Its safe to say that we are living in a golden age for the Godzilla franchise and character. The consistent release of new movies, each more successful than the last, has given the series a level of mainstream attention it has never really had before. Further, the imminent release of thrilling sequels to some of the most beloved entries in the franchise means that fans have plenty to look forward to in the foreseeable future. Yet, despite the recent success of Godzilla in films and TV, there have not really been any attempts to continue the series’ hot streak in the form of a new video game.
While there have been some recent Godzilla games here and there, none of them have really captured the magic of 2002’s Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee. The fun combat mechanics and great cast of characters made it a formative experience for who played it, and the reason why many even became invested in the character at all. In fact, many still consider it to be one of the best games of the sixth generation of consoles, let alone the best Godzilla game to date. It is only natural, then, that developers would choose to remaster the nearly 25-year old game in the midst of the franchise’s golden age.
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered boasts improved visuals and new quality-of-life updates that promise to make this the best way to experience the iconic classic. At the same time, though, it is an experience that occasionally falls short due to its lack of new content.
Monster vs Monster
For those unfamiliar with Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, its premise is quite simple. The game features a roster of 12 playable monsters: Godzilla (90s), Mechagodzilla, Anguirus, Destoroyah, Gigan, King Ghidorah, Rodan, Godzilla (2000s), Kiryu, Mecha-King Ghidorah, Megalon, and Orga. Each monster has a unique moveset, as well as varying levels of attack, strength, speed, and defense. There are various single-player and multiplayer modes that allow players to try out each of the monsters and test their mastery of the game’s numerous mechanics.
The core single-player mode of Destroy All Monsters is the Adventure mode. You pick one of the 12 monsters and are thrust into a narrative that forces you to fight against the other members of the roster. In terms of the narrative, the monster you picked has just escaped from the controlling influence of the Vortaak, an alien race created exclusively for the Godzilla games. They are slightly inept and goofy in their behavior, but the cutscenes in which they show up are fairly charming. Still, this is pretty much the only semblance of the story you can expect from this game. It functions more as an excuse to justify the gameplay loop of continuously fighting monsters, rather than conveying the same complex themes of some of the most beloved entries in the Godzilla film franchise.
That said, this is a game that does not really need a complex story, as its addicting gameplay more than makes up for it. Destroy All Monsters is a beat-em-up that takes the best aspects of the franchise’s most iconic fight scenes and adapts them into a video game format. Each battleground you fight in adapts some of the most well known cities across the world, and all of the monsters you can pick from tower above them. With your many unique attacks, you can throw other monsters across entire cities and destroy buildings in your wake, all in service of defeating your opponent no matter what. Each battle usually strikes the right balance between fun and challenging.
The Adventure mode perfectly captures the combat’s intensity. Whichever character you pick will have a unique route through the story, with each level pitting you against a specific monster. For instance, when I played as Godzilla (90s), I fought monsters like Rodan and Destoroyah initially, before later taking on Ghidorah and Gigan. The final boss of each route will always be Mechagodzilla, which always put my combat skills to the test. I was forced to destroy elements of the environment in order to have more maneuverability, which I could then use to grab power-ups that increased my power level or summoned an air strike courtesy of Mothra. These, alongside the use of the powerful abilities in my arsenal, allowed me to get the drop on my opponent.
As you play more of each of the game’s mode, your choice of character will level up and gain more increases to certain stats of theirs. In addition, you can also unlock more characters the more you play and progress “research.” Beyond the Adventure mode, there are plenty of additional modes for players to continue to get their Godzilla fix while leveling up and getting more characters.
For example, there are the two other core single-player modes: Survival and Destruction. Survival is a gauntlet mode where you fight a new enemy every round, but with no health regeneration between levels. If you die, that is the end of the mode, and you will need to start again. Destruction, on the other hand, asks you to destroy as much of a city as possible before time runs out. There are also plenty of multiplayer options for both fans hoping to enjoy the game with friends locally or online. The multitude of modes are great in how they give players several options if they are getting tired of the same old combat loop.
That exhaustion may become a problem for those who do not have the same nostalgic love for the original release as most. Mashing the same buttons to execute combos and fighting the same enemies back to back can quickly get exhausting, especially when considering the absurd situations the enemy AI can put you in. At times, I found myself getting juggled around by enemy kaiju and humans attacking simultaneously, leaving me with what felt like minutes where my hands were completely off the controller.
There were some other jank happenings, such as some projectiles being fired at my character during the result screen, but these were not enough to detract from the fun times I had with Destroy All Monsters. Overall, even as someone who did not play a lot of the original game as a kid, I had a ton of fun taking control of some of the most iconic monsters in the Godzilla mythos and pitting them against each other in hectic combat. Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered is a little bit more of a mixed bag, however, when viewed in the lens of a remaster.
A Remaster Lacking in Depth
When developers make the choice to remaster a game that is over two decades old, they must immediately decide whether to make it a faithful recreation or a radical revision. Some may opt to maintain what made the original so great in the first place, down to the last minute detail. Yet, this comes with the risk of alienating new and old players alike, due to a lack of content that feels fresh or exciting. On the other hand, there’s the choice to add in a bunch of new features and updates, which may come at the expense of those who are deeply nostalgic for the original. Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered opts for the former approach, both for better and for worse.
For one, there is the visuals, which have been updated with Unreal Engine 5. Despite my frustrations with the style of other games in the engine, I actually really loved how this game looks. It maintains the character’s designs while also adding a whole new level of detail to them that even the films have not been able to achieve. Take Gigan, for instance: he has not appeared in a movie in over 20 years, and as a result, his design in Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered is the best he’s ever looked. The same level of detail applies to the other characters, as well as the dozens of battlegrounds available within the game.
The improved animations and textures are especially noticeable with the stages. Each stage is far bigger than ever before, and has different scenarios you can pick from. For instance, with the Seattle stage, you can customize it to be in night time or to have overcast weather, if you do not want your battle to just be set in broad daylight. Beyond that, the addition of online multiplayer is a major upgrade in its own right. Other new modes are available too, such as new variations of the Adventure mode you can unlock as you upgrade your characters. These will be sure to challenge even the most seasoned Destroy All Monsters players, and subsequently reward them with new gallery items.
The ability to upgrade characters is arguably the best new feature in Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered. It made me feel like I was personally making my monsters stronger with each battle I fought, and rewarded me for having a main I was committed to. It also enhanced the new mechanics dedicated to unlocking characters. Instead of just having to beat the Adventure mode with a certain character, you complete “Research” and “Rumors,” which gives you far more control over the monsters you want to unlock. For instance, if you want to unlock King Ghidorah as early as possible, all you have to do is complete his associated research, rather than needing to play as Megalon in the Adventure mode.
There are plenty of other adjustments that go a long way in making this experience feel way better than its predecessor. Even something as simple as the design of Mechagodzilla has been adjusted from his appearance in the Heisei era to his Showa design, in order to correct a continuity error from the original. This is undoubtedly the definitive way to experience Destroy All Monsters, especially if you played the original. But what if you are jumping into the game as a new fan of the franchise? Well, in that situation, you may be a tad disappointed by the lack of content.
A vast majority of the adjustments made in the remaster focus on tuning the original experience, rather than modifying. As such, there are not any new characters or stages added whatsoever. Those hoping to play as recent iterations of Godzilla like Shin or Minus One are sadly out of luck. It is worth noting that the addition of new characters is a somewhat vain hope, considering the amount of effort it would take to rebalance the rest of the roster to fit into the combat loop.
Despite all the new modes added in, you can experience everything that Destroy All Monsters has to offer within the span of a single afternoon. They also do not offer much replayability as well. Even if you play as a different monster, you’ll still be largely completing the same missions, even if it is in a slightly different order. In addition, there are no cutscenes or any semblance of a story featured in the new Adventure modes, nor are there any meaningful rewards offered upon completing them.
This is where the new unlocking mechanic actually falls short, since you will need to replay the same modes over and over again in order to get the characters you want. This made the aforementioned exhausting gameplay loop feel even more monotonous. While Destroy All Monsters Remastered is sure to be fun in multiplayer, the lack of content in general means that those who prefer single-player may not have much to do after a few hours. These frustrations, however, were thankfully not enough to completely negate my enjoyment of this remaster.
Resurrecting a Classic
When I was a kid, I was first exposed to the world of Godzilla through Destroy All Monsters, which I played at a friend’s house. I did not play much of it, but what I did play was more than enough to make me fall in love with the mythos and the many characters that inhabit. Now, Godzilla is one of my favorite franchises to date, yet I still find myself wishing for a new game that attempted to once again highlight its characters in an unconventional format. Thus, Atari has given us Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered. While I was initially disappointed that this was to be the first Godzilla game in over a decade, I still had a great time with the remaster, despite some major drawbacks.
Destroy All Monsters Remastered is just as fun as the original release, and is easily the definitive way to experience the beloved classic. The fun combat and great cast of characters is bolstered by the improved visuals and much-appreciated quality-of-life updates that the remaster introduces. At the same time, the lack of much new content means that this game does not really have too much replayability, unless you are playing with other people. In addition, the repetitive gameplay can sometimes get exhausting, especially when the game forces you to do the same modes over and over again in order to unlock new characters.
Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered is still a really fun experience, though, especially when considering the relatively inexpensive $30-40 price point. At the end of the day, this game may not be the best experience for more recent Godzilla fans, it is an absolute must-play for die-hard fans of the character and the original game. In spite of its imperfections, this manages to be both a great resurrection of the most beloved Godzilla game to date, as well as another worthy to the character’s golden age.
Disclaimer: Atari provided a PlayStation 5 copy of Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered for review purposes.
