Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee

Nintendo Gamecube

2002

Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee is like a wish come true for Godzilla fans. A 3D fighter, this game puts you in control of some of the greatest monsters in the vast Toho stable of destruction beasts. The game sports a number of different modes, both single, dual and multi-player. As with most games of this type, it is the ability to challenge friends to matches that gives the game its vast replayability.

The main single player game style is the Adventure mode. The storyline is something of a remake of the classic Toho extravaganza 'Destroy All Monsters'. A race of alien invaders, the Vortakk, have seized control of Earth's mightiest monsters and are using them to force the planet into capitulation. However, there is a flaw in their plans. One of the Earth monster has broken free of their control and is now seeking to defend the planet from the kaiju still under Vortakk control. Thus ensues a campaign of carnage and destruction as the player leads his champion in battles across the globe against a series of seven mind-controlled Earth monsters. At last, a final battle ensues upon the Vortakk Mothership against their ultimate champion - the dread Mechagodzilla!

The other modes are geared toward multi-player bouts. These include a Destruction mode in which the goal is to destroy as much of the arena's city as possible rather than trying to beat the tar out of your foe (though that will usually happen anyway). There is also a Melee mode in which a four-way all-out war can be waged between players and a Team mode in which two balanced forces of allies fight it out.

The arenas are highly detailed, with touches like select buildings that can be picked up and thrown and billboards that wind up flying across the screen when the building they are mounted upon collapses. The military is present in the form of tanks and attack choppers which attack whichever monster has done the most damage to the city, delivering slight damage that can occasionally tip the balance. More imposing is a mammoth Maser tank straight out of 'Godzilla vs Destroyah' which can freeze a monster with its ray, thereby leaving them open for an attack from their rival kaiju. Emergency vehicles also scoot along streets, and exploded into tiny fireballs when crushed under a kaiju's foot. Each level sports real-world landmarks, such as LAX and Parliament. Other touches are train cars and freight ships which can be thrown and oil reserves in Osaka that explode like napalm bombs. The arenas include such favorite monster stomping grounds as Osaka, Tokyo, San Francisco, London and Monster Island, as well as Seattle, LA and the Vortakk Mothership. Each arena is unlocked for multi-player mode by beating the Adventure mode with different monsters, and each city has three versions, two different partial versions as well as an expanded full city version.

As fitting for a remake of 'Destroy All Monsters', there are 11 playable monsters in this game. Selecting probably the best of the best among Godzilla's foes and allies, the kaiju offer a diverse array of powers and fighting styles. There are two versions of Godzilla, the Heisei (or 90's) version and the Godzilla 2000 version, each with their trademark breath attacks and nuclear pulse. King Ghidorah is a hybrid of the classic Showa and the Heisei versions, sporting the look of the Heisei with the brighter coloring of the Showa and endowed with sounds from both versions of the King of Terror. Rodan is also a mix in the look of the Showa and Heisei versions, cackling with the voice of the original Rodan and equipped with acrobatic aerial maneuvers as well as Fire Rodan's devastating Uranium Heat Beam, possibly one of the most damaging ranged attacks in the game. Megalon is a faithful recreation of Seatopia's guardian deity, able to burrow underground, spit napalm bombs, fire electric blasts from his horns and give an electrically charged attack with his massive drill-hands. Gigan is a berserk killing machine, with numerous deadly combinations with his sharp claws and a variety of ranged laser attacks with his visor-like eye (as well as the ability to teleport about the battlefield!). Mecha-King Ghidorah has the powers of his fleshy relation, with the gruesome additions of a slash-resistant metal body, an energy field, and paralyzing missiles. Destroyah is a massive powerhouse, with a variety of vicious energy attacks from his horn as well as several varieties of micro-oxygen breath attacks. Anguirus is the most damage resistant of all the monsters, with a tough, nigh impenetrable shell (and which will make an enemy hop up and down in pain if he kicks the Anguirus' shell), and able to deliver nasty tail lashes and kicks, even if he is less effective at ranged attacks. Mechagodzilla is represented by the Heisei version (as opposed to the Millennium version in the Japanese release) and has a truly brutal array of attacks, from his eye beams and Mega-buster to his thrusters, rotating kicks and hovering abilities to seeker missiles fired from his fingers. The final monster is Orga, a hidden character playable only after unlocking every other monster in the game and then playing through the Adventure mode again with Godzilla 2000. Orga is a grappler and bruiser, sporting a wickedly streamlined design and several nasty wrestling moves, as well as his trademark shoulder cannon.

Two other monsters make their appearance in the game, although, like Varan and Baragon in the film, their role is somewhat limited. As one of a number of powerups that appear during the battle, Mothra can be summoned to fly about the battlefield and rain energy blasts down upon your foe. More insidious is Hedorah, who will appear at random, hovering above the battlefield in his flying form. The presence of the Smog Monster pollutes the air and makes the energy bars that gauge a monster's ability to use breath attacks and special abilities regenerate quite slowly.

All in all, this is the best Godzilla game to arrive on US shores since the very limited release of the Turbo Graphix 16 game a decade ago. Unlike other Godzilla games like Super Godzilla and Godzilla: War of the Monsters, there are no weird game-play 'innovations', just good old fashioned tooth, claw, and breath attack fighting amid buildings that crumble into clouds of dust and rubble. And isn't that what a Godzilla game should be all about?