Altered Beast, 1988 Sega (20 From 1988 #11)
6The Sega classic with a Greek mythology angle; this is a platform scrolling adventure game in which you can collect orbs to allow a transformation to occur within, turning you into one of 4 different beasts: Wolf (with a fire punch and horizontal charge attack), Dragon (laser and electrical attack, as well as flight), Bear (stone breath and spinning jump attack), Tiger (fire punch and vertical charge attack), and then for the final stage you use the Wolf form again (although you're gold this time). There are 5 stages to trudge through on your way to rescue Zeus' daughter Athena, who is being turned into a bird by the evil sorcerer Neff and his minions, all of which transform into various creatures that you face as the bosses. Your resurrected soldier has a kick, punch and a jump button to execute moves/attacks. If you press up and jump you will jump much higher than simply pressing the jump button (this makes it easier to take out the flying enemies, when you kick in mid-air), and if you press down on the joystick and kick you will kick upwards from the ground, and this is also useful for certain winged enemies coming down to you. The white cerberus-type enemies will yield an orb when attacked, and collecting 3 orbs will change you into the beast exclusive to the particular stage you're on. But the cerberus will not usually give it up without jumping or charging at you-- you'll often get pissed off because the stupid bastard knocks you on your ass and runs off the screen, causing you to miss the opportunity at the orb. The game does, however, give you several chances at orbs. If you approach the sorcerer without the beast form, he will wander off and the stage will continue. If you are REALLY bad at collecting orbs the game will eventually make you fight the boss WITHOUT the beast form.. certainly not impossible, but you are much, much weaker than without it! I can't give a TON of tips but I will say that you are not timed, so if you face a boss it's good to wait for the right opportunities to strike rather than get knocked around being hasty. You only have 3 digits on your life bar (dipswitch adjustable) and an enemy charging through you can knock one digit clean off (other attacks may change the color of a digit from blue to yellow then red and then remove it). After defeating the final boss Neff (who changes into a rhino), Athena is restored to a goddess and Zeus happily watches you two together (presumably to get married). Definitely a classic in the Sega library, but with some frustrating moments. Also, the Chicken Mount from Golden Axe gets his debut as an enemy here! This game has a good Genesis port and it was the pack-in game early on. Hope you had a great weekend!