Having recently completed a longplay and written a review of King of the Monsters 2, I realised I really ought to check out the first game in the series to understand the sequel better. KOTM 2 has its own problems, but I figured that to understand the design decisions better, I should probably go check out the original game.
Unlike KOTM 2, which is closer to a side-scrolling brawler, King of the Monsters is really just a wrestling game. Players duke it out in one-on-one battles against another monster, slapping, biting and stomping one another to the point where one becomes so exhausted, they can be pinned and counted out.
Of course, what makes the game stand out among its contemporaries is the fact the wrestlers just happen to be monsters the size of skyscrapers and the rings are cities which get totally wrecked during the course of each bout. The cities are beautifully rendered, with tiny cars, trucks and other vehicles tootling along highways, while jets roar overhead. The level of detail conveys the sense of a living, breathing city, at least to the point where you start to feel some level of concern for the inhabitants of each building which gets squashed, torched, or ripped up and hurled in your opponent's direction.
Each of the monsters can punch, claw and attack by tapping A and B buttons respectively. It's possible to jump, admittedly somewhat clumsily, by pressing A + B respectively, which allows monsters to grab planes out of the air, as well as evade attacks. Dash attacks can be initiated by double-tapping on the joystick, which are especially effective, owing to the fact these will knock opponents on their ass instantly. In a further nod to its wrestling mechanics, a downed opponent can be picked up and a grappled which, if executed successfully, will see the hapless beast tossed around like a ragdoll.
On the subject of grapples, the outcome of these is still really hard to predict. You can wiggle the stick and mash buttons all you like, but who wins the clinch still feels somewhat random. Given that grappling is such a big part of the game, I wish the developers had designed the game so that players could consistently determine the outcome, although I suspect the reason was in part to hasten the player's demise and force insertion of another coin.
And it's this point where King of the Monsters falls down for me. Being able to hurl your opponent into a building is by far the most entertaining part of the game, so the lack of predictability undermines much of the game and sucks some of the fun out of the whole thing. Similarly, the fact opponents can only be defeated on the third pin makes the whole count-out utterly pointless.
Although I love the aesthetics, the fact the game's mechanics seem to have been architected to disadvantage the player deliberately make it difficult to enjoy. The multiplayer experience might be more enjoyable, but as a single player game, there are definitely better titles.
Developer: SNK
Publisher: SNK
Year of Release: 1991
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