My Thoughts on “Godzilla: Unleashed”
I didn’t expect to be doing this review so soon, but after LongplayArchives posted their new updated longplay of this game, I knew I had to review it while it was still fresh in my mind. And with the new remastered version of Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, the first game in the Atari Pipeworks Godzilla trilogy, coming out later this year, now is a better time as any to review Godzilla: Unleashed, the third and final game in the Atari Pipeworks Godzilla trilogy…for now at least. I can’t imagine that Atari and Pipeworks Software will make another Godzilla game in the future, I don’t even know if they still have the license to make another Godzilla game. But, with the remastered version of Destroy All Monsters Melee coming out, and the renewed interest in this trilogy, maybe there could be another game in this series. If they have the license to make a remastered version of that game, then maybe they have a license to make a new game. But I wouldn’t hold my breath. Even if we don’t get a fourth game, we could at least get remastered versions of the other two games in the trilogy, Godzilla: Save the Earth π and this one, Godzilla: Unleashed.
If they did make a fourth game though, they would have to include the MonsterVerse Godzilla and it might be the only place where you get to see the MonsterVerse Godzilla go up against the 1998 Godzilla…if they decided to include him. Which they were going to include him in this game, under the name, Zilla (same as in Godzilla: Final Wars), and he was going to be apart of the Mutant faction, but they decided against it because they feared fan backlash. This was still a time when the Godzilla fandom hated the 1998 Godzilla/Zilla and weren’t accept any Godzilla product that included that version of the character because they didn’t see it him as Godzilla. Nowadays, with Godzilla (1998) being fully reappraised, that version of the character being embraced by the fandom (at least as a separate character from the traditional Godzilla), they would be ecstatic to see him included in a video game. Especially one that’s apart of the Atari Pipeworks series. That’s why he’s being included in the fan remaster of Save the Earth π called Godzilla: Save the Earth Melee π, or STE: Melee π as it’s shortened as, under the name, Zilla.
Now, I intended to review Save the Earth π first before reviewing this game because it was the first Atari Pipeworks Godzilla game that I played (I never played Destroy All Monsters Melee), and LongplayArchives did released an updated longplay of that game too, after the trailer to Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered was released, but I feel like talking about this game now because they uploaded an updated version of their longplay of this game, and it’s immediately fresh in my mind. I started watching the longplay, and I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to keep going, so I did. And I feel like I have a lot more to say about this game than I do that game because even though Save the Earth π was the first Atari Pipeworks Godzilla game I played, I actually played Unleashed a lot more, and I have a lot more memories of it. The game has also gotten a bad wrap over the years, a bad wrap that I don’t feel is deserved and I want to defend it. Plus, my blog is seriously lacking in Godzilla content, even though I’m a Godzilla fan, it was one of the first things I got into as a kid, so this would be a way to increase my Godzilla quotient.
Same reason why I’m writing that Evangelion post as well. I haven’t started writing it yet, but I will. I haven’t gotten any writing on my blog done lately because I’ve been sick π€§ for the better part of a week, and I barely feel better enough to continue writing again. I am still working on my Cowboy Bebop (1998) review, I actually made some progress on that in the last few days, and I’ve written a lot. I found a direction that I want to take in, an angle that I want to tackle it from, and I’m sticking to it. It’s coming together nicely, and I will finish it and post it on the blog. Don’t you worry about it. When I commit to something I see it through to the end. Not like Cody from PointlessHub, who started the MonsterVerse and so far hasn’t finished it. I’m not convinced he ever intends on finishing it. But, to hold you over until then, I will be reviewing this game, and writing a post about the upcoming Evangelion series written by Yoko Taro, the creator of the Drakengard/Nier series.
Because I don't want to continue this review as if everyone who's reading it knows what I'm talking about, I'll quickly explain what the Atari Pipeworks Godzilla trilogy is, and then I'll talk about my thoughts on this game in particular. For those that don't know, the Atari Pipeworks Godzilla trilogy is a trilogy of Godzilla games from the early-to-late 2000s developed by Pipeworks Software and published by Atari. They not only featured Godzilla, but featured many of the other monsters in the franchise as well as those who appeared in Toho movies outside of the Godzilla franchise like Rodan, Mothra, and Varan. Those monsters all got their own movies in the 1950s and 1960s before any of them appeared in a Godzilla movie. But, none of them ever appeared in another movie outside of the Godzilla franchise ever since, except for Mothra, who had her own trilogy of movies in the 1990s, during the Heisei series called Rebirth of Mothra, after she appeared in the Heisei era Godzilla movie, Godzilla vs. Mothra, or Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth π as it's usually known outside of Japan π―π΅ since the 1964 ShΕwa era Godzilla movie, Mothra vs. Godzilla was already retitled to Godzilla vs. Mothra, as well as Godzilla vs. The Thing, in the US πΊπΈ, and they didn't want to cause confusion for American audiences πΊπΈ.
The first game in the trilogy, Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee featured the least amount of monsters, only having 11, while this game had the most amount of monsters at 20 in the PS2 version and 26 in the Wii version. But, they didn't just feature individual characters, they feature multiple versions of the same characters, like in addition to all three featuring the 2000 or Millennium version of Godzilla featured in both Godzilla 2000 AKA Godzilla 2000: Millennium and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus AKA Godzilla x Megaguirus: The G Annihilation Strategy, referred to in all three games as "Godzilla 2000," but they also included the Heisei version of Godzilla, referred to simply as "Godzilla 90s." Though in this game specifically, he's called "Godzilla 1990s," which I think is better.
I prefer writing "1990s" instead of just "90s" because it will prevent confusion in the future for when the 2090s come around. Not that I'll be alive by then...probably, unless they find a way to either cryogenically preserve me, or they completely overcome aging and make so that you don't age after a certain point and you stay young indefinitely and basically become immortal. And the only things that can kill you are eternal dangers. Though hopefully that technology developed after Trump, Putin, and Xi all kick the bucket πͺ£ π¬. I mean, now it's the 2020s, we can no longer call the 1920s just "the 20s," we have to call them specifically the 1920s, otherwise people will get confused which decade you're talking about π. We'll have to do the same for the 2030s, 2040s, 2050s, 2060s, and so on. They're coming a lot sooner than you think. The 2020s are almost over, and then it'll be the 2030s before you know, and then the 2030s will fly by, and it'll be the 2040s. Which is fitting because I'll be in my 40s by then.The Wii version of this game, Godzilla: Unleashed, features the original 1954 version of Godzilla from the very first Godzilla movie from 1954, referred to simply as "Godzilla 1954."
And then all three version of Mechagodzilla up to that point were represented in all three games, although the first two only featured the Heisei version of Mechagodzilla, referred to as "Mechagodzilla 2" and the Millennium version of Mechagodzilla featured in the Kiryu saga movies, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., referred to "Mechagodzilla 3" in Destroy All Monsters Melee and Godzilla: Save the Earth π and referred to as just "Kiryu" in this game, Unleashed. But, Unleashed does also featured the ShΕwa era Mechagodzilla from both Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla and Terror of Mechagodzilla, but he, or it's only in the Wii version. The PS2 and Wii versions of Unleashed feature both versions of Gigan exclusively, with the PS2 version having the ShΕwa era Gigan and the Wii version having the Millennium era Gigan featured in Godzilla: Final Wars, which was the most recent Godzilla movie at the time this game was made and when it came out. There wouldn't be another new Godzilla movie until 2014, with Godzilla (2014), which was 10 years after Final Wars, and 7 years after this game. And like I said, if the developers had their way, the 1998 Godzilla would've been featured in the game as well, under the name "Zilla" since that was the legal conceit that Toho and Sony came up with to include this character in any Godzilla media alongside the traditional Godzilla. But, they decided not include him purely because they feared fan backlash if they did.
They were part fighting game and part destruction simulator. They were basically like if the Rampage games had a fighting game element, like if you could fight the monsters while you were destroying the city, and the camera angle kept changing depending on which part of the map you were on. Another kaiju/monster game from around the same time, War of the Monsters (2003) also had a similar idea of having you fight other monsters as well as destroy cities. The 2000s were a golden era for monster/kaiju games, whether it was the Atari Pipeworks Godzilla trilogy, Rampage: Total Destruction, or War of the Monsters (2003). These games were a lot of people's first introduction to Godzilla in gaming, and Godzilla in general, like Cody from PointlessHub. These games were what got him into Godzilla, specifically Destroy All Monsters Melee, which was the first Godzilla anything he was ever exposed to, according to him.
He hadn't even heard of or played the Rampage games, not even Total Destruction, which was the only Rampage in the 2000s and at the time of writing this was the last Rampage game period. He just played these games. And for many years, they considered the best Godzilla games, and arguably still are since nothing since has come close to topping them. Although, Super Godzilla and the two Godzilla Generations games do have their own cult followings. The first Godzilla Generations game even featured the 1998 Godzilla, referred to as "Godzilla-USA πΊπΈ." As you can imagine, that was really before the character became controversial, and was rejected by the fandom until fairly recently when he was finally embraced after two decades.
The reason you probably never heard of the Godzilla Generations games, or played them is because they were both Dreamcast exclusives. Most people did not have Dreamcasts, so most people did not play them. There's a reason why the Dreamcast failed and Sega left the console business to become a gaming publisher instead. But even if the Dreamcast was successful, and it sold a lot of units and everyone had one, they still probably wouldn't have gotten to play the Godzilla Generations games because they were only released in Japan π―π΅. So, if you were a Godzilla fan from America πΊπΈ, or any other country outside of Japan π―π΅, you missed out on both of these games. Maybe the first one, you didn't miss out on much, but the second one, Godzilla Generations: Maximum Impact, you definitely missed out on a lot because it seems like it was a massive improvement over the first one. And it had a killer soundtrack, which I'll link π the playlist to here if you want to listen.
Though a lot of that might be due to nostalgia. People just can't accept there being better Godzilla games than this, these will always be on top for most people. Just like how a lot of X-Men fans (of a certain age) can't accept there being a better X-Men cartoon than X-Men: The Animated Series in the 1990s. Which is why they brought it back 27 years later in the form of X-Men '97, which is arguably the most popular Marvel streaming show. At least for people of a certain age. This refusal to accept anything new as better than what they had before also why probably they're making a remastered version of Destroy All Monsters Melee. With all fan remasters of the other two games, it's clear there's a demand for remastered versions of these game among certain sections of the Godzilla fandom. Of a certain age. But, it does still make sense why so many Godzilla fans still consider these games to be the best because since these three games, we haven’t gotten much in terms of Godzilla games.
All we’ve gotten are a bunch of mobile games (most of which were Japan exclusives π―π΅), and the one console game ☝️ that we did get wasn’t all that great. I’ve never played Godzilla on the PS4. The game is just called Godzilla, and while it did come out in 2014, I will not be calling it that to avoid confusion with the 2014 movie. But everything I’ve heard about it indicates that isn’t as good as the Atari Pipeworks games. And in terms of gameplay, they have a similar concept: fight monsters, destroy cities. And sure, there was that Japan exclusive game π―π΅, City Shrouded in Shadow, but that wasn’t a pure Godzilla game. Godzilla is just one ☝️ of many monsters featured in that game. Even Ultraman is in that game. The remaster of Destroy All Monsters Melee is the first time in a long time that Godzilla fans have genuinely been excited for a Godzilla game.
As for my own experience with the Atari Pipeworks games, as I said before I played Save the Earth π first, and then I played Unleashed. I either rented or bought Save the Earth π from GameStop, and then I got Unleashed as a Christmas gift π. Just like a couple other games I cherished during my childhood, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius: Attack of the Twonkies and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon π. I'll get back to Mortal Kombat: Armageddon π in a moment because it does relate to my feelings about Godzilla: Unleashed. It is important I promise. I remember seeing a trailer for Save the Earth π on almost all of the Sony Godzilla DVDs π because those DVD releases π came out around the time Final Wars came out, in 2004, and they were marketed as the "50th anniversary editions," because it was the 50th anniversary of the Godzilla franchise, and as it so happens, 2004 was also the year Save the Earth π was released.
So, given that it was a Godzilla game, and these were the 50th anniversary editions of a select few of the Godzilla movies from both the ShΕwa era and Millennium era, of course they were going to promote it. It's just like how on the DVD release π of Resident Evil: Degeneration, they included a trailer to Resident Evil 5 on the special features because because that was the next game in the series when that movie came out. Just like with that trailer, seeing the trailer to Save the Earth π made me want to play that game so bad. I also saw the trailer to Destroy All Monsters Melee, which was included on nearly all the Classic Media Godzilla DVDs π (not the high quality ones that came in silver cases, those lower quality barebones ones that feature the main monster of that particular movie standing in the middle of a cityscape). But unlike with Destroy All Monsters Melee, I actually got to play Save the Earth π, and to this day, I've never played Destroy All Monsters Melee. Maybe with the new remastered version coming out in November I'll finally have my chance.
And then, a few years later, I got Unleashed as a Christmas gift π after it came out in 2007, and I ended up playing it way more than Save the Earth π. Just like how I ended up playing Mortal Kombat: Armageddon π way more than Mortal Kombat: Deception π. But to be fair, that's only because I owned Armageddon and I didn't Deception. I only got to play Deception because my cousin owned it, he had the GameCube version, meaning he got the version with Goro and Shao Kahn. Those two characters were only in the GameCube version of Deception, and weren't in either of the other two versions, the PS2 version and the Xbox version. I did own, or I rented Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance π, which was the first game of the 3D era of Mortal Kombat π (some people will dispute that and say it was Mortal Kombat 4 π, but really it was Deadly Alliance), and I played Armageddon way more than that game.
I actually really didn't like Deadly Alliance that much as a kid because it was so different both Deception and Armageddon, and lacked many of the features that those games had. I think I did just rent it because I do remember returning it because I didn't like it. I have grown to appreciate Deadly Alliance in recent years, mostly for its story and its boldness in being the game that killed Liu Kang, the main hero of the Mortal Kombat π series up to that point, even if that set the series on a dangerous path, where they've just completely neglected Liu Kang, and don't seem to really know what to do with him as a character. Sure, they made him a god in the most recent game, Mortal Kombat 1 π, but there's only so much you can do with him after that, after you make him the next protector god after Raiden. Taking Raiden's place after he willingly stepped down from his role as protector of Earthrealm after the events of Mortal Kombat 11 π.
I bring this all up because Godzilla: Unleashed really is the Mortal Kombat: Armageddon π of the Atari Pipeworks trilogy, in that it is the third entry of a trilogy (yes, Armageddon is the seventh main series Mortal Kombat π overall, but it is the third game of the 3D era, which I consider a trilogy of sorts), and it isn't as well liked as the previous two games. Just like how Mortal Kombat: Armageddon π is usually considered the lesser of the 3D era Mortal Kombat π games, Godzilla: Unleashed is usually considered the lesser of the Atari Pipeworks Godzilla games. Many fans of the Atari Pipeworks trilogy and of Godzilla in general consider Unleashed to be a significant step down from both Destroy All Monsters Melee and Save the Earth π. But despite that, I like both games, I like both Mortal Kombat: Armageddon π and Godzilla: Unleashed. I played both games a lot as a kid. Even now, as an adult, even though I can see the flaws in both games, more so Unleashed than Armageddon, I still can't bring myself to hate them, and I still enjoy both games quite a bit. Even if I can't actually play them anymore, and all I can do is just watch them in longplays.
I really didn't pay much attention to the story of Unleashed when I was a kid, but the story is pretty interesting. It takes place 20 years after the events of Save the Earth π, and it’s about a meteor shower ☄️ that hits the Earth π. These meteors ☄️ turn out to be a bunch of giant crystals that cause natural disasters all over the world. San Francisco π gets hit with severe earthquakes and surrounded by waterfalls the size of Niagara Falls, Sydney is frozen over π₯Ά, Seattle gets ravaged by volcanoes π (mainly Mount Rainier) that cover the whole city in lava, London gets hit with an anti-gravity vortex, Tokyo is flooded, and Osaka gets covered in a toxic green gas ☣️ that is fatal to humans. New York doesn’t get hit any unique natural disasters, just a bunch of craters from the meteors ☄️ and crystals growing all over the place since SpaceGodzilla makes it his lair. Yes indeed, it is SpaceGodzilla that is behind all this. He escaped from the black hole he was imprisoned in at the end of Save the Earth π, and is back for revenge. To destroy Godzilla and the other Earth monsters π (the ones in the Earth Defender π faction, more on that later), wipe out the human race, and take over the Earth π.
Honestly, the crystals should’ve been a dead giveaway that it was SpaceGodzilla behind everything. The humans honestly thought it was the Vortaak, the alien race π½ that attacked the Earth π in the previous games, π€¦♂️, but the Vortaak are just as in the dark and confused as the humans are. Though, in their usual fashion, the Vortaak do try to take advantage of this, and harness the crystals’ power for themselves. But the crystals also release all of the monsters on Monster Island (which is a contamination area to imprison the monsters and keep them from attacking cities, similar to Monsterland in the Destroy All Monsters movie), and along with the GDF (Global Defense Force)’s own arsenal of mechs and other weapons (most of which were designed to fight monsters), Earth π may still have a chance against the otherworldly threats that it faces. The plot of this game is like if you combined a Godzilla movie with a traditional disaster movie, like if you combined Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla and Destroy All Monsters with The Day After Tomorrow and 2012 (2009). Both of which are Roland Emmerich movies, which is ironic since Roland Emmerich directed a Godzilla movie of his own.
It also has a bit of Atragon or Final Wars in there since the Atragon AKA the Gotengo makes an appearance as a boss in the story mode of the game, piloted by the vengeful General Gyozen, who has a grudge against Godzilla for losing to him so many times, and uses the current crisis to try to settle an old score. Of course, Gyozen fails since Godzilla ends up defeating the Atragon again, and destroying the flying submarine with Gyozen and all of his crew still on board, killing them all. Gyozen died, and got all of his crew killed because he couldn't let go of his hatred of Godzilla. He's another human character in the franchise with a strong hatred or grudge against Godzilla that ends up being their downfall. I would say though that Gyozen is actually pretty close to Hachiro Jinguji from Atragon, as they're both military leaders (Gyozen is a general and Jinguji is an admiral) on the older side, seasoned veterans, who hold strong resentments.
Gyozen having a strong resentment and hatred towards Godzilla, and maybe even a resentment for GDF for keeping Godzilla and the other monsters alive, and simply imprisoning, or containing, them on an island π️ instead of killing them, and not letting him have his revenge. Which is why he goes rogue in this game, and decides to take matters into his own hands and use the Atragon in a vein attempt to kill Godzilla. Which of course fails because of course it would π, this is the king of the monsters we're talking about here. He’s also being strongly influenced by the crystals, which corrupt him by heightening his hatred and anger towards Godzilla π‘, pushing him to take drastic actions which get him and his crew killed (and get a pretty fancy and expensive piece of equipment destroyed), and ultimately prove to be counterproductive. While Jinguji is a former Imperial Japanese Navy admiral π―π΅, who went rogue along with his crew to build the Atragon in secret on a remote island, where they've been living since they disappeared during World War II. And he still holds strong resentments towards the Japanese government π―π΅ for surrendering to the Allies at the end of World War II.
He's one of those guys ♂︎ that thinks that Japan π―π΅ lost something after World War II, and thinks Japan π―π΅ deserved to be an empire, and a great power, along with the great powers, and that they should've fought on. He also probably hates the post-war constitution, which was drafted by the Allies, mostly the United States πΊπΈ, and wants the old imperial constitution (officially known as the Meiji Constitution or the Constitution of the Empire of Japan π―π΅) restored. Except unlike many other Imperial holdouts π―π΅, apologists, and sore losers, Jinguji was able to put his money π΄ where his mouth was since he built a super submarine that doubled as a warship that could not only dive underwater, and move at 50 knots within the water π¦, but it can also fly in the air and drill into the ground, or seafloor, or even mountains ⛰️ or volcanoes π with its drill nose and rotating blades. He truly built a superweapon that could've turned the war around for Japan π―π΅.
Although, there's the problem with "wonder weapons," a problem that Nazi Germany became all too familiar with, where you commit way too much money and way too many resources to a superweapon that won't actually have any effect on the outcome of the war. The danger with wonder weapons is that they prevent from committing money and resources to things that could actually win you the war. Hitler's obsession with wonder weapons, or Wunderwaffe as they're referred to in German, contributed to Nazi Germany's loss during the war. So, if Imperial Japan π―π΅ committed to building the Atragon during the war, the wondrous of all wonder weapons, they probably might've lost the war a lot faster. And they were already losing the war quickly enough due to wasting time, money π΄, and resource building Yamato-class battleships, and committing to kamikaze attacks and building aircraft, speedboats, submarines, and even torpedoes specifically for that purpose, like the Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka, the KairyΕ«-class submarine, and the Kaiten. Just throwing away thousands of lives with little effect. The only side that was able to get away with building a superweapon was the Allies, mainly the US πΊπΈ, who developed the atomic bomb ☢️, which not only had an effect on the war, but had an effect on the rest of human history. The Cold War would not have played out the same way, and mutually assured destruction would not have been a thing had it not been for the development of nuclear weapons ☢️ during World War II by the Allies.
For some reason though, in the game, Atragon is spelt, Atoragon. I don't know why it's spelt like that, in the original Atragon movie, it's spelt A-T-R-A-G-O-N, and every other instance where the flying drill-nosed submarine/warship appears in media and is referred to as the Atragon, it's spelt like that. They might as well have just called it the Gotengo, since that's what it was called in the original Japanese version of Atragon π―π΅ and in Final Wars. I really like that they made SpaceGodzilla the main villain in this game (he is the main villain, not the Vortaak like in the previous two games), and I really like how of a threat they made him in this game. Just his presence alone is enough to rip the Earth π apart. I really hope he's like this in Godzilla x Kong: Supernova if the rumors about him being in it and being the main bad guy are true because this is SpaceGodzilla in his top form.
This is really his game, this is a SpaceGodzilla game, and I think if you view it from that angle, you'll be able to enjoy the story a lot more, if you're someone who didn't care for the story before. Like, he's way better here in his actual debut movie, Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla. In a lot ways, he's the main big bad that the trilogy was building up to, since he was introduced in Save the Earth π as a secondary antagonist to the Vortaak, and then he's the main big bad in this game, the final boss of all the bosses. He's the character that if you beat, you save the entire planet (again) and win the game, and if you play as him, you take over the planet and all is lost for the Earth monsters π, the humans, and the Vortaak, since they wanted to take over the Earth π themselves and didn't get to because SpaceGodzilla beat them to the punch, and was more successful than they were.
The Vortaak just receive L after L in this game. At least, when you play as Earth Defender monster π or GDF mech, or even as a mutant monster, including SpaceGodzilla. Which brings me to the other interesting thing that this game does and brings to the table that's different from the previous games: the introduction of factions. The game has four main factions, the Earth Defenders π, the GDF, Aliens π½, and Mutants. Most of the monsters in the game's roster belong to the Earth Defender faction π, and they include monsters like Godzilla, Mothra, Fire Rodan π₯, Anguirus, Baragon, King Caesar, and Varan.
This includes all three versions of Godzilla that the two versions of the game includes, Godzilla 2000 which is the main version, Godzilla 1990s, and Godzilla 1954, who is a Wii exclusive. King Caesar and Varan are also Wii exclusives, though interestingly they used the Final Wars version of King Caesar rather than the ShΕwa version. I could tell because the one in the game is leaner and muscular and less shaggy than the ShΕwa era one. I guess, like with Gigan, it was just because Final Wars as the latest one, they felt like they had to use that because it was newer and more recent than the ShΕwa era one. As for Baragon, they used the Millennium version from Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, better known as GMK because the title is just way too long to say out loud or write every single time.
Again, probably because it was the most recent version of Baragon, and there was more familiarity with that version than ShΕwa version since the ShΕwa version only appeared in Frankenstein Conquers the World AKA Frankenstein vs. Baragon, which wasn't a Godzilla movie but a stand alone kaiju movie. It was supposed to be a Godzilla movie, Godzilla was supposed to fight Frankenstein. It was actually going to be a King Kong vs. Frankenstein movie before it was a Godzilla vs. Frankenstein (or rather, Frankenstein vs. Godzilla) movie since the project was initially conceived by Willis O'Brien, the stop animator behind the stop motion animation in King Kong (1933) and its much less remembered and well liked sequel, Son of Kong. But for whatever reason, it didn't happen, either one of them, and they ended up making Frankenstein vs. Baragon instead, and had the kaijuified Frankenstein fight a new monster, Baragon.
And then when Baragon did get to be a Godzilla movie at last, Destroy All Monsters, he only got less than a minute of screen time, no more than a minute of screen time, and most of his role in the film ended up going to Gorosaurus. Because Baragon was supposed to be the one to destroy Paris, but they had Gorosaurus do it instead. The reason why of course is that the Baragon suit was badly damaged and unusable. So if you watched Destroy All Monsters and wondered why Gorosaurus comes up from under the ground even though he's not a subterranean monster, that's why. That was supposed to be Baragon, but because the suit was in bad condition, they couldn't use him and swapped him out with Gorosaurus at the last minute. GMK is probably Baragon's most memorable and impactful role, and probably what people remember and think of when they think of Baragon.
Even though most of his role in that movie was him his ass kicked by Godzilla because he's so much smaller and less powerful than Godzilla, which was the initial point of the movie since Baragon was originally going to be paired up with Anguirus and Varan. But they changed it to Mothra and King Ghidorah, believing that it would more marquee value and it would be more profitable since Mothra and King Ghidorah are more popular characters than either Anguirus or Varan. Even though Anguirus was the first monster Godzilla ever fought in Godzilla Raids Again, the second Godzilla movie ever made. But by replacing Anguirus and Varan with Mothra and King Ghidorah you kind of missed the whole point of the movie, which was to have these smaller underpowered monsters going up against Godzilla, who is the main villain of the movie.
And I do mean villain since the GMK Godzilla is one of the few, if not, only version of Godzilla that's meant to be overtly evil, due to him being controlled by the ghosts of Japan π―π΅'s war dead, who want revenge on the living of Japan π―π΅ for forgetting the memory of World War II. You aren't supposed to sympathize with this version of Godzilla or root for him like you are with other versions, you're supposed to root against him and root for the much weaker Guardians monsters who are going against him. It was supposed to be an underdog story, and you can't get more underdog than Anguirus, Varan, and Baragon. But by changing it to Mothra and King Ghidorah, it means you lose some of that, you have to significantly nerf them for it to be believable that they're at a disadvantage and would have a difficult time fighting against Godzilla. Two monsters that can hold their own against Godzilla in most of the other movies, and you have to believe that they're struggling.
I do find it interesting that they decided to use the Fire Rodan π₯ version of Rodan from Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993) AKA Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. Probably because Fire Rodan π₯ is the only version of Rodan with a beam attack. The MonsterVerse Rodan kind of combined the traditional Rodan with Fire Rodan π₯ by making him a literal "volcano monster π," with him living in volcanoes π and his whole body pretty much covered in lava, and lava even sort of being apart of his biology, according to the filmmakers behind Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019). I know that probably wasn't an intentional reference to the unmade American Godzilla movie πΊπΈ (kind of), The Volcano Monsters π, the film that would eventually become Gigantis, the Fire Monster π₯, a re-edited version of the second Godzilla film, Godzilla Raids Again for American audiences πΊπΈ, after the Godzilla and Anguirus suits they were going to use for The Volcano Monsters π got stolen. But it is funny how that worked out. Although the MonsterVerse Rodan doesn't have a beam attack, and doesn't seem to have any special powers other than that lava drips off of his wings when he flies.
The GDF faction has all the mechs, or mecha as they're referred to in this game, you have Mechagodzilla, MOGUERA, Jet Jaguar, and Mecha-King Ghidorah. Like the previous two games, the game features multiples versions of Mechagodzilla, the Heisei Mechagodzilla, referred to as "Mechagodzilla 2" and the Millennium Mechagodzilla, Kiryu AKA Mechagodzilla 3, although in this game, it's just referred to as Kiryu, just like in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, where that version of the character first debuted. In the sequel, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., the character is instead referred to as "MechaG" instead of Kiryu, at least in the English dub. The Wii version also includes the ShΕwa era Mechagodzilla from both Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) and Terror of Mechagodzilla, referred to as just Mechagodzilla instead of "Mechagodzilla 1" or "Mechagodzilla 1970s," and he, or it (since it's a robot) is apart of the Alien faction π½ since that version of Mechagodzilla was built by aliens π½, specifically the ape-like Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens π½, otherwise known as the Simians or Simeons due to their ape-like appearance.
In the context of this game and its story, the Vortaak are using him, or it, obviously since they're the only alien race π½. Maybe the Simians lend it to them, or they're leasing it from the Simians, similar to what the Seatopians did with Gigan in Godzilla vs. Megalon. They leased him from the M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens π½, which look like giant human-sized cockroaches πͺ³. More on Gigan and Megalon later. It was also the only version of Mechagodzilla that was portrayed as a villain until the MonsterVerse Mechagodzilla. Or, Ready Player One if you want to include that. Whenever Godzilla's a villain or an antagonist, Mechagodzilla is a hero or protagonist, and whenever Godzilla's a hero or protagonist, Mechagodzilla is a villain or antagonist.
The only exception to this was the Heisei series where Godzilla was portrayed as an antihero, and Mechagodzilla was hero, a robot created from the remnants of the dead Mecha-King Ghidorah to kill Godzilla. And I do mean dead since Mecha-King Ghidorah was a cyborg and not a pure robot, and I make no distinction between "human made" vs. "alien made π½" since Mecha-King Ghidorah was created by human using future technology since Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah dealt heavily with time travel ⏱️ and the main antagonists of that movie were future humans referred to as "Futurians." The Heisei King Ghidorah isn't even an alien π½ at all. And indeed Godzilla is the main antagonist of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, although that film began his transition towards good with the introduction of Godzilla Jr., referred to in the film as "Baby Godzilla" since he's still just a baby, another member of Godzilla's species who adopts as his son and reappears in the following films, aging and getting older with each film until Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, where he is an adolescent, and then matures into an adult at the very end, ready to take on the mantle of Godzilla after the Heisei series's main Godzilla dies.
Incidentally, Mechagodzilla 3 AKA Kiryu is also technically a cyborg since it was built over the skeleton of the 1954 Godzilla. They used the 1954 Godzilla's skeleton as the skeleton for Kiryu, since the two Kiryu Saga films are in continuity with Godzilla (1954). As well as Rodan (1956), Varan the Unbelievable, Mothra (1961), Frankenstein vs. Baragon, The War of the Gargantuas, and many other ShΕwa era kaiju movies. That's why Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla had this whole plotline about Kiryu running amok after receiving memories from its previous life as Godzilla, and why the whole plot of Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. revolves around the Twin Fairies pressuring the humans to return Godzilla's bones to the sea because they strongly disapprove of them using the 1954 Godzilla's bones to build Kiryu in the previous film. They see it as a sacrosanct and ghoulish, like they're disrespecting the dead by doing that.
And of course, like the previous game, it uses the Heisei Moguera, which is an acronym, MOGUERA, meaning Mobile Operation Godzilla Universal Expert Robot Aero-type. The character first appeared in a stand alone ShΕwa era film called The Mysterians, where it was an alien-built machine π½ used by an alien race π½ called the Mysterians (as the title would suggest) as part of their invasion of Earth π to abduct the world's female population ♀︎. They wanted our women ♀︎, and I can't say I entirely blame them. Our women ♀︎ are great. But human trafficking is still wrong, even when it's done by aliens π½. I haven't seen the movie, so I don't know why the Mysterians wanted human women ♀︎ for, but just in case, I will also say that sex trafficking is also still wrong even when it's done by aliens π½.
But the character was brought into the Godzilla franchise, first in the NES game, Godzilla: Monster of Monsters (or Godz: Monster of Monsters as James Rolfe jokingly referred to it in his Angry Video Game Nerd episode on Godzilla games due to Godzilla blocking half the title on the start screen) as one of the common enemies along with Gezora, a character who hasn't been fully integrated into the Godzilla franchise, at least as far as the movies go), but was included a stock footage in Final Wars. Which was a source of frustration for the Nerd (which is what the character is usually referred to as along with the AVGN because both ways are better than saying Angry Video Game Nerd all the time) while playing the game. And then in the movies proper with Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, where he was portrayed as a human-built machine, built out of the remnants of the downed Mechagodzilla from Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993) AKA Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, the same one that's referred to in all three games as "Mechagodzilla 2" because it's second iteration of the character. It was also the movie that established MOGUERA being an acronym, meaning what I already stated before.
While the character hasn't officially appeared in another film, in or outside the Godzilla series, he, or it (since it's a robot) has appeared in plenty of video games, including these, and every time it has appeared in a video game, it's always been the Heisei version of the character from Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla and not the ShΕwa version from The Mysterians, and both iterations are sort of treated as if they're two separate characters almost. It's weird, I really haven't seen this with any other fictional character, Japanese π―π΅ or otherwise. But on Wikizilla, one of the two Godzilla wikis you'll find on the Internet π, they do treat both versions of Moguera, or MOGUERA, as the same character because they are the same character, just different iterations. If they did include the ShΕwa era version, it would have to be in the Alien faction π½ since the ShΕwa Moguera was built by the Mysterians for their invasion of Earth π (they built two of them, which came in handy since one of them gets destroyed at some point before the third act), and they're aliens π½ as I stated before.
Which brings me to the Alien faction π½. The Alien faction π½ is pretty straight forward, it consists of King Ghidorah, Gigan, Orga, the ShΕwa Mechagodzilla, and Megalon. All of which are controlled by the Vortaak, who are the secondary antagonists in the game, as opposed to the main antagonists like they were in the previous games. The Alien faction π½ probably has the least amount of monsters within, besides the GDF faction, like they have same exact number of monsters, five. But that's only in the Wii version since the ShΕwa Mechagodzilla is only in the Wii version, it is a Wii exclusive character. So in the PS2 version, which is the one that I played and watched the longplay of for this review, the total number of monsters in the Alien faction π½ is just four, one less than the GDF faction ☝️.
As I stated before, the PS2 version and Wii version of the game feature two different versions of Gigan exclusively, the ShΕwa Gigan and the Final Wars Gigan. The PS2 version has the ShΕwa Gigan while the Wii version has the Final Wars Gigan, which is my favorite version of Gigan. Can't go wrong with chainsaw hands, although that was on his second modification after he was rebuilt after his previous encounter with Godzilla, where he lost the fight and got his head blown off. I really don't know why this decision was made to include two different versions of Gigan in two different versions of the same game on different consoles. Why not just use the same version across both versions? I would've loved to have played as the Final Wars Gigan instead of the ShΕwa Gigan, even though I don't hate the ShΕwa Gigan.
It is interesting that they included Megalon as part of the Alien faction π½, even though he's not an actually an alien π½. The Seatopians are not aliens π½, they're humans that simply live underwater. Like Atlanteans. The reason why they sent Megalon to attack the surface world in Godzilla vs. Megalon is because they being disturbed by the constant nuclear testing ☢️ taking place in the Pacific, and they wanted to intimidate the people on the surface into stopping their nuclear testing ☢️ so that they can live in peace again. They're sort of like the Mu Empire from Atragon, except their motivations are a little bit more understandable and sympathetic. It's just their methods are cruel and evil. They even lease Gigan from the the M Space Hunter Nebular Aliens π½ to aid Megalon in his destruction of the surface world. They have a relationship with an alien race π½, a working relationship, even though they're underwater humans.
But, I guess the Vortaak are controlling Megalon, so even if he isn't an alien π½, he's being controlled by aliens π½ and being used as a weapon by them. He's on their side, even if it's not by choice. So he's apart of the Alien faction π½. Most of the monsters fighting on the Alien faction π½ are not doing it by choice, since they're being mind controlled by the Vortaak. Which is a common plot point or trope in the Godzilla series, especially the ShΕwa series, aliens π½ come down wanting to take over the Earth π, and they use monsters to do it. They control the monsters through mind control, and use them destroy all of Earth π's major cities. Though we usually only see them destroy Japanese cities π―π΅ since these are Japanese movies π―π΅.
Invasion of Astro-Monster was the first film in the series to really do this sort of plot line, and the ShΕwa series in particular really ran with it, with it being a recurring plot line for more than few Godzilla movies. That's why Final Wars was such a throwback, because it was the first movie in the franchise since Terror of Mechagodzilla to do that sort of alien invasion storyline π½ where the aliens π½ mind control the monsters and use them to destroy major cities, and they used the same exact aliens π½ from Invasion of Astro-Monster, the Xiliens, though significantly updated and changed from their ShΕwa counterparts. I'm surprised they didn't include Megalon in Final Wars, he would've fit right in, since they included nearly ever other ShΕwa era monster that Toho owns. And the movie was primarily meant to be a throwback to the ShΕwa era since that was the era of Godzilla that Ryuhei Kitamura grew up with. He grew up with the ShΕwa series.
The character hasn't appeared in any movie since Godzilla vs. Megalon, which is surprising given how cool he looks and how much the fans seem to like him. He's a giant beetle creature πͺ² with drill hands, that shoots lightning ⚡️ out of his horn, and spits a projectile out of his mouth, what's not to like about that? He's a unique monster, and he's one of the things that people actually like about Godzilla vs. Megalon, which has traditionally been considered one of the lesser Godzilla movies, the ones where Godzilla became too kiddie, and way too much like the Gamera movies which were more overtly geared towards kids during that time. Megalon has mostly just been relegated to Godzilla media outside of the movies, including these games. Sort of like another ShΕwa era Godzilla monster that Final Wars didn't include, Titanosaurus. But since Godzilla: Singular Point brought back Jet Jaguar, along with other monsters that hadn't been seen in years like Anguirus and Kumonga, maybe one day Megalon will get his proper return in a Godzilla movie, or show. Preferably a movie. Him and Gigan, since Gigan hasn't appeared in anything since Final Wars.
If they didn't include Megalon in this game for a third time, since all three Atari Pipeworks games included Megalon in their rosters, they could've swapped him out with Hedorah, who actually is an alien π½, and was actually considered to be in the game, and hasn't appeared in that many video games or movies, since Godzilla vs. Hedorah, his debut movie. He was in Final Wars though, in a very short cameo, where he gets annihilated alongside Ebirah, the hapless giant shrimp π¦ from Ebirah, Horror of the Deep AKA Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, who is often the butt of jokes within the Godzilla fandom because he is a giant shrimp π¦. He doesn't have any special powers, and he seems like a pretty underwhelming enemy for Godzilla.
Especially compared to other villain monsters in the franchise like King Ghidorah, Gigan, Megalon, SpaceGodzilla, Mechagodzilla (the ShΕwa version and the MonsterVerse version), Destoroyah, and even Biollante, even though she's not pure evil like the other monsters I listed. When he was included in the DLC expansion for Dave the Diver π€Ώ alongside Godzilla and Miki Saegusa, the psychic girl ♀︎ from the Heisei series, people made fun of him and made jokes about it. Hedorah was supposed to have a longer appearance in the movie, and have a longer fight with Godzilla, but for whatever reason, they couldn't. I heard it had something to do with the suit they built for him, the suit didn't work correctly. I don't know if that's true, but regardless of the reason, Hedorah's role in Final Wars was significantly reduced, and he was reduced to just being a joke punching bag, just like Zilla, who was also only included in the movie for the sake of a joke.
The Mutant faction is probably the most interesting faction in the game, not just because SpaceGodzilla is part of it, but also because of the other monsters they decided to include in the faction, and are considered "mutants." Like, plenty of Earth-based monsters π who are not associated with SpaceGodzilla or the crystals are part of the Mutant faction. And as I said before, had Zilla being apart of the game, he would've been in the Mutant faction. Like Titanosaurus, Battra, and Megaguirus are all apart of the Mutant faction. Megaguirus does actually make sense to be apart of the Mutant faction, like she fits, but the other two I mentioned don't make as much sense. Like, nothing about Titanosaurus strikes me as a mutant.
In Terror or Mechagodzilla, which is still his only movie appearance, he just a dinosaur that lived in the ocean, an aquatic dinosaur basically, and for all intents and purposes, he seemed like a peaceful creature just minding his own business, wanting to be left alone (similar to Godzilla in a lot of ways), before he got taken over by Dr. Mifune and the Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens π½, who were working together. To revenge on those who they felt wronged them. Mifune wanted revenge on the scientific community for doubting his claims about Titanosaurus, and the Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens π½ wanted revenge on Godzilla and humanity for defeating them in the previous movie, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974). Dr. Mifune betrayed his own kind, and helped a bunch of aliens π½ who wanted to take over the planet for the most petty reason imaginable. Titanosaurus is much closer to the Earth Defender faction monsters π than he is to any of the other mutant monsters, but I understand why he wasn't included in the Earth Defender faction π or even the Alien faction π½ because even though he's an Earth monster π, he's not defending the Earth π and he's not being controlled by aliens π½. The Mutant faction was the only one in which he could go. However, unless you have the Wii version, you won't get to play as him since he's a Wii exclusive.
Now the one that really doesn't make sense, and I really don't think should've been apart of the Mutant faction, Battra, the other moth-like monster that was introduced in Godzilla vs. Mothra AKA Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth π, and Mothra's dark counterpart. They're like yin and yang ☯️, with Mothra being yin and Battra being yang. The reason why I think Battra being apart of the Mutant faction is problematic is that he's not a villain. Sure, he was an antagonistic force for most of The Battle for Earth π, but Mothra got through to him, and kind of reformed him, and he fully turned to the side of good, and him and Mothra both teamed up to stop Godzilla, who was the real main antagonist of that movie. Battra is a heroic character, he is an antihero, and like Mothra, he is a defender of the Earth π. He is allegiance is to Mothra and the Earth π, and like her, it is his duty to protect the Earth π. He was just going about it in a different way, since he saw humanity as the greatest threat to the Earth π which is why he started attacking him, whereas Mothra was more forgiving of humanity and was willing to work with them even though they kidnapped the Fairies, who are referred to as "Cosmos," in this movie and this movie only.
The only time Mothra attacked humanity, was when they crossed her and kidnapped her Fairies, and she went into Tokyo to save them, destroy huge chunks of the city in the process, and more than likely killing lots of people. If Mothra can do that, and still be considered a hero, an Earth defender π, then I don't see why Battra couldn't either. He should be in the Earth defender faction π, it would be a great way to show his redemption and show how far he's come since The Battle for Earth π. Even though I don't think that film is in continuity with these games, and these games exist in their own continuity separate from any of the movies. But he just wasn't. But regardless of that, I am glad Battra is in the game and he's a playable character this time. He was in Save the Earth π, where he was an NPC, a non playable character, along with Mothra, who also wasn't a playable character in that game if I'm not mistaken. It's been awhile. If I'm wrong on that, please correct me in the comments if you're reading this. Because Battra is a cool looking monster. I wish they would bring him back in a future movie or show. Interestingly, he's the only monster that's exclusive to the PS2 version. He's not in the Wii version, which is fascinating. All of the other exclusive monsters are Wii exclusives, but Battra is the only PS2 exclusive.
But, with the other monsters in the Mutant faction, it makes perfect sense why they're in it. You know, Biollante, Destoroyah, Megaguirus as I mentioned, and even SpaceGodzilla. It makes why SpaceGodzilla is in the Mutant faction, and why he's the leader of it even though he's a space monster (space is literally in his name) because he's a clone of Godzilla. I don't know if he necessarily has the same backstory as he did in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, but clearly he was the result of genetic engineering 𧬠or some kind of genetic tampering π§¬, wouldn't have been created had it not been for Godzilla's cells (referred to simply as "G-cells") getting loose and mutating into their own entity. And he has powers that Godzilla doesn't have, the power to create and manipulate crystals that generate power and have the ability to alter the planet, causing natural disasters everywhere where the crystals land. He has the ability to fly, he has telekinetic powers, and his beam attacks are pretty different and unique. He can alter change the directions of his beams to hit specific targets. He is, by every metric, a mutant. The king of the mutant monsters.
The game also introduces a couple of new original monsters, Obsidius and Krystalak, two monsters ✌️ that were birthed from the crystals and feed off their energy. They were the winning entries of a contest that the developers and the publishers held to have fans submit designs for original monsters to include in the game. There other winners, such as Firelion π₯, The Visitor, and Lightning Bug ⚡️ (which sounds like it could be a fitting description of Megalon), but Obsidius and Krystalak were the only ones that actually got put into the game. Which is a shame because the other monsters that won the contest but were left out of the game have pretty cool designs. My favorites definitely being the Visitor and Lightning Bug ⚡️, I would've killed to have those characters. Though, you can see the concept art of these rejected monsters in the extras.
But the monsters that did get put in the game were pretty cool too. Obsidius is such an interesting monster. He's volcanic monster π, like he's made entirely out of lava, and he has no face. Just a hole where his mouth should where he can shoot lava out. And Krystalak is a crystalline monster, he's the monster that is most obviously from the crystals, and he almost has a hedgehog-like appearance, only instead of being covered in spikes, he's covered in crystals. He is a Wii exclusive character unfortunately, so I didn't get to play as him, not that would've been able to had he been included in the PS2 version since most of the monsters on the roster are locked π are the beginning of the game, and you have to unlock them π as the game goes along and as you keep playing it. Obsidius is in both versions, but strangely in the PS2 version, he has Orga's moveset while in the Wii version, he has his own unique moveset. Why not just give him the same moveset across both versions of the game?
Honestly, it seems like they just used the Mutant faction for any monster who didn't really fit in with the other factions. I guess the thing that unites them is that they don't really have any allegiances to anyone and aren't being controlled by anyone and really just out for themselves, even Obsidius and Krystalak. They're not really working for SpaceGodzilla, they're not really loyal to him, they were just born from the crystals, and just trying to consume as much of the crystals' energy as they can so that they can become all-powerful. Which is what most of the other Mutant monsters are doing. The only exception to this is Battra, who, like I said is more of a good guy, he's an antihero, and does have an allegiance to Mothra and a duty to protect the Earth π like she does. To point it another way, he has the same relationship with her that Godzilla does in the MonsterVerse. Why he's apart of the Mutant faction is kind of beyond me. I really think he should've been apart of the Earth Defender faction π.
There were actually a lot of rejected monsters in this game, and I was surprised looking at the Wikizilla page and seeing how many monsters they considered, but didn't include in the game. Like, they were considering King Kong and Gamera, both of whom would've been apart of the Earth Defender faction π, but they didn't include them because of rights issues. But, the fact that they were even considering adding monsters that weren't owned by Toho is insane to me. Had this game been made nowadays, if a new Atari Pipeworks Godzilla game was made, Kong might've had a stronger chance of being added to the game since he's apart of the MonsterVerse. One of the key characters within the MonsterVerse, and arguably the main hero or protagonist of the MonsterVerse. He's definitely the co-protagonist of the MonsterVerse alongside Godzilla, since it seems like all the MonsterVerse movies from here on out will have Godzilla and Kong's names in the title, and will have the Godzilla x Kong moniker. Maybe if this game gets remastered, they can the MonsterVerse Kong to it.
They were also thinking of Mechani-Kong from King Kong Escapes, and they would've put him, or it, in the Alien faction π½ even though like with Megalon, it's not actually an alien π½ and wasn't built by aliens π½ in the movie it first appeared in. It was built by humans, a mad scientist named Dr. Who (yes, really) who wanted to mine for a radioactive element ☢️ called Element X. Bagan, the main villain monster of Super Godzilla, was also considered. Bagan's a character they've been trying to get into one of the movies, but so far have been unsuccessful. He was going into be a Mothra movie called Mothra vs. Bagan, that didn't happen, he was going to two Godzilla movies on two separate occasions (both in the Heisei series). He was going to be in Godzilla vs. Bagan, but that fell through, and both times that project was attempted, it got reworked into two separate Godzilla movies, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. And then finally he was going to be in a sequel to a 1994 fantasy movie that Toho made, Orochi, the Eight-Headed Dragon, which also didn't happen.
Hedorah was also considered as I mentioned, but wasn't included because they had difficulty getting his blob-like form to work with the current technology they had to work with, so they decided against including him. Nowadays, they probably could pull off Hedorah very easily with the technology we have now, and I think he was even included in the 2014 Godzilla game, that, as I mentioned, is just called Godzilla. Monster X/Keizer Ghidorah, the only truly new monster from Final Wars, was also considered but was ultimately excluded because he was deemed "not interesting enough" and they couldn't get his transformation to work properly due to it being way too complex for the technology they had at the time. Had he been included, it's no question that he would've been apart of the Alien faction π½ since he is both an alien monster π½ and is controlled by aliens π½. He was created by the Xiliens, for the specific purpose of helping them conquer the Earth π.
And as I mentioned before numerous times, Zilla was going to be in the game, he was considered, but they chose not to include him due to fear of fan backlash because of the fan zeitgeist of the time still being against him. He was even going to be in Save the Earth π and got pretty far into the development stage, but was ultimately cut out of the game due to the fans learning about it and throwing a hissy fit about it π€¬ like the toddlers that they were. He is still present in the game's files, which is why the people behind STE: Melee π were able to include him and make him playable. I think nowadays, if you were to make this game, or remaster it, I think you could put Zilla in it, and no one would have any objections. In fact, if you were put Zilla into one of these games, the fandom would be hyped for the most part π€©.
Sure, you'd still have those holdouts, those Godzilla (1998) haters that will always hate the character and will never embrace him even as a separate character from Godzilla. But for the most part, you'd have fans voicing excitement and admiration for that news. The fan zeitgeist and the fan consensus has shifted in Godzilla (1998) and Zilla's favor. Mostly thanks to the people who grew up with Godzilla (1998) now being old enough to express their opinions, and drown out the haters' voices, who had dominated the conversation surrounding that movie and that version of the character for so long. Even some people who used to be big haters of the movie and the character (Godzilla 1998/Zilla) have come around to it, and admit to actually liking it, even if it's just in an ironic way. I like Godzilla (1998) in an unironic way and I fully embrace the 1998 Godzilla/Zilla as a distinct version of Godzilla, I know that's not the popular opinion, the popular opinion is that Godzilla (1998) is a bad movie and it's just a guilty pleasure, and Godzilla 1998/Zilla is not Godzilla, but that's how I personally feel about it. You can read more about my thoughts on that movie and that version of the character in new updated review of it when I get around to it because I still plan to re-review that movie at a later date.
There are even some rejected locations in the game, like Los Angeles and Mount Fuji π» were going to be locations in the game, but were ultimately scrapped for one reason or another. According to Wikizilla, the main reason why Los Angeles wasn't used is because the developers felt like there were too many American cities πΊπΈ in the game, and they wanted to represent more cities outside the US πΊπΈ in the game. Plus, they already have a California city in the game, San Francisco π, California is already represented, give other states a chance, which is Seattle and New York were chosen since you have one city in Washington state and one city in New York state. Two cities on the west coast ✌️ and one city on the east coast ☝️. Los Angeles is still in the game's files and can be accessed through mods and cheats I'm sure, though it's entirely untextured and lacks buildings.
According to Wikizilla, it was ultimately replaced with Sydney. LA was what Sydney was a replacement, and ultimately I'm glad that it was picked because while I would've to have seen LA in the game, especially since no Godzilla movie or series to this date has actually taken place there, I think Sydney was an excellent choice, and I really like what they did with it. Having it be turned into a frozen wasteland π₯Ά by the crystals. It makes me think of The Day After Tomorrow, when those giant ice storms ❄️ (which were basically ice hurricanes π§π) start freezing everything over π₯Ά, or like that scene in Geostorm where the Dutch Boy ♂︎ satellites send a cold snap ❄️ to Rio de Janeiro that causes the whole city to freeze over π₯Ά. The same thing happens to an Afghan village π¦π« in the Registan Desert at the beginning of the movie, though that happens off-screen and we only see the aftermath of it. The Rio de Janeiro scene happens on screen, we see that cold snap ❄️ freeze the entire city π₯Ά. I haven't actually watched Geostorm, but I know a lot about the plot, and I know about those two scenes in particular, the Afghan scene π¦π« and the Rio de Janeiro scene. The Wikizilla page doesn't say that much about Mount Fuji π» and why it was rejected, other than it was considered as a location early on in development, but no actual work on it was done before it was scrapped. So, Mount Fuji π» probably only lasted into the conceptual phase, before development on the game had actually begun.
As I said before, most of the monsters, regardless of faction, are locked π when you play the game for the first time, and you have to unlock them π as you play through the game multiple times, playing the different modes the game offers. This was before DLC really became a standard practice, and when everything that a game had to offer was on the disc π when you bought it (or rented it) and had to just be unlocked π. I was unable to unlock any of the unlockable monsters π, so most of them stayed locked π, and I only got to play as the few monsters that were available at the start of the game. I usually played as Godzilla 2000, though I dabbled in playing as Godzilla 1990s on a occasion. At least from what I remember, it's been a long time. And I really didn't play the story mode all that much, or really pay attention to the story, until years later, when I started watching let's plays and walkthroughs of the game on YouTube. This was in the early-to-mid 2010s when Godzilla wasn't as big and abundant as it is now, and Godzilla (2014) had yet to come out, or just barely came out. The fandom wasn't as big as it is now, and even now, it isn't that big compared to other fandoms.
But when I did start playing attention to the story, I really liked it. It's probably my favorite story of the three Atari Pipeworks games, which might be a hot take for some people, but I don't care, it's my opinion. I should be able to enjoy what I like without someone telling me that I'm wrong for it. It's the reason why I keep coming back to the game, and for me, story is probably the most important part of a game. Some games can get away with just being about gameplay like Tetris, or 2048, or Snake π, or Zuma, any of the Wiiware games, with a game like this that has actual characters and locations, you need a lot more than just gameplay to keep me invested. Even the Mario Kart π️ games, which don't have stories at all, still take place within the Mario universe, or wider Nintendo universe (since those game feature characters outside the Mario franchise), and have all that lore to fall back on, and part of me still wishes that they would make a Mario Kart π️ with a story mode. Like, screw having an open world, I want a story mode. That would actually make things interesting, and keep the series alive and fresh, instead of just putting it in an open world like Mario Kart World ππ️ did. That game sold well, but I can't imagine anyone saying that it's their favorite Mario Kart π️ game, or that it'll go down as one of the best Mario Kart π️ games ever made. I actually wrote a post about that sort of thing if you want to read it. And here's the post about the announcement of Mario Kart World ππ️ and Donkey Kong Bananza π.
The interesting thing that this game does with its story, is how it does its cutscenes. The game largely tells its story through these still illustrated images that are like in a comic book or manga style, the characters do look very comic book or manga-ish in the designs, as well as these radio recordings that play whenever you select a new location on the map to continue the story, and it gives you a little blurb about the location and your objective for that level. Normally, I wouldn't really like it if a game just used still images for its cutscenes and didn't use any animation, but here it didn't bother because the storytelling is pretty good, and they're fully voice acted and the voice acting is pretty good. I especially find the voice acting in the radio recordings in-between levels amusing because the voices are so exaggerated, they're such stereotypes and caricatures of the countries where they're supposed to be in, and the accents they put on during some of them are just hilarious π. It's a reminder that the game doesn't fully take itself seriously.
They're sort of the audio equivalent of that scene in Final Wars with the cop (who kind of looks like Ben Stiller), the pimp, and the homeless guy ♂︎ in New York when Rodan attacks. Or they're the modern equivalent those news reports in the English dub of Destroy All Monsters, where they all had exaggerated stereotypical voices with cartoonish accents. Particularly, the French news announcer π«π· who was reporting on Gorosaurus's attack on Paris, who had the most exaggerated, stereotypical, and cartoonish French accent π«π· you can imagine. You can't even understand what he's saying that accent was laid on so thick, and was clearly not done by an actual French person π«π·, an actual French speaker π«π·. The Godzilla franchise would get French people π«π· right eventually, in Godzilla (1998), where they would cast a proper French actor π«π· to play a French role π«π·: Jean Reno as Philippe RoachΓ©, one of the most memorable and beloved roles in all of Godzilla.
Although, from what I understand those exaggerated and cartoony voices are only in the Frontier dub, because Destroy All Monsters has two different English dubs, and the one with the exaggerated, cartoony voices on the international news reports is the Frontier dub. The announcer in the French news report π«π· in the Titan dub still has an accent, but it's not as exaggerated or cartoony as in it is in the Frontier dub. I didn't even know there were two English dubs to Destroy All Monsters. All this time, I thought there was only just the one ☝️, the Frontier dub. I didn't even know it had a name. I guess the Frontier dub was the one I was exposed to as a kid because it's the only one I know. The Titan dub is so unfamiliar to me, it's hard to get used to the voices.
Even though the voice acting in the Titan dub is technically better than in the Frontier dub. The Frontier dub is nostalgic to me, it always hold a special place in my heart ❤️. It's clear that the cutscenes were done this way because of time constraints. This game was rushed, there was time crunch, and they were working on a tight deadline to get this out by the holiday season. So they didn't have time to do fully rendered cutscenes with in-game graphics. But for what they are, I think they totally work. Your mileage will vary depending on whether or not you're willing to tolerate a game that doesn't have fully animated cutscenes with in-game graphics and real time rendering or even ones that are pre-rendered.
One problem that I do have with the cutscenes and is a flaw with the game, I guess this where I'll start getting into flaws, is that at least in the PS2 version and in the longplay that I watched for this review, the subtitles are delayed because the cutscenes have subtitles by default. Which isn't a problem, I'm just stating the facts. What is a problem is that subtitles are delayed by several seconds, and don't exactly display what's being said at that exact moment. It's always shows what was said 20 or 30 seconds ago, while the character has already moved on and is saying something else. I wish the subtitles were perfectly synced with the audio and fully matched what the characters were saying on screen at that moment. But it's not just the subtitles, the game has other audio issues too.
During the monster intros, whenever the announcer says the monster's name and the monster roars, sometimes you don't hear the roar all, no sound comes out at all, and then other times the monsters will roar so loudly that you cannot hear the announcer's voice at all. It will also cut off before the announcer says the monster's full name and show another monster's intro. The announcer's voice is also too low, you can barely hear what he's saying a lot of the time. Even during gameplay, some sounds don't play when there should be sound, the music doesn't play in the background sometimes, and then the sound will get so muddled with all the sound effects and music going on at once, you can't really tell what's going on, what sounds belong to what. Something clearly went wrong with the sound mixing on this game. They definitely needed more time to get it right. This is why you shouldn't rush game development, or film production for that matter.
But, the sound design itself I didn't have a problem with, the sound effects are pretty good in this game. All the monster roars are pretty good, even they're not exactly how they were in the movies, and have often times been truncated and modified to suit a video game character. You know how characters in video games often repeat lines or sounds during gameplay, well it's the same here only it's with giant monsters (or kaiju) and any humanoid character who can actually talk and has dialogue. But it's the same principle. And the music is pretty good too, especially the main menu theme. That main menu theme is amazing. It's the best main menu theme of the entire trilogy and one of the best main menu themes of any video game ever.
In addition to multiple factions for each monster, the game also has multiple endings, which sets it apart from the previous two games, which only had one ending each ☝️. The game has four endings, four endings to go with the four factions this game has. Which ending you get will largely depend on which faction you play as. Though the Earth Defender faction π and the GDF faction pretty much have the same ending. You defeat the villains, SpaceGodzilla and the Vortaak and their array of monsters, and you save the entire planet. It's pretty straight forward. The only real difference is who gets the credit for saving the world, the Earth Defenders π or the GDF. If you play as the Earth Defenders π, the humans thank the monsters for saving the world, and they reflect on the fact that they spent so long trying to find ways to kill or contain these monsters, and yet they're the ones that saved the world. They're the reason why the Earth π was saved. If you play as the GDF, the humans basically congratulate themselves and pat themselves on the back for saving the world π₯³ππΎπ₯ and for a job well done π.
It's only when you get to the Alien ending π½ and the Mutant ending that things get a little bit more interesting. If you play as the Aliens π½, of course the Vortaak win, and they succeed in their invasion and take over the Earth π. If you play as the Mutants, whichever mutant monster played as becomes the most powerful monster on the planet after consuming all the energy from the crystals and pretty destroys the entire world, and if you play as SpaceGodzilla specifically, then of course SpaceGodzilla wins and takes over the Earth π for himself. None of the endings are anything to write home about, and are all kind of underwhelming, but I do like the idea of them. Each of the endings sounds good in concept. I just wish they were executed before. If they ever remaster or remake this game, the endings are one of the things they could improve. Or if they make another sequel, another game in this series and continuity, if Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered does bring about a resurgence of this series and they make a fourth game after 20+ years (it probably wouldn't actually come out in 2027, the 20th anniversary of Unleashed, since games take a lot longer to make than a few months), the endings are one of the things that they could improve upon from this game.
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