Cloverfield Monster Revealed! Sorta.

There it is, as revealed in the spiffy new official trailer (which can be viewed here). So what is the creature in the film, exactly? A spiky, scaly blob thing, by the looks of it. Admittedly, it’s really hard to tell, as the monster is already halfway through the process of ducking behind a building for the split instant it’s shown in the clip. There are claims floating around on the net that legs and a tail can be made out in the shape, but all I’m seeing is... a spiky, scaly blob thing. But I’m sure we’ll get some decent shots of the monster in the final film verses an hour and half of fleeting glimpses of the thing (like the first half of the American Godzilla movie), right? Right?

Godzilla Unleashed: Final Four

Oops- my bad. Looks like there were still four final monster reveals to go for Godzilla: Unleashed. So, without further ado, here they are:

Mechagodzilla (90’s)

‘Nother MechaGodzilla...

Godzilla (90’s)

‘Nother Godzilla...

Godzilla (’54)

‘Nother Godzilla...

Space Godzilla

Actually, I like Space Godzilla a lot, as his abilities and attacks are weird and varied enough to make him more than just another Godzilla clone. Mind you, he’s the second monster in the game based around a crystal theme (the other being Obsidius)- do we really need two?

So we now have the final lineup. There are a few characters missing in the IGN galleries that are slated to appear in the final game, including Varan (who has a profile on the game’s official website), Moguera (who also has an official profile) and Showa-era Mechagodzilla (I think you can see him briefly in one of the game site’s trailers).

While I’m not terribly thrilled about the fact that there are quite a few repeating characters (three Godzillas, three Mechagodzillas and two King Ghidorahs) and two non-Toho, original creations (Krystalak and Obsidius), I’ll take what I can get when it comes to a new Godzilla-themed fighting game. It’s better than nothing. All the same though, here’s a quick list of the monsters I would have liked to have seen in this release in place of the variants and the two exclusive characters:

Hedorah

I’m actually kinda surprised that Hedorah didn’t make it into this new game as all of his strange abilities would make for a great fighting game character.

Kumonga

I had mentioned in a previous blog entry on the subject that Kumonga would be a welcome addition to the list of characters, and they could even give him the leaping ability from his Final Wars incarnation.

The Gargantuas

Admittedly, one of the fun aspects of a fighting game featuring Toho’s cast of daikaiju is to enact brawls that never actually happened in the films. Although the Gargantuas would be entirely melee-based in terms of their attacks, the game could compensate by giving them their signature regenerative abilities and allow them to slowly regain their health when not being hit.

Gezora

Yeah, it’s an odd choice, but I’ve always liked this beastie from Space Ameoba- goofy design and all- and it never hurts to have a few non-humanoid entries in the games’ roster to mix things up visually. Although he never displayed the ability in his film appearance, it wouldn’t be terribly out of character to give him some sort of pressurized water spray-like ranged attack for the sake of the game.

Kamacuras

The War of the Monsters fighting game for the PS2 featured a giant mantis as a playable character- why not a Godzilla game? Kamacuras could be totally based around speed and his flying ability, making him more of a “hit and run” fighter. Although he was briefly shown having a camouflage/invisibility power in Final Wars, that ability would be somewhat hard to pull off in the context of a two-player game.

Bagan

If you really want a new and exclusive monster in the game, why not make it one that was actually meant to legitimately appear in a movie? Bagan is sort of an infamous monster in Toho fan circles, as he has appeared in various projects, including early drafts of The Return of Godzilla (a.k.a. Godzilla 1985), as the headlining villain in the unmade Mothra vs Bagan film and again in another Godzilla installment which would eventually become Godzilla vs Destoroyah. He did finally show up in the Super Nintendo game, Super Godzilla as a final boss, but it would be cool to see him in a fully rendered, 3D incarnation. The best thing about Bagan though, is that he actually looks like a proper Japanese-style kaiju... unlike certain, other exclusive creations that I could name.

Zilla/GINO

Although having this monster appear in this game might be considered a blasphemous maneuver by some fans, I can think of no better way of making up for the American re-imagining than by turning the character into a virtual punching bag to vent frustrations upon.

Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters

I got my grubby little hands on a copy of this great new book which comprehensively covers the life and career of Eiji Tsuburaya, the special effects guru behind Toho’s fantasy/science fiction films as well as the creator of the Japanese superhero, Ultraman. Those familiar with Tsuburaya’s work probably won’t find too much info here that they don’t already know, but the slick presentation along with the wealth of rare, behind-the-scenes photos is worth the price of admission alone.

Jack Kirby Giant Monster Generator

Anyone who is a fan of comic artist Jack Kirby is probably familiar with his monster-themed stories that appeared in 50’s and 60’s science fiction/fantasy comics. Jack’s monstrous creations had a flavor that was uniquely their own; weird, vowel-heavy names, meaty designs and a propensity for wearing wrestling trunks (when it was applicable). For those of you not terribly familiar with said books, you can find a very extensive collection of information and scans at this website: Monster Blog.

I decided to dip back into my MEMEgen account and whipped up a Kirby-style monster generator for the hell of it. You know the drill: input your name into the first field and the generator will cook up your very own Kirby monster identity. So sayeth... Gorga, the robot from Mars! Go here:

Jack Kirby Giant Monster Generator

Three More Monsters (Minus One)

In a recent update, IGN.com has revealed what may be the final two monsters for Godzilla: Unleashed line-up:

Biollante

At last, the genetic combination of Godzilla, human and plant DNA finally shows up as a playable character. The game designers have seemed to given her quite a number of varied abilities, including long-distance-reaching tentacle attacks, a ranged acid spray and what seems to be the ability to burrow underground (like Megalon and Baragon). In fact, she almost seems a little... too powerful and versatile. I guess we won’t know for sure until the final game is actually played.

Orga

It’s not unexpected to see Orga returning for this new release, as he has become sort of a staple for the Atari Godzilla games. Not that it’s a bad thing by any stretch; he’s a hard-hitting badass that can do some real damage to his opponent if he gets in close enough. When playing as some of the more delicate monsters in the game, it’s often best to keep your distance and throw stuff at him like a big coward.