King of the Monsters 2

"Great Monster Fighting for the Genesis!"

Back in the early nineties, one fighting game emerged which was different from most other games of genre. A genre dominated which has been dominated by Street Fighter, this new game, King of the Monsters 2, offered a new and innovative approach to the fighting game genre. Taking upon the role of various monsters ranging from lizards to robots, the game proved to be an added treat of innovation to the genre.

GameplayThe Gameplay is quite simple and synonymous to most other fighting games. You have your kick and punch buttons as well as a jump button. You move around using the directional pad in one of various locations on earth. The levels range from cities like Kyoto, to desert areas and even the bottom of the ocean. You can choose from nine diverse monsters in the game, to battle it out against the other beasts of carnage. The monsters range from “Super Geon” which is a Godzilla-type of monsters, “Beatlemania” which is, as the name implies, a giant insect- and even a giant human named “Atomic Guy.” These creatures have a differing array of attacks, like Super Geons fire breath, and Atomic Guys electric attacks. These moves are done using the directional pad, and the A, B and C buttons. However, you can only achieve some moves if you obtain power ups around the area you fight in. You can obtain a power up by destroying one of the various landmark structures in the city. Upon the destruction of one, a box with the letter P on it will appear; your monster merely has to walk over the power up to obtain it, then, the monster will change color signifying it’s newly gained power. Some of the various moves can be learned inside of the instruction manual.

The cities are littered with things to destroy, which will make any monster movie fanatic delighted to see. You can throw some buildings as well, and knock your enemy into them which can prove very satisfying to any person whom enjoys the monster movie genre. The cities also have in them, various “aliens” and human machines which can be destroyed for life-up’s and power ups as well if you are lucky. The gameplay is easy to understand and adjust to in no time.

StorylineThe storyline is a simple one; these monsters have landed on earth, and are battling for supremacy of the planet. Each monster, however, has a brief backstory given in the instruction manual to give a reason for their existence, and possible affinity to good or evil. For example, the monster “Huge Frogger” was sent by an intergalactic federation to suppress the human civilization. Of course, a fighting games storylines can be quite cliché compared to most RPG’s on the market.

SoundThe sound in the game is average; there are your explosions, monster screams when they get knocked down, and level music. The music is synonymous to most monster movie music. They could have added a different variety of monster screams, instead of Atomic Guy and Super Geon sharing the same battle cry when they get knocked down.

GraphicsThe graphics are pretty good for the Genesis; the cities are fun to play in, and each city is quite diverse in the way they look. Each monster, likewise, is very diverse in the way they look and it adds to an immense variety to the game. The colors do not become cliché, and there is a lot of movement and things to do in each of the cities.

ReplayabilityThe game is, of course, a fighting game so it can get boring after a while. To any whom enjoy giant monsters fighting, it will add an immense replayability to them. Each monster is very different from the others, so mastering each monster can be a lot of fun to do in itself.

Final RecommendationIf you enjoy monsters, and have a craving to throw the space shuttle at another monster, or throw a giant frog into a pyramid then this game would probably be fun for you. It really is a very fun game to play, and since its for the Genesis it should be cheap to get. So, if monsters fighting sounds good, then you should enjoy this game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/22/03