King of the Monsters [Model SHVC-KM]

King of the Monsters © 1992 Takara Company, Limited.

King of the Monsters is the conversion of the unusual fighting game released by SNK for their Neo Geo Arcade system in 1991. Four giant monster beasts, highly inspired by those classic Toho Japanese TV shows aired in the 70s, battle to decide who will finally take over the world. Each monster has, of course, its own set of special attacks and moves. Geon is a big lezard (somehow Godzilla like), Astro guy is a human shaped hero (an interesting mix of Ultra Man and Captain America), Beetle Mania is a humanoid insect and finally Rocky is a sort of stone-like monster. Each battle is a one-on-one fight against another giant monster controlled by the system. And each one of them take place in a different location in Japan. Various ground elements such as cars, buildings and other famous Japanese landmarks can of course be destroyed. Some broken pieces of the background can even be used against the other opponent. Each area is also surrounded by an electric field that can be used as a weapon, without forgetting the human army trying to stop the monsters with the help of tanks and other weapons. Each monster has a list of regular attacks (including punches, kicks and jumps), a projectile attack (like fireballs or rocks) and also feature an interesting selection of traditional wrestling moves that can be upgraded using hidden power-ups. A two simultaneous player mode is also available.