Metacritic Games

Altered Beast: Guardian of the Realms (GameBoy Advance)

Zeus, creator and ruler of the Guardians of the Gates, raises you from your grave! You must go fourth and defeat a new, unknown evil that has destroyed the Guardians and ravaged the universe. To do so, you must collect the keys and Essence of each land, transforming you into beasts with unnatural powers and special abilities. Conquer this evil and you will become the sole Guardian, the protector of the universe. [THQ]

THQ
Action
Players: 4
T (Teen)
Developer: 3d6 Games
Released November 25, 2002

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

63 / 100

Critic Reviews

80 G4 TV
A classic that deserves being reborn, and the remake is even bigger than the original. There are more levels, more beast forms, and a multiplayer mode for those who own a link cable.
75 Game Informer
The battle system is unexciting overall, but there is some mysterious draw to seeing all the different beast forms that keeps you playing. [Feb 2003, p.110]
75 IGN
A fun remake of a bland Genesis game... and it's rare to say that a Sega remake, developed by a US studio, is better than the original.
70 Cheat Code Central
This GBA version is not a port. This game has depth and new features that make it more exciting while injecting some badly needed depth.
70 All Game Guide
As a homage to the original title, Altered Beast: Guardian of the Realms is merely passable, thanks to its carbon-copy design; fans expecting a revitalization of the franchise should look elsewhere.
60 GameSpot
Held back by its adherence to the bland design of the original game.
60 Pocket Games
If you can look past the ugly visuals, grab a friend and tacked this revamped classic in Cooperative mode (but skip the dull four-man face-off). [Spring 2003, p.29]
60 Electronic Gaming Monthly
If you can look past the ugly visuals, grab a friend and tackle this in Cooperative mode (but skip the dull four-man face-off) [Feb 2003, p.158]
60 GamePro
A much bigger, much longer version of a Sega classic that captures the spirit of the original perfectly, but the repetitious nature of the gameplay doesn’t quite withstand the test of time.
56 Nintendo Power
Up to four players can join in a free-for-all battle. [Feb 2003, p.159]
54 GameSpy
With overly elongated levels, forced backtracking through previously explored stages, and increasingly eye-bleedingly giddy color schemes the further through the game you progress, Altered Beast: GotR is a slightly disastrous attempt to replicate the side-scrolling nature of its source material.
53 Nintendojo
Don’t bother buying Altered Beast. It isn’t worth it unless your idea of fun is pressing two or three buttons through 20 levels of bland, uninspired environments and continually dying along the way.
30 GameCritics
Nearly all progress in game design over the last fifteen years has been ignored, and it shows.

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