Shadow of the Beast II Longplay (Sega CD) [QHD]

Game Info
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Developer: Digital Developments
Publisher: Psygnosis
Year of Release: 1994

Game Review & Impressions
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Iconic for its brilliant animated intro sequence, this Amiga classic was ported to the Sega Genesis and, latterly, the Sega CD. I wasn't even aware this version existed until I listened to an episode of the RGDS podcast, and so I was really curious to see what changes Digital Developments had made.

The core game design, levels and locations are unchanged, but the CD version does include a full audio CD soundtrack, additional cutscenes, updated graphics, plus voice narration for most of the dialogue. These are not unwelcome additions, but Beast II was still far from exemplary in terms of gameplay, so this feels like an odd choice to give a CD overhaul.

Something which felt like an instant downgrade over the Amiga version was the combat, chiefly because the animation system prevents you from cancelling an attack. The additional number of frames in the attack animation mean you have no way of avoiding damage unless your timing was absolutely impeccable. True, this may have been the same in the standard Genesis version, but it makes the game really frustrating in places, more so than the Amiga version.

Interestingly, the developer's included a couple of additional NPCs in the Karamoon Oasis who you can interact with, probably because they had to remove the Amiga version's chat parser and needed something to replace it with. If I'm honest, these chats are pretty perfunctory and don't add much to the proceedings. I don't think it's possible to ever collect enough gold to buy the throwing axes or potion from the vendor, chiefly because you still need the cash to pay the snail to transport you back to Karamoon.

Ultimately, what Shadow of the Beast II on Sega CD gains in presentation and production values, it loses in the gameplay department. Some of the quirks from the Amiga original are made worse, resulting in a game which, despite looking quite attractive, isn't much fun. Even then, this still feels like an old game to be rehashing in 1994, when there plenty of stock Genesis games better than this.

Information & Trivia
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- Voice narration provided by Tim Bentinck, better known as David Archer from long-running BBC radio drama, The Archers

Video Notes
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