Developer: Now Production Publisher: Takara Release: 1993 Genre: Action
The Neo Geo’s technical superiority to the SNES and Genesis meant that even the simplest genres seemed more grandiose due to the outstanding production values. I am not much of a wrestling fan but I’ll be damned if 3 Count Bout did not seem like the best thing ever. And that game sucks! King of the Monsters stood out as it did an excellent job of capturing the scale of its giant monsters as they battled it out in major cities around the world. At least it did in the arcade. Sadly the console ports were lacking and were a slog to tolerate. King of the Monsters 2 was Takara’s chance to make things right and deliver a solid conversion of the arcade hit. While an improvement in most areas it still has flaws that ruin it.
Three years after the events of the first game, only three monsters have survived what is known in history books as the “King of the Monsters Massacre”. They have become more advanced and dangerous than ever before. But now in 1999, a powerful alien monster and his wave of minions threaten to conquer the Earth. The surviving monsters must defeat the alien menace and once again prove who the King of the Monsters is.
Of the two home ports the SNES version plays similarly to the arcade. Mechanically things are different this time around. Each character has a limited move set, with standard punches, kicks, and some special attacks. As there are only three monsters this time each has more of an identity. This is tied to their grapple and special attacks. Each monster has three unique special attacks that cost a different level of the special meter. The grapple system remains a mystery to me even though I finished the game. I do not know how to consistently win a grapple or if it is random. Most importantly you can now block attacks, for all the good it will do you.
Despite the various changes and additions the controls feel sluggish and unresponsive, especially when trying to pull off special moves. Hit detection and collision are inconsistent, making battles sometimes feel unfair or random. Grapple attacks are the most effective but the god damn randomness ruins that tactic. Special attacks are not that powerful despite the risk involved when charging up. That leaves hit and run tactics but the timer and the aggressive bosses make that less effective. Winning matches feels like luck of the draw rather than skill. It sucks as they have added so much to make the gameplay deeper.
Things are a different this time around. Each level starts with a brief side scrolling segment as you defeat enemies and destroy buildings to collect power-ups en route to the end level boss. I like this: previously the maps were nothing but window dressing. Now you have a reason to cause chaos as there are more much needed power-ups en route to each boss. Everyone wanted to pick up buildings and smash them like Rampage. Now you can. You are no longer confined to geographically inaccurate cities either. The monsters will visit the Grand Canyon, the sea floor, and even an active volcano! Story Mode pits you against a series of increasingly bizarre and grotesque monster bosses, like Clawhead or Huge Frogger, each representing a different part of the world. There’s variety in monster design, too bad you won’t be able to appreciate it due to the game’s vicious difficulty.
King of the Monsters 2 is an arcade game first. That means it was designed to drain your quarters and that has not changed at home. Even at full power each boss battle is a battle of attrition. They have priority over your attacks, deal high damage, and love cheap hits. The mechanical changes feel like they were all for naught as they barely matter once the boss battle starts. I almost wish the game still had the pin system of its predecessor just to get each bout over with. If they had balanced the gameplay and made the grappling system less nebulous this would be an exceptional title. As it is it reeks of missed opportunity.
In Closing
King of the Monsters 2 for SNES is a letdown next to its arcade counterpart. What could have been a wild, destructive kaiju beat-’em-up turns into a stiff and shallow fighting game with few redeeming qualities. Takara and their partners improved significantly with their 16-bit ports but King of the Monsters 2 misses the mark. Unless you are a hardcore monster fan or have nostalgia for the franchise, it is hard to recommend. It is a shame too as I love the premise.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
