"Completely outclassed by other beat 'em ups."

The Sega Master System was a failure in the United States, being completely annihilated by the NES. As a response to the major downfall, Sega created a new 16-bit console, the Sega Genesis. All Genesis consoles originally came with the game Altered Beast, but Sonic the Hedgehog sold way better than Altered Beast, therefore it became the new pack-in game. From there, the Genesis became the the best selling console that year. Did Altered Beast have any potential? Could it have made the Genesis successful like Sonic did? Lets check it out.

Altered Beast happens to be the first Sega Genesis game ever made, released as early as 1989. Therefore it's understandable why other games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage and other Genesis games released afterwards are a lot better.

Plot

The game is set in Ancient Greece, it's about Zeus resurrecting a deceased soldier to save his daughter Athena from a demon God named Neff. I don't think a game about ancient history is going to appeal kids. If anything, video games are a way for kids to escape the evils of school; but whatever, the plot works.

Gameplay

You play as a man who's goal is to kick and punch several hazardous enemies while slowly advancing through the level. Its main appeal is the fact that you can transform into several different beasts, including a wereworlf, weredragon, a werebear and a weretiger, which grants you superhuman abilities. Upon transforming, a boss fight is triggered, allowing you to test your super strength. In order to transform however, you need to collect three spirit balls by punching/kicking turquoise-colored foxes.

Even with all the different beast forms, the game is simplistic. The levels are extremely short, the controls are very limited and there's not a lot you can do. In human form, you're scaled down to only punching, kicking and jumping. In beast form you can no longer kick or punch, instead you have your superhuman abilities, ranging from shooting fireballs to dashing into enemies. Even in comparison to the NES, there was nothing too groundbreaking, except for the fact that there were three buttons on the Genesis controller instead of two.

The levels are too linear, with levels that are usually flat with barely any platforms to jump on. This is the Sega Genesis, it's time to start showing that. Sonic the Hedgehog had massive levels with many platforms and obstacles to pass, and even some late NES games had large non-linear levels too. If Altered Beast were more of a platformer instead of a beat 'em up, the game would have been awesome. It wouldn't have been faithful to the original Arcade version, but it sure would have been a lot better. That way, the simplistic gameplay would have been acceptable.

When playing co-op, it's a pretty fun experience, but that can be said about any co-op beat 'em up. The game in general is not that bad; it's fun beating up zombies, foxes, snakes and other enemies, and using your superhuman strength while in werewolf/dragon/bear/tiger form is thrilling, but it's extremely forgettable.

Final verdict: the game is mainly meant to be played with a friend.

Graphics

For its time, the graphics were remarkable in the home console market. The characters and enemy sprites were a lot larger in resolution, the graphics was a lot more colorful and the boss fights were a lot more intense than in most NES games; however when you compare it to later Genesis games, it's somewhat dull. The graphics are decent, but completely outclassed by Sonic the Hedgehog, Ristar, Gunstar Heroes, Comic Zone, and other Genesis gems. It's not fair to compare Altered Beast to those games because it was released in 1989 while the other gems were released sometime ranging from 1991-1996, but looking at the Genesis as a whole, Altered Beast looks outdated.

Final verdict: Decent, but other games top it.

Controls

This is hard to explain. The controls are not bad, but when you compare to how well Sonic the Hedgehog plays, Altered Beast isn't as appealing to control. You got your basic functions, like ducking, kicking, punching and jumping, but it's no Streets or Rage or TMNT 4 on the SNES. The controls in Altered Beast are just as advanced as Kung Fu on the NES, and that's pathetic.

As soon as you transform into a werewolf, that's where the game starts to pick up, but even then your movepool is pretty limited. Compare it to fighting games like Street Fighter or other beat 'em ups like TMNT 4, there are several different combo moves, not just kicking or punching, not just shooting fireballs or dashing into enemies. Granted, those games came after Altered Beast, but they were all released on a 16-bit console.

Final verdict: too simple for a beat 'em up.

Sound and Music

This is where the game gains its fame from, for its voice synthesis. Classic lines like “Rise from your grave” and “Welcome to your doom” are well-remembered because of how corny it was and the fact that voices in video games were rare at the time.

Voices aside, the game has excellent sound and very memorable music. The boss battle music is when things start to get intense, it matches the setting perfectly, and therefore one of the greatest things going for Altered Beast. Despite the excellent music however, Sonic the Hedgehog has it beat.

Final verdict: The voice-overs and music are the game's main assets.

Replay Value

All the different beasts you can transform into makes the game more enjoyable, but the short levels and lack of boss fights ruin it. There are only five levels in this game total; for an Arcade game, that's perfectly fine, but I was hoping Sega would have added more levels and more different transformations, like werelion, weremammoth, werewhale, those would have been awesome. For a pack-in game, it's a little more acceptable since it's free, but Altered Beast would have been a lot better if it had more levels.

To put it in comparison, Sonic the Hedgehog has around 15 levels, which is 3x the amount that Altered Beast offers. In fact, the Famicom (Japanese NES) version of Altered Beast has more levels and transformations than this game. What do you have to say to that, Sega?

Final Verdict

Sonic the Hedgehog is better than Altered Beast in nearly every way. The gameplay is better, the controls are better, the graphics are far superior and there's a lot more levels. It's pretty clear why Sonic became the new pack-in game, because it was more appealing to consumers than a game about ancient history. Altered Beast is not a bad game, but it's outclassed by other beat 'em ups. The repetitive gameplay, the lack of replay value, and the simplicity hurts the game a little. If the controls were improved and there are more levels, the game would have been a decent beat 'em up. Altered Beast could have worked if it were compiled with Sonic the Hedgehog, like Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt. Therefore, it could hide behind Sonic's fame.

Altered Beast can easily be found at game stores or on eBay, usually around $2.99. If you insist on trying Altered Beast, try getting your hands on Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 12/16/11

Game Release: Altered Beast (US, 08/14/89)