Altered Beast is a beat 'em up that debuted in Japanese arcades on 14 June 1988 on Sega System 16 hardware. It was directed and designed by Makoto Uchida of Team Shinobi, with art by Rieko Kodama. Uchida drew on stories of humans turning into monsters and the film The Howling. The arcade ending reveals that the whole adventure was a staged film production.
The Mega Drive version came out in Japan on 27 November 1988, about a month after the console itself. In North America and Europe it was the console's pack-in game until Sonic the Hedgehog replaced it, which is why so many players remember its 'Rise from your grave' opening.
The game was also ported to the Master System, PC Engine, Famicom, Amiga, Atari ST, C64, ZX Spectrum and PC, and several versions change the stage count or drop two-player play. A separate PS2 remake, 獣王記 -PROJECT ALTERED BEAST-, appeared in Japan in 2005.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Altered Beastalso Europe | Arcade | June 1988 | Sega | 1 |
| NA | Altered Beastalso PAL regions | Master System | June 1989 | Sega | 1 |
| NA | Altered Beastconsole pack-in game | Genesis | August 1989 | Sega | 1 |
| NA | Altered Beast | MS-DOS | June 1990 | — | 1 |
| JP | 獣王記Sega System 16 | Arcade | Jun 14, 1988 | Sega | 1 |
| JP | 獣王記 | Genesis | Nov 27, 1988 | Sega | 1 |
| JP | 獣王記HuCard; a CD-ROM² version came out on 22 September 1989 | TurboGrafx-16 | Sep 29, 1989 | — | 1 |
| EU | Altered BeastNorth America March 1990; Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, C64 and ZX Spectrum versions also 1989 | Amiga | 1989 | — | 1 |
| JP | 獣王記Famicom version developed by Interlink | NES | Jul 20, 1990 | Asmik | 1 |
| EU | Altered BeastPAL; console pack-in game | Genesis | September 1990 | Sega | 1 |
| WW | Altered BeastXbox Live Arcade | Xbox 360 | Jun 10, 2009 | Sega | 2 |
| JP | —in Sega 3D Fukkoku Archives 2 (3D Classics by M2) | Nintendo 3DS | Dec 23, 2015 | Sega | 2 |
| WW | —Mega Drive Mini (North American and European editions only) | Other | 2019 | Sega | 2 |
| WW | Altered BeastNintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack | Switch | Dec 16, 2021 | Nintendo | 1 |
Also known as: 獣王記 JP1Jūōki JP1Beast King's Chronicle JP1獣王記 -PROJECT ALTERED BEAST- JP2
Box art by region
NA Altered Beast 
EU Altered Beast 
JP 獣王記
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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ContentMaster System
The Master System version is missing some levels.1
-
ContentFamicom
The Famicom version has eight stages instead of five, adds lion-man, shark and phoenix forms with new bosses, and drops simultaneous two-player play.2
-
GameplayPC Engine CD-ROM²
The PC Engine CD-ROM² version has no simultaneous two-player mode and pauses to load, but keeps the arcade voices and demo screens.2
Where to play legally today
-
Nintendo Switch Online Subscription
Altered Beast (SEGA Mega Drive - Nintendo Switch Online)
Mega Drive/Genesis version
Checked: 2026-10-133ec.nintendo.com
Reception
The arcade game received mixed reviews but was Japan's second highest-grossing arcade game of July 1988. ACE called the Mega Drive version the best Mega Drive game available at the time, while Mega later listed it among the 10 worst Mega Drive games.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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