Godzilla: Monster of Monsters is a video game on the Nintendo Entertainment System developed by Compile and published by Toho in Japan on December 9, 1988. It was released in the US on October 1989, and released in Europe sometime during 1991. The western versions oddly enough removed all references to Compile and Toho Cenfile-Soft Library, and instead credits Toho Eizo on the title screen.
The game combines elements of Action, Strategy, and Fighting games. The player takes control of both Godzilla and Mothra and must move them across several hexagonal boards to reach the teleporter base at the end of each one. As the player moves their monsters through the board, they must play through several action levels dependant on the hex types the monster moves through. Standing in their way are the various enemy kaiju; both the player and the enemy side take turns in moving their monsters, and if their monsters meet, a battle ensures that lasts either 40 seconds or until one of the combatants fall. If the 40 seconds are up, the game returns to the board and the current turn ends.
The game fell into relative obscurity, but interest was renewed after the NES Godzilla Creepypasta was published by Cosbydaf, which focuses on a strange, supernatural copy of the game.
The game features the following enemy kaiju:
The flying drill battleship Gotengo and the anti-nuclear accident vehicle Super-X also appear as enemy ships, with the Gotengo being one of the possible mid-bosses in the Subspace map tiles and the Super-X bombarding the player from the top of the screen.
Tropes:
- A.I. Breaker: Moguera is very easily stunlocked by Godzilla's tail whip attack. Gezora, meanwhile, will trap you in the corner and slap the tar out of you until the timer ends, if given the chance to do so. Bezoar, on the other hand, has his own breaker: Mothra can fly underneath the tentacle, leaving the big cuttlefish with no way to harm her.
- Anti-Frustration Features: The timer, believe it or not. While it lets the monster you're fighting slowly heal when it runs out, if you're dangerously low on health there's nothing stopping you from moving around the board to another level so you can get some health power ups, then return to the monster when you're ready.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: As an Easter Egg in the game, Baragon can occasionally look around before facing the screen and tilting his head at the player.
- Breath Weapon: Godzilla, of course. It's activated by pressing the Start button, and uses up energy in Godzilla's power gauge.
- Classic Cheat Code: Entering "Destroy All Monsters" on the password screen unlocked a mode that started you on Earth with all the monsters on the map. Entering "Monster Zero" put you on Earth against just Ghidorah.
- Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Inverted. Mothra can drop her poison scales whenever she wants without ever losing her ability to fly.
- Everything Trying to Kill You: Good luck hearing any of the game's soundtrack over all the explosions on the action levels.
- Final Boss: Ghidorah is the closest the game gets to a Final Boss; he only appears on the final board in a normal game and his piece never moves from his place on the board, forcing the player to take him out before they can take over the final base. He is also the strongest monster in the game.
- Fragile Flyer: Mothra can move four spaces every turn and can just about ignore every ground-based obstacle and enemy. But one hit is enough for her to lose control, and her lack of destructive ability means she has trouble fighting most other kaiju.
- Mana Meter: The Power gauge, which dictates how often Godzilla can use his Breath Weapon or Mothra dropping poison quills.
- Mighty Glacier: Godzilla can smash through everything, he can take a beating, and a fully-powered atomic breath can wipe out everything on screen. But he has to take a lot of hits in the process and can only move two spaces on the board every turn.
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Nintendo Hard: While not the most offensive example of this trope, it comes pretty darn close at times. You are bombarded with tanks, spacecraft, kaiju, and other assorted obstacles, but some are worse than others. - No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Mecha-Godzilla inflicts one on the player character with an onslaught of fists and lasers, just like in Terror of Mechagodzilla.
- Password Save
- Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Gezora, Dogora, Matango, and Moguera appear as enemies, although none had featured in a film with Godzilla or any of the other kaiju at the time the game was made (Moguera would appear in Godzilla Vs Spacegodzilla several years later, stock footage of Gezora was used in Godzilla: Final Wars, and Dogora would eventually cameo in the prologue of Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters).
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: On any map except the final one, if an enemy kaiju is weakened enough but not defeated, they will retreat to the next map, denying the player a chance at leveling up.
- This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: Mothra may be weaker than Godzilla in strength, but she's better suited at fighting certain kaiju. She's a better fighter against Hedorah as she can fit better underneath his arc of sludge bombs, and she can even exploit a blind spot against Mechagodzilla. She's even surprisingly effective against King Ghidorah, much more than Godzilla himself, since there's a sweet spot she can hover in where next to none of Ghidorah's attacks can touch her while she diligently picks away at his health with her projectiles.
- We Cannot Go On Without You: An odd example. If Godzilla or Mothra dies and the surviving monster makes it to the next planet alive, the fallen monster will be revived with one less health unit as a consequence. If one of them dies while the other monster had already moved to the next planet, however? Game Over.
- We Will Meet Again: At the end of the game, just before the credits, the invaders declare to Earth that they will depart and embark on a journey, but will eventually return to Earth to invade it once again.
