Godzilla (Arcade) Playthrough
255A playthrough of Banpresto's 1993 arcade fighting game, Godzilla.
I play through both game modes in this video. 1P Story Mode begins at 0:46, and the Vs. Battle Mode (played as "Megaron") begins at 22:22.
This Banpresto coin-op was the first officially-licensed fighting game to be based on the Godzilla franchise, hitting Japanese arcades shortly before Alfa System's TurboGrafx-CD take on the same idea (https://youtu.be/mZJO-Kews6M) was released.
The game is split into two parts:
1P Story Mode takes its inspiration from several of Godzilla's most iconic fights. Each of the seven stages begins with a warm-up that has him stomping buildings and smashing helicopters as tiny bystanders flee in terror, and once everything is in ruins, Godzilla's opponent will appear and the two will duke it out, Street Fighter 2-style. This mode is 1P-only and Godzilla is the only playable character.
Vs. Battle Mode dispenses with the fancy movie window dressing and plays out like a traditional 2D versus-fighter: matches play out in rounds (best two-of-three format), the special move gauge resets between rounds, and a second player can buy in at any time for some competitive action. You can choose from any of the playable monsters in this mode.
The main event baddies include King Ghidora, Mecha-King Ghidora, Gigan, Megalon, MechaGodzilla, Biollante, Mothra, and Battra, and tons of other series mainstays put in cameo appearances as well. If you keep a close eye on the background, you can catch glimpses of Rodan, Jet Jaguar, Anguirus, the SuperX, Gotengo, Manda, and King Caesar all doing their thing.
The fighting doesn't have a ton of depth, but the game is an absolute blast to play. There are only three buttons - one punches, one kicks/tail swipes, and one jumps - and you can choose the height of your attack by hitting up or down on the joystick. In addition to the standard moves, each monster has a body slam, a throw, two command specials, and a weak and a strong super move.
The controls are simple and the moves are easy to pull off, and the challenge is very fair for an arcade game. In fact, it might just be the easiest arcade fighter I've ever played. That's not meant as a knock against it, though - it's not much fun getting stomped over and over by a cheating AI opponent.
The graphics and sound are nicely done. They aren't on par with what you'd find in Capcom or SNK's 1993 offerings, but the sprite work is sharp, the roars are clear, and the FM soundtrack is pretty outstanding.
(Godzilla's derp shuffle/arm flailing when he wins cracks me up everytime!)
If tokusatsu films and/or fighting games are your thing, I'd recommend giving Godzilla a look. It's a cool tribute to thirty years' worth of classic films.
Finally, from the videos I've seen of it, it seems like a lot of people have no idea what the controls are, and since I couldn't find a movelist in English, I thought I'd list the regular moves here as well as Godzilla's specials for anyone that wants to give it a try.
For all characters:
Body slam: F+P+K
Throw: F+K+J
Short leap forward: DB,D,DF,F+P
Roar: CCW 360+P
Super Move (changes based on gauge level): P+K+J
Godzilla and MechaGodzilla's specials:
Electricity ball (G)/Barrier (MG): F,D,DF+K
Jumping tail whip: D,U+K
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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