Altered Beast is one of the most well remembered Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games and a frequent inclusion in top ten lists when it comes to the system. It seems to be an undisputed classic, but is that reputation one that has merit?
In replaying the game recently, both on the Sega Genesis and the recent Sega Genesis Collection on Switch, I honestly do not see what people are saying. It might have looked impressive back in ’89, but it has not aged well at all. The game has frequent slowdown issues, poor collision detection and overall just feels dull. The arcade version was somewhat better, but I feel the love the game gets is solely due to nostalgia.
It is important to remember that since Altered Beast was one of the first games for the system, it was not properly optimized and some claim that is the cause of the issues. However, I do not feel that is an excuse. considering how poor the Master System version was also terrible,. That version is notoriously poor and it has been noted with irony that a Japanese famicom version is considered far superior. I feel the issues are instead with the game itself.
Altered Beast is not like Streets of Rage or Sonic The Hedgehog. It is not a game that has aged well and with excellent gameplay. It was nothing more than a tech demo for what the Genesis/Mega Drive could do, and that is why it was the initial pack in title for the system. It is also apparent that after the initial surprise, Altered Beast didnt do its job well. I realie that many have fond memories of playing Altered Beast, but the fact is that the game is a rather generic sidescroller that feels like a relic of the past. I do not feel it is worthy of being considered one of the top ten games, and divorced from Nostalgia its flaws are too apparent. Maybe we all need to take a step back and reevaluate what we consider to be the best.
Disclaimer: The above was the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of ROG or its staff