Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Altered Beast[a] is a 1988 beat 'em up video game developed by Team Shinobi and published by Sega for arcades. Set in Ancient Greece, the game follows a Roman centurion who is resurrected by the Olympian god Zeus to rescue his daughter Athena from Neff, the demonic ruler of the underworld. By collecting three power-ups in a level, the player character can transform into one of five mythical beasts.
The game's development was led by Makoto Uchida, and marked his first role as a project lead. Uchida and his team used the System 16 arcade system board. Altered Beast was ported to several consoles and home computers, and was the original pack-in game for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive when the console was launched in North America in 1989 and Europe in 1990.
Altered Beast's arcade release and its ports received generally positive reviews, with mainly praising the gameplay and graphics. The game has been re-released several times for various consoles and as part of video game compilations, and there has been one sequel and one reboot.
Altered Beast[a] is a 1988 beat 'em up video game developed by Team Shinobi and published by Sega for arcades. Set in Ancient Greece, the game follows a Roman centurion who is resurrected by the Olympian god Zeus to rescue his daughter Athena from Neff, the demonic ruler of the underworld. By collecting three power-ups in a level, the player character can transform into one of five mythical beasts.
The game's development was led by Makoto Uchida, and marked his first role as a project lead. Uchida and his team used the System 16 arcade system board. Altered Beast was ported to several consoles and home computers, and was the original pack-in game for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive when the console was launched in North America in 1989 and Europe in 1990.
Altered Beast's arcade release and its ports received generally positive reviews, with mainly praising the gameplay and graphics. The game has been re-released several times for various consoles and as part of video game compilations, and there has been one sequel and one reboot.
