is this Cabinet the Best?!? **Source:** RetroRalph **Type:** video **Published:** 2020-11-23 **Duration:** 12m 17s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKlP1ohJGKo --- ## Analysis RetroRalph reviews the Arcade1Up Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder cabinet, praising Code Mystics' emulation quality and aesthetic design while noting minor complaints about control panel placement, color choices, and game selection. The cabinet features five games (Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder, Altered Beast, Shinobi, Golden Axe, Wrestle War) and represents a significant technical advancement for Arcade1Up's PCB capabilities. The reviewer considers it one of Arcade1Up's best releases despite cosmetic preferences and availability now through GameStop and other retailers at a $100 premium. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Code Mystics emulation is spot-on and exposes dip switch settings, making this cabinet comparable to highly-rated Arcade1Up releases like NBA Jam and Star Wars — _RetroRalph discusses Code Mystics' reputation and implementation across multiple Arcade1Up products_ - [HIGH] Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder was never released outside of arcade and this Arcade1Up release is the first non-arcade release — _RetroRalph explicitly states 'it was never released outside of the arcade' and 'No ports have ever existed of this'_ - [HIGH] The cabinet features a BOE 960P monitor with good brightness, contrast, and viewing angles — _RetroRalph describes the monitor as 'bright and tight' with 'great viewing angles'_ - [MEDIUM] Arcade1Up is progressing toward System 32 and Model 1/2 arcade boards, potentially enabling future releases of Virtua Racing, Daytona USA, and Virtua Cop — _RetroRalph speculates about future capabilities based on the Sega System 32 board used in Golden Axe Revenge of Death Adder_ - [HIGH] The cabinet is being sold through GameStop and 'The Brick' retailer at $100 more than Arcade1Up's direct price, with mid-December delivery expected — _RetroRalph provides retail availability and pricing information at end of review_ ### Notable Quotes > "Code Mystics knocked it out of the park with the emulation. It's freaking awesome." > — **RetroRalph**, final thoughts section > _Strong endorsement of emulation quality as primary value proposition_ > "By far one of my favorite cabinets they've released, and I can't say enough good things about this release by Arcade1Up." > — **RetroRalph**, final thoughts section > _Overall positive assessment placing Golden Axe among top-tier Arcade1Up releases_ > "This Arcade1Up release is the first time it's seen a release outside of the arcade. No ports have ever existed of this." > — **RetroRalph**, gameplay section > _Highlights uniqueness of Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder as exclusive arcade port opportunity_ > "The main menu control system being the far left is kind of annoying to me. It should be the center left." > — **RetroRalph**, final thoughts section > _Primary functional complaint about ergonomics during gameplay_ > "Wrestle War seems like a missed opportunity to me...I just feel like this could have been Alien Syndrome, or even Space Harrier." > — **RetroRalph**, gameplay section > _Criticism of game selection, viewing vertical game on horizontal screen as suboptimal_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Arcade1Up | company | Home arcade cabinet manufacturer releasing Golden Axe cabinet; previously thought to be temporary fad but proved durable; now expanding into Sega arcade releases | | Code Mystics | company | Emulation developer praised for high-quality ROM emulation, dip switch exposure, and consistency across NBA Jam, Star Wars, and Golden Axe releases | | RetroRalph | person | YouTube content creator and arcade enthusiast reviewing Arcade1Up products; attended CES 2024 where Golden Axe cabinet was first revealed | | Justin | person | Co-host or colleague who attended CES 2024 with RetroRalph to see Golden Axe cabinet reveal | | JC | person | Operator at Tulsa Arcades known for light-up riser modifications that complement arcade cabinets | | Michael B | person | Community member who is a fan of Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja game | | Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder | game | 1992 Sega System 32 arcade game; four-player arcade title; never ported outside arcade; first non-arcade release via Arcade1Up | | Altered Beast | game | Sega arcade game included on cabinet; arcade version graphically superior to Genesis port; included in Arcade1Up lineup | | Shinobi | game | 1987 Sega arcade game; appeared on NES with inferior graphics; included on Golden Axe cabinet; praised as 'sleeper' title | | Wrestle War | game | Vertical arcade game included on cabinet; viewed by RetroRalph as 'missed opportunity' and 'throwaway title'; would have preferred Alien Syndrome or Space Harrier | | GameStop | company | Retail partner now distributing Arcade1Up Golden Axe cabinet after direct sales sold out; charging $100 premium | | The Brick | company | Retailer mentioned as secondary distributor of Golden Axe cabinet | ### Topics - **Primary:** Emulation quality and Code Mystics implementation, Arcade1Up cabinet design, aesthetics, and ergonomics, Game selection and lineup composition - **Secondary:** Technical specifications (monitor, board, controls), Retail availability and pricing, Arcade history and port comparisons (Genesis, NES versions) - **Mentioned:** Arcade1Up product trajectory and future capabilities ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.82) — Strong overall endorsement with specific praise for emulation quality and design aesthetics, tempered by functional and cosmetic complaints. RetroRalph expresses genuine enthusiasm ('by far one of my favorite cabinets') while maintaining critical perspective on areas for improvement. ### Signals - **[competitive_signal]** RetroRalph ranks Golden Axe among Arcade1Up's top-tier releases alongside NBA Jam and Star Wars cabinets (all Code Mystics-developed), establishing quality benchmark (confidence: high) — Comparison to 'some of the best cabinets out there' and explicit praise for Code Mystics consistency across multiple flagship products - **[market_signal]** Golden Axe cabinet sold out through direct Arcade1Up sales; now distributed through third-party retailers (GameStop, The Brick) at $100 premium (confidence: high) — RetroRalph reports 'It did sell out...they are now going through GameStop, and then I think there's one other retailer. The Brick maybe? And it's for $100 more.' - **[product_concern]** Control panel menu placement (far left instead of center left) identified as ergonomic flaw affecting primary gameplay positions; reviewer suggests potential firmware fix (confidence: high) — RetroRalph states 'the main menu control system being the far left is kind of annoying to me. It should be the center left. That would make the most sense.' - **[technology_signal]** Arcade1Up is progressing toward higher-spec Sega System 32 and later arcade board emulation, positioning for future Model 1/2 releases (confidence: medium) — RetroRalph notes 'As Arcade1Up keeps progressing, they're getting closer and closer to Model 1 and Model 2' and speculates this opens possibilities for Virtua Racing, Daytona USA --- ## Transcript Thank you. Hey guys, welcome back. Alright, I'm really excited today because we're going to do a review of the Arcade 1-Up Golden Axe The Revenge of Death Adder cabinet. Now this cabinet came as a bit of a surprise because when Justin and I went to CES this year, we walked in the booth and this was the first thing we saw. It was like BAM! And I was surprised because it was a Sega cabinet. And for those of you that have been watching the channel for a while, you know I already built the Sega cabinet myself. Because honestly, I didn't really think Arcade 1-Up would be around that long. I thought it was going to be more of a fad. Clearly, that's not the case, and Arcade 1-Up is still going strong, but I never thought they'd release a Sega cabinet. So, lo and behold, here it is. It's got Golden Axe, it's got Golden Axe Revenge of Death Adder, Altered Beast, Shinobi, and Wrestle War. So the only game on this cabinet that's a four-player game is actually Golden Axe Revenge of Death Adder But the other games are all two-player and one of those games, Wrestle War, is actually a vertical game versus a horizontal game So they didn't get it 100% perfect, but it's pretty good So as far as the software emulation, what makes this cabinet special is that Code Mystics did the emulation Now, you may know other cabinets that are really good or highly rated within the arcade one-up line would be NBA Jam, Star Wars, and of course, the Golden Axe Revenge of Death Adder. Those are all cabinets that people highly consider as some of the best cabinets out there. And the reason why is because Code Mystics is spot on with their emulation. Everything is perfect. They give exposure to dip switches, all sorts of things that you would want out of an arcade cabinet. and it seems like some of the other arcade cabinets that arcade one puts out there they don't expose these features okay okay enough already show us what it looks like man come on all right here it is let take a look at the side art first the side art looks great this is very much a great representation of what the original arcade artwork looked like on the side so I gotta say they did a really good job here If you look at the graphical riser you notice that the sides actually replicate the sides of the actual arcade cabinet so the artwork's sort of duplicated here twice, and although I think the artwork looks great, I wish they would've just made a flat black side panel, I think that would've just been fine, they didn't need to duplicate the artwork, but again, just a minor complaint. On the front, it's orange, and I kind of wish it was black. They're always sort of mixing the colors up, but hey, I think it looks really good anyways. And then on the front panel, you have the games list, as you always do. The marquee looks really, really good. They're doing such a great job, even light distribution, all the things you'd expect out of a lit-up marquee. Now, this was kind of cool because I didn't expect this. This is the how-to-play instructions from the original arcade machine. Myself, being an arcade junkie, I totally appreciate little details like this, so that's pretty neat. if you ask me. When you scroll up on the bezel, you can see two golden axes wedged in between the arcade one-up logo. I think this was a nice touch and looks really neat. And of course, then again, you can see the marquee there. It looks really, really good. As far as the control panel goes, they nailed this too. This looks very close, if not exact, to the original arcade machine. So great job, guys. Here's a closer look at it so you can see all the details and the artwork. I gotta say, they're just nailing out of the park on this cabinet as far as the artwork's concerned. Overall, guys, it looks pretty damn sick. All right, how about the controls? So the buttons and joysticks are all kind of run-of-the-mill arcade one-up stuff. They're not the best, but they'll get the job done, you know. The joysticks are actually halfway decent now. I think the buttons could use a little work. I wish they would just put buttons that engaged a little bit sooner. It seems you get to push them down pretty far. As far as the main control, the main menu, it's on the far left, I wish it would have been the center left, because those are primarily the places you'll be playing, but I'm not sure why they made that choice. Maybe they'll fix it in a later firmware release or something. One of my favorite things that Code Mystics does is they include the dip switch settings. So these would have been settings that the arcade owner would have been able to adjust. So having access to this really allows you to fine-tune each game, whether it be you want it to be easier to play, or you want to reset the high scores, or you want to make it look different with scan lines on and off. This is a great addition, and it seems like a staple that Code Mystics includes all the time. Alright, let's go over to some gameplay and we'll wrap things up. Alright, one of the games I'm most excited for is actually Altered Beasts. So I used to play the crap out of this on the Sega Genesis, but believe me, the quality of this arcade ROM versus the Sega Genesis is quite different. So if you grew up with it on the Sega Genesis and you've never played the arcade version, you'll probably be pretty happy because graphically I think it's superior to the Sega Genesis. Although I love my Sega Genesis, so I can't, you know, bag on it or anything so here's a quick comparison just you know just for giggles so the left is Sega Genesis and the right is arcade and you can tell just from the first screen right if you could tell a big difference anyways you'll get to enjoy the arcade version on here which is pretty damn cool there are no console ROMs on this thing all right next up is golden axe again this is the arcade version of the game so those of you that remember playing it on the Genesis John Youssi a big upgrade because the arcade version's pretty sweet. Now, I did play this in the arcade as well, and I remember, you know, wanting it at home and going, man, if I only had it, and, you know, of course, they had a port to the Genesis, which was actually pretty good, by the way. But anyways, really not a lot to talk about as far as the emulation. I don't really have anything to say because the emulation is so good, so I think you'll be really happy. If these are games you love, then I think you're going to be pleasantly surprised with this cabinet. Next up is Shinobi. So, Shinobi is another awesome Sega game. This came out in 1987, believe it or not, and I never played this in the arcade. So, I played this on the Nintendo Entertainment System, also known as the NES, and so if you've played it on the NES and you've never played the arcade version, you're going to be really happy because the NES version, to me, like didn't look very good but I mean it would have been a hard uh it would have been hard for the NES to get graphics looking you know like this so anyways it's a pretty fun game actually it's kind of a sleeper on the system I think it reminds me a little bit of bad dudes versus dragon ninja except like 10 times better I was never really a big fan of bad dudes Michael B watches this he's gonna be upset with me because uh he uh he loves his bad dudes so anyways I'm sorry buddy All right, we're rounding the corner here, and we're almost done. We got one more game after this. Now, Wrestle War seems like a missed opportunity to me, because it's, again, that mix of vertical and horizontal games. Now, they put the bezels on the side, which make it more tolerable to play a vertical game on a horizontal screen, but I just feel like this could have been, you know, Alien Syndrome, or even, like, Space Harrier, so I'm not really sure why the choice on this one. I don't this is like a disposable game for me as far as this cabinet goes Alright here. It is the headliner golden axe the revenge of death adder so this was an arcade game released by Sega in 1992 now this was a sequel to the original golden axe okay And the cool thing about it is it was never released outside of the arcade so this arcade one-up release is the first time It's seen a release outside of the arcade no ports have ever existed of this now It was powered by the Sega system 32 arcade board so as one up keeps progressing they're getting closer and closer to 3D. Model 1 and Model 2 would give us games like Virtua Racing and Daytona USA, Virtua Cop, all of those. So is this a taste of what's to come? I hope so. The gameplay is awesome, and it really pushes the limits of the arcade one-up PCB. So guys, I don't know. We'll wrap it up to final thoughts, but this is by far one of my favorite cabinets they've released, and I can't say enough good things about it. There's a couple little things that I pointed out that are issues or things I wish they would have done differently, But overall, I'm really happy with this release by Arcade 1-Up. Hey guys! It's Final Thoughts time! So what do I think about the Arcade 1-Up Revenge of Death Adder cabinet? Well, first of all, thank you to Arcade 1-Up for providing this cabinet to me for review. I really appreciate it It is definitely one of my favorites And I tell you a couple things really quick I had a couple little gripes with it but before I do that there two things I didn mention in the review One is the monitor The monitor looks really great It the BOE 960P monitor One might say it looks... how could I define it? I'd say bright and tight. It looks good from the front, it looks great from the side, so great viewing angles. And then it does have stereo speakers, but that's kind of like part of the package these days. All of the arcade one-ups pretty much come with stereo speakers at this point. And then it has the light-up marquee and the graphic riser. Now, it did sell out, but it sold out when Arcade1Up was selling the cabinet directly. They are now going through GameStop, and then I think there's one other retailer in Canada, The Brick maybe? And it's for $100 more. So unfortunately, if you do want the cabinet and you still can get the cabinet, and I think it'll deliver around mid-December, you do need to go through those retailers and you are going to pay a bit more for it. But I gotta say, I think it's worth it. Code Mystics knocked it out of the park with the emulation. It's freaking awesome. The only real gripe I had is, it's not a huge gripe, but it is one I wish they would fix, is the main menu control system being the far left is kind of annoying. To me, it should be the center left. That would make the most sense, so maybe they'll fix that in a future firmware release. The other things are more aesthetics. I wish the riser was black in the front instead of orange, and then maybe the emblem was orange, but the majority was black, and then I wish the side was actually not a duplication of the artwork, but just flat black. But again, this is all subjective. Some people might look at it and go, that's awesome. I just wish it looked different. I still think it looks cool. The other thing is, I don't really love Wrestle War. Wrestle War is like a throwaway title for me. It would have been cool to have Alien Syndrome or even Space Harrier. Those would have been my choices, but hey, you know, the rest of the lineup is really solid, and I am enjoying it. The only other thing I'll mention is JC over at Tulsa Arcades has a light-up riser. I'm going to do a subsequent video on that. Here's a sneak peek of what that looks like. I always love these light-up riser things. They're just cool compliments to uh you know to your arcade cabinet and if you have a dimly lit arcade room they look really cool but that's it i'll have links in description of all this stuff so if you like this video give us a thumbs up consider subscribing to the channel put your comments below do you are you gonna get the death adder cabinet is this a is this a cabinet that you've been interested in and then also consider subscribing the channel if you enjoy content like this and turn on notifications so you can be informed of future videos that's it for now guys we will see you on the next one is that okay no oh my god what what shut up why because I think what you think you look like is not what you look like. I can't get any higher than that. I know. Okay, try again. Screw you. I couldn't do any better. I'm just saying. _(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 8b074e29-0a50-4500-981f-cee59758b6d5*