Twenty years have passed since the hostile alien race known as the Vortaak threatened the Earth. Humanity has learned to coexist peacefully with the giant monsters of the world, with most of the beasts now living on Monster Island while being safely monitored behind containment fields. But this peacetime suddenly comes to an abrupt end as an unexpected meteor shower bombards the planet, causing gigantic crystals to grow out of the ground. The situation grows more and more dire as monsters, both captive and previously unknown, awaken and begin attacking major cities in an effort to destroy the crystals and absorb their mysterious powers. All the while the Vortaak, whom have been amassing an even greater army than before, have redeclared war on Earth and begin sending alien weaponry and monsters of their own to harvest the crystals.
Due to the alien nature of the crystals, cities around the world have been assaulted by unusual weather patterns and earthquakes. One of these cities is Seattle, which has the unfortunate luck of being showered by the ash and lava of the reawakened volcano, Mount Rainier. But unbeknownst to all, crystal formations near the shores of the burning city are beginning to behave strangely. Several crystals have managed to pierce their way through the earth's crust into the lithosphere. In a perfect mix of magma, the accumulated power of the crystals, and the raw, ferrous materials of the earth, a new monster is born: a living rock beast that eventually becomes known as Obsidius. The seemingly mindless creature digs his way from under the shores of Seattle and out of the nearby volcano. Obsidius then sets his sights on the most unstable crystal formations scattered across the planet, spewing fire and brimstone on everything in his wake.
Powers / Weapons
Inferno
An intense heat attack. Torrents of lava taking the form of a beam stream from Obsidius's maw, smothering the opponent in an endless wash of smoldering volcanic energy.
Rip It Up
A close-ranged physical attack. Obsidius digs his hands into the earth and then tears upwards, striking the body of his opponent with clawed fingers while throwing rock and dirt into the foe's face. While a fairly basic technique, Obsidius can also perform this move in shallow water or lava, propeling both dirt and a mix of either element, lava being the most effective for Obsidius to utilize in combat.
Extraordinary Jumper
Obsidius can jump extraordinarily high. Despite being a heavy monster, Obsidius has no trouble leaping to great heights, and can perform a variety of melee moves while in the air.
Lava Immunity
Obsidius is completely immune to lava. He can wade through molten rivers with ease, and can even emerge from the mouth of an active volcano. In some cases, Obsidius will even utilize lava in his Rip It Up technique.
Curl into a Ball
Being a semi-sentient rock creature, Obsidius can contort his rocky body into the form of a ball as a means of travel or as an attack. While he has great maneuverability in this form, his heavy body subdues his speed, causing him to roll around fairly slowly.
Energy Weapon Resistance
Obsidius has a high tolerance towards a large variety of energy-based attacks, much like the crystals that spawned him. He is especially resistant to alien energy, electricity, explosives, ice-based attacks, heat, and nuclear energy.
Absorb Essence
A strategic technique with bizarre properties. While grappling a monster, Obsidius can absorb certain properties of his opponent, depending on if they are living or non-living - if organic, Obsidius steals some of their life force and heals himself; if a machine, Obsidius saps some of their energy to replenish his own stamina.
Burrowing
A monster born from the Earth itself, Obsidius is naturally capable of burrowing. While he opts not to use this skill in battles, he instead uses it as a means of travel, whether it be under the streets of a city or into the throat of a volcano.
Background and Trivia
Was one of two original monsters created by the staff at Pipeworks Software that appeared in video games published by Atari, Inc., the other monster being Krystalak.
Is one of a handful of Godzilla monsters to be referenced with gender pronouns (male).
Was a byproduct of the crystals released by SpaceGodzilla and is one of three monsters to be created in this manner, the others being Krystalak and the Sphinx.
Appeared in a 2007 roster vote on IGN alongside three other monsters. The winner of the roster vote would become an official playable monster in Godzilla: Unleashed. Obsidius won the poll, accumulating 37% of reader votes across nearly 6,000 entries. Competition included other original monsters named Firelion, Lightning Bug, and the Visitor.
Prior to appearing in any games, Obsidius's name was decided upon through a reader vote on IGN. Other names included Pyrodorah, Kazango, Dotoryo, and Volcanis, with "Magmouth" being a placeholder during the roster voting process. Interestingly, Obsidius's music file in the game files is named "ObsidiusVolcanis."
His original bio from the IGN Roster vote article referenced him as being an ancient, fiercy elemental formed from molten rock that was awakened by the crystal activity disturbing the Earth's core. Likewise, it mentions how Obsidius was created through the combination of two separate monster concepts: the first included a rocky, craggy creature made from solid rock; and the second being a creature made up of flowing magma. The article also notes how there was a consideration to have Obsidius eat rocks and debris to replenish his magma reservoir after spitting it up for an attack.
The "Absorb Essence" ability is from the PlayStation 2 version of Godzilla: Unleashed, where Obsidius is a clone character based off of Orga. As a result, the two share the same movements and have nearly identical attacks. In the Wii version of Godzilla: Unleashed, however, Obsidius has a completely original moveset with its own unique animations.
