PCE, SNES and Genesis, screen comparison.

[Joe Redifer]

PCE version definitely does win.  Better than the Amiga!

[ParanoiaDragon]

I love the clouds in the Gen version compared to the Turbo & SNES, the dungeon area looks like crap though compared to the Turbo's version with tables & chairs & ....stuff!

[Arkhan]

nicely done parallax clouds doesnt make up for it being a crummy version on genesis, lol

[Tatsujin]

the amiga version is grafically far far far superior to any other versions. the pce controlls better and the BGM is far far far superior to any other versions (but probably equal to the marty version, which i've never played nor heard so far).

[Black Tiger]

the amiga version is grafically far far far superior to any other versions. the pce controlls better and the BGM is far far far superior to any other versions (but probably equal to the marty version, which i've never played nor heard so far).

I once said I prefer the PCE one to the original on Amiga and was shot down in a hail of Amiganerd gunfire.

There's a big difference between technically impressive and visually impressive. The Amiga SotB has drab boring colors mixed with worse art and shading style overall than the PCE, Gen and MD versions, various versions have improved details and the Amiga player sprite doesn't look nearly as nice as the SMS and PCE versions. I like the visuals of the PCE, Gen and MD more than the Amiga. The FM Towns version is by far the most technically impressive, judging from video of the forest stage, but it looks awful.

Overall the japanese Megs Drive version probably looks best in-game. It's too bad that it doesn't have the PCE sprite.

[spenoza]

I forget. Was Shadow of the Beast comparison video on YouTube posted here previously?

[ceti alpha]

I forget. Was

Shadow of the Beast comparison video on YouTube posted here previously?

Thanks spenoza!

[Black Tiger]

I forget. Was

Shadow of the Beast comparison video on YouTube posted here previously?

It sure was. That's the one I based most of my judgment on.

[Arkhan]

The Amiga SotBs all suck.  They are not visually better really.  PCE CD one beats the Amiga one.  I once plugged the A1200 into my TV and my PCE into the TV and compared.  PCE even ran smoother

I own all 3 for Amiga.  The CDRom variants on PCE/sega CD are better

....even though 3 wasnt for them.  It would have been better elsewhere.  3 Needed a port... >_<

The controls are awful on the Amiga.  Like most action games on the Amiga.

[awack]

                genesis US                                          Genesis JP




                               AMIGA

[Retro-Nerd]

The controls are awful on the Amiga.  Like most action games on the Amiga.

This is a NOT true. There are enough Amiga action games with decent controls. Too many to list them all. Sounds like a typical "console only" user, even if you said that you own an Amiga. I hate these broad-brush comments.

The PC-Engine CD version of Beast 1 has indeed a better playability, but no better graphics. Anyway, it's still a boring game. Beast III was the only good one in this series.

There's a big difference between technically impressive and visually impressive. The Amiga SotB has drab boring colors mixed with worse art and shading style overall than the PCE, Gen and MD versions, various versions have improved details and the Amiga player sprite doesn't look nearly as nice as the SMS and PCE versions. I like the visuals of the PCE, Gen and MD more than the Amiga.

It's a matter of taste. I prefer the more "muddy" Amiga look over the bonbon PCE colors. It matches perfectly the great atmosphere of the Amiga version. The other version looks, sounds and plays different. That's normal.

The PCE-CD version has indeed a great playability (well balanced difficulty) and an awesome CD score. That's true. 

[bust3dstr8]

I forget. Was

Shadow of the Beast comparison video on YouTube posted here previously?

Seems like Psygnosis used the same arranged soundtrack on the Marty and PCE.

[Retro-Nerd]

I forget. Was

Shadow of the Beast comparison video on YouTube posted here previously?

Seems like Psygnosis used the same arranged soundtrack on the Marty and PCE.

That's true. The FM Towns Marty game was released a few month before the Japanese PC-Engine CD version. They used the same soundtrack.

btw: There are so many incompetent web reviews about retro games which makes me sick. This is a good example, especially this passage:

Get this only if you are very nostalgic for your Amiga or if you have an Amiga and Shadow of the Beast and for some bizarre reason like playing it but don't want to torture yourself with the 5-minute floppy load times. I'll tell you what this game did for my Amiga nostalgia: it killed it, and only for a ridiculous floppy-based system and its owners who were really starving for arcade-quality games could a game like this have been touted as being something so great. God bless cartridges, and hard drives, and companies that realized how lame it was to try to play a game with nothing but a floppy drive.

http://genesisreviews.tripod.com/reviews/beast.html

He criticses that the game was on Amiga Disk only? On a COMPUTER? The Amiga version was released in 1989 and harddrives were very expensive, especially the SCSI ones. Only a few people could afford these useful hardware at that time.

Typical console freak reviews, probably the NES generation. Without an open mind for other machines than consoles. I love all the old computer and console games, but i wouldn't write such shitty reviews. Honestly. 

Today it's pretty easy to play the old Amiga games via IDE-CF card/harddrive. Just install WHDLoad and play the old classics.  And YES, i'm a huge PC-Engine fan too. No doubt!!!

[Tom]

 Pfft. The Amiga wasn't even powerful enough to handle proper game controls. Silly Amiga.

[sunteam_paul]

 Pfft. The Amiga wasn't even powerful enough to handle proper game controls. Silly Amiga.

Best thing about the Amiga was you could plug Genesis/Mega Drive pads into it (some games even used the multiple buttons in what was then a single-button world). It's odd to think that joysticks were the norm when controlling games and there were people that preferred them over pads.