Golden Axe Fan Port Now Complete for Neo Geo: Download Available on itch.io

Golden Axe, Sega’s iconic 1989 arcade beat 'em up, has now been successfully ported to the Neo Geo platform thanks to the dedicated efforts of fan developer h0ffman.

The completed fanmade port is available as a free download on itch.io, offering new life on Neo Geo MVS, AES, and Neo Geo CD systems and providing a faithful recreation with several modern enhancements for retro gaming enthusiasts. This new port incorporates the classic arcade’s original difficulty settings and introduces a suite of thoughtful features tailored for Neo Geo fans.

Among the highlights are region selection, comprehensive SoftDIP settings for AES and Neo Geo CD directly from the title menu, and compatibility with most flash cart solutions, original Neo Geo hardware, and emulators.

Notably, players using Neo Geo CD can experience an exclusive soundtrack arranged by composer Richard Douglas, setting this release apart from previous efforts. In his detailed conversion notes, h0ffman shared that he invested significant effort into elevating the port’s visual and audio fidelity.

“I went a little above and beyond with this port,” he explained, outlining how he extensively reworked his graphical tools to more accurately reflect the original arcade game.

Special attention was given to the audio experience: the soundtrack was sourced from the original System16 arcade PCB and meticulously converted to function with the Neo Geo’s ADPCM-B hardware.

Beyond this, h0ffman replaced some in-game audio files with higher-quality samples after researching the origins of the original sound assets. Reflecting on the technical challenges, h0ffman recounted on social media his motivation behind the project.

While awaiting the arrival of a MisterPi from @TakiUdon, he decided to see if he could disassemble an arcade game to its source code.

He began with Shinobi, another classic Sega title, porting it to Neo Geo platforms after realizing the close match of the original arcade hardware’s 68000 processor to the Neo Geo’s architecture.

This experiment laid the groundwork for his ambitious Golden Axe project. Development highlights included a comprehensive overhaul of the game’s graphical conversion pipeline, enabling background graphics and accurate palette fades.

By the end of January 2025, major sections of Golden Axe—including Wilderness, Turtle Village, and Invaded Town—were implemented and playable.

Extensive video demonstrations shared by h0ffman revealed steady progress, with more content and technical features added in each update. Golden Axe remains a beloved title in Sega’s arcade legacy, and this Neo Geo release represents a remarkable feat for independent retro game development.

The full port is now freely available to download from itch.io.

For those interested in following h0ffman’s ongoing work and upcoming projects, his channel provides regular updates and behind-the-scenes insights into the art of retro game preservation and conversion.

Sega Neo Geo Golden Axe itch.io h0ffman Richard Douglas Neo Geo MVS AES Neo Geo CD Shinobi System16 MisterPi TakiUdon