Beast Rizer

Beast Rizer (ビーストライザー) is a platform game developed by Burst Arts Inc. and published by Namco. The first game in the Rizer franchise, it was released in Japan on July 28, 1995 and later ported overseas months later. It was originally released on the Super Famicom (Japan) and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Overseas). It is centered around Theo and Ozzy, two young beastmen in search of their parents, only to run into Porter Tech and its forces.

Story

The game takes place in the Pentastar Islands (ペンタスター諸島), a peninsula that is actually the remnants of continents. Alongside humans exist beastmen, beings with the ability to shift between humans and anthropomorphic animals who have lived in hiding among the Islands since an incident that occurred almost ten years ago. Peace lasted until Porter Technologies Inc., under the leadership of Christopher Karlos, started liberating most of the islands. Amidst the tyranny, Theo Stormwald, a young boy who is one of these beastmen in hiding, finds himself dragged into the battle against Porter Tech while searching for his “brother” and parents.

Playable Characters

Theo Stormwald: One of the three main playable protagonists. Theo is a boy searching for his missing parents, who he claims to be held captive by Porter Tech. He was originally from Applecrest Villa, a safe haven for beastmen in the Pentastar Islands, but had to live with his close friends in the woods when Porter Tech arrived and destroyed it. As one of the hidden beastmen, Theo can transform into a coyote, but he prefers not to transform too often since the incident.

Ozzy Coleman: One of the two main playable protagonists. The oldest of the trio by two years, Ozzy was the one who looked over Theo since the disappearance of their friends, creating a brotherly bond between the two. Ozzy is looking for his father, who Porter Tech is said to have imprisoned in their building. Ozzy is also a beastman, and his beast form is the badger.

Side Characters

Julie Stemwell: A fellow teenaged girl who resides in the Western Islands. The daughter of a renowned inventor, she bears a huge grudge against Porter Tech for killing her father in order to steal his research. Julie is the first partner Theo meets while on his adventure, and she agreed to help him take down Christopher and Porter Tech. Using the prototype portal machine built by her late father, Julie allows the player character to transport to a certain location. She is also responsible for the Power Items used to aid Theo (and later Ozzy).

Samuel Connor: An orphaned boy who used to rely on thievery to make himself a living. When he first saw Theo in the Western Islands with Julie, he went and stole his satchel, believing it contained money. However, he became ambushed by a Porter Tech worker, only for him to be saved by Theo. While also giving Theo back his satchel, Samuel agrees to help Julie with some of her experiments.

Aaron "Clawface" Gerson: A young man who is the leader of the Brawl Bears gang. As a result of him entering their territory, he challenges Theo to a fist-fight to see who is more capable of fighting Porter Tech. Theo lost, but Aaron admired his resolve and determination, so he decides to help him in his battle.

Rick Ogami: A wild boy who lives in the rainforests of the Southwestern Islands. Willing to protect the exotic home of his late father who had raised him here, he attacked Theo while he was entering the rainforest. But luckily he apologized for his actions and assisted him in fighting Porter Tech. Rick is able to create certain traps while also using his natural instincts.

Walter McDowell: a wealthy young man who is the son of an entrepreneur. He hardly remembers what happened to his family, but he does remember owning a strange black crow he named Krow. After saving them from the plantmen, he invited Theo and Ozzy to talk about how to take down Porter Tech and planned to offer his services to their friend Julie. Krow has a unique ability that transforms it into a scythe, which Walter mainly uses.

Mikoto Nakajima: A fellow girl who resides in the Eastern Islands. As she went to school, she noticed that her classmates were not feeling their usual selves. Julie went to investigate with her and she found out that there are plants spread across the school that contained acids and viruses. After thanking Julie and meeting the others, Mikoto agreed to find shelter.

Kiba Lee: An optimistic and rotund young man who plans on setting up his own restaurant in the Western Islands. He resides in the Southeastern Islands to learn some cultural recipes. However, when he was ambushed by a swarm of Porter Tech fighters, the heroes appeared to fight them off. Kiba promised that he will repay them by forming his own restaurant to honor their victory.

Grace MacDouglas: A timid girl who carries with her a dark persona: the Blade Empress. Catching wind of her other persona's evil-doings, she was captured by the Pine Wood Army led by Sergio. Grace was able to escape thanks to Walter and the beastmen, who were also captured due to their interference, and became the Blade Empress to help them escape. She agreed to help defeat Porter Tech under her own terms. Grace can switch between any of her personalities.

Denny Spinner: A toddler who was separated from his parents. He was found by Kiba while his friends were searching across the Northern Glaciers for Porter Tech’s base of operations. Amidst the reveal of the chimeras, Kiba decided to take Denny in as his adoptive brother and seek refuge.

Ryuji Takamoto: A young teenager who, like the beastman trio, is searching for his missing parents. He was originally taught under the teachings of the scientist Subaru Watagi, but once he started working for Porter Tech, he traveled to other islands in order to become strong enough to kill Christopher. Due to their interferences, Ryuji is considered to be the rival of Theo himself. Eventually, after Theo barely escaped Porter Tech’s building, he was rescued by Ryuji and the two agreed to kill Christopher for good.

Boss Characters

Kristina, Jesse, and Grinder: A trio of agents that follow Theo and his friends on their way to the Neo Syndicate’s headquarters. While not as threatening as they claim to be, they just feel an intense drive to prove themselves to their fellow Porter Tech members and their boss Christopher. Kristina is the leader of the trio, whereas Jesse is the mechanic and Grinder the muscle. They attack the heroes using specific machines sent by Porter Tech. The trio begins to question their allegiance to Porter Tech when the chimeras are unleashed.

Sabrine Beatrice: A beautiful woman who works as a singer in a run-down club at the Southwestern Islands. After Theo went missing for a while, Julie has Sabrine help her cross a blockade formed by Porter Tech workers. Eventually, she is revealed to be a worker for Porter Tech herself and attempts to kill Julie and the others before Theo, after reuniting with Ozzy, intervened.

Forrest Flytrap: One of the many plantmen created and grown by Porter Tech for their secret project. After Rick apparently attacked some of the plantmen, Forrest decided to punish him by trapping him in vines. However, the trio of beastmen sliced the vines and saved Rick. Forrest apologized and promised not to attack anyone and only follow his attended purpose. Later, the plantmen’s purpose is revealed: to create seeds containing chimeric acid for Christopher’s project.

Sergio Woodham: A tough man who is a corporal for the Pine Wood Army. He had his troops capture the beastmen to interrogate them on how they were able to reveal their beast forms without being killed. But Grace, as the Blade Empress, freed them and helped them escape, leaving Sergio furious and ordering his army to go after them. It is revealed that Sergio also works for Porter Tech, like Sabrine.

Suzukaze: An assassin hired by Porter Tech. He only joined because Christopher promised him the survival and safety of his wife Chihomi. When the heroes arrived at the Northern Glaciers to find Porter Tech’s headquarters, Suzukaze encountered them all with his assassin skills, but the beastman trio was able to weaken him. Later, it is revealed Chihomi already became a part of Christopher’s secret project, thus causing the assassin to be heartbroken and risk his life to rescue her.

Blair McGuire: An eccentric man who works for Porter Tech. He had a close relationship with Ozzy, taking him in after being separated from his close friends. Later, it is revealed that he is assisting Christopher in the Beast Rizer Project, an attempt to create beastmen in their image, only for the test subjects to become chimeras as a result.

Subaru Watagi: An elderly man who wished to learn more of the beastmen. In the past he was a scientist, working on experiments that may create a healthy and strong beastman, but after several failed attempts, one of which led to the creation of the first chimera, he quit his position and ended up serving Porter Tech. He was also a sword master, teaching a boy named Ryuji most of his techniques during his off-time. Alongside Dr. Von Flesch, Subaru plans on taking his research to the next level.

Rudolf von Flesch: A  mad scientist who acts as Subaru’s partner. Like him, he used to be interested in the mystery behind the beastmen and performed several experiments, most of which are lethal. Once Porter Tech came into his life, he offered his services to him and created some chimera-related experiments, such as the plantmen.

Christopher Karlos: The main antagonist of the game. Christopher is an influential businessman and the founder of Porter Tech who shares his curiosity around the beastmen with several others. He started his new Beast Rizer Project and, with the teleportation research of Julie’s father and Subaru and Dr. von Flesch’s experiments, he aims to create his own beastmen and introduce them to the world. But these experiments led to the birth of the chimeras around the world. After his first defeat against the heroes, Christopher uses the Beast Rizer project to mutate himself into a giant chimera monster and spread the chimera seeds across the world to contain everyone inside chimera plants. But his efforts were stopped when Theo and Ozzy, who became giant chimeras during the mutation, destroyed him. Some of his body parts were later reformed into new islands.

Islands and Areas

Western Islands

• Applecrest Villa
• Pine Tree Forest
• Flora Town
• Porter Tech Headquarters

Southwestern Islands

• Summer Circle
• Growth Rainforest
• Grain Trail (Porter Tech site)

Southeastern Islands

• Wild Zone
• Ancient Temples (Porter Tech site)

Eastern Islands

• Sundial Town
• Black Piers (Porter Tech site)
• Harukawa Middle School

Northern Glaciers

• Arctic Facility (Porter Tech site)