Released: June 1988
Played: Feb 14, 2020
Altered Beast is certainly one of those games that people look back on quite fondly regardless of its actual quality. While the game didn't exactly set the arcades on fire when it initially came out, Sega's decision to include it as the pack-in game for their new console release, the Genesis (Megadrive elsewhere), was a stroke of genius. No, Altered Beast wasn't a very liked game at the time, but it was a KNOWN arcade game. Even if people didn't really care for it, they were still aware of it. Experiencing a game that looked and played so closely to its arcade counterpart was something that just didn't happen during this time and Sega knew this. Nintendo and Atari didn't have consoles that could do anything close to this. Then, here comes Sega, kicking down the doors, and proclaiming, "we can." The console wars had begun.
The game itself is actually a really unique and cool idea. It's just executed pretty poorly. In the story, Athena gets kidnapped by Neff, the ruler of the underworld. Zeus, in an attempt to rescue her, resurrects a Roman centurion to fight as his champion. You battle your way through five levels in side scrolling beat 'em up style. Two-player simultaneous co-op is included and is highly recommended. You're greeted by Zeus commanding the player to, "rise from your grave" before being immediately accosted by all manner of creatures and monsters from Greek and Roman mythology. You can punch (not recommended) and kick your way through hordes of of these enemies. In addition to this, your crouch + kick actually points directly upward to help with enemies attacking you from above. Most enemies are of the pop-corn variety and die in a single hit. You have the ability to jump and there is some light platforming at a few points in the game, but it really isn't a prominent feature. Occasionally, a blue bull will appear and if you kill it, it spawns and orb. Collecting on of these causes your character to bulk up in size and increase both his range and strength. If you collect 3 of these in the level, you transform into the titular Altered Beast. Depending on the level, you'll become either a wolf, a dragon, a bear, or a tiger. Each of these animals has two special attacks that make the game much easier and more fun. The game can be a quite a challenge at times. The enemies in the game are placed oddly and sometimes even spawn directly on top of you. So, you end up taking a lot of cheap hits and taking damage that feels unfair. Of course, each of the stages concludes with a pretty epic boss fight. The first stage which takes place in a very memorable and awesome looking graveyard is complete with marble columns and everything you would ever expect in a game set in Rome. Its boss is a giant horned demon that shoots multiple copies of its head all over the screen. The second stage isn't as spectacular and has a carnivorous plant that shoots eyeballs at you for its boss. Stage 3 is just a cave with a snail boss, stage 4 is a boring fortress with a worm boss, and the final stage is the Netherworld Sanctum. While this final stage is very vibrantly colored and has some cool parallax scrolling in the clouds, it's rather forgettable and concludes with Neff, who's just a rhinoceros and reminds me of Rock Steady from TMNT. Honestly, after the good impression of the first stage, the rest of the game just sort of feels phoned in and lazy. Still, that first stage really does ooze with nostalgia for a lot of people out there; me included.
The graphics, sound, and music all have that quintessential Genesis feel. While it doesn't look spectacular for its time, and the music is apt but unmemorable, and the voice samples in the game are muffled and garbled, it's still a decent presentation. Yes, now we know it isn't an arcade perfect port, but at the time of the release, everyone had their minds blown and many people rushed out to buy a Genesis console just for this game. I can't say I was one of those people, but I've never turned down an opportunity to play this game when someone offered. When Sega decided to switch the pack-in game over to Sonic the Hedgehog, I finally decided to jump on the Genesis bandwagon... so I never owned Altered beast until I became a game collector. Still, there were many summer days over at my friend's house playing this game.
Honestly, I've been trying to beat this game for 30 years. Many times, both my friends and I made it to the final level but were just not able to finish it off. It wasn't until I played this game in co-op with a good friend recently that we both learned that the game has continues! Every time I've ever died in this game I thought you had to start completely over from the beginning. Apparently if you hold A and press start on the title screen it lets you start back at the beginning of the level where you died. After learning this, we were able to beat the game using only one continue. We both felt like we had a weight lifted off of us after struggling with this game for so long. It was nice to take the trip down memory lane and finally check the game off the list. I'm glad we decided to go back and play it.
Altered Beast is short, cheap, repetitive, and the combat is pretty stiff. But, the setting (especially the first stage) is unique and memorable. The game can be pretty fun in short doses... which is a good thing because of the extremely brief game length. Playing it in co-op mode probably doubles the fun you'll have with the game. So, if you have a friend that doesn't mind playing an old game on the Genesis, grab them and start button mashing.
Final Status: Beaten
Final Review: 6/10 (A little good)
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