Altered Beast PCE vs Megadrive/Genesis

[Spector]

I've been playing Altered Beast on the PC Engine, and it's pretty awful. I played the Megadrive version, ohh, many many years ago (1991), and I can't remember whether it was as "good" as the PC Engine one. I'm sure others here will be more familiar with it and can tell me now it compares. So which was the better conversion, PC Engine or Megadrive?

[nat]

I still don't understand why PCE Altered Beast gets such a bad rap. I wouldn't classify it anywhere near "awful". Graphically it's probably closer to the arcade than any of the other ports. The music is pretty good, too. Yeah, the game is tough and can be frustrating, but that's why we like video games, right?

[Turbo D]

I'd say the pc engine version is better. It is closer to the arcade as nat said. I even prefer the animations on it over genesis. The pc engine was just superior 

[NecroPhile]

Déjà vu all over again!  If you haven't already, go read the Graphics: Turbo vs. Genesis - ye old debate thread for some interesting commentary on the differences between the HuCard, CD, and Genny versions.  Not a damn one of them is all that and a bag of chips in my book.

[PCEngineHell]

Yea,was that the thread I tossed up pics on comparing the 2 ports of this game?

[WoodyXP]

Check out this part of the thread... it's got the pics from the Arcade, MD & PCE.

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=3663.255

[PCEngineHell]

We did one long ago before that, and I posted a lot of pics too, and pointed out some things. We also talked about other ports too, and the differences between them. Here are the old pics I put up.

i9.photobucket.com/albums/a66/Amakusa666/alteredbeastcompare.png
i9.photobucket.com/albums/a66/Amakusa666/outruncompairtops.png

[CrackTiger]

I haven't compared the PCE versions to the Genesis version in years, I think they're all kinda alright, but nothing special.

It is cool that the HuCard and CD games have different graphics.

[ParanoiaDragon]

They do?  Did I miss something?  Does anybody have comparison pics between the hucard & cd versions?

[nat]

They do?  Did I miss something?  Does anybody have comparison pics between the hucard & cd versions?

Some of the backgrounds were subtly changed. I don't know how much you'd actually notice this while playing. I only have the cart and it seems fine and dandy enough for me.

Someone posted comparison shots of the CD vs. the cart here recently. The differences are minor IIRC, like the trees in the background in stage 1 are a slightly different shade or something.

The thought of pausing your play to load MID-LEVEL is enough to turn me off of the CD version, considering it's only perks are different colored trees and a visual "prologue" before you play. Oh, and I guess you can turn down the difficulty. But the cart isn't that hard once you get the hang of the controls.

[_Paul]

They do?  Did I miss something?  Does anybody have comparison pics between the hucard & cd versions?

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=3663.270

[Turbo D]

Let me save you dudes some time and just tell you now that the pc engine versions pwn the genny 

[Tatsujin]

Let me save you dudes some time and just tell you now that the pc engine forum is quite reapeating itself recently.

[Spector]

What about the actual gameplay though? Does the PC Engine version control as well, or is it sluggish. Also, is the Genesis version easier?

[Joe Redifer]

The Genesis version totally PWNZ teh PC Engine version because the PC Engine is only 8-bit.  Duh.  Both versions control poorly, but the Genesis actually has a jump button since it was a far more advanced console than the PC Engine and could actually accommodate more than two buttons using space-age technology from the future.  The Genesis version is indeed easier.

[WoodyXP]

Here's my breakdown:

1. Megadrive version plays the best, but grafx aren't up to par with the other two.

2. HuCard - Hard as hell.. graphics are more crisp, colorful and have better animations than Megadrive.
                 Digitized voices are muted for the most part, save for your dying scream.

3. CD-ROM2 - A little less difficult, looks a tad better than HuCard in some areas, worse in others.
                   The game has to pause periodically to load more of the game(during play) and can
                   get annoying.  Digitized voices are all there.. but BGM is same as the HuCard.

There you have it.

[Spector]

So for the exclusively hucard players like myself (which of course are the true PC Engine games), how do you get past the face spitting monster at the end of stage one?

[nat]

So for the exclusively hucard players like myself (which of course are the true PC Engine games), how do you get past the face spitting monster at the end of stage one?

If you're already having trouble and you aren't even out of stage 1, there isn't much hope for you and this game.

Seriously, though, you just need to fly back and forth from the left side of the screen straight into the monster as the werewolf using your fly-kick. Watch the pattern that he throws the heads and develop a system to time your fly-kick so that you never land where a head is falling. If there are heads in your way as you fly, it's no big deal since you will obliterate them as you fly by. Once you get it down, it is really very simple, and you should be able to pass him without losing a single life bar.

[CrackTiger]

Here's my breakdown:

1. Megadrive version plays the best, but grafx aren't up to par with the other two.

2. HuCard - Hard as hell.. graphics are more crisp, colorful and have better animations than Megadrive.
                 Digitized voices are muted for the most part, save for your dying scream.

3. CD-ROM2 - A little less difficult, looks a tad better than HuCard in some areas, worse in others.
                   The game has to pause periodically to load more of the game(during play) and can
                   get annoying.  Digitized voices are all there.. but BGM is same as the HuCard.

There you have it.

The Megadrive version also has a bunch of voices, debug mode and a jump button. It also has exclusive parallax scrolling. If you're the kinda person who judges graphics by stuff like that instead of the actual graphics, then the MD version is easily the best overall.

Either way, the graphics are pretty much even overall between the three versions. No version is a big leap over the others.

[nat]

Personally, I prefer pressing "UP" for jumping in Altered Beast. It gives it more of an arcade/beat 'em up feel to it. Having an actual jump button is just.... wrong.

[Keranu]

I think I would like pressing up the jump more if I was using a joystick. I usually don't mind pressing up the jump in games anyways, but the controls in the PCE Altered Beast for jumping feel really stiff. I think that's the main reason why the game is harder for some people.

[WoodyXP]

If you're already having trouble and you aren't even out of stage 1, there isn't much hope for you and this game.

Seriously, though, you just need to fly back and forth from the left side of the screen straight into the monster as the werewolf using your fly-kick. Watch the pattern that he throws the heads and develop a system to time your fly-kick so that you never land where a head is falling. If there are heads in your way as you fly, it's no big deal since you will obliterate them as you fly by. Once you get it down, it is really very simple, and you should be able to pass him without losing a single life bar.

Word.. I do sort of the same thing.  I like to stand back at the left side for as long as I can, shooting fire balls.  Just as the head is about to drop on top of me
I'll jump forward with the fly kick and hit the tree.. then fly kick back and repeat.

[CrackTiger]

I think I would like pressing up the jump more if I was using a joystick. I usually don't mind pressing up the jump in games anyways, but the controls in the PCE Altered Beast for jumping feel really stiff. I think that's the main reason why the game is harder for some people.

I think that Altered Beast PCE would be a lot harder to control jumping wise if SFII hadn't become such a big hit.

[Keranu]

I think I would like pressing up the jump more if I was using a joystick. I usually don't mind pressing up the jump in games anyways, but the controls in the PCE Altered Beast for jumping feel really stiff. I think that's the main reason why the game is harder for some people.

I think that Altered Beast PCE would be a lot harder to control jumping wise if SFII hadn't become such a big hit.

Good point ;) .

[Turbo D]

I think that Altered Beast PCE would be a lot easier to control jumping wise if people weren't spoiled with a jumping button on smb and other such nes games.

[PCEngineHell]

I think whiney butt people who need a jump button should just take a ave pad 3 and cut some traces,and mod it so button 3 works as directional button up.

[nat]

I think whiney butt people who need a jump button should just take a ave pad 3 and cut some traces,and mod it so button 3 works as directional button up.

There ya go! Michael's got the idea.

[Joe Redifer]

Jump buttons are fucking stupid.  Only a god damned motherfucker would like a jump button.  Seriously, a jump button?  Please.  The jump button totally destroyed Legendary Axe 1 and 2.  And Shinobi.  Fuck that.  Ghouls 'n Ghosts was also super fucktastic with its jump button.  Why does anyone need a jump button when we have the up direction to press?  That's why Atari 2600 controls ruled.  Just imagine how much better Legendary Axe 1, 2, Shinobi, Ghouls 'n Ghosts and hundreds of other games would play with an Atari Joystick.  The Turbo is a better system than the Genesis because it has FEWER BUTTONS!  Yeah.  I can rationalize any weakness into a strength if you give me the chance.  Do not underestimate my fanboyism.

Seriously though, I think the Genesis version of Altered Beast wins in the backgrounds department (with the exception of them not becoming black and white during boss fights), and the PCE Altered Beast wins in the sprites department.

[awack]

I think the genesis version is definitely the better game, with better sound and gameplay, the pc engine version is a bit to difficult and it takes forever to regain control after being hit.

I do like the overall presentation in the pc engine game better though, such as a more colorfull, less washed out look than the genesis game, better or more animations, large breakable objects in a few of the levels, the boss scaling up in size before turning into a beast and a cooler looking effect when you turn from a beast back to your human form at the end of each level.

The genesis version has parallax scrolling and some of the art work is better.

Sega Genesis		NEC PC Engine

https://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/awack/AlteredBeastUEREV02_008.jpg
https://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/awack/JuuoukiJ-010.png
https://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/awack/AlteredBeastUEREV02_005.jpg
https://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/awack/JuuoukiJ-009.png
https://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/awack/AlteredBeastUEREV02_003.jpg
https://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/awack/JuuoukiJ-005.png

[Turbo D]

I like the detail in the pc engine one better. In the Genesis version the wolves look like retarded cows, lol. I know that people are ranting about parallax and such, but that was just added to make the game look like it could compete against the pc engine and arcade. If you think about it, that parallax isn't even supposed to be there.

[CrackTiger]

I like the detail in the pc engine one better. In the Genesis version the wolves look like retarded cows, lol. I know that people are ranting about parallax and such, but that was just added to make the game look like it could compete against the pc engine and arcade. If you think about it, that parallax isn't even supposed to be there.

I'm not a fan of unnecessary parallax, but the Genesis Altered Beast does it the good way. Some of the bg artwork sections look better on Genesis, some not as good, but the consistency is nice, even if overall the graphics are more detailed and colorful on PCE.

A guy on youtube calls the wolves sheep. I wonder how many other people who didn't read the manual couldn't figure out that they're supposed to be two-headed wolves? At least, I've always assumed they're supposed to be two-headed wolves...

[runinruder]

Hm, the Genesis graphics look much better in those screens that awack posted.  I hope the PCE one has decent music.

[Ceti Alpha]

Ghouls 'n Ghosts was also super fucktastic with its jump button.

Well, though I generally agree that jump buttons are generally superfluous and can be awkward, I would have to disagree with Ghouls 'n Ghosts. Particularly Ghouls 'n Ghosts and not Ghosts 'n Goblins. And only because you have the ability to shoot up (by pressing up on the d pad). It would suck ass if every time you wanted to shoot up you jumped as well. 

[NecroPhile]

Ghouls 'n Ghosts was also super fucktastic with its jump button.

Well, though I generally agree that jump buttons are generally superfluous and can be awkward, I would have to disagree with Ghouls 'n Ghosts. Particularly Ghouls 'n Ghosts and not Ghosts 'n Goblins. And only because you have the ability to shoot up (by pressing up on the d pad). It would suck ass if every time you wanted to shoot up you jumped as well. 

Yeah.... Joe couldn't possibly have been more sarcastic. 

[Ceti Alpha]

Yeah.... Joe couldn't possibly have been more sarcastic.  Not talking

HAHAHA!!! Ok, I'll get his sarcasm someday.    Good grief. 

[nat]

Yeah.... Joe couldn't possibly have been more sarcastic.  Not talking

HAHAHA!!! Ok, I'll get his sarcasm someday.    Good grief. 

He was being sarcastic, but he completely missed the point I was trying to make about pressing UP to jump in Altered Beast. Fuck yeah, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Legendary Axe and other platformers would suck without a jump button. But Altered Beast is kind of more of a beat 'em up, and I prefer/am used to pressing up to jump in beat 'em ups and fighters.

It has nothing to do with "The Turbo is a better system than the Genesis because it has FEWER BUTTONS!  Yeah.  I can rationalize any weakness into a strength if you give me the chance.  Do not underestimate my fanboyism."

[Ceti Alpha]

Do not underestimate my fanboyism."

hehe. Note taken. 

[Keranu]

A guy on youtube calls the wolves sheep. I wonder how many other people who didn't read the manual couldn't figure out that they're supposed to be two-headed wolves? At least, I've always assumed they're supposed to be two-headed wolves...

Actually we've been calling them pigs here our whole life.

[Spector]

I played the Megadrive version on an emu today and I have to admit it's a much better game than the PCE version. The gameplay is far more forgiving and a lot less unfair. Great speech too.

[Turbo D]

The megadrive version is too easy. There is no challenge. I've beat it like 5 or 6 times in a row on the hardest setting without losing.

[Joe Redifer]

Post a Youtube video of that.

[awack]

Hm, the Genesis graphics look much better in those screens that awack posted.  I hope the PCE one has decent music.

I think that goes to what i and CrackTiger were saying about some of the art work being better in the genesis version, to be fair, the genesis one wont look so hot compared to the pc engine Altered beast on a TV due to the fact, for example the screenshots i posted have color counts for the pc engine AB of 63, 60 and 46, the genesis AB are 38, 36 and 27...so the genesis will look a bit washed out.

[TurboXray]

I remember when Altered Beast was just a twinkle in the eye of a PCE programmer... ok maybe not. I like the Genesis controls over the PCE, plus it's easier. That being said, I wonder (don't we all?) if those two problems were fixed how the games would measure up.

[runinruder]

Hm, the Genesis graphics look much better in those screens that awack posted.  I hope the PCE one has decent music.

I think that goes to what i and black tiger were saying about some of the art work being better in the genesis version, to be fair, the genesis one wont look so hot compared to the pc engine Altered beast on a TV due to the fact, for example the screenshots i posted have color counts for the pc engine AB of 63, 60 and 46, the genesis AB are 38, 36 and 27...so the genesis will look a bit washed out.

I've owned the Genesis version since it was first released, so I'm pretty content with its visuals at this point.  I'm sure the PCE one has nicer colors, but man, in those screens you posted, the PCE's stage 4 background and those rocks in stage 3 look rudimentary and absolutely awful.

For what it's worth, I don't think AB is a good game to begin with.  The only reason I've held on to the Genesis cart is because I like the music and it has just a bit of nostalgia value for me.  The more I read and see of the PCE version, the less interested I am in getting it.  But curiosity will eventually win out.

[NecroPhile]

For what it's worth, I don't think AB is a good game to begin with.  The only reason I've held on to the Genesis cart is because I like the music and it has just a bit of nostalgia value for me.  The more I read and see of the PCE version, the less interested I am in getting it.  But curiosity will eventually win out. 

Same here.  I'll eventually buy the CD version just because it needs a 1.0 system card to run properly, not because I really want to play it.

[OldTurboBastard]

whether you attribute it to the jump button or not the play control is shitty on the pce engine version - challenging and aggravating are two different things, and the pce version was aggravating to me. Play control can be very underrated as it is one of the big things the turbo had going for it over the genesis. the genesis controller was sluggish, while the controller and the feel of the controls (play control)made the turbo games more fun to play in many cases (just not in this one)- in fact play control is almost right up there with PARALLAX SCROLLING!!! 


Too bad they did'nt take advantage in this port...

[Spector]

I agree with that - one of the most annoying things about Altered Beast on the PCE was that if you got hit with the white wolf, that was it. Before you could get up, you would be hit again, and again until you lost a life. Now that's frustrating. The MD version doesn't have that.
I've been very pleased with what I've seen from the PC Engine in the last year that I've been playing the actual console, and conversions like Space Harrier, Gradius and Pacland have me coming back again and again. Altered Beast on the other hand, seems like a missed opportunity, though not a big one when you consider that the original arcade game wasn't that hot to begin with.

[handygrafx]

I loved Altered Beast SO much in 1989-1990  that I could not even stand the Genesis version.   Altered Beast was THE game that got me comparing arcade games to home versions, noticing the differences.

my first glimpse of the Genesis version came when in summer 1989 when I was downtown in Chicago at B Dolton's Bookstore, downstairs thy had a Software Etc store.  I picked up an issue of the multi-platform Game Players magazine. they had screen of the Werewolf doing his flaming kick, except it looked all wrong, it was like an arrow or triangle.  I said to myself, that's not like the arcade.   a few months later I really got to see the difference. I was at TRU and they had the Genesis on display with Altered Beast running.  I watched it run through the attract screen, I notice immediately that the graphics were not as good as the arcade, I was quite disappointed. even though months later I would get a Genesis.  there had been plenty of magazine coverage of the new 16-bit systems including pictures of Genesis Altered Beast next to the Master System version, highlighting the difference but no comparison between Arcade and Genesis. 

in 1997 I bought my own Altered Beast arcade machine so I didn't have to deal with the inferior home versions.
just this past September I bought PS2 Sega Genesis Collection which contains both the Genesis and Arcade versions.

In my humble opinion, Sega should have based the Genesis DIRECTLY on the System 16B board.   note that this board is NOT one of Sega's highend "Super-Scaler" boards, but a midrange board that could've been shrunk down into a console.  commen misconception is that Genesis is basicly System 16 technology, it's not, other than the fact that both use the 68000 CPU.

[nat]

How do you feel about the PCE Altered Beast?

[WoodyXP]

In my humble opinion, Sega should have based the Genesis DIRECTLY on the System 16B board. 

Word life.  But if they did that I would have been a shut-in for the next 10 years.