The Background

The Shadow of the Beast trilogy was a collection of video games released from 1989-1993. They were primarily written for the Commodore Amiga, but were later converted to many other formats. They follow the adventures of a beast, called Aarbron, who was once a man but was turned into a beast-servant by some hideous force. He sets out on a quest in an attempt to become human again. The games took the form of "platforms and ladders" with strong adventuring elements.

Shadow Of The Beast

The first of the Beast games was released in 1989.

The game followed Aarbron's adventures, after he escapes from slavery. The game takes the form of a horizontally-scrolling arcade game, crossed with a "platforms and ladders" arcade adventure. The beastly protagonist has no weapons and has to rely on his fists and feet for most of the game. This created on of the games major problems - difficulty. The Beast's attacks have to be fairly accurate to deal with his enemies. Since many of them come running at you at high speed across the screen, this is far easier said than done.

Unfotunately, the gameplay did not live up to the pretty visuals and sonics. Whilst far from terrible, the game was frustrating to play and somewhat badly designed. A good example of this was the fact that the player could journey quite far into the game, only to be stopped by a locked door that could only be opened by a key that needed to be collected earlier in the game and found no way to return to this earlier part.

These problems didn't prevent Shadow of the Beast being a great success and a sequel was commissioned....

Shadow Of The Beast II

Beast II was released in 1990 on Amiga. Like the original Beast it was converted to other platforms. It was not only a sequel to the original game, but also something of a re-think. The gameplay was far more puzzle-oriented (although pretty much stuck to the "platforms and ladders" format) and Aarbron was equppied with an extendable mace, as opposed to the fists and feet of the first game. The flashy parallax of the first game was scaled-down, although the atmospheric graphics and music remained intact. The protaganist had also been "awarded" with the return of some of his human form at the end of the first game and so now appeared a great deal more human (although still slightly beastly).

The main problem of the first game was still unresovled, however. Beast II was still very hard, with some "trial and error" necessary to solve some of the games' many puzzles. Despite this, the game was a success and a further sequel was made.

Shadow Of The Beast III

There was a gap of several years before the third, and final, Beast game was released in 1993. This time around, Aarbron has fully regained human form and now he is kitted out with a wide-brimmed hat and backpack. The loin-cloth is gone, replaced by a pair of trousers, although he seems to still favour the topless look. Our hero's mace is also gone, replaced by throwing-stars. This may have been a nod to the then-popular ninja-dominated arcade games.

The game-play had matured considerably from the earlier two games. Fundamentally, it took a similar path to Beast II, with a heavier-emphasis on puzzles. The major difference is in difficulty. Whilst the first two games were very difficult and often downright frustrating, this last Beast game is much easier to play. The barrages of villains that made the second game so frustrating are pretty much gone and the enemies are now easier to confront. The puzzles are still difficult, requiring both thinking and sometimes trial-and-error. Beast III is still very much a challenge, albeit a fairer one.

If the gameplay had improved the graphics, sadly, had deteriorated. The landscapes and characters are still imaginative, atmospheric and well-drawn. There is also a welcome return of the "multi-layer" parallax scrolling of the first game. The problem is that the whole thing looks "washed-out", as though someone has turned down the colour on the monitor. The backgrounds retain some colour, but there is a distinct "beige" tint to the foreground and sprites.

If the graphics had deteriorated somewhat, the sound hadn't. Tim and Lee Wright returned to compose the music, and it is every bit as impressive and atmospheric as their work in Beast II.