Altered Beast [Console Heroes/SEGA Genesis]

RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE!

This week’s Console Heroes post comes just in time for two different occasions. First off, Setsubun is in a few days, and while Aggar may not technically be an oni… he is a giant red horned ogre. Second, I’ve been wanting to talk about something a little ooky spooky. We’ve got almost a year until the Halloween shenanigans kick off here on the site, but monsters are in the site’s description. It’s always a little spooky when every day is Halloween.

Altered Beast is a classic SEGA game originally released in arcades, and it completely blew my little mind the first time I saw it at the local Circle K. I was a kid who couldn’t get enough of monsters, and the ability to play as a werewolf absolutely floored me. The Ancient Greek setting, packed with other monsters, was just icing on the cake. While multiple home console versions were released, the most popular was the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive version, which also happened to be the system’s original pack-in game.

This Console Heroes Altered Beast diorama, aptly named the Graveyard Diorama, represents the first level of the game — which is what most people immediately think of when they think of Altered Beast. This opening stage is where Zeus resurrects you, the Centurion, and sends you to rescue his daughter from Neff, the demonic ruler of the underworld. Here, you fight zombies and other freaky monsters while defeating giant wolves to POWER UP! Each time, you transform into a stronger version of yourself until finally becoming a werewolf. Shortly after, Neff confronts you and a battle with Aggar ensues. After defeating Aggar, Neff reverts you back to your base form. Each subsequent level introduces a new monster form to POWER UP into, along with even more freaky bosses.

The diorama features the familiar cartridge replica opening up to display the graveyard level as it appeared in the game. Included is a werewolf figure in a fighting pose, a fireball accessory with one of those clear rod doohickeys to make it float dramatically in the air, and a large Aggar figure for the werewolf to hurl that fireball at. There are also life and status bars that clip onto the clamshell, further selling the game recreation.

Overall, this is a really solid set. Aggar doesn’t actually plug into the pegs on the diorama base, but that’s not really necessary. Both the werewolf and Aggar look great, and I really appreciate the dynamic fighting pose… even if it does result in a werewolf showing off his butt in toy form. Seriously, man — put some jorts on or something.

While Altered Beast does get merchandise from time to time, it’s nowhere near as common as other SEGA properties, which makes this set feel like a special treat. There are also a lot of Easter eggs in Altered Beast that reference other SEGA games. In my mind, it exists in the same continuity as Golden Axe and Streets of Rage. Maybe even Shinobi. I like to imagine a shared SEGA universe — which is funny, considering SEGA also gave us the excellent Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker arcade game (and an okay console version). Michael Jackson famously contributed to the Sonic 3 soundtrack (we’ll get to that one soon), and possibly even more SEGA projects, as that bit of history is a little murky. Thriller was also an inspiration for Altered Beast, which is pretty sweet — and fittingly, Thriller is also the name of an album by Matthew Sweet, who later named an album after Altered Beast.

You know… I think it’s time to be welcomed to my doom and go play this game again. It’s been a while.

Werewolf [Altered Beast]

RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE!

POWER UP!

WELCOME TO YOUR DOOM!

It's impossible to think about Altered Beast without the soundbites and music playing in my head. Just like Matthew Sweet, I love the game. Memories of the millions of quarters sunk into the arcade machine at Circle K and elation of discovering the continue code when playing it at home. Of course I was excited to see the Werewolf represented in Jakks Pacific video game figures. Jakks has been pumping out a pretty solid line of toys inspired by several all time favorites and frankly... Altered Beast was one I never thought would ever get toys. There's a Weredragon figure as well that I hope to eventually get.

I had actually intended to talk about this figure last Halloween season but... completely misplaced it. It wasn't until recent organizing efforts that it was found and put aside once again to look at during Halloween on the site. Fortunately, I remembered where it was this time. As I said above, Jakks has a great video game figure line and Werewolf is another solid effort. He's pleasantly solid feeling, like a much more premium figure... but only cost $9.99. That's awesome. There's 22 points of articulation on his 4" body resulting in one super pose-able monster. Though I did have trouble getting the arms to close close to his body. Initially I wrote that off as a articulation limitation, until I saw others not having this problem online. Then I saw others having the same problem. Clearly it's a molding or QC issue as you can see where the joint is for that amount of movement. I chose not to force the joints on mine, maybe there's a fix out there for this?

Also, the head and crotch are a darker brown than the rest of the body. That's not a big deal, but you can't unsee it. As for accessories, he comes with a Spirit Ball, like the ones from the game that allow for your undead warrior to POWER UP! That's a nice little extra. There's a hole in the bottom of the ball for where a stand would have plugged into. Guessing it was omitted at some point. Clearly the figure isn't perfect, but I'm happy to actually have something from the game in toy form and honestly not bothered enough by the problems for them to overshadow that happiness. However, I'm an honest person and it wouldn't be honest to ignore those issues here. Regardless, it's still a pretty good figure. It's well sculpted and looks great. Hopefully I eventually get that Weredragon and more of the SEGA characters Jakks Pacific has been putting into their video game line. In my mind Altered Beast, Golden Axe, and Streets of Rage all take place within the same continuity. With these figures, they can take place on the same bookshelf.