King of the Monsters
Encyclopedia
King of the Monsters is a series of video games created by SNK Corporation (the predecessor of the current SNK Playmore
) for the Neo-Geo
, featuring giant monsters reminiscent of kaiju
and tokusatsu
.
game. It was released by SNK on July 1, 1991 in Japan
(later released on the Virtual Console
), with later ports for the Super NES and Sega Genesis by Takara
. King of the Monsters was included as part of SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1
which was released for the Wii
, PlayStation 2
and PSP
in 2008.
The game consists of 12 total levels: the player first must defeat all six monsters, with the last monster being oneself, but in a different palette
. Then the player must defeat the six monsters again, in the same order, but this time in different cities.
, Kyoto
, Kobe
, Osaka
, Okayama and Hiroshima
. Almost everything in the stage (within the confines of the electrical barriers) can be destroyed. Vehicles such as helicopters, boats, and tanks can be picked up and thrown.
. Geon, Astro Guy, and Woo are all upgraded to defend Earth against an alien threat led by a creature called Famardy. The game also features a 2-player competition mode.
, Grand Canyon
, Desert
, Sea Bed, Volcano, and Hideout.
, a fighting game featuring many of the company's popular characters. Cyber Woo is featured as one of the playable characters, although in a much smaller form and controlled by a human. Also, Yuki and Ai, two other characters in the game, have a combined attack where they can change into Atomic Guy for a brief period of time.
Atomic Guy, Super Geon, and Cyber Woo appear as character cards in the DS game SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters DS. Both Atomic Guy and Super Geon have their names transliterated
directly from Japanese
, so their names are spelled as, respectively, "Atomic Gai" and "Super Zion".
game show Nick Arcade. It was almost always picked, leaving other games like ActRaiser
, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts
, and El Viento
out, this was the same on earlier broadcast's of Sky1 show Games World
.
SNK Playmore
SNK Playmore Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. SNK is an acronym of , which was SNK's original name. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986....
) for the Neo-Geo
Neo Geo (console)
The is a cartridge-based arcade and home video game system released on July 1, 1991 by Japanese game company SNK. Being in the Fourth generation of Gaming, it was the first console in the former Neo Geo family, which only lived through the 1990s...
, featuring giant monsters reminiscent of kaiju
Kaiju
is a Japanese word that means "strange beast," but often translated in English as "monster". Specifically, it is used to refer to a genre of tokusatsu entertainment....
and tokusatsu
Tokusatsu
is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....
.
King of the Monsters
King of the Monsters is a fighting/wrestlingWrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
game. It was released by SNK on July 1, 1991 in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(later released on the Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
), with later ports for the Super NES and Sega Genesis by Takara
Takara
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....
. King of the Monsters was included as part of SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1
SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1
SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 is a video game compilation created and published by SNK Playmore which includes sixteen Neo Geo games.The compilation was released on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and the Wii...
which was released for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
in 2008.
Gameplay
Players get to choose any one of six monsters (four in the 16-bit ports) for battle, and two players can join forces to fight the monsters together. Battles end when one of the monsters is pinned for a three count or if time expires (in which case the player loses).The game consists of 12 total levels: the player first must defeat all six monsters, with the last monster being oneself, but in a different palette
Palette (computing)
In computer graphics, a palette is either a given, finite set of colors for the management of digital images , or a small on-screen graphical element for choosing from a limited set of choices, not necessarily colors .Depending on the context In computer graphics, a palette is either a given,...
. Then the player must defeat the six monsters again, in the same order, but this time in different cities.
The Characters
- Geon: A GodzillaGodzillais a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
-like dinosaurDinosaurDinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
. - Woo: A King KongKing KongKing Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
-like giant gorilla (not available on the ports). - Poison Ghost: A creature covered in toxic waste, inspired by HedorahHedorah, also known as the Smog Monster, is a fictional character in the 1971 film Godzilla vs. Hedorah. The monster was named for , the Japanese word for sludge, vomit, slime or chemical ooze. He is the main antagonist of the film.-Description:...
(not available on the ports). - Rocky: A giant MoaiMoaiMoai , or mo‘ai, are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the...
-like golemGolemIn Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
made of boulders. - Beetle Mania: A large beetleBeetleColeoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
-like creature, possibly inspired by Megalon. - Astro Guy: An UltramanUltramanis Japanese television series that first aired in 1966. Ultraman, the first and best-known of the "Ultra-Crusaders," made his debut in the tokusatsu SF/kaiju/superhero TV series, , a follow-up to the television series Ultra Q...
-like superhero with the name reference from Astro Boy.
Battlegrounds
The battles in King of the Monsters take place in six major Japanese cities (one for each monster): TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Okayama and Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
. Almost everything in the stage (within the confines of the electrical barriers) can be destroyed. Vehicles such as helicopters, boats, and tanks can be picked up and thrown.
King of the Monsters 2
On May 25, 1992, SNK and Takara released a sequel for the Neo-Geo. Takara also ported it to the Super NES in 1993. This sequel takes the original in a new direction by using three of the monsters from the original game as heroes in a side-scrolling beat 'em upBeat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
. Geon, Astro Guy, and Woo are all upgraded to defend Earth against an alien threat led by a creature called Famardy. The game also features a 2-player competition mode.
The Heroes
- Super Geon: Geon mutated into a spiky, vicious form.
- Cyber Woo: A cyborg version of Woo, possibly inspired by Mechanikong.
- Atomic Guy: Astro Guy with a super-charged arsenal and bigger muscles.
The Alien Menace
All the monsters had different names in the Japanese and American versions of the game.- Huge Keal (Japanese) or Huge Frogger (American): A giant humanoid toad with a space helmet that can teleport.
- Horn du Out (Japanese) or Eifflelyte (American): A blob attached to the head of an ordinary human, who has grown to immense proportions because of it.
- Yam a Mordon (Japanese) or Claw Head (American): A mutated creature with two horned heads, arms used as feet, and a large mouth on its belly.
- Kili Kili (Japanese) or Beetle Master (American): A large scorpionScorpionScorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
-like monster with a detachable brain that burrows underground. - Sack Eyes (Japanese) or Aqua Slug (American): A giant mutated sea slugNudibranchA nudibranch is a member of what is now a taxonomic clade, and what was previously a suborder, of soft-bodied, marine gastropod mollusks which shed their shell after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colors and striking forms...
with the ability to inflate and freeze its enemies. - Eat Wow (Japanese) or Lavicus (American): A strange creature with long fingers and a serpentine body that lays eggs from a tube in its forehead. The eye at the center of its mouth has the power to generate suction energy.
- King Famardy (Japanese) or Famardy (American): An enormous green, four-eyed blob with lots of teeth and an orange head and arms sticking out of its midsection. Famardy is the final boss and does massive damage by jumping on or devouring the other monsters.
Battlegrounds
The Japanese cities of the first game have been abandoned in favor of more generic areas: American City, French CityParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
, Desert
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Sea Bed, Volcano, and Hideout.
Mega Drive/Genesis version
A Genesis version of King of the Monsters 2 was also released by Takara, but is somewhat different from the other two versions. Rather than being a beat 'em up, the Genesis version plays like a fighting game, similar to its predecessor. All characters (excluding Famardy) are playable and have all been given special attacks executed using standard fighting game motions. Players must destroy all other monsters, one after the other, without any of the scrolling stages in the Neo-Geo version and then defeat a clone of the player's monster.Other appearances
The King of the Monsters series was mostly forgotten following the second game. However, it briefly received some recognition in 2005, when SNK Playmore released Neo Geo Battle ColiseumNeo Geo Battle Coliseum
NeoGeo Battle Coliseum is a 2 on 2 tag team fighting game for the Atomiswave arcade board. The game features characters from several SNK and ADK titles. The PlayStation 2 version of the game has been released in Japan, North America and Europe...
, a fighting game featuring many of the company's popular characters. Cyber Woo is featured as one of the playable characters, although in a much smaller form and controlled by a human. Also, Yuki and Ai, two other characters in the game, have a combined attack where they can change into Atomic Guy for a brief period of time.
Atomic Guy, Super Geon, and Cyber Woo appear as character cards in the DS game SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters DS. Both Atomic Guy and Super Geon have their names transliterated
Transliteration
Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...
directly from Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, so their names are spelled as, respectively, "Atomic Gai" and "Super Zion".
On television
King of the Monsters was a regular on the popular NickelodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
game show Nick Arcade. It was almost always picked, leaving other games like ActRaiser
ActRaiser
is a 1990 Super Nintendo Entertainment System action and city-building simulation game developed by Quintet and published by Enix that combines traditional side-scrolling platforming with urban planning god game sections. A sequel, ActRaiser 2, was released for the Super Nintendo in 1993...
, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts
is a side-scrolling platform game produced by Capcom originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. It is the third game in the Ghosts'n Goblins series...
, and El Viento
El Viento
is a 2D platform video game released by Wolf Team and published by Renovation Products for the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis game console in 1991. It is the second in a trilogy of games, which include Earnest Evans and Anetto Futatabi....
out, this was the same on earlier broadcast's of Sky1 show Games World
Games World
Games World was a British computer games-based television programme, made by Hewland International and broadcast on Sky One each weekday from 1993-98...
.