Altered Beast

Altered Beast is a side-scrolling beat 'em up game with light platform elements. It has five levels and can be played by up to two players simultaneously. Combat takes place across five levels set in Ancient Greece and populated by aggressive undead creatures and monsters resembling those from Greek mythology. The demonic god Neff waits at the end of each level.

Between each level are small animations giving the player glimpses of Athena's peril. The player can punch, kick and jump. The game's premise is that Neff, ruler of the underworld , captures the goddess Athena . Her angered father, the Olympian god Zeus , decides to choose a champion to save her.

Respecting the bravery of Roman Centurions , Zeus resurrects one of them and empowers him as a champion. The player character is the resurrected Roman Centurion, given extra power by Zeus so they can battle Neff and his supernatural minions. In the original arcade version, the end credits include the revelation that the whole game actually depicted a staged film production. Whenever the player defeats a white two-headed wolf , a Spirit Ball power-up appears.

Each obtained Spirit Ball increases the player character's strength and size. Collecting three Spirit Balls allows the player character to transform into a powerful beast form, increasing their combat abilities before having to face Neff at the end of the level. The player character's beast forms include a weredragon , a werebear, a weretiger, a werewolf , or a golden werewolf. Each beast form grants its own abilities.

The dragon can unleash lightning bolts and an electric barrier, the bear has a petrifying breath that turns enemies into stone, the tiger can hurl fireballs in a zigzag pattern, the wolf can throw direct, but weak fireballs and has a powerful thrust attack, while the golden werewolf has the same abilities as the wolf form. In the Famicom version, available beasts also include a shark, lion, and phoenix form.