King of the Monsters

Introduction:

Giant Monster Wrestling

If those three words don't get you really pumped I don't think we can be friends. I'm PUMPED right now just typing them. When I was younger this is all the information I needed to instantly fall in love with this game forever.

King of the monsters is an early Neo Geo title released in 1991, featuring six giant monsters duking it out to determine who is the strongest kaiju on earth. The action takes place in the “near future” of 1996 across the country of Japan, which has historically always had issues with giant monsters.

Gameplay: 🕹️

I already told you that the game is about giant monster wrestling, so I don't know what more you expect from the game.

King of the Monsters seems to get a lot of flak from people who don't understand how the game works. The game plays like many of the other wrestling titles of the era, like the classic WWF Wrestlefest. This isn't a fighting game by any means so don't expect buttery smooth inputs and complicated movesets. KotM is more about timing and knowing when to use the glorious special attacks.

You have a punch, a kick, and a run button. Pressing punch and kick simultaneously will make your monster jump, while holding them down for a few seconds will charge a projectile which launches upon release. Pressing the A and the C button simultaneously executes a special knockdown move which can also be preformed by pressing an attack button while running. You're going to want to perfect the timing of this special attack if you want to win. Running can also be activated by a double tap towards the enemy monster.

When your opponent is on the ground, pressing the A button will pin them, the B button will lift them back up into a grapple, and the C button will launch a leaping air attack. Your opponent can only be defeated by pinning him when his health is completely depleted and this will always take two to three attempts.

The real meat of any wrestling game is in the grappling system and just like all the other old wrestling games, it absolutely sucks here if you don't understand how it works. The outcome of the grapple is mostly determined by the health of each monster and not button mashing. Having a higher amount of health puts a character at an advantage and having lower health puts them at a disadvantage but in the end, the outcome is still somewhat random.

Pressing left or right and A during a grapple will throw your opponent while pressing up or down while hitting A will perform a wrestling move which releases a power item. After you collect 10 power items you will level up and your strength will increase. You can level up two times and after that the power icons only add points to your total score. Pressing left or right and B while in a grapple state will whip your opponent towards the edge of the ring, bouncing off the electric “ropes” just like an old wrestling match. It's more entertaining to just whip the other guy into a skyscraper.

The best way to approach this game is to avoid grappling when your opponent is at full health and focus on special moves, quick jabs, and throwing projectiles (tanks and planes) whenever possible until your opponent has low health. The computer is actually really dumb when you're charging a super move and will run right at you. If you master the timing of the running attack you can actually just hit the computer opponent when they get up off the ground every single time and cheese your way to victory.

The roster features 6 giant monsters that take inspiration from classic Kaiju films such as Godzilla (Geon), Woo (King Kong), and Astroguy (Ultraman). Poison Ghost, Rocky, and Beetlemania round out the remaining cast. Beetlemania is my favorite because he is a giant bug and he reminds me of the years I lived in Florida. That place was terrifying.

The limited roster is a major problem with King of the Monsters. In both single player and team mode you will fight all six monsters for the first half of the game and then fight stronger versions of the same six monsters for the rest of the game. The second half feels a little stale and most people will probably be bored at this point. If SNK could have added different types of matches and maybe boss fights the end result would have been much better.

The wrestling matches take place all over Japan in destructible cities “roped off” by large electric fences. This forms a wrestling arena for the action to take place. I have no idea how the Japanese Government built these so fast or convinced the monsters to fight inside of these rings but I guess that's what we would call a plot hole.

The whole time you're stomping around the city and slamming your enemy around, you will be wrecking buildings, vehicles, and bridges. Make sure you take the time to smash everything in sight before the match ends as you will be awarded a “destraction” (SNK engrish for destruction) bonus at the end of the match which gives you a health refill based on your score.

There are three modes offered: Single player, vs. matches, and a 2 player team battle. The two player team battle can be quite chaotic with 4 monsters on screen at the same time! Most people will probably spend all of their time in single player mode since King of the Monsters fans don't have any friends to begin with.

Graphics: 👾

For the time period the graphics are decent enough but nothing special at all. The character sprites are passable and the animation is sufficient. The game fares rather poorly compared to games released just one year later on the Neo Geo but you can't really expect much better from a first year release.

The character designs are a little on the silly side but look good. All of the characters have unique animations for their wrastlin' moves and have goofy little win poses when they slam an opponent to the ground.

The backgrounds are detailed with destructible buildings, bridges, and monuments. Each city has a different look and theme but after a few minutes there won't be anything but smoldering rubble left anyway. If you look closely you can see a few band names on the side of some of the little buildings, including Danzig. Does he have something to do with this giant monster invasion? Did that pint size poet summon these belligerent behemoths to destroy Japan? Only the folks at SNK know the truth.

Sound: 🔊

The sound design is overwhelmingly positive and was handled by Toshikazu Tanaka and Kazuhiro Nishida, who you may recognize from other SNK titles such as Fatal Fury, Baseball Stars 2, Ikari Warriors, and Alpha Mission 2.

The sound effects carry weight to them and really add to the overall atmosphere. Punches, jumps, and body slams sound heavy and painful. Each monster has their own screeches and roars that sound great as they strangle each other over the burning remains of Tokyo.

All of the monster themes are oozing with personality and feature a strange combination of alien sounding instruments, synth, and guitar which fit spectacularly well in the game. The theme for Poison Ghost is notable, using a weird sloshing sound to create a unique soggy rhythm unlike anything you have heard before. The other tracks are equally creative too. Woo's theme has heavy tribal drums with eerie chanting while Beetlemania's theme is a frantic assault of drumming and stringed instruments, with heavy use of a theremin.

I wish more game developers would put this much effort into creating a unique sound for their games because this one is absolutely top notch.

Fun Factor:

Let's get down to the most important question, is King of the Monsters FUN?

The short answer is yes, but mostly in small doses.

Many early Neo Geo titles can be a little divisive and King of the Monsters is no exception. If you appreciate simple arcade action the game is great but people looking for deep, rewarding, complex gameplay will find it boring. KotM is admittedly a shallow experience but I am a shallow person and I don't care what you think about me.

King of the Monsters is best enjoyed in short play sessions with a friend and maybe a lot of alcohol. It can be great fun when you're mashing buttons and credit feeding your way through the game. In reality, it's only going to be in your Neo Geo for maybe 30 minutes before most people get bored and pop in one of the usual fighting games.

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Conclusion: 📊

Ok, now that I just spent way too much time telling you why King of the Monsters is awesome, I'm going to let you down. It's not that great either, hence the low review score. Back in 1991 KotM really was something special with gameplay on par with other hit arcade games of the time. I really enjoy the game and have spent an ungodly amount of time playing this title through the years but I can't recommend King of the Monsters to most people. The limited roster, dated graphics, and lack of variety add up to an experience that will not appeal to everyone.

It's not a garbage game but I would rate it pretty low compared to the rest of the Neo Geo library if I'm being honest. Give the game a try first before buying it, you may actually really enjoy it. However, it is an excellent party game if you have friends over for a game night. Make sure you liquor them up first and everyone will have a blast, just don't embarrass yourself and tell them how much the cartridge cost you.

If you honestly weren't thrilled by the first three words of this review, King of the Monsters probably isn't for you.