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Shadow of the Beast: Difference between revisions
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The original is based around a child called Aarbron being kidnapped by servants of the Beast lord, Maletoth, and taken to his realm (the nature of the series' world at large is somewhat ambiguous), then brainwashed and corrupted into a Beast over the years by evil magic. One day, while watching some sacrifices, he recognizes one of the dying victims as his father, and with the sudden remembrance of his past (and the Beast transformation [[Cursed With Awesome|conveniently making him superhumanly strong]]), begins a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] to kill Maletoth. The game was mainly noted for its stunning artwork and soundtrack (seemingly heavily inspired by the artist [[Roger Dean]], such that he designed the [[Cover Art]] for the game) and was one of the main [[Trope Codifier|Trope Codifiers]] for [[Scenery Porn]] in [[Video Games]]. It also had a combination of puzzles and combat that was somewhat novel at its time of release and it got positive reviews overall. However, the game was also undistilled [[Nintendo Hard]] and its puzzles were full of [[Trial and Error Gameplay]] and [[Unwinnable]], which got it some major criticism as well.
''Shadow of the Beast 2'' continues from the first game. While Maletoth is still at large, Aarbron's actions in the first game have allowed him to regain some of his original human form (although he still remains [[Half
In ''Shadow of the Beast 3'', Aarbron sleeps after killing Zelek, Maletoth's [[The Dragon|right-hand man]] ([[What Happened to The Mouse?|his sister is not referenced again]]) and has a dream where a wizard called Rekann, freed by Zelek's death, tells Aarbron he must find four [[MacGuffin|Macguffins]] to acquire the power to finally kill Maletoth. Waking up, Aarbron realises he has regained his human form. Soon after a plane lands seemingly of its own accord; Aarbron enters and the unmanned plane takes him toward the items he needs, and Maletoth... The visuals and soundtrack were again top-notch. The game had a more linear format to the pseudo Metroidvania design of the earlier games, with the player choosing between four different levels instead (along with a final ending level where Maletoth is fought). While there was still plenty of Trial and Error Gameplay and Unwinnable, the Nintendo Hard was heavily reduced thanks to three lives being provided, along with enhanced ranged abilities, making combat a lot easier; the luster had somewhat faded from the series for reviewers at this point, but it still saw a better reception among reviewers than the second game, and was noted for actually attempting to improve the formula.
As well as the [[Scenery Porn]] and [[Crowning Music of Awesome]], the change in the hero is also somewhat notable. In the first game, Aarbron can only use melee attacks outside of a few special items, in the second game Aarbron uses a spiked ball on a chain that allows for some minor ranged ability, and in the last game, while Aarbron has lost his superhuman strength, he has apparently gained some inexplicable ninja skills as he uses shurikens throughout, along with a couple of other ranged weapons.
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* [[All There in the Manual]]: The plot summaries above are not explained in the games at all (with the possible exception of the second game's introductory cutscene).
* [[Boss Game]]: While not a pure example, the third game has elements of this; outside of the first level "fodder" enemies are very rare and only there to drain your health a little, every other enemy is either entirely unique (although not always a boss fight) or important to a puzzle.
* [[Family
* [[Half
* [[Metroidvania]]: While the genre description didn't exist when this series came out, the semi-open world and persistent inventory that allows access to later areas gives it some link with this genre. The third game was more of a pure [[Action Adventure]] though.
* [[Nice Hat]]: Aarbron gets one in the third game.
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