Is the Only Good Monster a Dead Monster? GigaBash and Other Games Inspired by Kaiju

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Written by @JB
Long before the term “kaiju” was known stateside, I was gleefully watching men in rubber suits bash into each other while running amok through cardboard “cities.” The UHF-band shows like Ultraman, Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot (aka Giant Robo), and Space Giants (aka Ambassador Magma) filled the misspent afternoons of my youth.
The recently released GigaBash for the PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 had me flashing back to those halcyon days where I couldn’t be removed from in front of the TV for hours on end. GigaBash is an earwormy love ballad to kaiju cinema, assuming that ballad includes a chorus where the star-crossed lovers are chucking large buildings at one another. Riotous, compelling, and well-crafted, this game deserves to stomp its way into players’ hearts around the world—more for its multiplayer modes and tournaments rather than its story mode.
GigaBash also had me reminiscing about the kaiju/giant monster games of my youth. There was EA’s true precursor to the Pokémon franchise Mail Order Monsters and Epyx’s excellent The Movie Monster Game, both on the Commodore 64; Rampage (waaaay before it was a movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) in the arcades; Ultraman in his very own Street Fighter-esque Super Nintendo title; all 55 megabytes of King of the Monsters on the Neo Geo; and the oft-forgotten—but rather brilliant—War of the Monsters on the PlayStation 2.
If you haven’t tried any of those games (or watched any of those shows), please do, as they have all held up pretty well in my opinion. All of this kaiju goodness also led me to another thought which was: “I wonder if I can find any cool mobile experiences that’ll forge some new, monstrous memories for me?” After a quick search on TapTap, I had a few intriguing possibilities.
The first stop on this trip was the Continent to see what The Witcher: Monster Slayer held for me, and I have to be honest: If I didn’t know any better (or the title screen hadn’t told me so), I would have sworn I was playing Pokémon Go...just with more ferocious (and ugly) monsters.
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This first-person augmented reality title had me taking up the mantle of a Witcher, long before Geralt of Rivia himself walked the land. I took on contracts to rid the world of ferocious creatures such as griffins, pixies, grave hags, ghouls, and many other of the foes found in the Witcher universe.
There is always something to collect or fight in The Witcher: Monster Slayer. It seemed that lurking around pretty much every street corner in my neighborhood there were monsters ready to pounce. Once I got the hang of the sword swings and actions though, many fights only lasted a few seconds. At the same time, some larger opponents seemed much too strong – especially at the outset.
But if you enjoy going for a stroll and don't have a ton going on this weekend, The Witcher: Monster Slayer will at the very least take you to new, undiscovered corners of your neighborhood. Whether that's a plus or minus, well, that’s for you to decide...
Monster Hunter Stories is a bit of an odd duck and struck me kind of funny at first blush, as it looks more like the next entry in The Legend of Zelda series and not a Monster Hunter game at all. I’m sure this doesn’t sit well with longtime fans of the series who are jonesing for a proper Monster Hunter experience on mobile devices. This is a most certainly a simplified version of Monster Hunter, with combat on the shallower end of things, and it left me a bit wanting.
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There's so much information to absorb in the beginning of Monster Hunter Stories that it's almost dizzying and hard to truly remember every sliver of information. At the start, things trudge along slowly as you get through the game’s lengthy tutorial, but eventually you get to explore on your own.
The land itself, though beautifully rendered, felt rather bare at times, and after a short while it became more of a chore than a pleasure to traverse. Of course, any moments of tedium were easily resolved by just observing the dinosaur-inspired monsters this title sports.
For what Monster Hunter Stories struggles with, it is still an excellent overall experience with hours upon hours of adventuring to be had. It might get a bit repetitive, sure, but its story, witty characters, and diverse dino-monsters really brings it all home in one tidy mobile package.
Monster Warlord is another game that I’m not sure how to classify at first blush because it takes all the excitement of capturing and battling monsters and replaces it with text and menus. Com2uS has made a game that essentially takes the idea of monster farming and fuses it with the kind of framework found in games like the old school Mafia Wars.
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That combo works, to a degree... And it has a ton of monsters which you can collect, battle, and combine to make even more fantastical creatures which certainly are more interesting than the mundane animals we’re accustomed to in our everyday lives. (Platypuses are still pretty weird, though.)
Monster Warlord is in several ways an old game with a new coat of paint. It’s a very nice coat of paint, and the game is still quite viable, but it’s certainly nothing new or fresh. It still captures the fun of casual, incremental play rather well and sports some rather badass monster design to boot.
HippieGame’s NeverGone is teeming with the types of monsters I enjoy slaying most: undead nasties, demons, and devils. This game obviously chomps at the necks of Devil May Cry, Castlevania, and Dragon’s Crown, and with slightly better game design choices and overall polish, it would have done a good bit more justice to those legendary games.
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It's a shame then that NeverGone suffers from the limitations of having mobile, touch controls rather than controller-based console controls. This is a slick action game where the combo system motivates you to hone your skills to conjure up more stylish, longer combos with accompanying animations that are, at times, astonishingly elegant.
With just a couple tweaks here and there this title could’ve been something bloody special. If you happen to have a controller for your mobile device, I recommend breaking it out if you plan to give NeverGone a shot.
Whatever your tastes may be, it’s hard to deny that slaying monsters is fun, and playing as monsters is even more fun, and that’s what playing video games is all about at the end of day: fun. It’s been said by people much wiser than me that a hero is only as good as his villain... After playing all these games filled with cool and memorable monsters, I can certainly attest to the truth in that clever statement.
What are some of your favorite monster or kaiju games and films? Did I miss any that you particularly love? Post a picture of your personal favorite monster from movies, games, comics, or wherever in the comments below!
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Tigas Games
Tigas Games
15
Yeager is a very good game of fighting giant monsters
08/20/2022
Author liked
Evra
Evra
2
But it can't be played right?
09/08/2022
View 5 replies
Ivo Beteck Mbu
Ivo Beteck Mbu
7
this is fun
08/21/2022
Author liked
Mahesh Singh
Mahesh Singh
9
lite
08/19/2022
sanjeev sagar
sanjeev sagar
3
.8o
08/20/2022
View 2 replies
bongQuixote
bongQuixote
4
none of these games is remotely in the same vein as those mentioned in the intro m8, nice try though. try yeager or wildborn
08/22/2022
Evra
Evra
But both Yeager and Wildborn are yet to release
09/08/2022
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