About Altered Beast
Altered Beast is a side-scrolling beat ’em up where players control a resurrected warrior who must battle through mythical creatures and gods. Set in ancient Greece, the game features a transformation mechanic where the player can transform into powerful beasts, gaining special abilities to defeat enemies and bosses.
Developer & Publisher:
The game was developed and published by Sega. It was created by Makoto Uchida, who would later go on to develop other hit titles like Golden Axe. Altered Beast ran on Sega’s System 16 arcade hardware and was known for its colorful graphics and digitized voice samples.
Levels:
Altered Beast features five side-scrolling levels, each set in a mythological version of ancient Greece and featuring grotesque enemies, undead creatures, and supernatural bosses. The premise follows a resurrected centurion tasked by Zeus to rescue his daughter Athena. In each level, players collect "spirit balls" (power-ups dropped by glowing white two-headed wolves) to transform into powerful beasts with special attacks. Each stage ends with a boss battle initiated by the recurring villain Neff, who famously shouts, “Welcome to your doom!” Here are the levels and their beast forms: Graveyard – Werewolf (fiery dash & fireball) Underworld Cavern – Weredragon (electric breath & barrier) Swamp – Werebear (petrifying breath & rolling charge) Cavern of Souls – Weretiger (jump slashes & flame pillars) Temple – Golden Werewolf (enhanced version of the first beast)
High Scores:
Points in Altered Beast are earned by defeating enemies, collecting power-ups, and completing stages. Players aim for high scores by avoiding death, dispatching enemies efficiently, and transforming quickly into their beast forms for maximum power. Many arcade cabinets would display the top scores at the title screen to encourage competition.
Legacy:
Altered Beast is considered a cult classic and is especially remembered for its bold visuals, voice clips ("Rise from your grave!") and its mythological theme. While the gameplay was simple and stiff by later standards, its transformation mechanic and setting were unique and memorable. The game was ported to numerous systems including the Sega Genesis, Master System, and more. It’s also included in many Sega classic compilations. Though it never reached the long-term popularity of some of Sega's other franchises, Altered Beast maintains a nostalgic fan base and has appeared in cameos and Easter eggs in later Sega titles.