Shadow of the Beast

released on Oct 01, 1989

A game that takes your computer into a totally new dimension. Shadow of the Beast is the most stunning 16-bit game you've ever played- a game that pushes your computer's features further than you ever thought they could go. Shadow of the Beast boasts the most incredible high-speed parallax scrolling ever seen. It will confront you with 132 different and vicious monsters, all as arcade quality fully animated sprites. You will be dazzled by the 128 colors appearing simultaneously on screen and rocked by the 900K of atmospheric soundtrack. And you'll be completely hooked by Shadow of the Beast's 350 screens of fast and furious action. So prepare for an experience you will never forget. Kidnapped as a child by the evil Beast Mages, you have been transformed into a creature of fearsome power, agility and strength. In this guise you faithfully serve the Beast and its cohorts for many years as their warrior-messenger. Until one day you discover an awful secret- the truth about your past... a truth that drives you wild with anger and leads you on a trail of bloody revenge against your masters. Now the time has come to enter the Shadow of the Beast! Your task is to fight your way through hostile country to the heart of the enemy's stronghold, where you will face your ultimate adversary. Along the way you will encounter an awesome array of monsters and traps. Be ruthless, be quick... for only the strongest and toughest can hope to survive. Prepare to live by your wits, relying on split-second reactions and ingenuity. Combat the diabolical creatures. Dodge the deadly plant life. Overcome the devious traps. Find and use the long-lost artifacts. Feel the adrenalin pumping through your joystick hand as the blood pounds in your heart and the tension becomes almost unbearable... Prepare to enter Shadow of the Beast.


Reviews View More

So awesome and cool yet so hard and frustrating.

Uma neurose projetada pra testar o hardware do Amiga e ser difícil, não se importando se é justo ou não.

Se destacava pelo parallax impressionante pra época, que também realçava a estética singular de seu mundo. Não é de se impressionar que o visual carrega o jogo nas costas (algo que até um dos designers admite) porque de resto você tem um level design extremamente podre, mas que de certa forma contribui pra estranhice geral que esta obra é.

De modo negativo e positivo, conhecer esse jogo foi bem interessante e fez eu me apaixonar pelos trabalhos do Roger Dean.

shoutouts to user C_F for recommending the PC engine version, which is vastly superior from the first version i played.
at first i played the genesis version because i though ''it can't be that bad'' turns out it can and it will be that bad, this is a unfair games, at times you will get hit, you will get bonked out of your mind and there is nothing you can do about, you only have one life and if you die thats it, trial and error at its worst, the saving grace was the art, the weirdness of it all and the music.
but then i heard of the pc engine version and gave it a shot, and i was surprised by it, its still a game that overall really dislikes you and want you and your whole family to choke on a cactus, but now it has remorse and gives you a live system, more fair hitbox (for the most part), but it will still bonk you to your place, it will still let you softlock yourself and it will still hate you.
at least this version have some very nice FMV to come and a even better soundtrack, i was pleasantly surprised.
and the best part, now Aarbron moans like a girl every time you get hit
(btw what are these monsters in the box art ? they aren't even in the game)

Every review on this site seems to be for the Genesis version. That version is dogshit that runs too fast and is nearly unplayable.
I would heavily rec the PC Engine version on the other hand. It's much more atmospheric, especially with the creepy 3D CGI. The turning is snappier, the player can set extra lives and continues should they need to, the collision is precise, and the built in turbo makes the game much more manageable. It's genuinely a great action platformer, if a bit short. I laughed out loud (LOL'd) when I picked up a powerup that drained my health. SOUL!

Fake-ass video game. Timmy from the sitcom 'Meeting the Fredrickersons' plays this while his mom reprimands him for being late to school. Bart Simpson steals from his dad's wallet to buy this, he can't beat level seven.

It's just a short bizarre heavy metal album cover with crappy enemy placement and don't get me started on the Genesis' version NTSC speed up problem