Altered Beast

Altered Beast is Sega’s 1988 arcade beat ’em up, developed by Team Shinobi and directed by Makoto Uchida. It became famous as the pack-in game for the Mega Drive and was ported to many home computers.

Set in ancient Greece, it puts you in the role of a Roman centurion resurrected by Zeus to rescue his daughter Athena from the underworld ruler Neff.

Gameplay

The game’s hook is transformation. Defeat white wolves to collect Spirit Balls: each one makes you stronger, and three turn you into a beast.

• Spirit Balls: Collect them to power up.
• Beast forms: Become a werewolf, weredragon, werebear, weretiger or golden werewolf.
• Bosses: Each stage ends with Neff in a monstrous form.
• Two players: Play together in co-op.
• Five stages: Short side-scrolling levels.

The transformations and the digitised “Rise from your grave!” voice became iconic. The combat is slow and stiff, though, and the game is short and repetitive.

Verdict

Altered Beast is a memorable but simple beat ’em up. Its reputation is mixed: some remember it fondly, while others count it among the weaker Mega Drive games. It’s worth a nostalgic play, but hasn’t aged well.