Difference between revisions of "Altered Beast"
(48 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
− | + | [[Image:Altered Beast - ARC - USA.jpg|thumb|256x256px|Arcade cabinet.]] | |
− | + | '''''Altered Beast''''' is an action platform [[beat 'em up]] developed and published by [[Sega]] for the [[arcade]] in August 1988. It was later ported to about a dozen platforms. | |
− | I saw first saw this game in the arcade room of Lakeland Arena in the late 1980s, | + | The game is set in ancient Greece. Zeus' daughter Athena has been kidnapped by an evil magician named Neff. Zeus resurrects you, a dead centurion, to fight your way through Neff's henchmen and rescue Athena. In each stage, if you defeat two-headed white wolves, they will leave behind a power orb which will make you stronger. If you collect a third orb, you will transform into a powerful beast like a werewolf or dragon and gain special attacks. |
+ | |||
+ | ==Personal== | ||
+ | I saw first saw this game in the arcade room of Lakeland Arena in the late 1980s, and I initially thought the game was called "Alter Beast." Although I never played it at the time, I loved to watch other people play the game, and I remember seeing kids get as far as stage 3. I was really impressed by the graphics and the idea of turning into a werewolf seemed so cool. Years later, I found a System 16 emulator online and played the game all the way through. The process took tons of credits, and the last stage was so hard I wasn't even able to get enough orbs to transform before having to fight Neff. This kind of disenfranchised me to the game. | ||
==Status== | ==Status== | ||
Line 9: | Line 12: | ||
==Review== | ==Review== | ||
− | + | {{Video Game Review|5|3|7|7|4|Arcade}} | |
− | + | ||
+ | {{Spoilers}} | ||
===Good=== | ===Good=== | ||
* For the time, the game was very impressive. It used top of the line hardware both in audio and video. | * For the time, the game was very impressive. It used top of the line hardware both in audio and video. | ||
− | * The entire game is very creative. Being able to morph into fireball-throwing werewolves, electricity slinging dragons, and the rest is fantastic. | + | * The entire game is very creative. Being able to morph into fireball-throwing werewolves, electricity slinging dragons, and the rest is fantastic. Enemies like the skull-holding skeletons, head leeches, and rattlesnake dragons are all really interesting and beautifully rendered, and the bosses are especially impressive. Aggar, the head-hurling dead body boss of stage 1, is one of my favorite bosses in video game history. |
− | * The graphic effect where slain enemies expand toward the screen is really cool. | + | * The graphic effect where body parts of slain enemies expand toward the screen is really cool. |
− | * The game's music and sound effects are good, and digital speech was still impressive in 1988. | + | * The game's music composed by [[Toru Nakabayashi]] and sound effects are good, and digital speech was still impressive in 1988. |
+ | * The arcade game has a wonderful attract demo. | ||
* The ending is pretty cool. | * The ending is pretty cool. | ||
+ | * The NES port, though horrible looking, adds two new stages to the game where you change into a shark and a phoenix. | ||
===Bad=== | ===Bad=== | ||
− | * The game | + | * The game punishes mistakes brutally, especially in later levels. It seems like Sega designed the game, not so much to be fun, but to drain quarters. |
− | * The game is | + | * The game is really short. When playing at an expert level, the entire game takes less than 15 minutes to finish. |
− | * | + | * The player's body grows with power orbs, but his head doesn't, which looks ridiculous. |
− | * In the last stage, you | + | * The attacks in the later transformations are kind of silly. A bubblegum blowing bear? I bouncing ball throwing tiger? WTF? |
+ | * In the last stage, you're short-changed by transforming into a werewolf again rather than a new beast, but the game tries to play it off as a new transformation by calling it a "gold werewolf." Nice try! | ||
+ | * The morphing animation is only drawn for the wolf. All other morphs just flash between the two rapidly. | ||
* The foreground bodies in the final stage look great, but the artist ruined the seriousness by adding the The Thinker and The Scream into the mix. | * The foreground bodies in the final stage look great, but the artist ruined the seriousness by adding the The Thinker and The Scream into the mix. | ||
+ | * The "rise from your grave," intro speech sound sounds a bit... off. | ||
* A rescue the princess story line, how original. | * A rescue the princess story line, how original. | ||
+ | * None of the boxes have very good art work. | ||
===Ugly=== | ===Ugly=== | ||
− | * The game's controls are terrible. The player's attacks are sluggish, and jumping is especially bad. | + | * The game's controls are terrible. The player's attacks are sluggish, and jumping is especially bad. I always feel like I'm struggling with my player more than the monsters. |
==Media== | ==Media== | ||
===Box Art=== | ===Box Art=== | ||
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
− | Altered Beast - ARC - USA.jpg|Arcade cabinet. | + | Altered Beast - ARC - USA.jpg|Arcade cabinet<br /><br />Decent look, but the bezel and control panel are pretty bland. I love the Altered Beast text. |
− | Altered Beast - ARC - USA - Marquee.jpg|Arcade marquee. | + | Altered Beast - ARC - USA - Marquee.jpg|Arcade marquee<br /><br />I like the idea, but why use a reptile eye when the primary transformation is a werewolf? Also, the dude's eye isn't very manly. |
− | Altered Beast - ARC - Cabinet Art.jpg|Arcade cabinet | + | Altered Beast - ARC - USA - Cabinet Art.jpg|Arcade cabinet side<br /><br />Again, good idea, bad execution. The transformations just look like men wearing masks. |
− | Altered Beast - GEN - EU.jpg|Genesis (USA / Europe). | + | Altered Beast - GEN - EU.jpg|Genesis (USA / Europe)<br /><br />The wolf head looks pretty bad, but I like the ochre palette. The lettering comes from the arcade, but it has been made to look more ragged, which I love. |
− | Altered Beast - GEN - Japan.jpg|Mega Drive (Japan). | + | Altered Beast - GEN - Japan.jpg|Mega Drive (Japan)<br /><br />Uses the complete art on the back with more of the creepy enemies, and adds a nice blue to compliment the ochre. Also great lettering. |
− | Altered Beast - SMS - USA.jpg|Master System. | + | Altered Beast - GEN - Poster.jpg|A poster of the art. |
− | Altered Beast - TG16 - Japan.jpg|PC Engine, PC Engine CD. | + | Altered Beast - SMS - USA.jpg|Master System<br /><br />I like the transformation idea, but not the art style. |
− | Altered Beast - C64 - EU.jpg|Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MSX, ZX Spectrum. | + | Altered Beast - NES - Japan.jpg|Famicom (Japan)<br /><br />Really awful art. Looks like a still from a cheap 80s cartoon. |
+ | Altered Beast - TG16 - Japan.jpg|PC Engine, PC Engine CD<br /><br />Shows more of the full art. | ||
+ | Altered Beast - C64 - EU.jpg|Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MSX, ZX Spectrum<br /><br />Just awful. | ||
+ | Altered Beast - TIG - USA.png|Tiger Electronics<br /><br />Uses the Genesis art. | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
Line 46: | Line 59: | ||
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
Altered Beast - ARC - Manual.pdf|Arcade manual. | Altered Beast - ARC - Manual.pdf|Arcade manual. | ||
+ | Altered Beast - CPC - Manual.pdf|Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64 manual. | ||
+ | Altered Beast - C64 - Manual.pdf|Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS manual. | ||
Altered Beast - GEN - Manual.pdf|Genesis manual. | Altered Beast - GEN - Manual.pdf|Genesis manual. | ||
Altered Beast - SMS - Manual.pdf|Master System manual. | Altered Beast - SMS - Manual.pdf|Master System manual. | ||
− | Altered Beast - | + | Altered Beast - NES - Manual - Japan.pdf|NES manual. |
− | Altered Beast - | + | Altered Beast - Steam - Manual.pdf|Steam manual. |
Altered Beast - ARC - Instructions - Japan.jpg|Japanese arcade instructions. | Altered Beast - ARC - Instructions - Japan.jpg|Japanese arcade instructions. | ||
+ | Altered Beast - SMS - Hints.jpg|Master System hints. | ||
Altered Beast - ARC - Ad.jpg|Arcade advertisement. | Altered Beast - ARC - Ad.jpg|Arcade advertisement. | ||
Altered Beast - Activision - Ad - Spain.jpg|Spanish advertisement through Activision. | Altered Beast - Activision - Ad - Spain.jpg|Spanish advertisement through Activision. | ||
Altered Beast - Activision - Ad - France.jpg|French advertisement through Activision. | Altered Beast - Activision - Ad - France.jpg|French advertisement through Activision. | ||
+ | </gallery> | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Maps=== | ||
+ | <gallery> | ||
+ | Altered Beast - ARC - Map - 1.png|Arcade, stage 1. | ||
+ | Altered Beast - GEN - Map - 1.png|Genesis, stage 1. | ||
+ | Altered Beast - SMS - Maps.png|Master System. | ||
+ | Altered Beast - DOS - Maps.png|MS-DOS. | ||
+ | Altered Beast - ZXS - Maps.png|ZX Spectrum. | ||
+ | Altered Beast - ZXS - Maps - Sinclair User.jpg|ZX Spectrum, from Sinclair User. | ||
+ | </gallery> | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Graphic Sheets=== | ||
+ | * [http://spritedatabase.net/game/2590 Arcade] | ||
+ | * [http://spritedatabase.net/game/99 Genesis] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Collectibles=== | ||
+ | <gallery> | ||
+ | Altered Beast - ARC - Collectible - Aggar.jpg|Aggar. | ||
+ | Altered Beast - ARC - Collectible - Were Statues.jpg|Statues of the transformed beasts. | ||
+ | </gallery> | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Fan Art=== | ||
+ | <gallery> | ||
+ | Altered Beast - Fan Art - Daniel Vendrell Oduber.jpg|Fan art by Daniel Vendrell Oduber. | ||
+ | Altered Beast - Fan Art - Santi Ikari.jpg|Fan art by Santi Ikari. | ||
+ | Altered Beast - Fan Art - JordiLupo and BrotherOstavia.jpg|Fan art by JordiLupo and BrotherOstavia. | ||
+ | Altered Beast - Fan Art - Peetcooper.jpg|Fan art by Peetcooper. | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
===Videos=== | ===Videos=== | ||
− | + | {{#ev:youtube|icuWM-SRvW0|256|inline|Commercial, Japanese Mega Drive.|frame}} | |
− | + | {{#ev:youtube|DqHpyHR1P0I|256|inline|Longplay, arcade.|frame}} | |
− | + | {{#ev:youtube|K80hfSdsZiI|256|inline|Longplay, Amiga.|frame}} | |
− | + | {{#ev:youtube|MoCaMHwAInY|256|inline|Longplay, Amstrad CPC.|frame}} | |
− | + | {{#ev:youtube|8UG5hOfttm8|256|inline|Longplay, Atari ST.|frame}} | |
− | + | {{#ev:youtube|jFiTLTSwAgw|256|inline|Longplay, Genesis.|frame}} | |
− | + | {{#ev:youtube|Tv0_qMA4Cj8|256|inline|Longplay, Master System.|frame}} | |
− | + | {{#ev:youtube|aCW2u-sGq7M|256|inline|Longplay, MS-DOS.|frame}} | |
− | + | {{#ev:youtube|VU61OqyH2wg|256|inline|Longplay, TurboGrafx-16.|frame}} | |
+ | {{#ev:youtube|psRJHOx1MDU|256|inline|Longplay, ZX Spectrum.|frame}} | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==Titles== | ||
+ | {| class="wikitable" | ||
+ | ! Language !! Native !! Transliteration !! Translation | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | English || Altered Beast || || | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | Japanese || 獣王記 || Juuouki || Beast King's Chronicle | ||
+ | |} | ||
==Links== | ==Links== | ||
− | + | {{Link|MobyGames|http://www.mobygames.com/game/altered-beast}} | |
− | + | {{Link|Wikipedia|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altered_Beast}} | |
− | + | {{Link|StrategyWiki|https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Altered_Beast}} | |
− | + | {{Link|VGMPF|2=http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=Altered_Beast_(ARC)}} | |
− | + | {{Link|TCRF|https://tcrf.net/Altered_Beast}} | |
+ | |||
+ | * [https://segaretro.org/Altered_Beast segaretro.org/Altered_Beast] - Sega Retro. | ||
[[Category: Games]] | [[Category: Games]] | ||
[[Category: Video Games]] | [[Category: Video Games]] | ||
+ | [[Category: 1988 Video Games]] | ||
+ | [[Category: Video Game Prime Order - Action, Adventure, Strategy]] | ||
+ | [[Category: Video Game Genre - Action]] | ||
+ | [[Category: Video Game Genre - Beat 'Em Up]] | ||
+ | [[Category: Video Game Genre - Platformer]] | ||
+ | [[Category: Media Theme - Fantasy]] | ||
+ | [[Category: Media Theme - Mythology]] | ||
[[Category: Amiga Games]] | [[Category: Amiga Games]] | ||
[[Category: Amstrad CPC Games]] | [[Category: Amstrad CPC Games]] | ||
Line 88: | Line 151: | ||
[[Category: NES Games]] | [[Category: NES Games]] | ||
[[Category: TurboGrafx-16 Games]] | [[Category: TurboGrafx-16 Games]] | ||
− | [[Category: TurboGrafx CD Games]] | + | [[Category: TurboGrafx-CD Games]] |
[[Category: ZX Spectrum Games]] | [[Category: ZX Spectrum Games]] | ||
− | [[Category: | + | [[Category: Trope - Damsel In Distress]] |
− | [[Category: | + | [[Category: Trope - Women As Reward]] |
− | |||
[[Category: Multi-Player]] | [[Category: Multi-Player]] | ||
[[Category: Multi-Player Co-op]] | [[Category: Multi-Player Co-op]] | ||
+ | [[Category: 4-bit Color Graphics]] | ||
[[Category: 2-bit Color Graphics]] | [[Category: 2-bit Color Graphics]] | ||
[[Category: Monochrome Graphics]] | [[Category: Monochrome Graphics]] | ||
+ | [[Category: Video Games That Fail the Bechdel Test]] | ||
+ | [[Category: Video Games I Haven't Beaten]] |
Revision as of 21:51, 15 August 2020
Altered Beast is an action platform beat 'em up developed and published by Sega for the arcade in August 1988. It was later ported to about a dozen platforms.
The game is set in ancient Greece. Zeus' daughter Athena has been kidnapped by an evil magician named Neff. Zeus resurrects you, a dead centurion, to fight your way through Neff's henchmen and rescue Athena. In each stage, if you defeat two-headed white wolves, they will leave behind a power orb which will make you stronger. If you collect a third orb, you will transform into a powerful beast like a werewolf or dragon and gain special attacks.
Contents
Personal
I saw first saw this game in the arcade room of Lakeland Arena in the late 1980s, and I initially thought the game was called "Alter Beast." Although I never played it at the time, I loved to watch other people play the game, and I remember seeing kids get as far as stage 3. I was really impressed by the graphics and the idea of turning into a werewolf seemed so cool. Years later, I found a System 16 emulator online and played the game all the way through. The process took tons of credits, and the last stage was so hard I wasn't even able to get enough orbs to transform before having to fight Neff. This kind of disenfranchised me to the game.
Status
I do not own the game, and have never beaten it.
Review
5 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 4 |
Best Version: Arcade
— This section contains spoilers! —
Good
- For the time, the game was very impressive. It used top of the line hardware both in audio and video.
- The entire game is very creative. Being able to morph into fireball-throwing werewolves, electricity slinging dragons, and the rest is fantastic. Enemies like the skull-holding skeletons, head leeches, and rattlesnake dragons are all really interesting and beautifully rendered, and the bosses are especially impressive. Aggar, the head-hurling dead body boss of stage 1, is one of my favorite bosses in video game history.
- The graphic effect where body parts of slain enemies expand toward the screen is really cool.
- The game's music composed by Toru Nakabayashi and sound effects are good, and digital speech was still impressive in 1988.
- The arcade game has a wonderful attract demo.
- The ending is pretty cool.
- The NES port, though horrible looking, adds two new stages to the game where you change into a shark and a phoenix.
Bad
- The game punishes mistakes brutally, especially in later levels. It seems like Sega designed the game, not so much to be fun, but to drain quarters.
- The game is really short. When playing at an expert level, the entire game takes less than 15 minutes to finish.
- The player's body grows with power orbs, but his head doesn't, which looks ridiculous.
- The attacks in the later transformations are kind of silly. A bubblegum blowing bear? I bouncing ball throwing tiger? WTF?
- In the last stage, you're short-changed by transforming into a werewolf again rather than a new beast, but the game tries to play it off as a new transformation by calling it a "gold werewolf." Nice try!
- The morphing animation is only drawn for the wolf. All other morphs just flash between the two rapidly.
- The foreground bodies in the final stage look great, but the artist ruined the seriousness by adding the The Thinker and The Scream into the mix.
- The "rise from your grave," intro speech sound sounds a bit... off.
- A rescue the princess story line, how original.
- None of the boxes have very good art work.
Ugly
- The game's controls are terrible. The player's attacks are sluggish, and jumping is especially bad. I always feel like I'm struggling with my player more than the monsters.
Media
Box Art
Documentation
- Altered Beast - ARC - Manual.pdf
Arcade manual.
- Altered Beast - CPC - Manual.pdf
Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64 manual.
- Altered Beast - C64 - Manual.pdf
Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS manual.
- Altered Beast - GEN - Manual.pdf
Genesis manual.
- Altered Beast - SMS - Manual.pdf
Master System manual.
- Altered Beast - NES - Manual - Japan.pdf
NES manual.
- Altered Beast - Steam - Manual.pdf
Steam manual.
- Altered Beast - ARC - Instructions - Japan.jpg
Japanese arcade instructions.
- Altered Beast - SMS - Hints.jpg
Master System hints.
- Altered Beast - ARC - Ad.jpg
Arcade advertisement.
Maps
Graphic Sheets
Collectibles
Fan Art
Videos
Titles
Language | Native | Transliteration | Translation |
---|---|---|---|
English | Altered Beast | ||
Japanese | 獣王記 | Juuouki | Beast King's Chronicle |
Links
- segaretro.org/Altered_Beast - Sega Retro.
- Pages with broken file links
- Video Game Rating - 5
- Video Game Graphics Rating - 7
- Video Game Sound Rating - 7
- Games
- Video Games
- 1988 Video Games
- Video Game Prime Order - Action, Adventure, Strategy
- Video Game Genre - Action
- Video Game Genre - Beat 'Em Up
- Video Game Genre - Platformer
- Media Theme - Fantasy
- Media Theme - Mythology
- Amiga Games
- Amstrad CPC Games
- Arcade Games
- Atari ST Games
- Commodore 64 Games
- DOS Games
- Genesis Games
- MSX Games
- Master System Games
- NES Games
- TurboGrafx-16 Games
- TurboGrafx-CD Games
- ZX Spectrum Games
- Trope - Damsel In Distress
- Trope - Women As Reward
- Multi-Player
- Multi-Player Co-op
- 4-bit Color Graphics
- 2-bit Color Graphics
- Monochrome Graphics
- Video Games That Fail the Bechdel Test
- Video Games I Haven't Beaten