Summer may have ended, but not the reviews here at Retro Rebellion. This time around, it is a video game review, and this one started at the arcades, but later in home consoles, including the Sega Genesis. Before I get started, I want to address something that needed to be cleared out. I am now aware that the Genesis was released on October 29th, 1988 in Japan, when it was called the Mega Drive, the name that was used later for the PAL regions and outside North America. But all I was doing was celebrating the Genesis' North American release, which was August 14th, 1989, that I remember. There wasn't an Internet back then when I was growing up. So, just like with Sailor Moon (with both the original version from 1992 and the original English dub from 1995 respectively), there is nothing wrong with celebrating the same anniversary twice within two years, especially a gaming system as iconic as the Sega Genesis. That being said, without further ado, in honor of the Genesis, especially with the Genesis Mini (which blows those cheaply made AtGames consoles out of the water and render them OBSOLETE!), I will review the very game which was the pack-in title of the Genesis before Sonic came to our lives. And that game in question is none other than...
(In a loud, God-like voice) ALTERED BEAST!!
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| The Legendary Sega Genesis Cover Art for Altered Beast by Michiaki Satoh |
Altered Beast, known in Japan as
Story Version 1 (From the back of the game case)
Enter a time when men were warriors and Gods ruled the world. A time of good against evil, a place of danger. Summoned by Zeus to rescue Athena, you will infiltrate the Underworld with the power to transform into mythical creatures with supernatural strength. Become a savage Werewolf and use teeth and nails to shred your enemies to pieces. Capture three of the elusive Spirit Balls and you'll be transformed into a ferocious, fireball throwing Werewolf. Take flight as the Weredragon and use its fiery force to fry the followers of Neff. Creep across the slippery crevasses inside a deep cavern as the crafty Werebear. Stalk the gates of the Underworld fortress as a man-eating Weretiger, a predator with no pity. Inside the inner-sanctum, call on the Golden Werewolf's might to demolish Neff, the demon - forever.
Story Version 2 (From the Instruction Manual)
It is a time of gods and myths and legends. When men were warriors and courageously fought unnatural enemies in the endless battle of good against evil. It is the time of the Altered Beast. Summoned by Zeus, God of Thunder, you have been awakened from the dead to challenge the wicked Neff, God of the Underworld, for the fate of Athena. And Athena is no ordinary girl. She is the daughter of Zeus and must take her rightful place among the gods if only you can free her from her place of imprisonment. Although you were once a brave and awesome Roman Centurion, the rigors of this journey demand a supernatural display of strength. And so you are bestowed with the powers of the Altered Beast. The power to transform your being into a part animal, part human creature of formidable force. But to achieve this rare form of vitality you must earn it. By conquering foes and capturing spirit balls, you'll muster the energy to transmute from one beast to another. And each time you do, you'll advance one round closer to the realm of the Underworld where Neff awaits the final confrontation. With five complete rounds to clear, the number of underlings you must defeat is staggering. But Neff promises to be the most loathsome enemy yet, so prepare yourself for the worst. And remember, Zeus didn't bring you back from the grave to fail!
The first two story synopses are okay. However, I see some errors with those two. For instance, even though I corrected them, some of the sentences weren't proof-read. And in the second story synopsis, they call the main hero a Roman Centurion, but he is not Roman. Since the game takes place in Ancient Greece, that would make him a Grecian Centurion, a Spartan, if you will. Anyway, I will tell you more later, when compare the game to Greek Mythology. And now, this is how the story of Altered Beast should be. A bit well-written and bit more epic.
Story Version 3 (How it suppose to be done)
Long ago, in a time where myth and legend were the law of the land. In a world where man and the Gods lived in perfect harmony. However, everything changed when Neff, rebellious apprentice of Hades, God of the Underworld, decided to rage war against both man and the Gods. To make matters worse, he captures Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, to force her father, Zeus, to reliquish his title as King of the Gods and rule the mortal world. To combat Neff and his legion of followers, Zeus resurrects a Grecian Spartan to rescue Athena and defeat the demon god. But in order to do so, Zeus embodes the Spartan with the powers and strength of the spirit animals, the only thing that could stop Neff and his evil forces. The fate of the mortal world and the Gods is in the hands of this brave resurrected warrior. This is the Chronicles of the Beast King! The Legend of the Altered Beast has begun!
Gameplay
The objective in Altered Beast is to guide the unnamed Grecian Centurion through 5 Rounds (5 Levels to be precise), to rescue the goddess Athena and defeat the demon god Neff. Your centurion starts of normal, dispatching monsters and zombies with nothing but your punches and kicks. However, halfway through the round, you will encounter a white (or whittish blue in the Genesis version), two headed Cerberus. When you kill it, it will release a Spirit Ball. When you grab the first one, your centurion will grow in size and power, especially when your punches and kicks leaves a blue trail behind when you strike. When you grab the second one, the centurion will become even more bigger and more powerful, not just in size, but in muscle mass, making him look like a Grecian bodybuilder.
Sidenote: If you take that sprite of the centurion's buffed form and use art programs like MSPaint to change his skin color to green and his underwear purple, he would be a dead shoe-in of being The Incredible Hulk. Gladiator Hulk, much?
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| If the Centurion turned into the Hulk, Neff wouldn't stand a chance. "Rhino Man strong, BUT HULK STRONGEST ONE THERE IS!!" |
And finally, hence the name, Altered Beast, when you grab the third and final Spirit Ball, the centurion will transform into a humanoid beast. Each beast has its own abilities, depending on the situation. For example, when the centurion is in his Werewolf form, instead of punching and kicking, he can now shoot fireballs and do a flame streak to obliviate your enemies with ease. And when you become a beast, you will face the end boss of the round. Completing a round depends on how you become a beast either earlier (if you are good with the game) or later (if you are new at it and couldn't get the Cerberus sooner). So make every Spirit Ball count. Athena is depending on you!It is also 2-Player and your buddy can join in. Player 1 would be clad in red while Player 2 is clad in blue. And when the blue clad centurion becomes a beast, his color scheme is different from the first player (e.g. Golden Werewolf's color scheme is silver for the second player) And now, speaking of rounds, let's talk about them, your chosen beast and the end boss. Or Zeus puts it...
RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE!!
Round 1: The Acropolis
This is where your adventure begins. Your travel across the grave site of fallen warriors, fighting against Neff's minions.
Chosen Beast: Werewolf
In this form, you can chuck some fireballs at your foes and perfom a flame streak in great speed and accuracy.
End Boss: Aggar
A giant corpse-like monster who throws unlimited heads at you.
Round 2: The Swamps of the Underworld
Deep in the dark swamps of the Underworld, you traverse through its muck, grime and all the assorted monsters you face from leechy blobs to dragons that sneak up on you.
Chosen Beast: Weredragon
Unlike most dragons, this dragon can fire bolts of electricity and can create an electric barrier to protect yourself. And unlike the other beasts, you can fly in multiple directions, making it easier to dispatch your enemies without jumping.
End Boss: Octeyes
A tree-like monster that fires poisonous spores in the shape of eyeballs.
Round 3: The Dark Cavern
Inside a deep, dark cavern, your journey has become much more harder. Not only from monsters, but also from all the pitfalls you must avoid.
Chosen Beast: Werebear
This giant bear can not only petrify you with its breath, but can do a spin attack, which pre-dates Sonic the Hedgehog a couple of years later.
End Boss: Moldy Snail
Part Snail, Part Salamander. Need I say more?
Round 4: Neff's Palace
Outside the gates of Neff's Palace, you are this close of reaching your goal of saving Athena. But, Neff's sentries will hinder your progress.
Chosen Beast: Weretiger
This ferocious tiger can chuck wavy fireballs at you and can do upward flame streak, mostly against airborne enemies.
End Boss: Crocodile Worm
This creature moves up and down while shooting a stream of flame from its red jewel and summons little dragons at the same time.
Final Round: The City of Dis
The main hub of the Underworld itself, where Neff resides. Your final journey to save Athena, but it ain't an easy task, especially you face some of Neff's powerful warriors, like Armored Boars and humanoid Swift Kick unicorns.
Chosen Beast: Golden Werewolf
It is the same as the regular werewolf, but colored gold (More on that later).
End Boss: Neff
Although a powerful demon sorcerer, Neff had one more ace up his sleave, revealing his ultimate form, a humanoid armored rhinocerous that dashes with great speed and attacks with strong punches and kicks.
Graphics
For an late 80s arcade game, the graphics are beautiful at best. Fitting the Grecian setting rather well. From the Acropolis being so colorful to the later rounds, where everything goes from dark to eerie. Reminds me of Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans.
Controls
You move the Centurion left and right with the joystick (or D-pad on your Genesis controller). Moving down can make him crouch. Your action buttons enables your centurion to punch, kick and jump. You can attack while crouching, especially doing a upward kick on airbourne enemies. However, you can hold Up on your joystick and the Centurion goes real high when jumping, rendering the upward crouching kick obsolete. However, when you become a beast, your punches and kicks are replaces with their corresponing attacks and your movements change in certain situations.. For instance, when you become a weredragon, you can't jump. However, you can fly in multiple directions with the joystick as you attack your enemies with ease. What can I say? The controls as a whole are tight and simple.
Music and Sound
Like most arcade games, the sound and voice samples of Altered Beast are memorable, especially from Zeus' aforementioned opening line when you start the game (Rise from your grave!) to Neff's taunting quote before the boss battle (Welcome to your doom!) But what makes this game even more memorable? The music. The music here can go from epic to wild to dark and back again. Although the soundtrack was pretty short, my favorite tunes are as followed:
Rise From Your Grave (Round 1 Theme)
I'll Be Back (Round 3 Theme; which doubles as the title theme for the Genesis version)
Altered Beast (The theme you hear when you become a beast. Now THAT is wild!)
Gaum-Hemmer (Boss Theme, talk about epic in this battle between good and evil)
Sidenote: The music from the arcade version sounds slightly different from the Genesis version and vice versa. If you have audio making programs like Audacity, you can change the pitch of the arcade music to make them sound like how they were heard in the Genesis version and vice versa with the Genesis version to make them sound like the arcade music. But that's up to you. Thought I give you some pointers in the field of audio making.
History:
Altered Beast was released in arcades on August 1988. And the game was released on multiple gaming consoles around late 1988 to around 1989. For instance, in the Sega Master System version, it was single player and reduced to 4 Rounds, removing the cavern stage and the Werebear form in the process. In the Famicom version, you have more beast forms, such as a lion and a shark. But, the Genesis version was the most well-known version when it was released in Japan in 1988 for the Mega Drive, then was released the following year. It was the pack-in game for the Genesis before being replaced by Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991. The Genesis version was arcade accurate, but with a few animation frames missing from the arcade version and the music sounds different from the arcade, audio pitch-wise. But, it was more memorable in the Genesis version than the arcade. A sequel, Altered Beast: Guardians of the Realms, was created by 3d6 Games and published by THQ and released on November 23rd, 2002. Just like the Famicom version, in this game, you got more than 5 beast forms at your disposal. Another version, which was titled, Project Altered Beast was released in 2005, but it was released in Japan and in Europe, no North American release for this game due to bad ratings. Unlike the first game, this retelling takes place in modern times and tells the story of a Genome-Cyborg named Luke Custer, who can transform into multiple beasts at will while trying to regain his lost memory and know the truth about the other Genome-Cyborgs. I prefer Ancient Greece over genetics anyday. Trust me, it's better this way.
Bad Aspects:
WELCOME TO YOUR DOOM!!
For such a classic piece of nostalgia, Altered Beast isn't perfect, especially with a few pet peeves to address. For starters, judging from its 5 rounds, it is a short game. The sound clips are cheezy at best, but a bit more cheezy in the Genesis version, especially making Zeus sound like Elmer Fudd when saying the opening line when you start the game. But, at least they are small potatoes. But, they pale in comparison to the other issues. One, the game isn't that difficult, even on the hardest setting, the bosses are too easy, almost wanting to to be destroyed. Second of all, the third round, the caverns, is a little hard to move because of the foreground that covers the top and bottom of the screen, especially the bottom, knowing that you fall into those pits if not careful. There is no health powerups or 1-Ups. Once your health meter and lives goes, it's game over (unless you play the Genesis version). And finally, and the most disappointing of them all, the Golden Werewolf. What a letdown! They say the Golden Werewolf was suppose to be all-powerful, instead it is the same as the regular werewolf, but with a different skin tone. As much as I like Altered Beast (and I still do), the game is a bit outdated for Genesis/Arcade standards. Just sayin'.
Differences Between the Game and its Source Material
As I stated before, Altered Beast takes place in Ancient Greece. However, there are some inconsistencies that differ from anything Greek related, including its mythology. For starters, in the manual, the character you play as was a Roman Centurion. Contrary to that notion, the Centurion is not Roman, he is Greek. So in a sense, Grecian Centurions are also known as Spartans. If the game would've taken place in Ancient Rome, that would've make a lot more sense. So much so, the Gods would've been called by their Roman names like Jupiter and Minerva. Anyway, now that the issue with player's nationality is addressed, let's talk about Greek Mythology itself. Let's start with the main villain, Neff. In the aforementioned manual, Neff was addressed as the God of the Underworld. Even though he is the antagonist, but he isn't really the true god of the Underworld. I think of Neff as a demon sorcerer, who wants to ascend to Godhood by ridding the world of the Gods of Olympus. The real God of the Underworld is Hades, who controls the world of the afterlife. Sure, in some media, he is portrayed as a villain, including that of the Disney version (voiced by James Woods), but in mythology, Hades is nether good or evil, he is neutral and maintains balance between life and death. And on the subject of the Underworld, this world of the undead is guarded by Hades' guardian beast, Cerberus. In the games, the Cerberus was two headed and sports two colors, brown for the normal ones and white (or blue in the Genesis version) that sports the Spirit Balls that turns the Centurion in a humanoid beast. In mythology, the Cerberus was a large beast, has three heads instead of two and guards the Underworld from any intruders passes the River Styx. The Cerberus was later used in other games, such as the Castlevania series and in other media, such as the aforementioned Disney version of Hercules, where it was portrayed as Hades' pet attack dog. Although he risen you from the grave, Zeus isn't exactly a paragon of virtue compared to how he was portrayed in the game. Even though he is the King of the Gods, Zeus isn't very loyal to his wife, Hera, the Queen of the Gods, for he impregnated every mortal woman on Earth. From his infidelity, gave us some of the heroes of Greek Mythology, such as Perseus and the super strong demi-god, Hercules (or Heracles as he was originally called but the name of his Roman counterpart was more popular in both Greek and Roman Myth). And finally, there's Athena. In the game, she was portrayed as a damsel in distress, turned into a bird by Neff as a bargaining chip for his insidious plot to overthrow Zeus. But Athena, according the mythology, is anything but a damsel. Athena is the Goddess of Wisdom. She was not only a great warrior and tactician but she was wise beyond her years. Nothing distressful about her reputation, that's for sure.
Tips, Cheats and Strategies
There is not much tips and strategies for this game that I could think of. However, there are hidden cheats for Genesis version that will make your quest a bit more easier and fun.
1. For starters, at the title screen, press and hold B and then start on your Genesis controller and you get a menu that tells you the Difficultly, Lives, Health Gauge and Level Select. You can change the difficulty, increase or decrease your lives and health gauge and select any round you like whether for a speed run or wanting to prove yourself as a great warrior.
2. Even if you lose, you can restart at the current round you were on by pressing and holding the A button and pressing start at the title screen.
3. When you simultaneously press and hold A, B, C, Down/Left and then press start, you get a beast select menu. You can change your beast on any round you want. Think about it, image you can beat the whole game with ease as a Weredragon. Neff doesn't stand a chance against you.
4. And for the heck of it and wanting to hear your favorite tracks (or hear the voice samples), simultaneously press and hold A, C, Up/Right and then press start and you get a sound test.
Trivia
For such a short, yet classic game, there was some Easter Eggs that was spread in all other media other than gaming.
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| From Left to Right: Chicken Leg in the Underworld Swamp and Gillius Thunderhead rides on one in Golden Axe. |
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| Neff, in how he appears in Wreck-it Ralph |
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| Whoever did this must be a big fan of Altered Beast to make such a poster. Coincidence? I think not. |
Ideas For a Remake
As much as I like this game, it was very short and not that challenging. However, I have some suggestions to make this classic game even more better. For starters, improving on the storyline in the beginning, like, for instance, talking about living in a time where man and the Gods co-exist peacefully and maintaining balance in the mortal world, which ends with Neff rebelling against Hades and rage war against both the mortals and the Gods, in order to dethrone Zeus as King of the Gods. And in the ensuing battle against Neff's followers, Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, held her own against Neff's army of monsters until Neff himself, in his armored rhinocerous form, easily defeats her, thus capturing her in the process, prompting Zeus to resurrect a fallen Grecian Centurion and betowed him the powers of the Altered Beast to combat Neff and save Athena. As for the Centurion, he should have a name. I think he should be called Gerrick, based on that custom made movie poster by the user, genius-spirit from Deviantart. And if the remake was made, the description would be like this:
"Long time ago, in a world where mortals and Gods co-exist, Neff, the demon sorceror, rebels against his master, Hades, God of the Underworld, and rages war against both the mortals and the Gods. To make matters worse, Neff captures Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, and use her to force her father, Zeus, King of the Gods, to reliquish his title and make Neff the new King of the Gods and to rule the mortal world into darkness. To combat this evil and save his daughter, Zeus resurrects a Grecian Centurion, Gerrick and bestow upon him the powers of the spirit animals. The fate of Athena and the mortal world is on Gerrick's shoulders, for the Legend of the Altered Beast has begun!"
As for the Golden Werewolf, instead of having the same play style as the regular werewolf, since this werewolf was suppose to be all powerful, I think it should have all the attacks from the other beast forms into one, almost like a game breaker/wave motion gun kind of way. For instance, when Gerrick as the Golden Werewolf fires a projectile, it would be a combination of a fireball with the eletrical beam from the Weredragon and two bouncing flames from the Weretiger moving up and down. As for his crash attack, it would be the same as the regular Werewolf, but he will move in multiple directions, a combination of both the Weretiger's upward crash and the Werebear's spin attack, with an eletrical barrier of the Weredragon for extra power.
As for the music, the music would be same like the arcade and the Genesis version, but since the game takes place in Ancient Greece, it should have a strong, orchestral style remix of sorts.
Not to mention having a lot of unlockables, such as level select, more beast forms you can use whenever you like, including the lion and shark forms for the Famicom version, artwork from both the arcade version and the home consoles, especially the awesome cover art, including the one for the Genesis version by Michiaki Satoh, which is my most favorite, and, of course, unlocking both the arcade and Genesis version, for the sake of Nostalgia.
And now, the big question, what the remake is going to look like, here are two suggestions.
For starters, it should take the path of remade versions of games like Megaman Powered Up, Megaman: Maverick Hunter X and Ultimate Ghost 'N Goblins and go by the 2.5D side scrolling format. Arrange Mode would have you play as the afformentioned Grecian Spartan, Gerrick, as he travels through Ancient Greece fighting against Neff's evil forces. Unlike the original, it will have more levels than the original 5 rounds, more beast forms and dialog with voice acting. The original mode is the same as arrange mode, graphically speaking, and it will play like the original with the first 5 rounds in check and it would be two player, player one as Gerrick and player two as Luke (named after Luke Custer from Project: Altered Beast).
If you want to go all out, go with the God of War/Devil May Cry approach and make it a 3D action adventure platforming beat-em up. When Gerrick becomes a beast, he will do a lot of special moves that he couldn't do in the original game, but even better than Project: Altered Beast. And there will be cutscenes in this one to, to progress with the story as Gerrick fights against Neff while being guided by Zeus as travels across Greece to find Athena, including the intro where Neff rebels against Hades and declares war against both the mortal world and the Gods of Mt. Olympus.
Overall, despite its shortcomings, only 5 rounds, some cheezy voice samples and being too short, for those who are fans of the Genesis like myself, Altered Beast is the one game you should add to your collection, no matter what gaming console or format of gaming it is on.
Pros
Awesome Graphics
Tight Gameplay
Grecian Setting
Iconic Music
Cons
Game Too Short (Only 5 Rounds)
Some Cheezy Voice Samples (But Tolerable)
No Health Power Ups
So Many Unfair Deaths (Mostly from Round 3 due to the stalacmite foregrounds)
Golden Werewolf Letdown
Final Score: 7 out of 10
And there you have it. Hope you like my review, my thoughts and everything in between about Altered Beast. And maybe someday, it would be remade and it would even be as epic as Clash of the Titans, Jason and the Argonauts and the Lou Ferrigno Hercules movies combined and then some. Here's two another 30 years, twice, Sega Genesis. Thank you for all the gaming memories and all. Until next time. Stay frosty, retro gamers!
Saraba da! (Farewell!)
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| Taken from the ending of the Altered Beast arcade game (which, in hindsight, feels like making a movie) HERE'S TO ANOTHER 30 YEARS, TWICE!! |
2 comments:
Does this mean you're back full-time,finally?
Absolutely. I'm just taking a short-reprieve, but I will do my next one, this time, a cartoon review.
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