Transform from man to beast!
"Zeus, creator and ruler of the guardians of the gates raises you from your grave! TO this end, you must go fourth and defeat a new unknown evil that has been ravaging the universe to collect the keys and essence of each world."
An action platformer created by 3d6 Games for the Game Boy Advance which was then published in the USA by THQ in 2002 with Sega publishing the game in Europe. 3d6 also created The Revenge of Shinobi for the same platform, but has nothing to do with the Sega Genesis title of the same name despite sharing a title. It is based on the Altered Beast (1988) I.P.— Description on back of the box
After the protagonist fell from their status as a realm guardian, Zeus summons the hero from the dead to save Olympus from the threat of the universe-ravaging Arcannon with the protagonist fighting through the hordes of monsters overrunning the land with their kicks, jumps, ducks, and punches utilized alongside a bunch of power-ups that can be grabbed to heal the player, move faster, shield themselves, and fight enemies with magic. When the player grabs Spirit Orbs, they grow in size and strength until becoming a beast on the third orb with the transformation depending on the level such as a wolfman, tiger, or a dragon. There can also be a second player helping out in fighting the evil plaguing the land as well. This also served to be the last game released in the lifetime of 3d6 before its doors closed.
Altered Beast: Guardian of the Realms has examples of these tropes:
- Auto-Scrolling Level: Just like its arcade forebearer, the screen advances on its own. Slowly when there's enemies around, faster if it's just the player character.
- Big Bad: The Arcannon, having ravaged the universe, becomes a threat to Olympus and it's up to the player to stop the fiend.
- Brutal Bird of Prey: One of the forms that can be used to tear down enemies into chunks is the transformation into an eagle man called Avion.
- Canis Latinicus: Zigzagged. Some of the beast forms are introduced using Latin names, like the werewolf is literally "Canis" and the wereshark is "Charodon" (a corrupttion of Carcharodon), while other forms are sourced from other languages, like the weresnake being "Nagi"* and the wereturtle being "Terapis"*.
- Cardiac Boss: "Dreamscape", the fourteenth stage, features a giant heart as its final boss. The heart is made up of five pieces that attack one at a time, each one shooting pellet-like things at the player character until the segment is destroyed.
- Digitized Sprites: The sprites for the player characters, their beast forms, and all the enemies were made from pre-rendered computer graphics.
- Gotta Catch Them All: Replaying each stage lets you find talismans for the level's beast form, which give you color variations to select through.
- Green and Mean: One enemy type is a kind of bizarre green-skinned humanoid with vaguely frog-like limbs that shambles forward to attack the player. There are also other green variants of other hostiles as well.
- Heal Thyself: Finding an Ambrosia fully restores your health, while a Regenerate gradually restores it over time.
- Hydra Problem: The third boss is a three-headed snake that wrapped its body around a tree. You need to completely destroy its heads to defeat it.
- Mythology Gag: The Chicken Stingers from the original game can be seen trapped in cobwebs in the level Dubari.
- Nerf: The dragon form had its ability to fly from the first game removed and instead walks like the werewolf form.
- Omnicidal Maniac: The Arcannon has laid waste to the universe up to this point and seeks to rain destruction upon Olympus as part of the routine.
- Post-Defeat Explosion Chain: The second boss explodes from right to left after defeat.
- Rewarding Vandalism: Power-ups are often hidden behind background pieces that can be destroyed.
- Smart Bomb: The Armageddon and Earthquake power-ups kill everything currently on screen.
- Snake People: One transformation used to tear apart enemies is a snakeman.
- Studded Shell: One of the transformations is a bizarre turtle man called Terrapis with spikes all over its shell as well as horns.
- The Trees Have Faces: Some of the trees in the third stage's background feature animated faces.
- Throwing Your Shield Always Works: The first boss throws shields as an improvised attack.
- A Winner Is You: You beat the final boss, Zeus thanks you and declares you the titular Guardian of the Realms. Roll credits.