SEGA's port of Golden Axe for the iPhone suffers from all of the same problems as its recent Sonic the Hedgehog release: junky slowdown and imprecise controls. Since Golden Axe is paced much slower than Sonic the Hedgehog, the slowdown is now clearly a problem with the emulation. With games like 3D Rollercoaster Rush and Star Defense capable of rendering fast-moving 3D objects on the iPhone, there is no good reason under Helios for Golden Axe to chug when you kick an impish blue elf to get a potion bottle.

This is a shame, too, because Golden Axe is actually a fun game elsewhere. You pick one of three heroes, each with different strengths and magic powers, and set across inventive fantasy lands to challenge the wicked Death-Adder, a cloaked towering figure. In addition to your sword and axe, you can hop on the backs of the Bizarrians, mounts with fierce attacks like fire breath and razor-sharp tails.

You can either play in full-screen or windowed mode. Both chug from time to time.

SEGA opted to bring the Genesis version of Golden Axe to the iPhone, so that does mean you get two additional levels that were exclusive to the home version. But that also means you get all of the shortcuts SEGA took to shoehorn this arcade classic on its 16-bit hardware, like screechy voice-sampled screams and a dimmed color palette. If this was the arcade game, I might be a touch more forgiving because that version is not readily available for home players.

Instead, this is the same version SEGA has put on multiple compilation discs, including a recent collection for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 that has around 50 games for just $30. Do the math. In that collection, you get Golden Axe for just 60 cents. And it runs without slowdown and features far better controls than the virtual d-pad and buttons used in the iPhone emulation, which SEGA has priced at $4.99. And you don't get multiplayer in the iPhone version of Golden Axe, a game that was purposefully designed to be played with a friend. Why no Bluetooth or local Wi-Fi here?  Levi Buchanan