Beast King Chronicles - The 8-Bit Altered Beast
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- Опубликовано: 6 окт 2024
- Let's see how Altered Beast turned out on the PC Engine, PC Engine CD, Master System, and Famicom!
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Opening "Sega" jingle is from Astal for the Sega Saturn.
Ending Music during the credits is from Batman for the Sega Genesis.
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By: Jan Neves
RUclips Page - / jan3d
Intro by Evan S.
portfolio.tses...
Episode Notes:
1. Captured on real hardware for the PC Engine and PCE CD versions.
2. SMS edition captured from a Mega SG.
3. Famicom captured from emulation.
4. I'd love to see someone take the Genesis version and enhance it.
5. I didn't own a home computer until a Windows 98 based PC in 1998. I have very little experience with non console gaming hardware in the 80s and 90s. 
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At 14:10 the lower corner says SMS version. That's the Famicom version that's on the screen.
I don't care what anyone says. Altered Beast on the Genesis is a great game. I remember playing the arcade game at a skating rink, and later seeing the game demo at a Children's Palace. I was amazed by how close to the arcade the Genesis port was, and it made me want the system even more.
It was a great port.
Altered Beast was my life back then. Especially the arcade version. I had it on Master System. It was not Arcade accurate but back then, it felt way better than anything you could get on Nintendo.
Pretty short and shallow game for sure, but seeing it run on the acquaintance's Genesis, after years of only seeing NES games at home, was something else. It might seem like nothing special today, but back then, this level of audio-visual presentation on a home system was a revelation and made be obsess with getting a Genesis. This game also had a look and sound that was very unique compared to everything else out at the same time. Even being able to do three different actions using 3 different buttons on that big, chunky controller, seemed incredible to me. I still give it a quick playthrough everyone once in a while, just to relive some of those 1989 feels.
I like how the PCE version has the body parts of the enemies sort of pop out of the screen like the arcade. Genesis version they just sort of turn into balls of fire.
When it was current, I really enjoyed the SMS version. It was graphically much more than the NES we had at the time. And, my parents and Aunts and Unkles really noticed the difference. I remember a night playing it where they took notice of the game which didn't happen before.
When it was current, it really hit a sweet spot.
I so wish this game had made the Sega Ages cut. Such a classic arcade game.
I had the Altered beast pack-in game for the Mega Drive! Man, I still remember the day I got it.
I had the PC Engine version, and as a kid I was AMAZED with the overall quality, played, looked and sounded like the arcade, but AT HOME.
I had the same feeling about the Sega Master System version I owned. I played it a lot and had a blast... never had a problem with the graphics or playability
What I don't get is, unless I'm blind, the captures from the PCE version seem to pop out more colorwise than the Genesis version.... but alas.
I came from an Atari 2600 to the SMS and when you consider this, the SMS version of Altered Beast was good enough for me, even the choppy frame rate didn't bother me as a kid. I remember when the Genesis version was released, I was so pissed on just how much of a good job Sega did and wondered if they could have put more effort into the SMS version.
I think for the hardware it is a decent effort but doesn’t really compare well to the arcade original.
one thing that people forget is that this game had a huge amount of style. compare this to kung fu that came out just a few years earlier and it is light years ahead
Sure, but 3 years between arcade video games in the 80s is an eternity.
3 years is a lot
You're so right, Chris. It's very, very stylish to the point of being one of the most beautiful pixel art games ever made. Rieko Kodama was an awesome artist.
Sure no doubt about that but you must admit that it has aged very very poorly.
@@proximacentauri8256 Games don't age. You do, people do. The game, as a digital art, is exactly the same forever.
I love Altered Beast. I've been playing it a lot these days, as I'm a new Mega Drive owner (I bought a Mega Drive 2 in December). Objectively it's a shallow game, but it has a lot of personality
I'll be honest the famicom one at least seems like a fascinating demake with extra levels and a surprisingly banging soundtrack.
i was thinking the same thing. That sound track is banging! Never knew there was a famicom version, and i thought my ROM collection was complete!
Never like the miniaturized graphics of the Famicom version, but the music was indeed great to hear.
I never knew people disliked altered beast so much. It was no Streets Of Rage 2 or Gunstar Heroes but it was still pretty solid. The new transformations each level drove me to keep playing!
Most people I know love the Genesis version of Altered Beast but man do these 8-bit versions look terrible and choppy.
Most people liked it at the time. Honestly, I think most of the criticism came when it started being included in retro collections or on the Genesis Mini.
The game really suffers though in gameplay longevity...
@@ShaneRimmerWorld 8-bit consoles just cant handle the advancments of 16-bit games like Alterered Beast, Sonic, or Golden Axe. Putting these Genesis games on the SMS library I really think did a diservice to the Master System. The original Master System library with the Wonder Boy series, Zillion, Phantasy Zone, Alien Syndrome to name a few were much better equiped to handle the sprites and speed but the Genesis ports on the SMS were garbage. Its like trying to force Double Dragon on the Atari 2600. It just didn't have the modern capability to keep up with games that came out 6 years after that console was released.
@@bifftannen2062 The Master System version of Sonic the Hedgehog was great. Granted, it was a completely different game, but it was still great.
Never understood the hate with Altered Beast on the Megadrive/Genisis. Was fun as hell two player back when i was a kid and is still fun today after a few beverages.
Awesome Video! Love all the comparisons! I played the Genesis version to death when I got with my console, Christmas of '89! I had grown up with an Atari 2600, and I don't need to tell you how inferior most of its arcade conversions were on that system. Seeing something that was this arcade accurate was mind blowing at the time! Altered Beast may not be much, but I think you'll agree that without it, SEGA wouldn't have given us Golden Axe!
I actually owned the Master system version so it served as a good example when I then got a Genesis and went right from one to the other
This game was amazing when I was a kid one of my all time favorites. Even though it was short still amazing.
Funny how the original Genesis box cover had the Mega Drive Altered Beast cartridge in the console.
When this hit the corner store it was cool and it had a pick up and playability that didn't make you feel you got ripped off for your quarter. Audio visually better than most arcade games at the time but simple and shallow. It didn't get us like Shinobi thats for sure
The graphics in the Famicom version give me a chuckle. The very tiny sprites are kinda cute hahaha.
While I question how I put up with it, I'm fairly certain the Master System was the first game I ever beat. So I have an odd soft spot for it.
CONTRA was my first game to beat(konami code) after that it was rough trying to play this one, especially on nes
that famicom version is growing on me, that night stage looks superb and the music is nice, gonna try it soon.
Great video. I remember as a kid being super critical of the Genesis port and even trying to adjust my TV settings to match the arcade monitor.
Same😅
I was the same with Street Fighter 2 on the SNES, I was obsessed with trying
to make it look like the arcade and changing the TV settings, I was always a bit disappointed in the graphics.
People complain about this game but i love it. It was my first genesis game i ever played. Im terrible at it. As a kid i could barely make it through the first level. Now i can sometimes make it to the 4th but im still really bad. Its tough, but i like tough. Its the perfect arcade conversion. Graphics were decent enough and the sound/music was good. Never played an 8bit version, some of these are shockingly good though.
The Sega Genesis always amazes me with its arcade ports! Looking at each consoles port it made appreciate how much time and effort the developer devoted to making an at home experience. The other ports weren't bad but that parallax scrolling was what made me understand how awesome it was to be a Sega Genesis owner! Awesome Video as always SLX!
I remember playing this in the arcade, instead of having lunch in the school canteen, I'd spend my lunch money in the arcades, primarily playing this. At home I had an Amstrad CPC, so this was just light years away. Hard to believe it was 35 years ago and that young kid has turned into middle aged man. When I hear 'Awise from your gwave' I'm instantly transported back to those heady days.
I see Altered Beast content, I click. Keep up the great work SLX!
Please do not ever change your intro. Thank you for the amazing content.
PC Engine Was Way Ahead Of Its Time Altered Beast Looks Phenomenal
I have the PC Engine CD Altered Beast. It's god awful.
@@BigSnipp maybe gameplay but the visuals look cool for what was played lot better than the genesis version
I feel like Altered Beast isn't more loved because it hasn't aged well. But back in the day it was extremely fun! I had it for the master system.
Thanks for a great video SLX, it was great to see some of the other versions. This is definitely one I want to pick up for PCE, IF I can find it. 😬
I gotta say that Famicom version has its charm.
This was like the perfect game for a young boy back in the day.
glad I played the genesis version of Altered Beast thank you very much!
I love the arcade version!
I use to rent this game alot back in the day after I got my genesis for christmas in 91 I got the sonic hedgehog bundle and I loved it
I got the Master System version for Christmars back in the day. Those wolves are hilariously tiny. They look like some tiny dog Paris Hilton would carry around in her bag. Plus no Bear stage, or second power up was a huge fail.
Excellent and thorough video as always. Thank you for making this video. I always loved Altered Beast.
I've always had a soft spot for the Genesis version, being the first game I saw running on the console and showing the gap with the previous generation. Then I regularly enjoyed playing it when it was lent to me.
I wish there was a way for one of the retro companies to do an updated Genesis version with the added stages/modes from the Famicon version adapted to the Genesis graphics/audio. Altered Beast will always be one of the iconic Genesis games to me, as it was one of the first games I was exposed to (along with Ghostbusters, Dick Tracy, Moonwalker, and Strider). I really loved the vibe of this game, the sorta vaguely Greco-Roman setting (for some reason my brain links Altered Beast to Columns and so I always think of classical Greece when it comes to the Genesis, lol).
I remember being about five or six. My mom had let me play Altered Beast all day and night. She says I woke up in the middle of the night screaming out of the window because of the game, and prohibited me from it until my Dad came over
That NES music is majestic
Even though I’m not a fan of this game (I’m guessing you had to be there) I can appreciate its graphical prowess for the time, and it’s still interesting to see how that prowess made it’s way to other systems. More of this please!
The Arcade didn’t had parallax scrolling as well, and the Sprite art, bosses, animations etc. are actually closer to the arcade than what we got on the Mega Drive.
You're good at making these things
Now I wanna play Altered Beast....GG!
As a younger game collector I used to absolutely hate Altered Beast. But as I start appreciating older and older games, I can see how Altered Beast was a genuine step up from games like Kung Fu and Vigilante, games of the flat 2D beat em up style.
That's the thing younger versions of ourselves didn't have perspective, now that we do we can understand just how far we actually had come at that point.
I'm not saying it's the best game in the world especially by modern standards but it certainly was an impressive port at the time.
I've subscribed to your channel because it takes me right back to when I was 17 in 1991 with no worries but what's my next game to buy lol I'm from UK so it was called the sega Megadrive and those are very happy memories!
Genesis did what the PC Engine, Master System, and Nintendidn't. Thanks for the video, as this was my first Genesis game (Sonic 1 was my second), and I didn't know that it was released on other platforms!
I know the master system version gets flack but it was fun. Even with the limitations of the system it was somewhat close.
And like I've said before.." I will be waiting for that next time " 🤘🏾
Great Video SLX. I loved playing this game on my Genesis with my baby sister. Thanks for showing me how much better I had it without even knowing it. Cheers!
Ótimo vídeo Sega Lord X !
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Love your video! So good comps! You are the RUclipsr to go to for retro games videos! Thanks!
I hope you continue this kind of content.
It was very entertaining/relaxing to watch a game-comparison among different platforms.
*Very nostalgic* !!
I love this game but damn it was difficult.
It was a strange situation where many of Sega's arcade titles made an appearance on competing hardware. While they typically looked played best on the Genesis/Megadrive, having them on other consoles was not really a plus for Sega (why would people get a Megadrive for these games if they could also get it for a system they likely already had?). It also makes me wonder what some of these games would have looked like on the SNES/Super Famicom.
It reminds me of the early 8 bit console wars; Coleco ported/published many of the games it had a license for to competing consoles like the Atari 2600 and Intellivision, but those ports were always beneath the quality of the Colecovision versions. For example, Donkey Kong was missing features and even levels on other consoles.
Coleco excluded the Atari 5200 from this practice, because it could produce comparable graphics.
In the case of Altered Beast, I don't think these ports really hurt Sega's 16-bit console, since they were released on Japanese-only systems (Famicom and PC Engine), and Sega consoles had very little market share in Japan.
@@danielespeziari5545 The market share situation is a catch 22;
-your console is not selling as expected,
-so you sell/license your software for play on other consoles,
-because your software is available on other consoles your console sales do not increase as expected.
Nintendo (once they entered the console market) did not allow it's first party games on other consoles.
Sega on the other hand licensed/ported many of its arcade titles to other consoles/platforms, which brought them money, but not console sales.
Imagine the horror the character feels when he's back alive and everyone he ever knew and loved is long gone.
Love this channel, great video as always.
Not a bad version for the NES/Famicom still looks playable considering the hardware.
Yeah taken as it's own thing it seems like a fun little curiosity.
The death animations on the pc engine were more faithful though. I remember the werewolf kick attack didn't pass through the final boss on SMS so I timed it with a jump to skim accross the top of his head. I was blissfully unaware of the jank and loved it.
Altered Beast is definitely one of the games of all time
I remember how I insisted on getting the ZX SPECTRUM tape to load, but I never got this particular game to load, RISE FROM YOUR RAGE!
I remember playing this 1st time at my cousin's house.
I had Nintendo. It was amazing fun
Sega made great 8-bit games for GG, I like a lot of them. Thanks.
I had this game on my Master System and played it extensively. I just loved the atmosphere of the game, it felt so sinister and gloomy, despite the very simple mechanics.
When I saw the Mega Drive version at a friend's house, I was floored at the graphics. It just looked incredibly amazing.
Wasn't even aware of a famicom/nes version. Those sprites were so tiny lol. PCE and SMS at least resemble the game
The video I was born to watch.
Cool game! Awesome Episode SLX!
Well Done. The game was amazing at the time, especially incredible because of the theme. People nowadays don't realize what this game was back then.
I am RKT, thank you guy for making this video, and I will catch YOU next time!
This is why every kid from the late 80's had a Sega and i noticed the arcade didn't have parallax scrolling like the genesis or The Mega Drive.
*the PCE-CD version Welcome to your Doom indeed!* 😂
16:14 The name "Stella" is engraved on all the pillars in this version. Can't recall if that was in the arcade version or not. EDIT: It was.
Stella is the codename for the Atari 2600
@@OffstagePfaffa And also the name of an Atari 2600 emulator.
More notably, Stella was the female second player in the arcade release of Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars.
Thanks buddy!
Oh yeah... SEEEEEEEEEGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Haha... I think you were too hard on the PC Engine version ;-) It did have its limitations in sprite size/memory that the Genesis didn't. But they probably could have used color better, that is true.
Man, Altered Beast. IF ever there was a testament to the sheer power of presentation, this was it- nothing special gameplay wise, but seeing your character bulk up and turn into a beast that devastated all the nemies on screen with those massive sprites... it left an impression on my kid-brain Ill never forget. To this day I think dudes bulking up and turning into monsters is the coolest thing ever, even if practicall every beat'em'up made since is WAY more fun to actually play than this one. But Altered Beast got to me first, and now...
... Now that I've had this nostalgic trip I think I realize how I ended up in some of the internet circles I ended up in. Not sure if that's good or bad...
The Nes version should be called Altered Bugs…
The Master System was largely played in Brazil and nobody complained about the graphics, in the past …
Perspective is a powerful thing. In the US, Altered Beast was a pack in for the Genesis, which outsold the SMS on a massive scale even in its early years. By 1989, the SMS was also dead and buried in the US, so next to no one saw, much less played, that version of the game.
@@SegaLordX true, but having a fraction of the arcade game at home was already something big for Master System owners. Also, the Genesis was too expensive for most of us, so playing the best version didn’t happen until years later.
@Zaraneia,it is not about Master System Graphics but the controls and implementation, as the Master System used the background tiles for the protoganist. It means it move tiles of 8 pixel at any time,it cause the character movement to be jerky and choppy, this causing it easily to be hit by enemies.
@@wongyc5585 I was talking about graphics since the Sega Lord X mentioned that in the video.
Yeah, like in Golden Axe the character size paid the price of the smooth experience. However in late 80’s nobody with a Master System cared for that. We were playing arcade games at home and the gameplay had to be learned and adjusted in our brains. And I finish both games easily, due my past experience, which means it is far from being unplayable games…
Today though we have no other reasons to play 8 bit ports from the wonderful arcade versions
People forget how impressive the Megadrive version was as a launch game. Large sprites, 2 player action, smooth parallax scrolling, speech (which has become iconic) etc The fact it was an excellent port of an arcade game also showed the promise of the console.
Has it aged as well as some other 16-bit classics? Absolutely not but at the time it was a great inclusion to show the difference 16-bit hardware brought to the party.
It was however a solid choice to showcase the hardware as a pack in game. Also the fact it was relatively easy to see most or all the game means that new console owners were likely to then go out and buy another game to play.
Always thought those wolves were pigs lol
Werebear? There bear 🐻
Wait! Wait! Wait! Blue Wolf? ._.U
I've been calling those "Blue pig" for about 2 decades. XD
Kinda want to play the famicom version. Didn't even know it existed.
same.. it looks vastly different, almost like a completely different game.
Oh, it's the same game. Just much worse.
@@SegaLordX MUCH
Unless you were alive when this came out, it's hard to understand that this game was a big deal.
Sega arcade ports to the PCE were always lacking: Altered Beast, Golden Axe, Outrun, etc. the system could have definitely done more!
Golden Axe might've been crap, but the other ports ran circles around the Master System!
@@mortenera2294 It had a 16-bit graphics chip so that's to be expected. The disc version of golden Axe wasnt that good on the Mega Drive either though it had CD audio it removed the 2-player option.
Hmm. Most of the ports handled by NEC Avenue were actually pretty darn good, with a few that outdid the Genesis versions (granted: some of those were rushed early games or victims of outsourcing). I mean, Fantasy Zone, Space Harrier, Afterburner, Super Thunder Blade and Power Drift are all very good on the PCE. Outrun is almost as good as the Genesis version too. Shinobi would have been be good too, if they didn't ruin the gameplay by removing the melee attacks. Not sure you could do most of those better on the PCE without more ROM or Super CD2/Arcade Card involved. It was a great system, but had its share of technical limitations, from the low amount of RAM, relatively low sprites per line limit, to the lack of additional background layers and only two action buttons on the pad.
@@Prizrak-hv6qk You could do much more accurate conversions thanks to a bigger cartridge and the Supergrafx
How come almost no developers used the start, select, or other buttons for regular gameplay?
Nice video. Great game
Love it 😊
I got the SMS version of Altered beast as a gift a few months before I got the Genesis, and the same title as a pack-in. Played the heck out of the 8 bit version before I got the 16 bit one. I always thought it was done well considering the hardware. Definitely a wise decision to use background tiles in lieu of sprites for the characters. While choppy, it's barely flickery at all! Great coding imo, but I'm a minority view I'm sure!
I'm with you, Shaun. SMS port is awesome, even with it's choppiness that was a Sega decision (using BG layer to render sprites to mitigate flickering). It was also a technique they used on SMS Golden Axe.
Many younger players won't understand but back then there was a very high number of low framerate games for a number of reasons. And it's something part of the "game rules". The player, as with any video game, has to play by the rules. Some people don't like it and some people DO like it. It varies from person to person.
If you can get past the poor frame rate Altered Besst for SMS is a pretty fun game. Once you get used to it it's fine.
Golden Axe used similar techniques to Altered Besst and is a superb conversion.
@@Relugus Yeah Golden Axe def utilized the same coding methods... Good point!
@@EricFraga Precisely bro... It was an era of tech limitations, where programmers had to maximize often low spec hardware... Lots of ingenious designers in the late 80s/early 90s...
While not as detailed, the PC Engine version does look more appealing to me. I just prefer the more saturated colors in use.
I remember thinking that the SMS version was "quite close to the arcade". Yes, I was 12.
Also nice video "SEGA Lord X"!👍
Thanks!
As unreliable as my PC engine CD version is.... I kinda like it!! It does have the voices of the arcade. Too bad mine crashes about 50% of the time
You do good work, Sega Lord X. I've watched a ton of your videos. Was never a Sega kid but I love video game history so this channel is very interesting to a nerd like me.
Much appreciated!
Coming from the Atari, Altered Beast was one of the first titles that I saw in the Master System. It blew my mind on that time! By the way, the FM soundtrack is not great for this game (as in most games it was not a dedicated work, just a simple port). Few games received a proper FM OSG (like Kenseiden). Anyway, only the Japanese SMS had the FM chip, so this is not the OSG in most SMS owner from the time.
Would love a Phantasy Star 1 video from you sometime Sega Lord X
As the pack in game this was my first contact with the Genesis / Mega Drive and I was used to the games in the NES and Master System at the time. The whole thing just blew me away. The graphics, colours, sounds, animations were much much better than the Master System.
Awesome thanks 👍
I enjoyed the MD version but blew through it in one sitting, however, it looked and sounded so much better than the (insanely difficult) MS version I owned I didn't care =)
This game robs you of your balls, spirit balls that is😂