Line #64 VideoGame/WarOfTheMonsters


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/960x0_31.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: "There is nothing we can do except watch helplessly... and hope that we are still alive to see which beast will win the WAR OF THE MONSTERS."]]
3
4	''War of the Monsters'' (known as Kaiju Daigekisen in Japan) is a 3D FightingGame for the Platform/PlayStation2, made by Creator/IncognitoEntertainment (of ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal'' fame) in 2003, and eventually re-released on the Platform/PlayStationNetwork.
5
6	The game is set in the aftermath of an alien invasion of Earth where their [[GreenRocks hazardous fuels]] have spawned giant monsters that battle one another in city environments. The game is presented in the style of a 1950's science fiction and monster movie, making {{homage}}s towards the films in those genres.
7
8	The monsters you can play are:
9	* [[KingKongCopy Congar]] - [[KillerGorilla A giant ape,]] mutated from an astronaut chimpanzee that got hit by the alien's UFO and crashed into the Earth.
10	* [[{{Notzilla}} Togera]] - A huge, dinosaur-like reptile awakened and empowered after being hit by the UFO and inhaling its nuclear waste.
11	* [[BigCreepyCrawlies Preytor]] - A giant, mutated praying mantis, created when a MadScientist fed the mantis the UFO's nuclear waste.
12	* [[RealRobot Robo-47]] - A [[AtomPunk 1950s-styled]] [[AmericaSavesTheDay US military]] combat robot [[YouNukeEm with nukes,]] brought to life thanks to gases from the UFO seeped into its storage.
13	* [[LivingStatue Agamo]] - A tiki-style stone behemoth, brought to life by a native feeding the statue head goop from the UFO.
14	* [[MagmaMan Magmo]] - A four-armed magma monster which mutated from a volcano.
15	* [[SuperRobot Ultra V]] - A brightly-coloured Japanese fighting robot created by Japanese scientists, who they quickly lose control of after bringing it to life with a UFO's fuel.
16	* [[ShockAndAwe Kineticlops]] - A giant eyeball with a body made up of lightning, created when a security guard was hit by lightning after he was contaminated with alien fuel.
17	* [[StarfishAliens Zorgulon]] - A huge alien, similar to the antagonists themselves.
18	* [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Raptros]] - A giant, fire-breathing dragon.
19
20	Character-related tropes go in [[Characters/WarOfTheMonsters their appropriate index.]]
21	----
22
23	!!This game provides examples of:
24	* AndYourRewardIsClothes: Most of the things you can unlock in the game are alternate skins for the monsters.
25	* AffectionateParody: Of [[TheFifties Fifties]] sci-fi and {{B Movie}}s, as well as {{Kaiju}} movies.
26	* AliensAreBastards: Cerebulon and its ilk invaded Earth for no known reason. Of course they're bastards!
27	* AppliedPhlebotinum: The alien fuel that gives birth to most of the game's monsters.
28	* {{Area 51}}: Rosdale Canyon.
29	* ArtificialBrilliance: Used in the most annoying way possible as the AI is very cowardly. The second a fight stops going their way, a CPU monster will run, hide and grab every single health power-up in the arena. The issue is only compounded by the AI's tendency to GangUpOnTheHuman leading to times where injured monsters will run off and heal themselves while non-wounded monsters will swarm around you and kick the shit out of you.
30	* ArtisticLicenseNuclearPhysics: Atomic Island is built of this trope.
31	** There are multiple "reactor towers" in the map. The biggest, if jump-attacked, regenerates your energy. Destroying the other four smaller towers in the campaign exposes their inner giant electrodes and triggers [[StuffBlowingUp a nuclear meltdown]] in Adventure mode.
32	*** The actual reactors are completely harmless, and their destruction is inconsequential.
33	** The center of the map has what appears to be a giant basin (which contains the aforementioned energy tower) and waste disposal furnace; which if jump-attacked, vents a lake of [[LavaIsBoilingKoolAid radioactive lava]] into the pit, which contains [[NoOSHACompliance multiple buildings and roadways, and even a moving car.]]
34	** The skybox and map ambience in Atomic Island is a sickly shade of green. This is lampshaded by a billboard located in a 50s-style suburb right next to the plant facility, revealing its name to be "Glowing Acres".
35	* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: Duh.
36	* BeamSpam: Zorgulon's [=UFOs=] and Ultra-V's eye lasers.
37	* BehemothBattle: It's a FightingGame where you can play as different kinds of {{Kaiju}} or one of two HumongousMecha.
38	** Special mention goes to the boss monsters Goliath Prime, Vegon and Cerebulon, as all three of these monsters are larger than the playable ones.
39	* {{BFS}}: The sword in front of the Excalibur Hotel expy in Gambler's Gulch is larger than any other melee weapon in the game, longer than even the tallest monster is high.
40	* BigCreepyCrawlies: All of Preytor's assorted skins are of some kind of giant insect. The default form is a giant green praying mantis, the second is a red ant, and the fourth is a hornet.
41	* BladeBelowTheShoulder: Togera has spiked blades that extend from the back of his wrists during punch attacks. Robo-47 occasionaly has blades replace his hands for melee attacks.
42	* BMovie: The game itself and the 'movie posters' for each level are generally like this, and the game is presented in the style of [[TheFifties 1950's]] science fiction and monster movies, even down to the main menus taking the form of a drive-in movie theater.
43	* BoringButPractical: Your monster regenerates attack energy most effectively by using melee weapons.
44	* BottomlessPit: A large one is opened up by triggering the earthquake on Bay Town. There's little consequence to falling in; a small loss of health, loss of whatever item you may have been carrying, and a quick respawn.
45	* BreathWeapon: Togera, Congar, Preytor, Magmo and Raptros all have variations on this kind of attack.
46	* BullfightBoss: Goliath Prime's second stage, where it uses its propellers to thrust itself at the player. The only real ways to avoid this is to either hide behind one of the three rock pillars or to hit Goliath with an unbreakable boulder.
47	* CaptainErsatz: Quite a lot.
48	** Togera is Franchise/{{Godzilla}}. His third skin serves as one for Mechagodzilla.
49	** Congar is Film/KingKong. He also has one for [[Film/KingKongEscapes Mechani-Kong]] with his third skin.
50	** Ultra V is Anime/MazingerZ. An alternate skin resembles [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Eva Unit-01]].
51	** Preytor is Film/TheDeadlyMantis. An alternate skin is ''Film/{{THEM}}!''
52	** Agamo is Film/{{Daimajin}}.
53	** Raptros is [[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} Rodan crossed with King Ghidorah]].
54	** This is done with the arenas, too:
55	*** Midtown Park is UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity, particularly Manhattan around Central Park. There are also [[TheTaxi classic yellow taxicabs]] everywhere.
56	*** Gambler's Gulch is the UsefulNotes/LasVegas Strip, with alterations to signature hotels located on the Strip.
57	*** Rosdale Canyon is {{Area 51}}.
58	*** Metro City is UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} with its [[UsefulNotes/ChicagoL elevated rail system]].
59	*** Baytown (and Mini Baytown) is UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco.
60	*** Club Caldera is [[UsefulNotes/{{Hawaii}} Honolulu]].
61	*** Tsunopolis is a portion of UsefulNotes/{{Tokyo}}, namely Shinjuku and its cluster of 70s-era modernist skyscrapers.
62	*** Capitol is UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC.
63	* CarFu: Any and all ground vehicles on a map may be used as either a thrown or melee weapon. Of note are very explosive fuel tankers, and military vehicles, which can be used as guns.
64	* CombatPragmatist: You want to win this game? Then learn how to fight ''dirty''! Throw radio antennae to spear enemies, blow them to smithereens with explosive gas tanks, pick up chunks of debris and bash monsters' heads in, use generators as massive tasers, or send a building crashing down onto someone's ugly head. You're frequently outnumbered by enemies that don't play fair as it is, so you have to be more cunning than them.
65	* CompanyTown: An implied function of the "Glowing Acres" suburban development on Atomic Island.
66	* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: The AI not only knows exactly where all the health pickups are on the map, but also knows ''when'' they appear.
67	* ConvenientlyEmptyBuilding: Baytown, Capitol, UFO, and Rosdale Canyon don't have any civilians in them.
68	* CoolSword: The Excalibur Resort {{Expy}} in Gambler's Gulch has a massive sword, set in stone, that deals a LOT of damage and has a wide sweep. It breaks like any other weapon, sadly.
69	* CoversAlwaysLie: The map selection image for Club Caldera features the city's volcano erupting, with volcanic bombs tearing through buildings and lava flowing into the streets. While the volcano can be triggered to erupt and throw out bombs, they are harmless to buildings, and there is no lava flow.
70	* CycleOfHurting: Happens a lot in Adventure Mode because of GangUpOnTheHuman. Get impaled, then get thrown, then get hit in the face with a gas tanker as you try to stand back up... All the while your health is getting lower and you're getting kicked further away from any debris or powerups you could use to turn the tide.
71	* DeathByAThousandCuts: Robo-47 and Ultra-V's weak but rapid-fire projectile attacks. The military in Adventure mode is also generally like this, dishing out many individually weak attacks that gradually wear down a monster's health.
72	* DynamicEntry: Given the energetic nature of the game, it is only fitting that at least some monsters have a high-octane introduction in Adventure mode.
73	** The first Raptros enters the scene on Century Airfield by swooping down from the sky and destroying a landing airplane, snatching its midsection and pinning it against the airport's radio tower.
74	** On Bay Town, the twin Robo-47s drop in from the sky to rain havoc on three [=UFOs=] that just destroyed a tank battalion, smashing them with their pop-out hammers.
75	** Agamo is introduced by kicking Magmo across Club Caldera and into a building. It's often seen in gameplay during large fights, as a duel between two monsters can be interrupted by a monster either jumping in or being ''thrown'' at the other two.
76	* EarthquakesCauseFissures: The earthquake that can be triggered in Baytown does this. In cheesy over-the-top disaster movie fashion, the fissures are large enough to swallow whole city blocks into a [[BottomlessPit yawning black abyss]].
77	* EasyLevelTrick: Goliath Prime is a pain-dishing juggernaut of epic proportions, but you can use the indestructible boulder found in Rosdale Canyon to knock him out of his stances before he can hit you.
78	** During the Kineticlops section of the Atomic Island level, leave one of the cooling towers near the start of the level for last. When the countdown begins, run to the set of pipes running along the ground and grab one of the tanker trucks. When the island explodes, and the boss fight with Vegon begins, you will still be carrying the tanker truck. If you throw it into one of Vegon's mouths, it will instakill the head, meaning you only have to fight two.
79	* EnergyWeapon: Zorgulon and Ultra V's projectiles. Also, Cerebulon's mega-laser of death.
80	* EveryCarIsAPinto: With the exception of fire engines from Metro City, which simply blink out in a flash of white light like girders and radio towers.
81	* EverythingIsSmashableArea: While most of the game's maps could be considered this, the Crush-O-Rama minigame is specifically focused on causing as much destruction possible to a small city area, rather than directly fighting an opponent.
82	* EvilVsEvil: While you'll occasionally face a mechanized entity fighting on behalf of humanity, most of the game will be spent with your monster fighting a whole bunch of other monsters, and laying waste to every city in the process. Then the aliens launch another invasion and you fight them.
83	* ExcusePlot: The aftermath of a failed alien invasion has spawned a whole bunch of monsters. Take control of one of them and beat the others up!
84	* ExplosionPropulsion: Try throwing a tanker truck at an enemy, and watch them go sailing away into the air.
85	* {{Flight}}: Raptros and Preytor are both the only monsters capable of maintaining flight, but Raptros can stay in the air much longer (and fly more smoothly) than Preytor.
86	* FlunkyBoss: The first battle against Robo-47 sees you fighting it and an armored column of the US military.
87	* FlyingSaucer: The aliens who invaded Earth prior to the events of the game flew in these.
88	* {{Foreshadowing}}: The title of the poster for the Tsunopolis level translates as "Destroyer Wave". It not only means the GiantWallOfWateryDoom but also reveals that the giant saucer is [[spoiler: Cerebulon: '''Destroyer of Worlds''']].
89	* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Every map features a perimeter of the secret weapons that defeated the initial alien invasion, and neither of its 3 modalities are consistent.
90	** In the intro cinematic, they release an EMP shockwave that damages and depowers the flying saucers, causing them to crash to the ground.
91	** In gameplay, they form a barrier that prevents monsters and most objects from getting out of the map.
92	** In cutscenes, monsters and vehicles, human and alien alike, are able to pass through the barriers without issue.
93	* GangUpOnTheHuman: Good lord, this game loves this trope. Even if the cinematic shows you jumping into a fight between two other monsters, they will focus all their attacks on you. This generally takes the form of almost finishing 1 monster off, only to be stunned/impaled by the other while the first one runs for health. Even in "Free-For-All," expect the enemy to gang up on you, even if one of them could die in the next hit (which could win them the match in some cases). They'd rather fight you than win.
94	* GiantWallOfWateryDoom: Throwing projectiles at the UFO in Tsunopolis will trigger one of these.
95	* GlassCannon:
96	** Kineticlops has a punishing ranged special, but very low durability.
97	** The US Army's rocket trucks in the second Adventure mission are as fragile as any vehicle, but pack a mighty wallop.
98	* GreenRocks: The alien fuel. Bonus points for it having a SicklyGreenGlow.
99	* GroundPound: All playable monsters are capable of landing a vertical dive attack that can deal heavy damage to an unfortunate opponent beneath, deal a stage of damage to a building, or trigger environmental effects.
100	* GuestFighter:
101	** [[VideoGame/TwistedMetal Sweet Tooth]] is unlocked as an alternate costume for Agamo if you have a ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal: Black'' save file on your memory card on the original version. On the [=PS4=] port, it's unlocked automatically.
102	** Kineticlops is unlockable in the game ''Downhill Domination''.
103	* HelicopterFlyswatter: Monsters can swat, shoot, throw objects at, or even simply run into helicopters to destroy them.
104	* HellishCopter: Indeed, almost every time military helicopters show up in Adventure Mode cutscenes, they are quickly brought down and destroyed by the level's monster.
105	* HerdHittingAttack: Every monster's close range special attack.
106	* HeroAntagonist: The HumongousMecha enemies Robo-47 and Ultra V encountered in Adventure mode are man-made creations designed to fight and kill monsters like you. That aside, chances are they're going to cause just as much destruction as you will, which calls their heroism into question.
107	* HoistByHisOwnPetard:
108	** The first stage of fighting Goliath Prime has you throwing his own explosives back at him.
109	** Cerebulon counts too, as [[spoiler:you fight its second form by hitting it with pieces of its own mech, which are the only things capable of hurting it.]]
110	* HumongousMecha: Ultra V and Robo-47, as well as various alternate skins. Even bigger than the player monsters are the first and final bosses, Goliath Prime and Cerebulon (though in the case of the latter, only its first two forms).
111	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Pipes and radio towers are used for this.
112	* ImprobableUseOfAWeapon: Military equipment such as tanks, turrets, and helicopters can be picked up and fired like handguns by monsters.
113	* ImprovisedWeapon: Damn near everything. If you can pick it up, you can use it to put the hurt on your enemies. If you can't pick it up, you can probably smash it and use the pieces to put the hurt on your enemies. Alternatively, throw your enemies at it.
114	* InASingleBound: Every monster can jump, but Robo 47 in particular has a rocket-assisted leap that can clear most buildings.
115	* IndustrialGhetto: Atomic Island features a 50s-style tract housing suburb that's completely dominated by a gargantuan power generating station next to it.
116	* InstantAwesomeJustAddMecha:
117	** In the story mode, the military attacks Preytor and the player's monster with their own cyborg Congar.
118	** In fact, most of the (living) monsters have "mecha" variations amongst their alternate skins, except for Kineticlops, Raptros and Zorgulon.
119	* InstantDeathRadius: Cerebulon's second form invokes this ''hard''. His only attack is an unblockable red lightning cannon with rather short range. [[OhCrap Did we mention he's a]] SuperPersistentPredator with one of the fastest running speeds in the game?
120	%%* {{Kaiju}}
121	* KnockbackEvasion: Hitting L1 and R1 while positioned vertically if thrown will engage an Air Recovery, which sets you back on your feet and avoids a lot of impact damage.
122	* KungShui: Goes without saying, when the whole city is your arena. Buildings WILL be destroyed, and landscapes changed.
123	* LimitBreak: Maxing out your secondary red [[ManaMeter energy bar]] results in the main bar rapidly flashing between red and the original blue. This not only unlocks a special attack use, but also enables a taunt and damage boost that lasts until the flashing bar dies back down to blue.
124	* LosingYourHead:
125	** Agamo's long-range special attack has him rip his head off and use it as a projectile.
126	** Kineticlops' eye is used to the same effect during one of his victory poses.
127	* MacrossMissileMassacre: With enough energy orbs/powerups nearby, this can be done by Magmo, Robo-47, and Preytor.
128	* ManaMeter: Most combat actions expend energy from your energy bar.
129	* MightyGlacier: As ironic as it is to call him a glacier, but this is Magmo in a nutshell. He hits the hardest and is the most durable of the monsters, but he runs slowly, his missile attack is sluggish, and a lot of his attacks have a bit of a windup. Agamo also applies to a lesser extent.
130	* MonsterClown: [[OldSaveBonus Mecha-Sweet Tooth]] is a giant robot version of this.
131	* MonumentalDamage: The Capitol level, meant to resemble Washington DC and its landmarks.
132	** The Eiffel Tower collapses after being slammed into by a UFO in the intro cinematic.
133	** The Coit Tower and Palace of Fine Arts can be leveled in Bay Town.
134	* TheMothership: The aliens bring one to Earth, and they abduct the player monster, bringing them aboard. Said monster proceeds to lay waste to the mothership's cityscapes while defeating three Zorgulons, which results in the ship's destruction after finishing the level.
135	* {{Newsreel}}: The "Earth Strikes Back" sequence of the intro cinematic, which features the development and deployment of humanity's anti-UFO weapon, is presented as one.
136	* NoOSHACompliance: Atomic Island, in spades.
137	* NotZilla: Togera.
138	* OldSaveBonus: Having ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal: Black'' unlocks Agamo's 4th skin: Mecha-Sweet Tooth.
139	* PersonalSpaceInvader: Preytor's long-range special attack is a giant homing parasite that latches onto your face, [[{{Franchise/Alien}} facehugger-style]].
140	* PlayingWithFire: Raptros' and Magmo's special attacks leave opponents burning if they hit them.
141	* PowerUp: Health and energy pickups of different effectiveness are scattered around any map, in the form of glowing round orbs and radiation symbols, green for health and blue for energy. There are also red orbs that enable a monster's special attack, and gray-white cuboids that turn a monster invisible.
142	* PracticalTaunt: Pressing the Select key will make your monster perform a taunt. If done while the energy bar is double-maxed, your monster enters a damage-boosted mode, indicated by a flame effect on both arms, that lasts until the flashing bar runs out.
143	* PunchedAcrossTheRoom: All the time. Some attacks are specifically designed to launch enemies and will send them flying clean across the city.
144	* PyrrhicVictory: The game begins with this, for humanity as a whole. The alien menace was defeated, but the fuel used to power their spaceships has spilled all over the world and created all kinds of gigantic monsters the human race is not equipped to fight... [[spoiler: And then the aliens come back anyway. Crap]].
145	* RecursiveAmmo: One of Vegon's attacks is to launch a slow green orb that splits into a cluster of fast-moving ones that deal the actual damage.
146	* RedShirtArmy: Earth's military forces primarily exist to showcase the destructive power of both the monsters and the aliens.
147	* RewardingVandalism: Destroying buildings can refill your energy bar, unveil hidden powerups, and free up debris to hit your enemies with. In some game modes, it also gives points that can be used for unlockable skins and arenas.
148	* ShadowDiscretionShot: When Preytor [[ToServeMan devours a scientist]] in her origin video.
149	* ShockAndAwe: Kineticlops, with special mention given to its long-range special attack.
150	* ShoutOut:
151	** Three in-game storefronts are named after [[Characters/ClassicalMythologyMinorDeities the Greek muses Calliope, Clio, and Erato]].
152	** An [[http://img.neoseeker.com/v_concept_art.php?caid=41525 early art concept for Robo-47]] features the numbers [[Literature/LesMiserables 246-01]].
153	** Some of the screaming people on the game's front cover are lifted directly from theatrical monster movie posters, including ''Film/{{Them}}''.
154	* SpikesOfDoom: Togera.
155	* SpinAttack: One of Goliath Prime's signature moves in Adventure mode. Robo-47 also spins as part of his close-range special attack.
156	* SpinningPaper: Used to frame the opening cinematic.
157	* SpiritualSuccessor: Not an intentional one, but this game pretty much plays like an updated version of ''VideoGame/KingOfTheMonsters''.
158	* StartOfDarkness: Completing the game reveals your chosen monster's origin.
159	* SteamVentObstacle: High-pressure steam can be emitted from broken pipes on post-earthquake Bay Town, causing damage to any monster standing on the rock islands in the bottomless pit.
160	* StuffBlowingUp
161	* SquashedFlat: Toppling a skyscraper onto an opponent (or yourself) results in a OneHitKill.
162	* TanksForNothing: Tanks are destroyed by the dozen in both gameplay and cutscenes, and they don't deal that much damage.
163	* TaserTagWeakness: Even giant monsters are vulnerable to a high-voltage shock.
164	** Kineticlops' electrifying ranged special is particularly devastating when it hits, quickly damaging caught enemies while suspended mid-air before throwing them for additional damage.
165	** Any monster can taste this power with rooftop generators that can be picked up as weapons, which can be thrown to have the same effect as the above-described special attack. Alternatively, one can first use their projectile button while holding it to stun and damage an opponent with a taser-like attack.
166	** There are indestructible power lines on Atomic Island and Capitol that have a similar electric stun+damage effect when walked into.
167	* TerrifyingTiki: Agamo has some tiki features, and is found in the game's tiki-themed area in adventure mode.
168	* TheTokyoFireball: Free-for-all levels are able to be rebuilt, which resets everything in the city to the way it was before getting destroyed by monsters; this is usually done so it can get trashed again and again.
169	* TooDumbToLive
170	** The scientist that inadvertently creates Preytor by feeding the mantis some of the alien fuel. He gets EatenAlive by her for his troubles when she grows.
171	** The aliens, following player victory at Tsunopolis. You see that monster that defeated all the others and wrecked so many cities? Let's bring it aboard our mothership! What could go wrong?
172	* TropicalIslandAdventure: Club Caldera and Volcano are this. Both feature palm trees, huge beaches, moai statues, and luxury resort watercraft around an eruptable volcano. The former has a city around it, while the latter's volcano is much larger.
173	* UpdatedRerelease: The game was ported to [[UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation4}} PS4]] with higher-resolution textures, 1080p support, and trophies.
174	* UrbanRuins: Any city map will inevitably become this, should a monster brawl go on for long enough. In a twist of irony, Bay Town stands out as the most striking example: ''because'' most of its buildings can't be completely destroyed, its ruined skyline becomes a permanent part of the battlefield.
175	* VariableMix: Each map's soundtrack plays a subdued or a bombastic version of the song, depending on whether or not the player monster is engaged in combat with another.
176	* VictoryPose: Whenever you win a round in a story mode, or in the 'first-to-X-kills' challenges.
177	* AVillainNamedZrg: Zorgulon.
178	* VillainProtagonist: You're a giant monster or mecha that has gained self-awareness, and the only thing you care about is blowing stuff up and taking out the competition. Human lives mean absolutely nothing to you!
179	* VisibleInvisibility: Of the shimmering/vaguely distorted type, from power-ups. It doesn't work on the monster AI, though it does stop military forces from targeting you.
180	* VivaLasVegas: Gambler's Gulch.
181	* WaistDeepOcean: In the opening cutscene, Togera -- an {{expy}} of Godzilla -- is shown rising out of the ocean and standing waist-deep in front of a fishing vessel as the crew panic.
182	* YourHeadAsplode: [[spoiler:Cerebulon, after you defeat its final form.]] Technically, Agamo as well, as part of his long-range special (the exploding head has already been replaced though).

Context VideoGame / WarOfTheMonsters