History VideoGame / AlteredBeast

* ElementalRivalry: Luke's basic form is the Werewolf, a canine beastman with a light blueish aura. His main opponent and rival, Brad, possess the power of the Weretiger, a feline beastman with a dark reddish aura. According to TheOtherWiki, the Werewolf is light-elemental, while the Weretiger is dark-elemental.

* SaveThePrincess
* ShapeshifterBaggage

A BeatEmUp by Creator/{{Sega}}, appearing at the arcades in the late 1980's, and later ported to home consoles like the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem and UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis. Two pseudo sequels were made, one for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance titled ''Altered Beast: Guardian of the Realms,'' and a UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 sequel titled ''Project Altered Beast'' (which was released in Japan and Europe, [[NoExportForYou but not in America]]). The main gimmick is that your character can turn into various humanoid monsters, like werewolves and dragons.

* ArcadePerfectPort: [[BlatantLies A claimed example,]] and it was one of the biggest selling points for the Genesis / Mega Drive port. In truth, it's not even close, neither in terms of technical fidelity or content wise. From a technical perspective, the arcade version has higher quality sprites, larger color palette, much better audio quality, and scaling effects the Genesis version lacked (the Genesis version did however have phalanx scrolling which the arcade version lacked). Neither is it very faithful in terms of content: The level layouts are different, the beasts perform differently than they did in the arcade, and trying what works easily on most of the bosses on the Genesis version will get you killed in five seconds in the arcade. Yeah, it SEEMS close, at least until you actually go back and play the arcade version.

* BaldWomen: [[spoiler: Anastasia lose her hair upon transforming, and gradually turns into a medusa-like being. Upon dying, she stays bald.]]

* BeastMan: Outside from the hero's transformations, most of the enemies in this game are beastmen of sorts, often with unusual looks, including boar-men, ram-men, goat-men, vulture-men, toad-men and horse-men (as in, humanoid horses, not people riding horses).

* BodyHorror: The transformation cutscenes. They're all quite detailed and [[PainfulTransformation painful looking.]] [[spoiler:The scientists you see in the cutscene before Anastasia's boss fights are also in stages of slow mutation and all of them are looking pained and helpless. Then there's her own first "beast" form, i.e a giant flea with many faces of people she absorbed in front of hit, her own torso sticking out of its top, and 2 extra large arms. She also throws those faces at you, by the way.]]

* BraggingRightsReward: The Weretiger form. Unlocked after obtainning every single Enemy, Beast, Boss, and Unique data... Which leaves nothing else to do beyond replaying the Elevator of Doom minigame.

* DuelBoss: The Weretiger fights you alone, and in a curious case, Rhinorian will immediatly cease attacking if you revert to your human form and sit back to rest, attacking you onlu if you strike him too much or if you transform again.
* ElementalPowers: All the beast forms are related to an element: [[LightEmUp Light]] for the Werewolf, [[MakingASplash Water]] for the Merman, [[AnIcePerson Ice]] for Wendigo, [[BlowYouAway Wind]] for Garuda, [[PlayingWithFire Fire]] for Minotaur and [[ShockAndAwe Lightning]] for Dragon. Among the extra beasts, [[DishingOutDirt Earth]] for Werebear, [[GravityMaster Gravity]] for the U.W.H. and [[DarkIsEdgy Darkness]] for the Weretiger.

* FeedItABomb: Not compulsory, but you can damage Sarchosuchos even more by shooting water bullets into his open mouth when he charges.

* GiantSpider: Xenesthis, who spams harmful spider-webs and throws poisoned body-parts around. [[spoiler: Anastasia's penultimate form combines this with SpiderPeople and DishingOutDirt.]]

* MadeOfIron: Luke himself, but also some enemies, who sometimes will still try to move and attack even when you have destroyed their heads, torsoes or even upper half.

* MixAndMatchCritters: 4 of the bosses swallowed Genome Chips and got mutated into gargantuan mix of animals.

* MookChivalry: Sadly, the AI of the enemies in this game isn't very brilliant, and even if enemies outnumber you they'll rarely coordinate their efforts in combat. In a rare case of Boss Chivalry, Rhinorian won't attack Luke in his human form (unless you attack him too many times) and will sit to recover his health, waiting for you to transform back.

** [[PantheraAwesome Weretiger]]: Another JackOfAllStats as it's similar to Werewolf in almost every way, albeit faster and has a DivingKick attack.

* NoSell: Minotaur, Wendigo and Dragon can withstand fire, ice and electricity respectively, which helps in a few puzzles and against certain enemies, [[spoiler: as well as in the fight against Anastasia. Subeverted by her "lightning phase", in which not even the Dragon can withstand the electricity and the Garuda is better suited.]]

* ShapeshifterBaggage: While the transformation process is shown to be pure BodyHorror, the reverse is easier and bloodless. [[spoiler: Slightly subverted by Anastasia, who, upon death, is seemingly "ejected" from her chimerian body and leaves behind a massive pile of flesh.]]

* SpidersAreScary: Xenesthis is one of the biggest bosses, overall realistic-looking and one of his attacks consist in puking out his previous meals at you. The fact that you have to get as close as possible to it to make it pounce at you doesn't help, nor the mention that its spiked forelimbs are used to hold the prey still as it eat them...

* StoneWall: The Minotaur is slow but has the greatest defense of all the transformations. When other beastmen are knocked back by an attack they fall on their back, even the larger Wendigo, but the Minotaur instead is merely knocked back on his knee, even from such powerful attacks. One of his moves even allows him to stop giant bosses and stone walls traps dead in their tracks.

* ThemeNaming: Some of the mutants are named after [[ClassicalMythology Greek Mythology]], while others, like Sytry and Ose, take their names from the demons of Ars Goetia.

* FullBoarAction: There are big boar enemies in Area 4 and later Area 9.
* GiantSpider: Xenesthis, who spams harmful spider-webs and throws poisoned body-parts around.

* NoSell: Minotaur, Wendigo and Dragon can withstand fire, ice and electricity respectively, which helps in a few puzzles and against certain enemies, [[spoiler: as well as in the fight against Anastasia.]]

->''[[MemeticMutation WIIIIIISE FWOM YOUR GWAAAAVE!]]''\\
--What ''"Rise from your grave"'' sounds like. [[labelnote:*]] [[TechnologyMarchesOn Have in mind this sounded AWESOME when it was released!]] [[/labelnote]]

* EnemyPosturing: The Weretiger boss from ''Project: Altered Beast'' will sometimes gloat by doing a FingerWag after knocking you down. You can counterattack him while he's doing this.

* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Brad, a cold and haughty guy who was the first Genome Cyborg, and a rather powerful one too; he was the one wounding Luke in the past, and it shows more as a boss - he can FlashStep out of your attacks and slug you just as quickly. He even would take time to [[TheComputerShallTauntYou cross his arms and tap the ground in boredom or]] {{Finger Wag}} you, should you get knocked down.

* BodyHorror: The transformation cutscenes. They're all quite detailed and [[PainfulTransformation painful looking.]]

** Belphegor, the boss of the Elevator of Doom minigame. There's only one way of defeating it: [[spoiler:1) attack it enough that it becomes angry and try to roll at you. 2) Block its rolling with Minotaur, causing it to get knocked down. 3) Use Wendigo to lift it and then throw it into the water. 4) Have Merman pelt Bubble Bombs at it. Rinse, repeat.]]

** [[BearsAreBadNews Grizzly]]: Another GlassCannon, but limited to close-range; capable of doing very long simple combos, [[BreathWeapon gas breath attacks]] and a quick RollingAttack that goes into small spaces, but also depletes Spirit Gauge quickly.

* ScarsAreForever: Luke always retains the scar he got from Brad, even in his beast forms. [[spoiler:Later on, Brad also does the same to Anastasia's Chimera form, causing a huge gash that serves as her [[AttackItsWeakPoint weak point]]]].

* BatOutOfHell: The boss Balrog, a giant bat that is on fire due to having the Minotaur genome chip.

* CannibalismSuperpower: [[spoiler: Anastasia eats Dr. Jobs and a few other scientists during her transforming process.]]

* FoeTossingCharge: Werewolf's LimitBreak, Berserker Rage, is him lunging straight towards the enemies, sending them flying. One of his combos also ends with a weaker version of it. Minotaur's Learning Genome move Bull Rush is also this, with him rushing forward invincibly and knocking over enemies; it's also controllable and long-ranged unlike Berserker Rage. Minotaur also has one unlockable combo move where it briefly turns into iron as it charges forward.

* HornAttack: The Minotaur form does this with its main attack.

* LongRangeFighter: Merman, Garuda and Dragon forms are primarily suited for long range attacks.

** [[spoiler:Anastasia's Chimera form has features of many animals at once. At first she only has [[ScaryScorpion scorpion legs and tail]] for her lower body; then he grows 2 snakes out of her arms, then they change to 2 fire-breathing rams, then they change to large bat/dragon wings, then they change to large pincers (making her a full scorpion), and lastly, they change to shield-like large webbed hands.]]

** [[WereDragon Dragon]]: GlassCannon, capable of wide area [[ShockAndAwe lightning shocks]] and hovering, but depletes the Spirit Gauge quickly, lacks a melee attack, moves really slowly, and its only defensive move is also its LimitBreak.
** [[BearsAreBadNews Bear]]: Another GlassCannon, but limited to close-range; capable of doing very long simple combos, [[BreathWeapon gas breath attacks]] and a quick RollingAttack that goes into small spaces, but also depletes Spirit Gauge quickly.

* ParentalFavoritism: [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate Dr. Eric Jobs]] quickly forgets about his previous subjects once he starts working on a new one; he especially likes Luke for being a more advanced Genome Cyborg. This gets to the point it becomes the cause of [[spoiler: [[BigBad Anastasia's]] StartOfDarkness.]]

* ProjectBlank: the "Project Altered Beast", a scientific project headed by Dr. Eric Jobs that aims for creating soldiers with capabilities of different kinds of beasts. The results are called "Genome Cyborgs".

* TheVirus: The "Genome Mist" mutates humans and animals alike.

** Minotaur has Bull Rush, where you start slowly running forward while covered in flames, then picking up speed before you become a human train capable of breaking SuspiciouslyCrackedWalls.

* EvilCounterpart: Brad to Luke. He appears to have some kind of grudge against Luke, and mocks him whenever he has the chance [[spoiler: Actually subverted: despite that, Brad isn't actually evil, and is driven to stop Anastasia.]]

* FireIceLightning: The Minotaur, Wendigo and Dragon forms respectively wield these elements. So do Balrog, Sasquatch and Callichthys. [[spoiler:So does Anastasia.]]

* FoeTossingCharge: Werewolf's LimitBreak, Berserker Rage, is him lunging straight towards the enemies, sending them flying. One of his combos also ends with a weaker version of it. Minotaur's unlockable move Bull Rush is also this, with him rushing forward invincibly and knocking over enemies; it's also controllable and long-ranged unlike Berserker Rage. Minotaur also has one unlockable combo move where it briefly turns into iron as it charges forward.

* GrappleMove: Wendigo form can grab enemies and obstacles and throw them around. A few of its unlockable moves also make it grab enemies for a powerful slamming attack, [[WrestlerInAllOfUs including a German Suplex]]. Minotaur also has one where it lifts the enemy up to the air, spinning it a bit and then slamming it down. In most cases, you can [[GrievousHarmWithABody hit another enemies with your grabbed enemy]].

* LimitBreak: Your beast forms all has a special attack that requires you to fill a special gauge before they can be used; the gauge regenerates slowly, and attacking and being attacked can also regenerate it.

** [[spoiler:Anastasia's Chimera form has features of many animals at once. At first she only has [[ScaryScorpion scorpion legs and tails]] for her lower body; then he grows 2 snakes out of her arms, then they change to 2 fire-breathing rams, then they change to large bat/dragon wings, then they change to large pincers (making her a full scorpion), and lastly, they change to shield-like large webbed hands.]]
* MonsterCompendium: Aside from the FlavorText, it also includes a small detail of the elemental tolerances and the option of looking at the monster's 3D model from different angles.

* ParentalFavoritism: [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate Dr. Eric Jobs]] quickly forgets about his previous subjects once he starts working on a new one. This gets to the point it becomes the cause of [[spoiler: [[BigBad Anastasia's]] Start of Darkness.]]

In ''Project Altered Beast'' the story follows a man called Luke Custer who is a [[SuperSoldier "Genome-Cyborg,"]] [[BioAugmentation a human whose DNA and other genetic make-up has been artificially altered]] allowing [[LEGOGenetics micro-chips containing the genetic make-up of other creatures]] to [[ShapeShifting transform]] him into an [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent anthropomorphic beast.]] After surviving a [[HellishCopter helicopter crash,]] Luke [[AmnesiacDissonance loses his memory]] and sets off to learn about the truth behind his past and the Genome-Cyborgs.

* AllYourPowersCombined: This is Luke's specialty. He can equip different types of Genome Chips and transform into the beast most suited to deal with the current situation.
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Brad.

** The Wendigo's grab and throw ability sounds fun but is aggravating to pull off correctly.

* CannibalismSuperpower: [[spoiler: Anastasia.]]

* CurbStompBattle: How any boss fight will go. Equip the right beast and you will curbstomp the boss, any of the wrong beasts and the reverse happens.
** Although the Weretiger, Werebear, and U.W.H. can wipe the floor with virtually anybody.

* EvilCounterpart: Brad to Luke. [[spoiler: Actually subverted: Brad isn't actually evil.]]
* FireIceLightning: The Minotaur, Wendigo and Dragon forms respectively wields these elements.

* FoeTossingCharge: Werewolf's LimitBreak, Berserker Rage, is him lunging straight towards the enemies, sending them flying. One of his combos also ends with a weaker version of it. Minotaur's unlockable move Bull Charge is also this, with him rushing forward invincibly and knocking over enemies; it's also controllable and long-ranged unlike Berserker Rage.

** [[NobleBirdOfPrey Garuda]]: FragileSpeedster, capable of {{Flight}}, attacks with weak but long-ranged FeatherFlechettes and {{Tornado Move}}s.

** [[WereDragon Dragon]]: GlassCannon, capable of wide area [[ShockAndAwe lightning shocks]] and hovering, but depletes the Spirit Gauge quickly.

* MysteriousWaif: Anastasia.

* PantheraAwesome: The boss Ose is a gigantic black panther that breathes fire and charges around in the room around you. Also a PuzzleBoss, as it never touches the ground (it normally perches itself on high platforms or jump at the walls) unless you do a certain trick. There's also Brad with his Weretiger form, which you can later unlock.

* StationaryBoss: One of the bosses, Aeshma, is a gigantic baby... thing who just sits in the corner throwing cars at you. You as Wendigo has to throw cars back at him.

* TreacherousAdvisor: [[spoiler:Anastasia.]]

* ChekhovsGunman: The gryphon like creature that destroys the helicopter in the opening returns as a boss.

* GiantSpider: Xenesthis.
* HornAttack: The Minotaur form does this with its main attack.

* MetalSlime: The "Gate Keepers" are stronger-than-normal Mooks with a BattleAura that will drop Genome Points that can be used to upgrade your beast forms' attacks. They also do not respawn unlike normal enemies.

* RodentsOfUnusualSize: The first boss Leviathan, a mutated rat who has the Merman Genome Chip inside it, turning it into some kind of ancient water reptile-rat hybrid. There are also big rat enemies fought on the way leading to the boss.

* TreacherousAdvisor: Anastasia.

* WalkingShirtlessScene: Luke appears shirtless throughout the entire game. Justified since it tore after transforming the first time. The developers conveniently left his pants unscathed, [[FridgeLogic even though it should have ripped as well.]]

* BatOutOfHell: The Balrog.

* BraggingRightsReward: The Weretiger form. Unlocked after obtainning every single Enemy, Beast, Boss, and Unique data... Which leaves nothing else to do.

* FlunkyBoss: Most of the bosses, bar some late in the game, come with an unlimited army of smaller enemies.

** Normal human form: JokeCharacter, only capable of doing a short combo and absorbing Spirit Gauge from enemies, and does not have any upgrades. Use this form to conserve your Spirit Gauge as being in another form will cost it.

** [[NobleBirdOfPrey Garuda]]: FragileSpeedster, capable of {{Flight}}, attacks with long-ranged FeatherFlechettes and {{Tornado Move}}s.

** [[BearsAreBadNews Bear]]: Another GlassCannon, but limited to close-range; capable of doing very long simple combos, [[BreathWeapon gas breath attacks]] and a quick RollingAttack, but also depletes Spirit Gauge quickly.

* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Happens throughout the game.

* RodentsOfUnusualSize: The Leviathan.

* TheVirus: The "Genome Mist."

* HopelessBossFight: If you don't attain a level's beast form before meeting Neff a third time, he will transform as usual, but you will be unable to damage him, making this also a case of ControllableHelplessness.

* ShoutOut: The two headed wolves are likely a reference to ''Film/ClashOfTheTitans.''

* AllJustADream: The ending of the arcade reveals that the entire game was, apparently, one really bizarre movie. [[WildMassGuessing Or alternatively, the entire game is real and became legend that it was adapted into a movie.]]