[Playing…] Godzilla (1990)

After having commented on HorrorScience a large number of Godzilla movies and other related monsters, it's time to take a look at one of their video games, specifically a Game Boy game released in 1990 that is actually a remake of Gojira Kun of MSX released in 1985.

Although the introduction of the game shows us some scary images of the monsters that we will see in the game, once the game starts we will see that Godzilla and the other giants are small, big-headed and funny, something surely unexpected for those who bought the game thinking about devastating and destroying Japan controlling the Japanese saurian. However This game is not based on the Godzilla movies, but on the products where the big-headed monster was seen (like the Godzilland series and the Godzilla Kun mangas), where all the monsters looked adorable and fun.

A curious detail is that the sprites of The characters are different in the Japanese version of the game and in the Western ones, where they kept the comic style, but they altered the sprites slightly (the face, the eyes, or in Godzilla's case, they removed the clothes he wears in the Japanese version).

The objective of the game is to rescue Minilla (the supposed son of Godzilla) who is trapped in a maze. If we play the Japanese version of this game we will see that the title screen already shows a big-headed and friendly Godzilla and if we complete that version instead of rescuing Minilla, we will find Godzilla's girlfriend. This version also has a two-player mode that is not found in the Western versions.

He main objective of the game is to destroy all the rocks on the stageIf we hit them, they will fall or move, so to break them we will have to put them next to some solid object (a wall or another rock) and hit them again so that they disappear and, with luck, leave behind an item that will make the game easier for us.

When all the rocks have disappeared we will see one or more arrows appear, which are the exit from the level and move us through the different phases of the grid-shaped labyrinth that make up the game. It is important to know the path we are taking (we can consult it in the menu that appears when we press Select) because if not, we may go back and have to repeat one of the phases already completed.

Each level is different and on many occasions we will have to destroy the rocks in a specific order to prevent any from being inaccessible or undestroyed, since we must keep in mind that depending on how the level is distributed, we will need to climb the rocks to reach high places that we will not be able to access otherwise, since Godzilla cannot jump. Before starting the phaseIt is advisable to pause the game and move the screen to see the entire leveland start planning how we will manage to break the rocks according to their distribution, because once we are playing it will be quite difficult to do so while the enemies do not stop bothering us.

The monsters that will stalk us in the game are Baragon, Rodan, Hedorah, Anguirus and MechaGodzilla. As a general rule, they all act in the same way (chasing Godzilla) but there are some differences between them: Baragon, Anguirus and MechaGodzilla are differentiated by having different speeds, Rodan can fly and will be the one that annoys us the most and Hedorah is impossible to kill with punches, so he will be a real nuisance. When it comes to eliminating these enemies, just punch them (except for the aforementioned Hedorah, who will simply retreat) but we can also kill them by crushing them with stones or finding the item that eliminates them all at once. Unfortunately, the enemies are infinite, so even if we eliminate them they will only give us a few seconds of rest until they appear again. If it takes too long to complete a level, King Ghidorah will appear, which will end Godzilla's life in seconds. Once again there are some differences in the Japanese version, where it is easier to get rid of the most annoying monsters and there are also items to help Godzilla.

The difficulty of the game is quite progressive and, the truth is, there are some puzzles that, despite being simple, can take a long time. The fact that Godzilla cannot jump and has to move using the vines that act as a rope is quite limiting and the game does not hesitate to place rocks that seem inaccessible so that we discover that we can get to the edge of a platform or vine to make a punch that destroys that rock that was too far away. If at any point we get trapped (something that will inevitably happen) we can commit suicide to try again.

So that we don't despair, the game allows you to continue and offers a Password option (with two different systems, a short one to continue where we are and a long one to continue where we are and remember the path we have taken through the labyrinth). The truth is that the task of saving Minilla (or Godzilla's girlfriend) is much more difficult than it seems, which is very positive for the player looking for a challenge.

It is true that this game is quite inefficient when it comes to representing the standard Godzilla, but that does not mean that it is a fun and ideal game for lovers of puzzles and games like Bugs Bunny in Crazy Castle or similar (for the rest of us it can become tedious, boring and repetitive), plus its music is very happy and extremely catchy.