Altered Beast

aka: 3D Altered Beast, Altered Beast Classic, Jūōki
Moby ID: 2019
Arcade Specs
Buy on Genesis
$20.00 used on eBay
Buy on Windows
$0.99 new on Steam
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Description official descriptions

You are a hero raised from the dead by the god Zeus to rescue his daughter Athena. With scenery inspired by Ancient Greece, you have to fight hordes of undead and demons, with a boss at the end of each level until you meet the god Neff, who holds the girl captive.

The Altered Beast title refers to your shapeshifting abilities. In this platformer, you can collect spirit balls by defeating two-headed wolves, allowing you to mutate into different beasts such as a werewolf, a dragon, a tiger, a bear and others depending on the version. Each form, tied to a level, comes with special abilities such as flight and powerful attacks, easily superseding the basic set of punches and kicks in your human form.

The game can be played in single player mode, or in same-screen multiplayer co-op mode.

Spellings

  • 兽王记 - Chinese spelling (simplified)
  • 獣王記 - Japanese spelling

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Credits (Arcade version)

11 People

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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 60% (based on 59 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.1 out of 5 (based on 222 ratings with 10 reviews)

Welcome to your doom

The Good
In Altered Beast, you play a human, who is resurrected by Zeus to rescue his kidnapped daughter Athena. To do this, you need to go through five stages, defeating zombies, both air- and ground-based, with your punches and kicks. On your travels, you can obtain power-ups that are left behind by pumas. Get three of these power-ups, and you transform into a wild beast that has strength needed to defeat the boss at the end of each stage.

The beast that you turn to depends on what stage you're on. For instance, the first stage has you turning into a werewolf. Subsequent stages include a were-dragon, were-bear, and were-tiger. Out of all these, I enjoy playing as were-dragon, since you are not confined to the ground the way the other beasts are. But although most of the beasts can jump high in the air, this isn't the same.

Out of all the versions of Altered Beast that I have played so far, the Genesis version of the game looks and feels like the coin-op version. Similar sounds are played between the two. My favorite sound would be when your character says “Power Up”. It makes him sound like Thor. The graphics come just as close. The environments that are portrayed in the last three levels are well done. The controls act like they should.

The Bad
Unfortunately, the music doesn't even come as close to that of the coin-op version. The music in the Genesis version sounds as if the person who composed it only used one finger. The coin-op version has much better music, which blends in with the next piece very well. A thing missing is the Continue option, which lets you continue the game after you lose all your lives.

The Bottom Line
The Genesis version of Altered Beast has graphics that come close to the coin-op version as possible. The Genesis version is the best of the other versions that I have played so far. The only complaint about the game is the music, which sounds crap when it is compared to the coin-op version. If you have a Genesis, or a Genesis emulator, then Altered Beast is worth a look.

Genesis · by Katakis | カタキス (43091) · 2005

A particularly good conversion of a particularly bad arcade game.

The Good
I must say that the PC version of Altered Beast is by far the most fun of all the versions of Altered Beast I ever played, the arcade version included. The original arcade game was terrible. Aside from great graphics, it had absolutely none of the elements that make a good game: terrible controls (playing this game with a joystick is next to terrible) and stupid, non-varying gameplay.

However, I must give credit where credit is due: the PC version is that much more fun than the arcade version. Despite the hardware inferiourity, the CGA graphics (not to mention VGA if you had it) were really terrific and the game was fast and fun. Not having to pay for the game has its merits, and the frustration of wasting money on dumb, unforgiving gameplay is gone here, which makes the PC version of Altered Beast what it is: a simple, fun-to-play platform game.

The Bad
Admittedly the ridiculous plot from the arcade remains; however, the horrendous gameplay does not.

The Bottom Line
Just goes to show that superiour hardware does not necessarily translate to a better game. For another example, see Laser Squad.

DOS · by Tomer Gabel (4538) · 2000

An original story comes to life in this coin-op conversion.

The Good
I have to say that being one of the first Genesis cartridges is an advantage on it's own. Aside from that, original gameplay, scheme, responsive control, and nice graphics are a catalyst to this one's classic status.I really like the back- and foregrounds.

The Bad
O.K. The glove's comin' off now. I HATE being trapped. Blind dates with lepers have to be more rewarding that getting continually hurt with not even one second of invincibility. You can get drained of an entire LIFE on one simple enemy. The fact that the levels aren't longer kinda sux too. I've found myself skipping the white wolves just to play longer. They only want you to fight the Boss as a beast. I guess I just wish the game was a little deeper.

The Bottom Line
A great game. If you haven't played it, do so. If you have, good job. Peace.

Genesis · by aaron pridemore (10) · 2003

[ View all 10 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Steam release (2010) is Mega Drive/Genesis version Andrew Fisher (697) Nov 28, 2022
Back story, Japanese vs. rest of world Andrew Fisher (697) Nov 16, 2022
Short review(arcade, MD/Gen, SMS) Andrew Fisher (697) Oct 6, 2022

Trivia

Compilation

A version of Altered Beast is included in Sega's Smash Pack compilation CD.

Genesis pack-in game

This game was the first pack-in game to come with the Genesis when it first came out in 1989.

Megadriver

The Brazilian Heavy metal band Megadriver, specialized in SEGA MegaDrive music, did a cover of the first level theme, complete with one of the band members saying "Rise from your grave".

References

The ride-able lizard-birds from Golden Axe make a cameo appearance in the second stage. Bizarrian, a hybrid between an amphibian and a parrot, is also present in Golden Axe.

Version differences

The NES version adds 3 new stages and 2 unique transformations: a shark, and a bird. On the other hand, the SMS version removes the tiger level. The Zodiac release is an emulation of the Genesis version, but for one player only.

Awards

  • Power Play
    • Issue 01/1990 - Biggest Failure of 1989

Information also contributed by Mad_Griffith, Matthew Melbourne, Robbb and Zovni

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  • MobyGames ID: 2019
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Luiz Pacheco.

Android added by mars_rulez. Nintendo 3DS added by GTramp. NES, Genesis, Commodore 64, SEGA Master System added by PCGamer77. PlayStation 3 added by Lain Crowley. Nintendo Switch added by Rik Hideto. Wii added by Guy Chapman. Zodiac, iPad added by Sciere. TurboGrafx CD added by Zovni. Linux, Windows, Macintosh added by Foxhack. ZX Spectrum added by Martin Smith. Atari ST added by ZZip. TurboGrafx-16 added by Terok Nor. Arcade added by The cranky hermit. iPhone added by Scaryfun. Xbox 360 added by Ben K. MSX added by koffiepad. Amstrad CPC added by Katakis | カタキス. Amiga added by Syed GJ.

Additional contributors: Rogee, Unicorn Lynx, Sciere, lugnut, Игги Друге, LepricahnsGold, MegamanX64, Patrick Bregger, Starbuck the Third, GTramp, Kennyannydenny, Harmony♡, heather sturmer.

Game added July 21, 2000. Last modified April 16, 2024.