So the time has finally come, I’ve been on the fence long enough and I’m tired of making Brian wait for something out of me. Thus, my first piece for RTW. I’m gonna bring you guys reviews of games past, present, and future (once I get my flux capacitor fixed) while trying to focus on less mainstream titles.

First game on the chopping block is King of the Monsters on the Neo Geo MVS (Multi Video System) arcade hardware. Now this game was also available on the Neo Geo home system and made appearances on the Genesis and SNES, of course don’t expect much from those two versions. I’m not here to hold back, so I’m just gonna throw it out there, this game was THE BALLS when it came out. The graphics were some of the finer ones out there at the time and with a roster of monsters to appeal to every kid’s inner Godzilla fan it had the makings of a classic.

The basic premise of the game involves the monsters arriving in Japan to duke it out and find out who is indeed, King of the Monsters. The beasts involved in this epic battle are:
Geon: The Godzilla like lizard
Woo: The Ape
Poison Ghost: The giant ooze creature
Rocky: The…rock…guy
Beetle Mania: The giant…beetle.
Astro Guy: The Power Ranger wanna be

You’ll fight through various cities in Japan, although the landscape doesn’t change too much throughout. What’s cool is that while you battle through the city you can destroy pretty much any and all landmarks throughout.

 The gameplay in the game is very much like an early wrestling game, which means punch and kick until you can grapple your opponent and do some sort of throw or something. Then of course you have to pin them and get a 3 count. But don’t go thinking this will be an easy task, OH NO. The computer AI is so cheap in this game it’s pretty insane, and understandable since this was released at a time when arcades were just hitting their stride again and they wanted you to keep popping your quarters in.

To add to the frustration your life bar doesn’t move much (if at all) once you’ve defeated an opponent so you’re pretty much screwed if you took a beating the last time around. This game does a pretty good job of mixing old wrestling games with a Rampage like atmosphere and definitely has its niche. If you’re a fan of old school arcade games, Godzilla, or old wrestling games you’ll probably enjoy this if you take it at face value.

It may not be the best game out there, but it brought colorful graphics and fun characters to arcades at a time when they were dying for this stuff.

- James