Play Altered Beast Online

Summary

The Master System version of Altered Beast feels like a stripped‑down cousin of the arcade original, with visuals that had to be heavily re‑imagined to fit the console’s hardware. Because of those limits a few levels never made the cut, and even though Masayuki Uchida only offered advice, his influence is still faintly present in the design.

Gameplay stays true to the side‑scrolling beat‑em‑up roots: you punch, kick and jump through hordes of undead and mythic monsters, each stage ending with a showdown against the demonic god Neff. Defeating the white two‑headed wolf drops a Spirit Ball; collect three and you morph into one of several beast forms—dragon, bear, tiger, wolf or a golden wolf—each granting its own elemental attack, from lightning bolts to fire‑ball volleys.

Critics were split. Julian Rignall slammed the port for its reduced graphics, sluggish pace and finicky collision, while Electronic Gaming Monthly praised its faithful capture of the arcade’s core mechanics. Others, like Sega Pro and S: The Sega Magazine, called it a disappointment, noting poor animation, control quirks and a merely passable soundtrack despite the effort to preserve the original’s spirit.

Storyline

Altered Beast on the Sega Master System drops players into an Ancient Greek setting where the Olympian god Zeus has a mission. Zeus resurrects a Roman centurion, granting him divine power to become the champion who must rescue Athena, Zeus’s daughter, from Neff, the demonic ruler of the underworld. The centurion, now empowered, fights through a series of stages filled with supernatural minions, each level ending with a brief animation that hints at Athena’s dire situation. Throughout the adventure the player confronts Neff’s forces, driven by Zeus’s promise of glory for the brave Roman warriors. The story unfolds as the hero battles toward the final showdown to free Athena and restore balance.