"Godzilla BETTER want to save his son! (The music is wonderful, though)"

Godzilla goes in my category of deceptive games. If you were under the impression that it's a game where you control Godzilla, marching through a city and maybe chowing down on helicopters, you couldn't be more mistaken. If it weren't for the illustrations in the opening scene of this game, one might understandably wonder how this game has anything to do with Godzilla apart from the name. Well, it doesn't. This is a Bust-A-Move type puzzle game where Godzilla must prowl and climb (but never jump) around many areas, destroying rocks by punching them against either a wall or another rock. To hinder his progress are many unpleasant characters. This describes the entire gameplay, level after level after level.

The visual style of this game is a bit unfocused. Godzilla looks like a baby Godzilla, and the enemies aren't astounding either, nor do they have any attacks apart from running into you. The art present in the intro screen to the game, however, is just wonderful. The story is very touching as well; Godzilla's son has been kidnapped by monsters and taken to the heart of a labyrinth. Godzilla is gonna rescue his son and stop those monsters, no matter what it takes. You need to have the manual to know of this touching plot, otherwise you'll just see, after some levels (in the right direction - see below), Godzilla saying he'll "destroy anyone who interferes with me!" Not even hoping to reunite father and son can give me enough patience for the game, however.

This is just not a fun game to play, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Godzilla cannot jump; the A button is totally useless. His only moves are walking, climbing and punching. When pressing B, this ridiculously enormous fist appears, knocking out any enemy apart from an extremely annoying, big-eyed, heart-shaped enemy that can only be killed by a rock. No matter how many times you knock your opponents down, new ones just keep coming. What makes the game such an unpleasant experience, however, is its layout. At any time by pressing Select and choosing Full Plan, you get a screen full of question marks. These are levels you haven't played. After you've destroyed every rock in a level, at least one but usually two arrows appear, which point you in said direction on the Plan. Now, where are you supposed to go? That's the catch; you don't know. Minilla (Godzilla's son) is hidden in one of those levels. This means that you never know how close you are to actually beating the game. Most levels have multiple exits, and there are no hints, even when you look at the Plan. The question marks are identical, and there are a lot of them. We're talking no less than 64 levels. Albeit short levels, but still, levels. This means that you won't sit through this game in a hurry. Thankfully, there is a password system.

This would still be bearable if it weren't for the fact that the game tricks you, a lot. There are many instances when you have destroyed every rock in a level, only to discover that you can't get to the last. Sometimes, they even appear impossible to get to. Even worse is when you do punch all the rocks, only to find that you're standing in the wrong place and you can only pass through a section which takes you to the PREVIOUS level. This is no fun at all. Fortunately you can always press Select and decide to self-destruct, should you get stuck. However, when you die, you start the level over from the beginning.

The music for the first stages is rather drab and underlines the non-serious attitude of the game. However, apart from that tedious tune, the score is absolutely astounding. The opening movie tune, the tune for the second part of the levels and the sort of 'story' tune are all achingly beautiful, not to mention is the password tune great. It's quite amazing that these pieces are found in this rather drab and unfocused puzzler.

Those who love brain-teasers ought to find something here for their liking. In later levels, how to destroy each rock becomes very tricky indeed. And even if you figure it out, other factors can set in. One particular level comes to mind, where - after cleverly figuring out how to destroy all blocks - I find myself unable to reach a Lightning Box (one of only two weapons against enemies), which kills all enemies. I can't reach it, and so an invincible two-headed pterodactyl appears.

I don't get the appeal of this game. I think it's repetitive and lacking in the likeability area. It looks more like an average puzzler that was given the Godzilla name and sprites from assorted Godzilla baddies to sell. The new "Godzilla: the Series" games for the Game Boy Color have far more enjoyment and spirit than this game. At least they tried.

My kudos to the composer, though.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 07/27/09

Game Release: Godzilla (US, October 1990)