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Sega Master System

Altered Beast

Sega Master System

Sega Master System

You were once a Roman Centurion. You died bravely in a battle. Now, a hundred years later, you have been called back from the grave by Zeus, God of Thunder. Even as he grants you new life he gives you a mission. You must rescue his daughter Athena from the evil clutches of Neff; Lord of the Under...

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Developer
Sega R&D 2

Released on
1989

Size
1 Player

Version
Sega Master System

Requirements
Sega Master System

Downloads
Action

Publisher
Sega Enterprises

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

You were once a Roman Centurion. You died bravely in a battle. Now, a hundred years later, you have been called back from the grave by Zeus, God of Thunder. Even as he grants you new life he gives you a mission. You must rescue his daughter Athena from the evil clutches of Neff; Lord of the Underworld.

From the surface to the very heart of the Underworld you must journey, fighting Neff’s undead army every step of the way! Zombies, demons, gargoyles, three-headed Wolves.

But in this life you have been given an edge… the power to transform into magical beasts of awesome power! From a man to a superman…to a werewolf, were-dragon, were-tiger and the ultimate…a Golden Wolf! Each form has supernatural abilities. You’ll need them all…for Neff is a fearsome enemy.

Fail, and Athena’s fate will be unspeakable. Win…and you may take a place in the Pantheon of Immortality! Remember…Never say die!

Altered Beast

Overview & History

Released by Sega in 1988 for the arcades and subsequently ported to the Master System in 1989 by Sega themselves, *Altered Beast* is a darkly mythological side-scrolling beat-'em-up. Set in ancient Greece, the storyline is driven by the Olympian god Zeus, who resurrects a fallen centurion from the dead with a singular, grim mandate: rescue his abducted daughter, Athena, from the underworld ruler, Neff. The Master System adaptation successfully captured the eerie, cinematic atmosphere of the arcade original despite hardware limitations, featuring chunky sprite designs, a memorable synthesized soundtrack, and digitized speech samples that famously echoed Zeus's command to "Rise from your grave!" across living rooms worldwide.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

The game unfolds across five distinct, horrifying stages crawling with the undead, goat-men, and grotesque bosses. Unlike standard brawlers, the core mechanic revolves around collecting "Spirit Balls" dropped by specific two-headed white wolves. Absorbing these glowing orbs causes the protagonist's muscular physique to violently mutate—first through an intermediate hulking state, and finally into a terrifying mythical beast. Each level grants a specific transformation: the lightning-slinging Werewolf, the underground-drilling Were-Dragon, the rock-throwing Were-Bear, the aquatic Were-Tiger, and the ultimate Golden Werewolf. Once transformed, players unleash devastating screen-clearing projectiles and specialized movement abilities like flight or invulnerability dashes, turning the tide against relentless waves of grotesque demonic hordes before facing Neff in monstrously shifting forms.