The PC Engine CD version of Shadow of the Beast is – in my opinion – the best version of the game available. For two reasons: it has the most responsive controls of any version of Shadow of the Beast I’ve played (even compared to the Amiga original), and it’s also the best-looking and best-sounding version of the game too. It was developed by DMA Design and first published in 1992. In Japan it was released by Victor Interactive Software as “Mashou no Okite“, and in North America it was released for the TurboGrafx CD by Psygnosis/Turbo Technologies.

Shadow of the Beast is a scrolling fighting/action game in which you control a character called Aarbron who has been turned into a beast and is trying to turn himself back into human form again. Aarbron can run, jump, punch and kick and must face an onslaught of enemies as he tries to solve various puzzles – and beat several bosses – in order to progress onward.

The PC Engine CD version features extra animated cut scenes, which are short and dramatic and are not seen in the original or other ports. In the North American version the opening cut scenes, for some reason, are shown in a small window in the middle of the screen. In the Japanese version they are full-screen and look much better, therefore: if you’re going to play this it might be better to play the Japanese version. The game also features excellent redbook audio and other enhanced touches, like animations in the background (faces looking through holes; tentacles reaching out; lit torches flickering).

Gameplay-wise, this is still a tough game to make progress in – especially later levels in which everything but the kitchen sink is thrown at you and at times seems completely unfair. But the fast punching action definitely helps as there are none of the problems with punch timings as there are in most other versions of this game.

This is arguably the best version of Shadow of the Beast available – even better than the Amiga original. It’s by no means perfect, though. Like pretty much every version of this game it’s still possible to miss something and get stuck later in the game, which can be a real pain.

More: Shadow of the Beast on Wikipedia