Altered Beast

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Altered Beast
Altered Beast box cover for the Sega Mega Drive
Developer(s)	Sega
Publisher(s)	Sega
Designer(s)	Rieko Kodama, Udi
Release date(s)	Arcade 1988 Mega Drive/Genesis November 27, 1988 August 14, 1989 Sega Master System 1989 TG-16 September 29, 1989 1989 NES July 20, 1990
Genre(s)	Beat 'em up
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players simultaneously
Platform(s)	Arcade, DOS, Amstrad CPC, MSX, NES, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis, Turbografx CD, Commodore 64, Windows, Dreamcast, Virtual Console, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable
Input	8-way Joystick, 3 buttons
Arcade cabinet	Standard upright
Arcade system(s)	Sega System 16
Arcade display	Raster resolution 320 x 224 (Horizontal) Palette Colors 6144

Altered Beast (獣王記 Jūōki, literally "Beast King's Chronicle", in Japan) is a 1988 arcade game developed and manufactured by Sega. After its initial arcade release, it was ported to several home video game consoles and home computers. Makoto Uchida was the primary developer of the game and also was responsible for the creation of Golden Axe.

Contents 1 Game description 2 Levels 2.1 Bosses 3 Forms 4 Ports 5 Legacy 6 Reception 7 Trivia 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Game description

Altered Beast is a platform/fighting game that puts the player in control of a centurion who had died in battle. The centurion has been raised from the dead to rescue Zeus' daughter, Athena. The player battles undead and demonic hordes, controlling the shapeshifting hero. He must defeat several levels in order to save the kidnapped goddess. Although 'Centurion' was a rank of the Roman Army, the game takes place in a setting resembling Ancient Greece, complete with gods, temples and ruined Ionic columns.

The player must battle armies of fictional and undead creatures to his goal of defeating the evil Demon God Neff, who is holding Athena captive. Along the way, the player has to obtain "Spirit Balls" (power-up orbs which increase his strength and size) from defeating white two-headed wolves (Although it is hinted that this wolf might be the cerberus wolf of Greek Mythology). These enable the player to turn into a superhuman. When three are collected, the hero transforms into a beast with exceptional abilities.

The game contains several levels which the player must battle through, which can only be completed if the player acquires the beast form. At the end of each level is a "boss" creature, which is Neff himself in different forms. Before Neff transforms at the end of each level, he says "Welcome to your doom!" The enemies the player encounters differ depending on level as does the beast the hero transforms into. These beasts include a werewolf, a thunder dragon, a tiger man, a bear, and the more powerful golden werewolf (other beasts can be seen in the Japanese Famicom version and the Game Boy Advance version). Each beast has its own special abilities, such as the dragon's ability to fly. Between each level are small animations giving the player glimpses of Athena's peril.

The game was moderately successful, the player's ability to transform into different creatures being a big draw. The game actually does have an ending where the player rescues Athena. At the completion of the game (upon Neff's defeat in the city of Dis), Zeus thanks the player for his help. The credit sequence is rather long and gives the impression that the entire game was actually a film; interspersed in the credits are images of "actors" in various stages of costume for the different characters or monsters in the game. One of the more well-known features of Altered Beast is the quote, "Rise from your grave!" said by Zeus. However, the quote has often been interpreted as being "Wise fwom your gwave"^{[citation needed]} or similar variants because of inherent distortion/garbling of the digitalized voice stemming from the technical limitations of the arcade software.^{[citation needed]} As a result, Zeus has often been likened to Elmer Fudd in many reviews of the game.^{[citation needed]}

Altered Beast was produced as a standard upright only with custom artwork on the cabinet. In most versions, the game's controls consist of an eight-way directional and three buttons, one each for "punch", "kick" and "jump". The game has single player and cooperative two-player modes.

[edit] Levels

• Graveyard - The first level. Consists of zombies and the like. The player turns into a werewolf in this level.
• Underworld - The second level. Consists of giant leeches, Chinese Dragon-headed rattlesnakes, and ferocious chicken stingers (resembling the ones from Golden Axe). The player turns into a weredragon in this level.
• Cavern of Souls - Consists of giant ants called cave needles, turtle/snail hybrids, and zombies known as gravemasters. The player turns into the werebear in this level.
• Neff's Palace - Consists of zombies and hammer demons. The player turns into the weretiger in this level.
• The City of Dis - Consists of goat men, boar men, saw fishes, and purple unicorn men. The player turns into a golden werewolf in this level.

[edit] Bosses

Neff will turn himself into 5 different monsters on each level. Among the 5 monsters are:

• Aggar - An ugly monster that rips its own head off and throws it at the player. Aggar's head continually regenerates, allowing him to continue throwing the "heads" ad nauseam.
• Octeyes - A plant monster that can shoot its poisonous eyes at the player.
• Moldy Snail - Part snail, part salamander.
• Crocodile Worm - A crocodile monster with a fire belly that can shoot miniature dragons.
• Neff, the demon god - A charging rhinoceros monster.

[edit] Forms

These are the animal forms (sometimes monster ones) that you become and their abilities:

• Werewolf: In this monster form, you throw fireballs at your enemies and perform the Flash Dash attack.
• Thunder Dragon: In this animal form, you can fly, shoot lightning breath, and use your Ray Barrier.
• Confident Bear: In this animal form, you can turn monsters to stone with his Petri-Breath and roll into a ball and walk confidently to victory.
• Tiger Man: In this monster form, you throw fireballs at your enemies and have a vertical Sonic Movement attack.
• Golden Werewolf: This one is more powerful than the other werewolf form.

[edit] Ports

Altered Beast was ported to several platforms after its original release in 1988. It was released for Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Master System, PC Engine, PC Engine CD, Famicom, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Commodore Amiga and DOS. Sega Smash Pack for Windows and Dreamcast contained an emulated version of the Mega Drive/Genesis port. The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version is particularly noteworthy as it was the original pack-in game for that system in North America, Europe and Brazil. This version is now available for download on the Wii's Virtual Console.

Certain differences are seen between the several versions of the game. Some of them, like the Master System one, have only four levels (and suffered from ongoing in-game slowdowns), while others have different beasts to mutate into, such as a humanoid lion form seen in the NES version, or the bear form seen in the Mega Drive/Genesis version. The PC Engine CD version (released only in Japan) incorporated a new CD-quality soundtrack that differentiates it from other versions, however its graphics are virtually the same as the console version for the PC Engine (also only released in Japan).

Mega Drive/Genesis	Master System	PC Engine	ZX Spectrum
Commodore 64	Commodore Amiga	Famicom	MS-DOS

[edit] Legacy

A PlayStation 2 title was released by Sega in 2005, known as Jūōki: Project Altered Beast in Japan and simply Altered Beast in Europe; the game was not released in North America. In Japan, it was rated 17+ for its intensity.

Rather than serving as a sequel to the original game, the newer title features a more modern setting that is unconnected to the original game. The story follows a man called Luke Custer who is a "Genome-Cyborg", which in the game is a human that has had his DNA and other genetic make-up altered so that he can (after acquiring the chip containing the right genes for each creature) transform into a mythical beast. The main creatures he transforms into are a Werewolf, a Merman, a Garuda, a Wendigo, a Fire Minotaur, and a Thunder Dragon. Its storyline differs from the original Altered Beast games where during the game, you gain a serum that allows you to change at will. There are a number of difficult boss challenges and puzzles within the game, plus some extra characters to transform into including a White Weretiger, a Grizzly Bear, and the alien-cloned U.W.H. (Unidentified Weightless Human) for those who finish the game.

Altered Beast: Guardian of the Realms, published by THQ, is a sequel for Game Boy Advance in the style of the original arcade game. It adds new features like power-ups, new beast forms and destructible environments. [1] In this game, you turn into a Werewolf (called Canis), a Snake Man/Nagi (or Naga), a Dragon (or Draco), a Tiger Man (or Smilodon), a Spiked Turtle (or Terapis/Terrapin), a Shark Man (or Charodon), a Rhinoceros Man (or Cerathos), an Eagle (or Avion), a Scorpion (or Scorpios), and a Chimera.

An episode of the second season of Mega64 includes an Altered Beast skit.

[edit] Reception

In its initial arcade release, Altered Beast was a well-received game. Its port to the Sega Mega Drive was considered inferior to the arcade, albeit a better game than those that came before it. Its rerelease for the Wii's Virtual Console was given a lukewarm reception by GameSpot, describing the game as merely decent with some nostalgic value.^[1]

[edit] Trivia

An altered version of the game is featured in the animation "The Best Game In The Universe" on The Best Page In The Universe, featuring the site's owner Maddox.

The 1992 breakbeat hardcore track "Audio Fear" produced by 3 Thieves & A Liar features the Altered Beast sample, "Rise from your grave."

[edit] References

1. ^ Kasavin, Greg (2006-11-19). Altered Beast for Wii Review. GameSpot. Retrieved on January 14, 2007.

[edit] External links

• Altered Beast at Arcade-History
• Altered Beast at the Killer List of Videogames
• Altered Beast at MobyGames
• Altered Beast (Genesis) at GameFAQs
• Altered Beast at I-Mockery
• Altered Beast at the Open Directory Project (suggest site)
• Altered Beast mixes at OverClocked ReMix
• Altered Beast at World of Spectrum
• Altered Beast (Virtual Download) Game Profile