Altered Beast/Round 3

Stage description

The third stage takes place inside of a large underground cavern carved out by a race of ant-men known as Cave Needles. Unlike previous stages, this stage contains numerous platforms at various levels. It is also the first stage which contains pits. If you fall into one, you lose a life, regardless of how much health you had. Collecting enough orbs to reach the Bear transformation will require fast reflexes on your part, in order to intercept the shining wolves before they flee the screen. Many enemies will attack you from every direction. Use the higher platforms to avoid danger before you become a Bear, and use the Bear's petrification attack to petrify and block attacks.

Enemies

Returning enemies

Lascert Wolves, Skinny Orculus, Grave Masters, Chicken Stinger

Cave Needles	Rock Turtle
Points: 100 Cave Needles are not strong, but they are some of the fastest enemies that you will encounter in the game. They run mindlessly in one direction, attempting to stab any intruders they encounter with the stinger on their abdomen. Whenever they run into something, they immediately turn around and continue running in the opposite direction.	Points: 500 Rock Turtles are very deceptive. They look like slow, ineffective enemies that crawl along any surface. However, when you approach them, they may surprise you with their ability to leap into the air and drop down on top of you with their incredible weight. Don't let them get the drop on you; get close and take them out before they can attack.

Transformation

The bear transformation is the only one that doesn't offer a significant benefit to your movement. As a bear, you are about as fast as you are when you're human. But the bear does have some impressive attacks that make up for this. By pressing the punch button, the Bear leans forward and exhales a bit of breath which has the ability to petrify any enemy that comes in contact with it. These petrified enemies actually serve as barriers and obstacles that affect other enemies. While a few like Chicken Stingers and Gave Masters have the ability to break through them, most must simply turn around and go the other way. You can also use petrified enemies as platforms. The kick attack causes the bear to roll up into a large ball, and leap very high in the air before coming crashing down to the ground, damaging any enemy that he lands on.

Silver wolves

Arcade version

Segment 1

1. When the stage begins, Cave Needles will appear on the screen from every direction. Drop down to the floor to avoid the two that appear from the left on the higher ledge, and then jump back up. Two brown wolves will leap over to the ledge. Kick them when they arrive, and then walk up to the edge of the ledge and be prepared to punch the silver wolf that leaps over to you. Watch out for the Chicken Stinger that appears on the ground below as you attempt to collect the orb.
2. Shortly after that, more wolves will appear from the right on the ledge. Two brown wolves will jump onto the ledge and hesitate before leaping forward. Kick them out of the way if you can, and prepare for the silver wolf who leaps on behind them.
3. When you see a large rock in the middle of the screen, one brown wolf will appear on the right, and use it to leap up to the ledge above. A second brown wolf will appear on the right and leap across the ledges. A silver wolf will appear behind the second wolf and follow the same path.

Segment 2

1. A silver wolf will appear alone, and remain stationary on the small ledge off the ground. Eventually, two brown wolves will appear from the right and leap off the same small ledge.
2. Shortly after, two brown wolves will appear on the right, and leap across the ledges before dropping to the floor. A silver wolf will appear on the ground behind two rocks. A Grave Master will approach the rocks and destroy them if you do not, allowing the silver wolf to run to the left. If possible, leave the first rock standing so the wolf can't escape.

Segment 3

1. A pack of four brown wolves will appear on the floor from either side. A silver wolf will appear and remain in place on the first ledge that appears above them.
2. Two stationary wolves will appear after the gap in the floor. A brown wolf will be waiting on the ground, and a silver wolf will appear on the ledge immediately above him. Watch out for two more brown wolves appearing from the left.
3. Above the same ledge, two brown wolves appear at the top from the right and leap to the left. A silver wolf will appear behind them.
4. Shortly after that, twp brown wolves will appear from the left and leap across the ledges. A silver wolf will appear behind them, a bit more slowly, and follow a lower path. The rock in the middle may slow it down, but a Grave Master is likely to destroy it.

Genesis version

Segment 1

1. When the stage begins, Cave Needles will appear on the screen from every direction. Drop down to the floor to avoid the two that appear from the left on the higher ledge. Two brown wolves will leap off the right ledge and down to the floor. Kick them when they land. A silver wolf will follow behind them, but by the time he lands, the screen will have scrolled too far to the right. You must either jump up and attack the wolf on the way down to the ground, or jump up to the ledge and attack before the wolf jumps off.
2. A brown wolf will appear on the ledge from the left, just as a gap appears in the floor below the smaller platform. Stand between the two small platforms near the top to attack the slow silver wolf that follows behind the brown wolf.
3. As those platforms are about to scroll off the screen, a brown wolf will appear on top of them on the left and leap down to the floor, followed by another brown wolf and a silver wolf. Stand in the lower right corner to attack them.

Segment 2

1. Shortly after the segment starts, a brown wolf will leap quickly along the floor from left to right, followed closely by a silver wolf.

Segment 3

1. As soon as the segment starts, a brown wolf will leap down from the platform on the right, followed quickly by a silver wolf.
2. Beyond the gap in the floor, a brown wolf and a silver wolf will appear near simultaneously, with the brown wolf starting on the ground, and the silver wolf on a platform just off the ground.
3. Later on in the stage, you'll see two brown wolves leaping across the floor from left to right. A silver wolf gets deposited on the upper platform on the left side, but it tends to face the wrong way (to the left) and so your only chance to get the orb is if you hit it when it appears, before it scrolls off the screen.

Boss: Moldy Snail

Neff transforms into a giant snail-like creature known as the Moldy Snail. It resembles a giant snail shell on the bottom, and a dragon head appears to rise out of the top. The snail shell has a curious hole in the side, just high enough for the bear to approach and breath into. Every time he does, the shell shifts back a small amount until the dragon head is forced to rise. If you do not breath in this hole continuously, the shell will begin to slide back to the right and the head will lower. If you breath into it frequently enough, a flap above the shell will rise and hit the head, causing damage to the boss.

Naturally, the Moldy Snail will not stand still and simply take this attack. It defends itself by launching two types of spores into the air. These spores rise up to the ceiling, and then drop to the floor in winding circles. Of the two types of spores, one is a regular green spore, and the other is ignited by fire. As a bear, you can remove the ordinary spores simply by using the Kick attack to roll into a ball, and leap in the air, crashing into the spores harmlessly as you land. However, you can't dodge the fire spores so easily. In order to avoid taking damage, you should consider using the Kick attack to throw yourself in the body of the boss, where you will slowly and eventually be pushed back to the right.

Breath into the hole as much as possible until the boss sustains too much damage and is defeated.

Note about the Genesis version: Repeated breathing into the hole does not cause the flap to rise and hit the head for damage. Once the Moldy Snail is pushed all the way to the back so that the head is up, you have to manually strike the head, either by using the kick attack to roll into the head, or by jumping up and using the punch attack to breath on the head. If you leave the head alone for a long enough period of time, the shell will slide back to the left, and you'll have to push it back to the right to resume your attack.

Oracle Eye

Once Moldy Snail is defeated and Neff steals your powers, you are shown another image of Athena. This time, the effects of the spell are beginning to kick in. Athena is undergoing a transformation into her own beast form. In Athena's case, she is becoming a dove, which is one of the symbols that the Greek goddess is associated with.