GamePro's 'Hot At The Arcades' segment was one of the best features in the early days of the magazine.
The first time I ever saw a pic of SEGA's Golden Axe arcade was here
GamePro November 1989, pages 16-17
I remember being extremely impressed with this then-new scrolling hack n slash / beat 'em up game. the eagle-bridge in the background look amazing, as did the warrior you played, Axe Battler, and that skeleton that layed flat, in pieces. wow. not long after I saw this, I actually got to play Golden Axe arcade. I was absolutely impressed. so much better than Double Dragon or even DDII (and Final Fight had not yet arrived here).
In late 1989, a few months after Genesis launched, the Genesis translation of Golden Axe arrived in stores. I didn't get a chance to play it until July or August of 1990. I was pretty impressed with this translation. even though it wasn't as nice as the arcade, it seemed decent enough.
Anyway, just wanted to share this videogame memory with you.