Altered Beast Games: Retro Shapeshifting Action Revived for Modern Consoles
Altered Beast burst onto the arcade scene in 1988, captivating players with its unique blend of ancient Greek mythology and shapeshifting action. Developed by Sega, this side-scrolling beat 'em up allows players to control a resurrected centurion on a mission from Zeus himself. The game's standout feature is the ability to transform into powerful beasts like wolves, dragons, and tigers, each with special abilities to combat mythological creatures.
Set in a fantastical version of Ancient Greece, Altered Beast tasks players with rescuing Zeus's daughter Athena from the underworld. As players progress through graveyards, caverns, and palaces, they face increasingly challenging foes. The game's success in arcades led to numerous home console ports, including becoming the pack-in title for the Sega Genesis in North America.
Altered Beast's legacy extends beyond its initial release, spawning remakes and inspiring future games in the beat 'em up genre. Its distinctive visual style and memorable transformations have cemented its place in video game history, particularly among fans of classic arcade titles.
Development and Release
Altered Beast was developed by Sega under the leadership of Makoto Uchida in 1988. This marked Uchida's debut as a project lead. The game was initially created for Sega's System 16 arcade hardware.
Following its arcade release, Altered Beast was ported to various home platforms. The Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version became a pack-in game for the console's North American launch in 1989.
Ports were also released for other home computers and consoles of the era. These included versions for popular systems like the NES/Famicom, as well as personal computers.
The development process faced some challenges. Uchida drew inspiration from Greek mythology and childhood memories of watching Ray Harryhausen films. The team focused on creating the game's signature transformation mechanic.
Altered Beast's home versions received mixed reviews upon release. Critics praised the arcade-like graphics but had varied opinions on the gameplay. Despite this, the game gained a cult following over the years.
Gameplay Mechanics
Altered Beast features a unique blend of side-scrolling action and beat 'em up combat. Players control a powerful warrior who fights through mythical beasts and supernatural foes using a combination of punches, kicks, and special abilities.
Core Gameplay
Players navigate through side-scrolling levels, battling enemies with punches and kicks. The controls are straightforward, allowing for quick jumps and attacks. Enemies appear from both sides of the screen, requiring players to stay alert and react swiftly.
The game's difficulty increases as players progress, introducing more challenging foes and obstacles. Boss battles punctuate the end of each stage, testing the player's skills and timing.
Power-Ups and Transformations
Spirit Balls are a key element in Altered Beast. Collecting these orbs enhances the player's strength and appearance. After gathering three Spirit Balls, the character undergoes a dramatic transformation into a powerful beast form.
These transformations include:
Werewolf
Dragon
Bear
Tiger
Golden Werewolf
Each form grants unique abilities and increased power, essential for overcoming tougher enemies and bosses.
Multiplayer Elements
Altered Beast offers both single-player and multiplayer co-op modes. In co-op, two players can team up to face the challenges together, each controlling their own character.
Multiplayer adds a new dimension to the gameplay:
Shared screen action
Coordinated attacks on enemies
Synchronized transformations for maximum impact
This cooperative play enhances the game's replay value and social aspect, allowing friends to enjoy the mythical adventure together.
The Cast of Characters
Altered Beast features a diverse array of mythological beings and creatures. The game's cast includes powerful heroes, menacing villains, and fearsome monsters drawn from Greek mythology and fantasy.
Playable Characters
The Centurion serves as the primary playable character in the original Altered Beast arcade game. This resurrected Roman soldier gains the ability to transform into powerful beast forms. In the 2005 PS2 remake, players control Luke, a Genome-Cyborg with shape-shifting abilities. Luke can morph into various animal forms like a werewolf, dragon, and more.
Abbey Hadjitarkhani provides Luke's voice in the 2005 version. The game gives players control over Luke's transformations, allowing them to strategically use different beast forms to overcome obstacles and defeat enemies.
Nemesis Neff and Enemies
Neff stands as the main antagonist in Altered Beast. This evil demon god kidnaps Zeus's daughter Athena, setting the game's events in motion. Neff transforms into various monstrous boss forms throughout the game, challenging players at the end of each stage.
Players face a horde of undead creatures, demons, and mythical beasts as they progress. Notable enemies include two-headed wolves, skeletal dragons, and possessed statues. These foes increase in difficulty and complexity as the game advances, testing players' skills and mastery of their beast forms.
Supporting Mythology
Greek gods play a crucial role in Altered Beast's narrative. Zeus, king of the gods, resurrects the Centurion (or creates Luke in the remake) to rescue his daughter. Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, serves as the captive princess players must save.
The game draws heavily from Greek mythology, incorporating creatures like minotaurs, harpies, and cyclopses into its bestiary. This mythological backdrop adds depth to the game world, creating a rich, fantastical setting for players to explore and conquer as they battle through Neff's minions to rescue Athena.
Iconic Transformations
Altered Beast's transformations are central to its gameplay and visual appeal. These powerful beast forms grant the protagonist unique abilities and increased strength, allowing players to overcome increasingly challenging foes and obstacles.
Werewolf
The Werewolf transformation is the first players encounter in Altered Beast. This bipedal lupine form enhances the character's speed and agility. The Werewolf can unleash fireballs from its hands, dealing damage from a distance. Its most potent attack is a rapid dash across the screen, covered in a protective force field. This move serves both offensive and defensive purposes, allowing players to quickly close gaps or evade enemy attacks.
Weredragon
The Weredragon form appears in the second stage of Altered Beast. This powerful transformation grants the ability to fly, giving players increased mobility and access to previously unreachable areas. The Weredragon's primary attack is a fireball breath, effective against both ground and air enemies. Its enhanced durability makes it ideal for tackling tougher foes and bosses.
Werebear
Stage three introduces the Werebear transformation. This bulky form sacrifices speed for raw power and defense. The Werebear's primary attack is a devastating petrification breath, turning enemies to stone. This ability is particularly useful for crowd control and dealing with multiple opponents simultaneously. The Werebear's increased size also allows it to break through certain obstacles, opening new paths.
Weretiger
The Weretiger transformation debuts in the fourth stage. This form combines elements of speed and power, offering a balanced playstyle. The Weretiger's main attack is an electric projectile, effective against both nearby and distant enemies. Its agility allows for quick movements and evasive maneuvers, while its strength enables powerful melee attacks.
Golden Werewolf
The Golden Werewolf is the ultimate transformation in Altered Beast, available in the final stage. This enhanced version of the Werewolf form boasts superior speed, power, and abilities. It can unleash rapid-fire energy projectiles and perform devastating combo attacks. The Golden Werewolf's increased durability and regenerative capabilities make it ideal for facing the game's toughest challenges and final boss.
Level Design and Challenges
Altered Beast features diverse environments and progressively difficult obstacles across its five distinct levels. Each stage presents unique hazards and enemies that test players' skills and reflexes.
Environment
The game's levels transport players through eerie landscapes. The journey begins in a foggy graveyard filled with crumbling tombstones and undead foes. Players then navigate treacherous caverns with narrow ledges and falling stalactites.
Later stages include Neff's Palace, an opulent yet dangerous fortress, and the City of Dis, a hellish urban setting. The final level takes place in the fiery Underworld, complete with lava pits and demonic creatures.
Each environment incorporates thematic elements that enhance the atmosphere and challenge players in different ways.
Level Obstacles
Altered Beast's levels are filled with varied obstacles that increase in difficulty as players progress. Early stages feature basic enemies like zombies and wolves that attack in predictable patterns.
As players advance, they encounter more complex hazards:
Flying creatures that swoop down unexpectedly
Projectile-shooting enemies
Spiked pits and moving platforms
Crushing walls and falling debris
These obstacles require quick reflexes and strategic positioning to overcome. Players must also time their beast transformations carefully to navigate certain areas effectively.
End-Level Bosses
Each stage in Altered Beast culminates in a battle against a formidable end-level boss. These encounters serve as intense skill checks, testing players' mastery of their current beast form and overall game mechanics.
Boss designs range from a giant blue wolf with three heads to a dragon that spits fireballs. Each boss has unique attack patterns and vulnerabilities that players must identify and exploit.
Defeating these powerful foes requires a combination of precise timing, strategic use of power-ups, and quick decision-making. The bosses grow increasingly challenging, with the final confrontation against Neff himself serving as the ultimate test of a player's abilities.
Legacy and Impact on Gaming
Altered Beast left an indelible mark on gaming history, influencing pop culture and setting a standard for action-adventure titles. Its unique blend of mythological themes and shape-shifting gameplay captivated players worldwide.
Cultural Influence
Altered Beast's iconic phrase "Rise from your grave!" became deeply ingrained in gaming culture. The game's muscular protagonist and monstrous transformations inspired countless artworks and cosplays. Its distinctive visual style influenced future game designs, particularly in the fantasy and action genres.
Altered Beast's impact extended beyond gaming. References to the title appeared in movies, TV shows, and music, cementing its place in pop culture. The game's popularity led to merchandise including action figures, t-shirts, and posters.
Sequels and Related Titles
Sega capitalized on Altered Beast's success with several sequels and spin-offs. The Game Boy Advance saw the release of "Altered Beast: Guardian of the Realms" in 2002. A 3D reimagining, simply titled "Altered Beast," launched on PlayStation 2 in 2005.
The game's success paved the way for other mythological-themed titles like Golden Axe. Sega's Shinobi series also drew inspiration from Altered Beast's action-packed gameplay. These games continued to evolve the formula established by Altered Beast, expanding on its themes and mechanics.
Modern Relevance
Despite its age, Altered Beast maintains relevance in the modern gaming landscape. The game is available on various digital download platforms, allowing new generations to experience this classic. Online emulators have made the game accessible to a wider audience.
Altered Beast's inclusion in retro gaming collections and mini consoles keeps its legacy alive. The game's influence can be seen in modern titles that incorporate shape-shifting mechanics or mythological themes. Its pixel art style continues to inspire indie developers creating nostalgic experiences.
Technical Aspects
Altered Beast's technical elements played a crucial role in its success and lasting impact. The game showcased impressive visuals and sound for its time, while also presenting unique challenges for modern emulation and remastering efforts.
Graphics and Art Style
Altered Beast featured detailed sprite-based graphics that pushed the limits of 16-bit hardware. The game's character designs were inspired by Greek mythology, with the protagonist transforming into various beasts like werewolves and dragons. Backgrounds displayed parallax scrolling effects, creating a sense of depth.
Enemy designs were diverse and imaginative, ranging from zombies to demonic creatures. Each level had a distinct visual theme, from graveyards to caverns. The transformation sequences were particularly impressive, showing the player character's metamorphosis in stages.
Music and Sound Effects
The game's soundtrack, composed by Tohru Nakabayashi, featured energetic tracks that complemented the action. The music incorporated elements of rock and electronic genres, creating a tense atmosphere. Each level had its own unique theme.
Sound effects added impact to the gameplay. Punches, kicks, and special attacks had distinct audio cues. The transformation sound became iconic, with a rising pitch signaling the player's increasing power. Enemy noises and environmental sounds contributed to the game's immersive quality.
Emulation and Remastering
Emulating Altered Beast accurately has presented challenges due to its use of specific hardware features. Early emulators struggled with reproducing the game's scaling effects and smooth scrolling. Modern emulators have largely overcome these issues, offering near-perfect playback.
Remastered versions have aimed to enhance the original experience while preserving its core elements. HD remakes have improved sprite quality and background detail. Some versions offer additional features like save states and visual filters. Efforts to maintain the game's original frame rate and responsiveness have been crucial in preserving its gameplay feel.
Platforms and Availability
Altered Beast has appeared on numerous gaming platforms since its 1988 arcade debut. The Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version is perhaps the most well-known home console port.
The game was also released for other 8-bit and 16-bit systems. These include the Sega Master System, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, and Amiga.
More recently, Altered Beast has been made available on modern platforms. It can be found on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console and Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade.
For PC gamers, the game was ported to DOS in the late 1980s. Today, it's accessible through various online emulators, allowing players to experience this classic platformer on contemporary devices.
Sega has included Altered Beast in several of its retro game collections. These compilations have brought the title to additional platforms, ensuring its continued availability to new generations of players.
The game's wide-ranging platform support has helped maintain its status as a recognizable title in gaming history. Its availability across different eras of gaming technology showcases its enduring appeal.
