![]() The first Godzilla title for the NES/Famicom (EGM score: 5.0/10) is actually one of the better ones to balance fairly decent control with feeling like a giant monster. Now, as this is a very early game, we can’t expect a whole lot of movie accuracy or complexity here, but even by old-game standards, it’s pretty weak, although the simplistic monster graphics are actually kind of charming. It’s basically a game of Whack-A-Mole, where monsters come up out of holes in the ground, and Godzilla just has to hit them with atomic breath until the round is over. One of the first Godzilla games, simply titled Gojira, came out on the MSX in Japan only. These two concepts are at odds with each other, so this is the first side of a paradox I find with action-based Godzilla games: In order to feel true to the character, he must be slow and limited in movement, but that generally makes for a frustrating gaming experience. And as gamers, we want our avatars to react instantaneously to our input, the more agile the better. But daikaiju, by their nature, are slow-moving. So I’m mostly going to focus on the action-based games in this article.īy all accounts, it should be easy and fun for a player to take control of Godzilla, smash some buildings, soak up some damage from Maser cannon tanks, and fight King Ghidorah. As I’m not usually very keen on simulation games, I haven’t spent too much time with any of the Godzilla titles in that genre, such as Godzilla 2 on the NES or Super Godzilla on the SNES. Most of them tend to fall into one of two categories: action games, in which the player usually controls Godzilla or another kaiju while destroying cities and fighting other monsters and simulation games, which usually put the player on the human side, defending against various scenarios of Godzilla attacks. ![]() While I have not played every single Godzilla game, I have played most of the games that have been released in the US, as well as some of the imports. The problem with Godzilla games is that he SHOULD translate wonderfully into a video game, but he often just… doesn’t. And those that are decent are probably most enjoyable only by hardcore kaiju-eiga no otaku. ![]() Unfortunately, as is the case with many licensed properties, many of them are…not that good. It had to have been pre-Kindergarten that I started watching them - maybe my older sister had watched them because she was into horror movies - but I didn’t discover video games until I was five or six, and I know I was watching Godzilla before then.Īnyway, with Godzilla and video games being two of Japan’s most significant pop culture exports, naturally there have been a bunch of Godzilla video games. ![]() It’s true! I actually cannot recall when I first discovered Godzilla - I literally have no memory of a time when I did not watch and love his movies, and some of my earliest memories of watching any TV at all are of Godzilla. ![]() Here’s a confession: I have loved Godzilla for even longer than I’ve loved video games. ![]()
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