Review:
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters (Super Nintendo)

Class: Staff
Author: Anthony Romero
Published: October 21st, 2005

After the incredibly disappointing Super Godzilla in 1993, Toho went out to make amends with their next Godzilla title for the 16-bit system. For their next offering to the Super Nintendo, referred to as Super Famicom in Japan, Toho drafted out the job to Alfa Systems, instead of designing the game themselves as they had with the 1993 game. All in all, Toho made a wise choice as Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters is one of the few video games, out of the many featuring the title character, worth searching out.

In retrospect to the great fighting games in the Super Nitnendo's line up, like Street Fighter II and Killer Instinct, Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters is hardly worth mention. However, one shouldn't undercut Alfa System's efforts entirely on the basis that there are better entries in the genre on the system. To the firm's credit, the game is still a blast to play for fans of the title monster, and is pretty much the unchallenged king in regards to 2-D fighting games based on Godzilla, as the only true competition is found on the Turbo Duo system whose two button design (one button of which was wasted for jumping) is far less suited for the genre.

Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters plays like nearly all traditional 2-D fighters, although it lacks the speed (not too surprising given the characters) and overly easy combos of more recent entries in the genre. There are some things added on to give it a sense of distinction, like the stun meter, but nothing too memorable. The special meter, and the idea behind it, is nothing new, although its connection with the stun meter is a rather ingenious touch on Alfa System's part as it will cause for some rather hectic moments as players will be frantically trying to execute a special before the opponent lands in another hit to fill their stun meter and cause them to collapse, draining their special meter in the process.

A area which does deserve notable praise here is the roster of characters, which is pretty solid. There is a nice collection of some of Toho's most recognizable monsters present, although the exclusion of Rodan seems odd. Still, the list of characters here is mostly diverse, with each having a distinct play style. The exception, of course, is the two Heisei Mechagodzilla, with Super Mechagodzilla being identical to his regular counterpart except with added moves. The characters of Mothra and the, only unlockable through code, Gotengo are worth separate mention, as they hardly fit into the traditional mold of fighting characters as they fly about the screen while battling.

Of course, one of the chief issues with fighting games is balance, as preferably every character should be equal so players can pick who they like without feeling handicapped or like they are cheating. However, no fighting game has ever achieved perfect balance, and Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters is no exception as a top and low tier do emerge after continuous play, although, thankfully, it's nothing drastic. The top tier characters here seem to be: Anguirus, Gigan, King Ghidorah, and Super Mechagodzilla. Anguirus and Gigan tend to excel on the basis of their speed, and they are also the only dependable characters for constant combos, which the blocking system highly favors. King Ghidorah gets cited simply for his extraordinary damage and the incredible reach with a lot of his attacks, although his great special doesn't hurt either. Super Mechagodzilla gets the obvious nod here as well, as his regular form is just shy of making the list anyway. His ability to double jump is incredibly powerful, and its use for dodging almost all special attacks can't be ignored. Super Mechagodzilla's range attacks are top notch as well, with the Plasma Grenade ensuring that any distance based warfare is unwise for the other player, but the incredible reach on the mechanical monster's kicks allow him to go toe-to-toe with other characters without worry. Of course that doesn't even mention his special, which will often end the match if he connects.

For every top tier, though, there is a low tier of characters who just don't measure up. So who makes such a list for Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters? Fortunately it's only one character: Biollante. The diversity Alfa System attempted for the character is appreciated, but a slow, giant character who can't jump or boast any great range attacks is just a sitting duck against the others, regardless of how damaging her moves might be. The issue might have been better tackled if Biollante had some sort of health bonus, but she is defeated with the same number of hits as any other character in the game. Still, for all the nit picking, the game is balanced enough so that all of the characters, save perhaps Biollante, can be readily enjoyed by players depending on their play style.

The last area to touch on here, and another aspect of praise for Alfa System, is the game's AI. It should be noted that it is pretty brutal on new comers, as it ramps up very quickly in the Normal Mode after the first match is finished (thankfully the game has infinite continues), but it's set just right to keep things a little interesting for more seasoned players. The best aspect is that it doesn't fall back on predictable patterns, where you could do one move and expect the same response every time, which makes the matches feel more organic... although the AI doesn't grasp the concept of the Plasma Grenade move, but it's really only one instance.

In sight of how far video games have come in the past decade, the graphics here are hardly notable, but for the Super Nintendo one can only praise Alfa System's efforts here. The character models have generous details placed into them, while enough frames are placed into the moves so they don't look jarring. The backgrounds are also good, but not as perfect. Some stages, like the Outskirts of Tokyo, look fantastic even today, but the destruction effects are far too simplistic, while some, such as Osaka Castle, occur so suddenly that it just looks out of place.

Keeping this in perspective to the limitations of the Super Nintendo, one can hardly fault the audio presentation here. The music in each of the stages is diverse, with a midi-like reworking of the Godzilla theme being added in for stages in which the monster is present, while the menu music is often great; in fact, I quite enjoy the Versus menu title music, and considering how often one is likely to hear the tune it's also wisely placed. The sound effects are generally good as well, with all of the monsters roars being intact with compression being hardly noticeable, which is quite a feat given the hardware. The only real fault of the presentation here is the annoying "static" sound effect that plays whenever a stage that has been beaten is scrolled over.

The controls here should be familiar to most fighting game fans, with quarter circles and half circles for most of the moves. There is also the occasional, and impractical in the heat of combat, full circle move to test one's skills on. The use of only one button for grab moves, and then another for mostly non-offensive maneuvers, is also a great idea. Unfortunately, the controls aren't as responsive as they should be. On occasion, a player's monster will end up attacking in the wrong direction, as they don't turn around to face their opponent fast enough sometimes. The hit detection on Mothra and the Gotengo seems off at times too, which is most noticeable when the two flying characters are right next to the other player.

The game, like all fighting games, is very easy to just pick up and play when one is in the mood. However, unless one has human players to battle it out with, the AI gets a little old after awhile. The game doesn't boast anything to unlock either, so there is very little incentive to try and face off against Super Mechagodzilla or the Gotengo in the Normal Mode, unless one is pressed for a challenge. Having to re-enter the codes each time the game is started up is very tiresome as well, especially the Gotengo's incredibly difficult code. The lack of battery save, which means it erases your high score when powered off, also kills the idea of trying to challenge normal mode to best your own high score.

Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters has its share of faults, one can be sure, but it has aged surprisingly well and there is still a lot of fun to be had for gamers who are willing to master the fighting style of characters, although more incentive to do so would have been greatly appreciated.

It's a shame, though, that the game was never released in the US, especially after a overseas version was prepared and even shipped to reviewers before the title was pulled from its pending release. Although I suppose one can always hope (pray?) that the elusive US version might finally show itself on the Nintendo Revolution in the future.