Shadow of the Beast

Cancelled SNES port

There was a SNES port of the Amiga version, Super Shadow of the Beast, developed by IGS, shown on the Summer CES 1992, but it never made it to the shelves. There is a ROM floating around the net, and according to some sources it's completely playable. The main differences seem to be in difficulty, level design, and graphics.

Cheat code

The C64 version's cheat code is an anagram of the game's title, other than the number of spaces.

Genesis port

Like with Gods, another well-known Amiga game, the Mega Drive/Genesis port had the difficulty level increased when the refresh rate was increased from 50 Hz to 60 Hz (to match the NTSC console) without changing how long each frame was displayed, making the game faster. However, as the PAL console runs slower, the speed matches the original Amiga version more closely.

The Japanese Mega Drive version of Shadow of the Beast, while essentially based on the original Genesis port, has a number of differences. It was released by Victor Musical Industries, which had previously published the PC Engine version (developed by Psygnosis for VMI). As a result, Victor borrowed some elements from the PC Engine version (like the larger character and the more balanced gameplay) and transplanted them into the Mega Drive one. Some backgrounds (like the trees) were also retouched to lessen the tiling pattern look of the Genesis version. There is also a bit more blood in some places.

Manual

According to the Amiga game manual, it took:

Fact Box -
• Total Size: 350 screens
• Total Memory Used: 3.5 megabytes
• Graphics Data: 2.2 megabytes
• Music and Sound Data: 850 kilobytes
• Music Sample Rate: 20 kilohertz
• Screen Update: 50 times a second
• Max. no. of Colours on Screen: 128
• No. of different monsters: 132
• Maximum Sprite Size: 220 by 150 pixels (over half the size of the screen)
• Levels of scrolling: 13 outside 2 large areas inside
• Project Duration: 9 months

SNES version

There are a number of differences in the SNES version:

• Some blood effects were removed.
• Some enemies were completely removed or redrawn, e.g. the flying skulls.
• The graveyard level is now inside a castle and the cross-like power-up looks like a magnifying glass.

A detailed list of changes can be found on schnittberichte.com (German).

Soundtrack

In 1999 a soundtrack with various Amiga game composers under the name Immortal was released. Aside from various Amiga themes, it primarily holds the entire Shadow of the Beast game soundtrack.

Shadow of the Beast tracks include:

• Intro
• Eerie Forest
• The Cavern
• Beast's Stronghold
• Underwater
• Game Over

Awards

Shadow of the Beast was named #76 overall among the “150 Best Games of All Time” by Computer Gaming World Magazine (15th Anniversary Issue--November 1996).

• Computer Gaming World
  • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) - #76 in the “150 Best Games of All Time” list
• EMAP Golden Joystick Award 1990
  • Winner Best 16-Bit Graphics.
• Power Play
  • Issue 01/1990 - #3 Best Sound in 1989
  • Issue 01/1990 - #2 Best Graphics in 1989

Information also contributed by Garcia, Kaminari, Luis Silva, Martin Smith, optrirominiluikus and PCGamer77