The Movie Monster Game (1986)
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The Movie Monster Game is a 1986 computer game developed by Epyx for the Apple II and Commodore 64. It was re-released in 2022 as part of THEC64 Collection 1 cartridge for Evercade consoles.[1]
Gameplay
After the title screen, the player chooses their monster, location, and mode, then a skip-able cut scene starts showing the opening of a crowded cinema. It shows a few of Epyx's other games before "presenting their feature presentation". The game starts and the player must complete the objective. Instead of an HP Bar, there is an "Endurance Bar". In the Destroy Landmark and Search modes, the player has a "Proximity Bar", which fills up when the player gets closer to the object being searched for. In the Search mission the Proximity bar only appears for a few seconds when the young monster cries out.
The game offers a variety of scenarios, playable monsters, and cities to demolish (complete with famous landmarks, such as the Tokyo Tower). The monsters are based on popular movie monsters such as:
- The Glog (The Blob)
- Sphectra (Mothra)
- Mechatron (Megatron)
- Tarantus (Giant Spider)
- Mister Meringue (the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man)
- Epyx was able to secure licensing for Godzilla (it is unknown if the offspring of Godzilla in this game is meant to be Minilla).
There are six cities to choose from:
- San Francisco
- Tokyo
- Paris
- London
- New York
- Moscow
There are five modes to play:
- Escape - Get out of the city.
- Lunch - Devour as much as you can.
- Search - Search for the monster's kidnapped offspring.
- Destroy Landmark - Search for and destroy a particular landmark from the city.
- Berserk - Destroy as much of the city as possible.
Gallery
The monsters and their offspring
Teaser advert
Instruction manual
Trivia
- Epyx developed a similar computer game in 1981 called Crush, Crumble and Chomp!, which included a parody of Godzilla named Goshilla.
- Mechatron is based on the Transformers Decepticon Megatron. Nearly 40 years later, in 2024, the Godzilla and Transformers franchises would cross over for a pair of toys, including "Megatron Godzilla Type."
- The game's instruction manual states that Godzilla is 400 feet tall, the same height he was said to be in the 1956 Americanization of his debut film, Godzilla, King of the Monsters![2]
- The game's manual spotlights the giant monster films Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (misspelled as Ghidra, the Three-Headed Monster), Godzilla, Godzilla 1985, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Monster from Green Hell, Mothra, The Mysterians, and Rodan. The films King Kong vs. Godzilla, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, and Them! are also mentioned.
The manual's film list
Continued
Continued
- The game's Evercade re-release changes Godzilla's name to "Lizzardo" and removes his dorsal fins from the title screen, likely indicating a loss of the character's rights. However, his sprite and moveset are unchanged.
References
This is a list of references for The Movie Monster Game. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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