Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee

"Buy this game, and wait for a sequel..."

I am sort of a fan of Godzilla, and I bought this mostly because it was a Godzilla game. After renting it I realised it was so good I had to buy it. It is the cream of the crop, tied with Super Smash Brothers for best fighting game (to me). You choose your monster, each one from one Godzilla movie or another, choose your arena (each one a 3D model of cities such as LA, Osaka, Tokyo...), and beat the snot out of each other.

Gameplay: 9
GDAMM has 6 game modes: Versus and Survival (which are both neccessary for a fighting game), Melee (a point based timed multiplayer match), Team Battle (2 on 2 or 2 on 1 versus match), Adventure (Arcade mode), and Destruction (a timed match in which players destroy buildings for points). All of these modes, Destruction and Versus in particular, insanely fun. The controls are simple, but just a little tough to memorise. Unlike most fighting games, there are no 'special combos' resulting in super moves. Instead, the moves are set like super smash brothers (example: with Godzilla back + A is a double hammerfist). Using combinations of punching, kicking, and power moves will set up a 3-hit combo, flawlessly executed by your monster (if you use, say, punch, kick, punch, it will turn out more like punch, roundhouse, uppercut). There is grabbing, and aside from the usual healing powerups, there is also a rage powerup (which powers up your monsters attack and enables special 'rage moves' for a short time) and Air strike (which summons mothra to attack the enemy with you for a bit). The environments are 100% destroyable, and some buildings can even be picked up and thrown. All of the eleven monsters are unique in their own way, each with weaknesses in strengths. You start with only three characters, which encourages you to play adventure and unlock them. All in all good enough for you to get just for the versus, but every other mode is just as fun.

Graphics/Sound: 10
The graphics are amazing, and looks as good as many of the later GCN games. The beams are very well done, ranging from Gigan's thin, red eye laser to Orga's golden, spiraling shoulder blasts. The beams will cast light onto nearby objects, and when using them characters will often display an unusual effect (Godzilla's spines glow when breathing fire, and Gigan's eye laser lights up the visor and tiny little red gem on his forehead). The characters themselves have amazing detail put into them (example: Anguirus' fangs are randomly angled like in the movies, and every spike reflects light). The buildings are not just colored boxes, there are details on every windowsill, and even leave clouds of dust when attacked. The water splashes with tiny waves. The sounds themselves are either the exact sound of metal/bone on flesh/bone/metal, or (in the case of the monster's sounds) are the same used in the movies, except for Ghidora's roar, which is a mix of the new and old roars. The graphics must've been triple the work than all the rest of the game, because their are even hints of reflection in the monster's eyes.

Story: 8
An alien species called the Vortaak have come to take over earth, and have used a form of mind control to take control of all of earth's monsters. What they do not expect is that the monster you chose broke free, and is now beating some sense into other monsters. Eventually one of the monsters returns to its senses, and decides to help beat some sense into the other monsters, which results in another new character to use. This plot was done in homage to the older Godzilla movies, Destroy All Monsters most of all. The only real problem with the story is the way it is presented, in little goofy broadcasts from the aliens, who look like gray people with red, buggy eyes and silver and black suits with little antenna on the helmet, also in homage to the old movies. If not for the corny way the story is given to you the plot would be more satisfying

Overall: 9
This game is an amazing game truly worth playing, and is fun enough to play ages after it's beaten. After playing this game, you will be begging for a sequel.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/01/04