Video Game Corner: Godzilla: Save the Earth (2004)

Since I didn't have a PlayStation 2 or an Xbox at the time (I never got the latter), this follow-up to Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee passed me by when it was originally released. I certainly knew of it, as I saw it in stores, but as much as I did enjoy the first game in the so-called "Pipeworks" trilogy and was definitely interested in playing this one, as it featured many new monsters, there wasn't much I could do about it. Plus, as I've likely said before, that was during my last year of high school, so I had much more pressing concerns, anyway. I finally got a PS2 in 2006, and the following year, Godzilla: Unleashed was released and I actually got that version as a Christmas present. However, I found that game to be extremely frustrating and hard to figure out, not to mention that the PS2 version was very buggy and didn't have nearly as many monsters as the Wii version (and yes, I didn't have a Wii at the time). Needless to say, I didn't play it very much. Regardless, I was still interested in Save the Earth and, a few years later, I think maybe in either early 2010 or 2011, I found a used copy of it for just $10 at a GameStop. Upon playing it, I found it to be much more enjoyable and easier to figure out than Unleashed, and thought it was a very worthy successor to Destroy All Monsters Melee. Granted, though, it is little more than a graphical upgrade of that game, with the major differences being a larger roster of monsters to choose from, a few different modes of play, and the method of unlocking new monsters and arenas being very different. The control scheme for the monsters and the way their health and power meters function are basically the same, as are their introduction and victory animations, for the most part, and while there are some new aspects to the one-player campaign, it still boils down to the same gameplay and ultimate goal as before. However, I will say that they made some changes that, on the one hand, make said more easier and can give you more of an advantage, but on the other, can also add to the frustration level. Also, they didn't iron out some of the control and camera difficulties from Destroy All Monsters Melee, and even ended up creating all new ones in some cases. Still, that said, as aggravating as it can be, I think I might like this game a bit more, as the larger line-up of monsters and different gameplay variables give it more replay value.

(If you've read my review of Destroy All Monsters Melee, this one may give you a sense of deja vu, but that's only because this game is so similar in many ways, and I used that one as a way of refreshing my memory about certain things. Sorry if I ended up repeating myself a lot of times.)

Like with the previous game, the most significant gameplay mode is the one-player campaign, here called "Action Mode," where you fight through a series of one-on-one battles, in various settings like Monster Island, numerous cities across the world, and such. Also like before, this is the one part of the game where you get any semblance of a story, which is just another alien invasion plot. It's even the same alien species as before, the Vortaak, who. this time, not only control all of the Earth's monsters but are also intent upon collecting G-Cells, concentrations of Godzilla's powerful DNA. They plan on using these to create the "ultimate

monster." This time, they're led by "Vorticia," the race's queen, and like the leader in the first game, she's very over-the-top and stereotypical in her villainy. When you begin Action Mode, you see a message from her where she says, "Greetings, pathetic Earthlings," and announces her plan. She then sends the monsters under her control to Earth, doing an impression of the Wicked Witch as she exclaims, "Fly, my pretties!" If you decide to quit the campaign at any point, she cackles in victory, and when you win the game, you hear her let out an angry exclamation of how you've ruined her plans (unlike the guy in the first game, she has several different ones). In any case, whichever

monster you choose to play as is one who's managed to break free of the Vortaak's control. Thankfully, you don't have to fight every single playable monster during the campaign, even when you unlock all those separate from the initial roster. You go through ten rounds, with some "Challenge Mode" stages sprinkled in for possible extra points (I'll talk more about those later), but you don't have to beat them to continue on with the game. You also have an infinite number of continues, although that can make it more frustrating if there's a fight

you keep losing again and again. The final battle takes place aboard the Vortaak mothership, where your foe is typically Orga... unless you beat the game on the hard difficulty using Godzilla 2000. In that case, following that battle, you face off against SpaceGodzilla, the real final boss, in a city. Every time you beat Action Mode, whichever monster you used receives their own high score, and you can try to beat that score in future playthroughs.

Other gameplay holdovers from the previous one include "Survival Mode," where the goal is to last as long as you can during a marathon of one-on-one fights with all of the monsters on just one life (like before you, your health is replenished after each round, but less and less as the game goes on, you lose if the three-minute timer runs out, and whichever monster you choose to play as has their own set order in how they face their opponents); "Versus Mode," where you can fight a one-on-one

battle with another monster, either computer-controlled or played by a friend, and are able to pick the arena and your AI opponent, as well as set the number of rounds and the time limit; and "Melee Mode," where you can compete with three other monsters in either a free-for-all or a team battle. Like with Versus Mode, Melee can be played by one or two players, you can choose both the arena and the AI-controlled monsters, and you can also set how the victor is decided, be it by knockout, combat points, or destruction points, the latter of which replaces the Destruction Mode from the previous game.

And then, there's Challenge Mode, where you can play the special stages you occasionally find yourself playing during Action Mode. Each of these stages require you to accomplish some task, which sometimes involves you beating an enemy monster or monsters, but not always. Each individual Challenge is unlocked for this mode after you first play it during Action Mode, regardless of whether you win or lose. And while, in Action Mode, you play them with whichever monster you've chosen, when you select them from the Challenge Mode Menu, you automatically play as Godzilla 2000 (the one exception is the challenge where you have to pilot Moguera). Honestly, I can't stand these stages, as the sometimes finicky controls make them hard to figure out or succeed, even if you do them right, and during Action Mode, they're annoying diversions from the main gameplay that you have no way of skipping.

Asteroid Field: You pilot Moguera through such in order to destroy as many Vortaak spaceships, machines, and weapons hiding within the field as possible, before facing off against SpaceGodzilla. You can dodge sideways, fire a quick shot laser weapon, or hold one button and move the control stick to lock onto various onscreen targets before firing. A big chunk of this level has you flying through a large, hollow asteroid, destroying laser grids, large, snake-like robots, and crystals, and then, and when when SpaceGodzilla appears, you have to keep blasting him and dodging his attacks until you finally wear him down. It's best to lock onto him for the most part, as he zips around so fast that it's really hard to get a bead on him with the unguided lasers, and he often goes offscreen, forcing you to wait until he reappears before you can continue your assault. 

Undersea Battle: This is basically just an aquatic version of the above stage, with the same control scheme and ways of attacking. Here, you're swimming down to the bottom of the ocean to destroy a Vortaak hammer sub, initially dodging and blowing up mines that block your path, as well as contending with Ebirah, who shows up about halfway in; you can easily take him out with the lock-on attack. As you go deeper, you have to destroy alien subs while dodging their torpedoes, along with crumbling chunks of rock and flame-jets that shoot out from beneath the ocean floor. Fortunately, there's an item that completely replenishes your health bar not too long before you

finally come across the hammer sub, though you do have to go through more smaller ones before you reach it. When the hammer sub appears, you just have to repeatedly blast it in several vulnerable spots from behind, while also dodging and blowing up these torpedoes and bombs it shoots at you. Like with SpaceGodzilla, it's best to rely mostly on your targeting attack.

Battleships: You're onshore, trying to destroy as many battleships that pass back and forth in the bay as possible; you have to reach 5,000 points in 3 minutes to win (you get more points at a time by destroying ships of the same color). This requires some major aiming skills, both in regards to beam weapon and in throwing projectiles. You really have to make use of the reticle on the screen in order to succeed, specifically when it's red, meaning you're locked on to a ship (you can engage and disengage a lock on with the right control stick). It's also vital that you make use of both control sticks, using the left to move your monster, while using the right to aim. Even then,

this stage is tricky, as the boundaries around the docks and shoreline make it difficult to get a really good bead on the ships, and the docks are so narrow that you can get stuck on them by constantly running into the boundaries (regardless of said boundaries, you can grab the ships moored in the bay and use them as projectiles). And God help you if you end up playing this during Action Mode as a monster that doesn't have a long-range beam weapon, as that makes it even tougher.

Clone Attack: You battle Jet Jaguar and a small clone of his in a one-on-two fight. This one's pretty self-explanatory, although there's a major difference in that Jet Jaguar himself goes for hand-to-hand combat, while the clone uses power attacks. Also, as you might expect, the smaller one is often a lot harder to hit, and it can be very difficult to fight two of them at the same time, as they do have a tendency to gang up on you.

Replicator: The one is something of an extension of Clone Attack, only tougher and more intricate. Mecha-King Ghidorah is cloning itself using a Monster Replicator the Vortaak have placed in the middle of the city, and you have to destroy said Replicator, then defeat the cyborg itself. What makes this one a real challenge is that, in order to destroy the Replicator, you have to take out the power modules on its side, while also fending off attacks from both Mecha-King Ghidorah and its clones (as well as the annoying military and navy). Though they may be smaller, the clones are quite tough, and can take a lot of punishment, and the only time Mecha-King Ghidorah itself doesn't

attack is when it's in the process of creating more clones. It's best to just concentrate on the Replicator and only attack the other monsters in defense. Once you manage to destroy the Replicator, you then fight Mecha-King Ghidorah as in a typical battle. The only thing is, your health is not replenished, so if you took a lot of damage before, you're in for some pain.

Demolition and Osaka Crunch: Both of these are also self-explanatory: in the former, you have to earn 15,000 destruction points in 3 minutes, and in the latter, you have to destroy 70% of the city in 3 minutes. This is a lot harder than you might think, though, as you have to use the right attacks in order to cause the most damage; otherwise, you'll either flail around uselessly in front of the buildings without doing anything or not do enough damage quickly enough. Even the most powerful of beam weapons and throwing projectiles only work so much, as you also have to rely on attacks that span a large area and thus, can damage several buildings at a time. Objects that you can pick up and use as clubs are especially useful in causing damage. Finally, there are special power-ups you can uncover to give you a little more time, but they don't pop up that often.

Monster Bowling: You have to knock down three monsters "using boulders," (you'll see the reason for the parentheses soon). Sounds simple and even kind of silly, right? In fact, as someone commented, it's more like dodge-ball than bowling. Well, there's a stretch of water between you and the other monsters that you can't cross, the others constantly toss boulders at you as well, and all three of them have to be knocked down at the same time in order for you to win, and each will only stay down for thirty seconds... that is, if you stick to using the boulders like you're supposed to. There's absolutely nothing to stop you from just blasting them with a long-range beam attack, which Godzilla 2000 happens to have, and winning that way!

Monster Roundup: Three monsters are attacking a city, and you have to throw each of them into a separate pen within a force-field. God, I hate this one! It's just aggravating, as the monsters will not cooperate. It's hard to get them near the pens, and just as hard to pound them into submission to where you can throw them in, since you can only hold one up for just a few seconds before your monster collapses. And yeah, you can't cheat this one; you specifically have to throw the monsters in. Just to add insult to injury, they can actually walk straight through the force-field but because they weren't thrown, it won't count! What's even more frustrating is how hard it can be to keep the other

monsters from interfering when you're trying to pen one, and you also have to deal with the damn military, who can cause you to drop a monster you're preparing to throw. The pens are also awkward to get the monsters into, as one's on a ridge that can block your throw, another is in the center of a baseball stadium and you have to destroy the walls first, and the third is out on an island in the bay, with buildings in its center that can also make it hard to throw a monster (there are so many times where you think you've gotten the monster in, only for part of him to be sticking outside of the boundaries, meaning it doesn't count). And finally, like with the Monster Bowling, all three monsters have to be penned at the same time in order for you to win, and each one will only stay penned for two minutes (you have five minutes to complete the challenge).

Mothership: You battle Orga in the Vortaak mothership from the end of Action Mode, only you have to fight him in three different forms (it's a take on the climactic battle of Godzilla 2000). First, you have to down Orga as he flies around in his spaceship, blasting at you; it takes three or four precise shots with a beam weapon to do so. He then lands and emerges in his Millennian form, which can only be harmed with projectiles. You have to disable the force-field around you by destroying one of the towers at its edges in order to reach the projectiles, while Orga fires at you with a beam weapon. However, said beam weapon doesn't have much of a range, and if you position yourself

in front of some of the large structures in the center of the arena and around its edges, he won't be able to fire around them at you. What's also nice is that, at any time during this stage, you can blow up one the Vortaak spaceships flying around in here, shooting at you (though not doing much damage) for some extra health. Once you've defeated the Millennian, he becomes the version of Orga we're all familiar with, but you now have to blow up the G-Cell Converters powering him in order to make him vulnerable. The Converters can be found in the center of the enormous arches lining the arena's outermost rim, and can only be destroyed if your beam weapon is fully charged. Also, while Orga is a threat during all of this, if you put a lot of

distance between yourselves, you can concentrate on destroying the Converters without worrying about being attacked. Once they're all destroyed, you have two minutes to defeat Orga and beam off the ship before the whole thing explodes. This challenge can take quite a while to complete, even if you know exactly what you're doing.

UFO Attack: A Pyramid Building in a city is under attack from Vortaak spaceships, and you have to destroy all six of them before they bring the building down. Like Battleships, the trick to this stage is precise aiming of your beam weapons and projectile throwing, though it's best to use the former for more precise hits. Also, because the ships are shielded, you need to fully charge up your beam before blasting them to ensure you score maximum damage (not that you won't damage them at all if you don't hit them at full power). Fortunately, some of the ships will drop energy power-ups, making it possible to quickly charge back up for another shot. In fact, this is actually one of the easier challenges.

Vorillium Basketball: This one is just so dumb. You play against two other monsters, using these glowing spheres as basketballs and tossing them at a mountainside with an archway extending out from it, creating a makeshift hoop. You have to grab one of these spheres, aim with the right control stick, and try to score more points than the others before the time's up; normal basket shots are worth two points and really long distance ones are worth three. Like with normal basketball, it comes down to standing in the right position and where exactly you throw; there will be many times where you're sure you made a good toss, only for the ball to bounce off the side of the mountain. However,

like with the bowling challenge, you can be a real bastard and beat the other two monsters up, make them drop their balls, or even knock them unconscious for a few seconds, to ensure you have no competition and score as many points as you want (and they don't fight back, either). If it weren't for the grabbing controls being a tad wonky, this would actually be ridiculously easy. And you know, as dumb as the idea is, there is something endearing about watching Godzilla and other kaiju play basketball (if a giant Charles Barkley made an appearance here, that would be the absolute shit).

Like I said, the same basic control variables apply to the monsters themselves as they did in the first game, as they all can punch, kick, run, jump, grab and throw, block, and duck in some fashion. They also all have their own escalating attacks by pressing the punch or kick buttons several times in a row, and specific attacks pulled off by pressing either one or two buttons and/or pushing the control stick in a specific direction at the time. These latter attacks can each be broken down into

three sets: Blunt Attacks, Edged Attacks, and Weapon Attacks, the latter of which involve whatever beam and/or projectile weapons your monster has (the mechas and some others require ammo for the latter instead of energy). Except for Mothra, each are able to pull off a special Rage Attack after they've collected a certain power-up. Some are able to fly if you hold the R2 button, and except for the two versions of Godzilla, all monsters have special abilities, which you can activate by holding L2 and R2 for the latter. And

each has their own strengths and weaknesses against various types of attacks, as well as statistics in how effective their attacks are, how many weapon attacks they have, and how good their speed and defense capabilities are. There are some new variables, as well. You can actually catch a projectile thrown at you, use some specific ones as clubs, and the bigger the monster, the larger the structures they can pick up. Also, energy weapons and beams seem to recharge a lot quicker now, and if two monsters fire their beam weapons at just about the same time, they can meet in midair, resulting in a sort of tug-o'-war. When this happens, you have to continuously mash the X, Square, and Triangle buttons to send pulses through your beam towards your opponent. The loser is whichever monster's energy gives out first, causing them to get blown back in a massive explosion (I've never been able to win one of these).

Like with Destroy All Monsters Melee, various power-ups are dropped into the arena by Vortaak spaceship. There are health power-ups, which come in the form of a plus sign floating in the center of a blue canister, which may not replenish much health in the long run but what they do can make all the difference in the heat of battle; energy power-ups, which come in the form of glowing yellow canisters and completely replenish your energy bar; airstrikes, which are an Atari symbol surrounded by purple rings and summon either Battra, who flies in for several passes, firing energy beams at your opponents, or the Super-X III, which gets them with freezer bombs, momentarily immobilizing them (it's really annoying to be on the receiving end of the latter, which can happen even if you activate the strike); and the rage power-up, a blue circle surrounded by pulsating, yellow

rings, which allows the monster that grabs it to enter Rage Mode, making their attacks much more damaging, increasing their knock-back power, and allowing them to unleash their own, individual Rage Attacks. In addition, while playing Action Mode, you can get extra points by collecting up to five G-Cell containers scattered about the stages; however, your opponents can grab them too, stealing your chances for points. All five of them are fairly easy to find on the first arena, Monster Island, but when you start fighting in cities, they're often hidden within buildings and can be hard to grab even when you can see them.

Speaking of points, the battle points you get from playing Action Mode by setting and then beating high scores using different monsters or playing on harder difficulty levels is how you unlock the additional monsters from the initial roster of six you start out with, as well as different arenas to play in during both Versus and Melee Mode matches, artwork related to the game, and stills and concept art for Godzilla: Final Wars, which was released around that time. When purchasing monsters and arenas, you first have to pay for access to a package of them, which gets you the first in the pack for free, and then, you buy each of the others individually (for example, buying Monster Package 1 gives you King Ghidorah for free, but you have to pay for each of the others in that package individually). As you might expect, each successive package and individual monsters and arenas within them require more points, giving you an incentive to play your heart out in Action Mode.

Like with the first game, you get two versions of Godzilla to play as, both of whom are part of the starting roster: Godzilla 90's, based on the Heisei series, and Godzilla 2000, based on the Millennium series. Godzilla 90's has more blunt attacks than 2000 and they're more of a diverse mix, like headbutts, jabs, uppercuts, and stomps, whereas 2000's all involve his tail; on the other hand, 2000 has more edged attacks, which include bites, "Hammerfists," "Ferocious Swipes," and a, "Nuclear Uppercut." In terms of their basic

statistics, they're almost equal, except 90's has a bit more in the weapons department, while 2000 is quicker. Both are resistant to fire and radiation attacks, but are vulnerable against lightning attacks. While both have beam weapons in the form of atomic blasts and fireballs as projectiles, 90's' Rage Attack is a very powerful beam known as "Finishing Breath," while 2000 lets out a nuclear pulse that can send his opponent flying.

Anguirus has probably the best defense stats of any monster in the game, as his shell can not only block attacks but other monsters can injure themselves on it if they hit it directly. Moreover, when he's on all fours, like when he's running, he's immune to overhead and sweeping attacks, weapons only do half the damage, and he's quite fast. On the flip side, he has virtually nothing in the weapons department himself, and even though he has a good number of edged attacks, neither they nor his blunt ones do that much damage in and of themselves. He has no projectile, his equivalent of a beam attack, the Sonic Roar, has a pitifully short range, and his Rage Attack, where he curls up into a ball and rolls around wildly, can be a little hard to control.

Gigan's strengths are his amazing speed and very punishing attacks, most of them being edged ones involving his hooked hands and feet, and the saw-blade in his chest. Even his Rage Attack, the Whirlwind Assault, falls into this category, as he spins around the arena, whirling his claws in a manner that's quite potent. He's also able to teleport around the arena when you tap L2 and R2 together, and appear right behind his opponent in order to blindside them when you hold the buttons. And because of his alien nature, attacks from other alien monsters don't do much damage to him. However, his defenses are only so-so, he's weak against lightning and energy attacks, and his weapons, consisting of his laser eye-beam and the "Shotgun Blast," where he fires some bursts of his laser at very close-range, aren't the most damaging, although the former does have quite the range.

Megalon is one of the more well rounded monsters, as he's quite fast and his attacks are quite formidable, with lots of strong kicks and painful hits with his drill-like arms. He can even do a rhino-like uppercut using the horn atop his head, and there's one move that momentarily paralyzes his opponents. His beam attack from his horn is fairly potent, although not as long-ranged as Gigan's laser beam, his napalm bombs can give his opponents a hotfoot, and he has an energy punch and can also create an energy arc. He can't fly, like in the movie, and his jump is really just him hovering above the ground, but he's able to burrow beneath it, come up beneath his opponent, and grab them from below. And he's not at all injured by electrical attacks. But, like with Gigan, his defense capabilities leave a lot to be desired, and he's extremely vulnerable to blunt attacks, which tend to send him flying backwards. His Rage Attack, the Magnetic Vortex, where he pulls his opponent towards him, can be potent but it requires you to make direct contact with your enemy once you've pulled them to you for it to truly work.

Rodan is one of the fastest monsters in the game, both in the air and on the ground, and his stamina gives you plenty of flight time without having to wait for his energy to recharge. Unfortunately, he lacks in just about every other department. His Uranium Heat Beam, which is basically his version of Godzilla's atomic blast, the Flying Heat Beam (his projectile), and his Rage Attack, the Heat Spiral, where he whirls around in midair while firing his beam, do a fair amount of damage, but his blunt and edged attacks not so much, and his defensive capabilities are sorely lacking. While he's fairly resistant to heat and radiation attacks, he's extremely vulnerable to blunt attacks, which have a major knock-back effect on him, as well as freezing attacks.

As in the first game, the best way to describe King Ghidorah's statistics is if you took Rodan, increased the areas he lacks in, but, at the same time, sacrificed his speed and agility. This is true both on the ground and in the air, where Ghidorah is very slow, but it's one of the hardiest monsters in the game, resistant to nearly all forms of attack (blunt attacks do barely anything to it), and its own blunt and edged attacks, as well as its weapons, can be quite potent. It can even impale an opponent with its tails if you press L1 while its back is to them. Despite how slow it is in the air, it can produce powerful hurricane winds, as well as a Blunting Wind on the ground, that can cripple an opponent, and it can, of course, fire electrical beams from its mouths, as well as a flying projectile variation where it shoots two beams, which are only slightly weaker than its other attacks. Its Rage Attack, the Deathstorm, where it hovers in the air and whirls around, blasting its beams, is also quite damaging. And finally, if you hold L2 and R2, King Ghidorah converts its energy into health, restoring some of it.

Mecha-King Ghidorah's attack and defensive capabilities are, shockingly, just a notch below normal Ghidorah (in fact, it's vulnerable to just about every type of attack there is, especially weapons), and it's not any faster or more agile, but its own weapons are much more potent. Not only are its energy beams given an extra boost thanks to the middle cybernetic head, but its projectiles are paralyzing tasers (which require ammunition), and its Rage Attack is to become temporarily invincible. What's more, the shield you use as a block absorbs energy attacks and converts them into health. And it has a special ability that's the inverse of regular King Ghidorah, in that it can recharge its energy but at the expense of its health.

Like Mecha-King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla 2's blunt and edged attacks are just so-so (actually a notch below it), and he's not that fast, but his defensive capabilities are excellent, especially against edged attacks, and his weapons, which he has a lot of, are very potent. He has charged up laser eyes, a plasma cannon (which doesn't require energy), a heavy plasma cannon and a plasma uppercut (which do need energy), finger rockets which act as projectiles and make for a damaging onslaught, and a Rage Attack where he fires all of his weapons at the same time. He can also fly, though not that far off the ground, and perform a massive Super Leap that allows him to clear a great distance (said move also requires energy).

Mechagodzilla 3, or Kiryu, doesn't have his predecessor's defensive capabilities or as many weapons, but he makes up for it in being a bit faster and more agile, as well as having more damaging blunt and edged attacks. His weapons are a mouth beam, a plasma sword that he impales and throws his opponents with, rocket pack projectiles (which are annoying to be on the receiving end of, as he tends to open a battle with them, and they will chase you around the arena until they either hit you or structures like buildings), and the very powerful Absolute Zero Cannon as his Rage Attack. Like Mechagodzilla 2, he's capable of flying, and is quite resistant against edged attacks. Finally, while I was disappointed that the original Showa Mechagodzilla wasn't one of the monsters in this game, I do like how, if you pull off one attack with Kiryu, where he jumps into the air and clobbers his opponent repeatedly with his whirling legs, he lets out that version's hissing screech.

Destoroyah has some of the most damaging blunt and edged attacks in the game, and the same goes for his many weapons, which include his Micro-Oxygen Spray (however, it's range is a bit limited), Oxygen Absorber Mine projectiles, and his Laser Horn, which he can slash in just about every direction. His Rage Attack, the Oxygen Destroyer, has him shoot an orb straight into the air that then comes down and completely floors his opponent. He's also no slouch in the defense department either, and is resistant to nuclear, freeze, and sonic attacks. However, Destoroyah's enormous size makes him very slow, even when you try to run fast, and he can't fly.

Megaguirus is akin to Rodan in that she's extremely fast and nimble (like Mothra's adult form, she's always in the air), but in contrast, she has some much more devastating blunt and edged attacks, especially the latter, where she uses both her claws and her barbed abdomen. She's also a little better in the defense department, with radiation attacks being her one weakness. Notably, she acts like a parasite, as she can steal energy and health from her opponents, as well as their beam weapon, which she can then fire on them herself, using her abdomen's stinger. That, however, is the one drawback with Megaguirus: she begins a fight with no energy, forcing you to feed on your opponent as soon as possible (fortunately, her constant flying doesn't require energy; her Inertia-less Flight special move, however, requires ammo), and except for an Energy Discharge projectile, she has no beam attacks of her own. Her Rage Attack has her firing three balls of energy from her abdomen (while randomly emitting Megalon's roar) which paralyze your opponent and completely sap their strength, but does very little actual damage.

Orga is noteworthy for having the most devastating blunt and edged attacks, which make use of his enormous claws, his hard skull, and powerful shoulders, and he's pretty good on the defensive end, too, being resistant to blunt attacks. He's also able to grab an opponent while running and also perform a jumping grab, which none of the other monsters can do, and if you grab an opponent, you can "absorb their essence," which basically means steal some of their health. And while he's not exactly spry, he is a little faster and more nimble than other monsters like Destoroyah, both of the Ghidorahs, and SpaceGodzilla. However, while his paralyzing goo projectile can come in handy, his shoulder cannon doesn't do a lot of damage (when you're fighting against him, the sound the cannon makes when it's charging up can get really annoying). His Rage Attack, Shoulder Cannon Overload, where he fires the cannon around wildly, ending the attack with a shock-wave, doesn't do much damage either, even if your opponent gets hit by both the beam and the shock-wave.

Baragon, whose design here is based on Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, is a surprisingly effective fighter, despite his smaller size. Like Anguirus, his being a quadruped makes it easy for a number of attacks to miss him, and while he's not as well armored, he's faster, and his blunt and edged attacks do more damage. Like Megalon, he's able to burrow beneath the ground and attack an enemy from below, he can attack while he's in the middle of a jump, and he can shoot his fire beam while he's running. His only downsides are that his fire beam and Earthquake attack don't do a lot of damage, nor does his Rage Attack, Lava Eruption, where he burrows underground and causes an explosion of fire beneath his opponent, and he's vulnerable against ice and edged attacks.

Mothra is unique in that, when you select her, you technically get to play as two monsters: her larval and her forms, each of which have their own strengths and weaknesses. While you wouldn't think that larval Mothra, which you start each match as, would have much of a chance, she's actually hardier than her adult form. Her defenses are much better, she's resistant to just about all types of attack, and her blunt and edged attacks do more damage. She only has one weapon attack, which is her webbing, but it instantly stuns her

opponent for a few seconds and can't be blocked at all. The downside, though, is that you can run out of it, and this form is very slow. Still, it's best to try to inflict as much damage as possible and then, when you're ready, hold L2 and R2 to turn into adult Mothra, who has her own, fully restored life-bar when she emerges. As an adult moth, she's more vulnerable, and her blunt and edged attacks aren't as effective, but she's infinitely faster and quicker (like Megaguirus, flying doesn't expend any energy on her part), and has many more beam and projectiles to attack with. She's able to fire beams from her antennae, expel a poison cloud, create gusts of wind that blow back or stun your opponent, and let out a screech that also stuns other monsters. She even has an ability where she uses her scales to reflect other beams back at them. She's also the one monster who doesn't have a Rage Attack; when she touches one of those power-ups, it restores health and energy.

I'm convinced that this and other sixth and seventh generation Godzilla fighting games are what turned Jet Jaguar from something of a joke to a very popular character. His defense, speed, and attack statistics are all pretty damn good, and he has a number of wrestling-style blunt attacks that really pack a wallop. He doesn't have much in the way of actual weapons, except for some Ultraman-like hand beams, and he's unable to fly like in Godzilla vs. Megalon, but he makes up for the latter with a very agile, twirling jump, and a rather punishing Rage Attack called the Tornado, where he spins around and bashes his opponent numerous times when they get caught up in it. When you hold L2 and R2 together, you can change size by either pressing up or down on the control pad. Pressing up makes Jet Jaguar increase his size to where he towers over his opponent, making his attacks much more punishing, and giving you access to an attack you can only pull off like this, but the downside is that you're much slower and more of a target. Shrinking down to half your normal size, on the other hand, not only increases your speed but, while small, Jet Jaguar is invulnerable to all weapons and, if you block a weapon, he reflects it back to its source.

Moguera (who's specifically referred to as "Moguera 2," possibly to differentiate it from the original version of the character that appeared in The Mysterians) is a real powerhouse in terms of speed and weapon attacks. It's probably the fastest non-flying monster, as its treads allow it to move very quickly and smoothly in any direction, and holding L2 can charge it up to super speed. Also, while it's unable to fly here, you can do a boosted jump by hitting R2 twice in a row. It has plenty of weapons, such as its eye lasers, plasma laser, EMP bombs, and spiral grenades, and its Rage Attack is a "Photonic Storm" that blasts back its opponent. One downside is that so many of Moguera's weapons and attacks require ammo, but you can regain some that you've used by blocking weapon attack, which then transfers to your own weapons. And holding L2 and R2 makes Moguera recharge its energy, though this leaves you open to attack. Moguera's other major downsides are that its blunt and edged attacks, which it doesn't have a lot of, aren't much to write home about, and it's very vulnerable to electric attacks. (One thing I was interested in was what kind of vocalization they were going to give Moguera, as it has none in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla. They decided to go the Pokemon route and have it say its name in a robotic voice.)

Finally, there's SpaceGodzilla, the monster I was most eager to take control of after he wasn't featured in Destroy All Monsters Melee. However, he proved to be something of a disappointment. It's not because he's very slow, as he's able to hover above the ground quite quickly to make up for it, and it's not because of his defensive stats, as he's only really vulnerable against edged attacks. And he certainly doesn't lack for weapons, as he has the most of any of the non-mecha monsters in the game. The problem is that, when playing as SpaceGodzilla, you're very dependent upon the crystals you can spawn to keep your energy level up. Creating them is a simple matter of pressing the O button, and when you're near them, your energy level replenishes itself quite quickly, instead of at the snail's pace it does when you're away from them. What's more, you can regain a little bit of health by pressing L2 and R2, which reabsorbs the crystals into you, and there are certain weapons you can make out of them, like generating some to use as a club and firing shards from those that replenish your energy. Even the Rage Attack is based around them, with SpaceGodzilla sending a bunch of them at his opponent. However, so many of his attacks use energy (even his grab and throw is done through telekinesis rather than physically) that you find yourself always needing those crystals around, which I find to be something of a handicap in the long run.

Like with the playable monsters, you have many more arenas to battle in here than in the previous game: specifically sixteen, double the number from before. This time, they're not divided up into as many different quadrants; rather, there are two different variations or sections of just about every environment. You have Boston and Boston East, London and London East, Los Angeles and L.A. South, Monster Island and Monster Island Bay, New York and Manhattan (the main part of the latter is more akin to Central Park, though the fight

can move into the buildings around the edges), Osaka and Osaka North, San Francisco and Golden Gate (the latter takes place down by the waterfront, and is also where the Battleships Challenge Stage is set), and Tokyo and Tokyo Bay. You can also fight aboard the Vortaak Mothership (starting out in the confined center thanks to a force-field but, like in the final battle in Action Mode and the Mothership Challenge Stage, once you destroy the force-field, you have free reign of the place) and a giant boxing arena, a stage that was only available

in the Xbox version of the previous game. Once again, the arenas range from fairly wide open areas, like the two versions of Monster Island (especially the main one), the big park in Manhattan, airfields, industrial complexes, bays, and the full range of the Mothership, to the very congested, claustrophobic downtown areas of the cities, where the number of buildings can not only make it hard to get at your opponent but also to grab power-ups or impede your attempt to get out

of the way of an attack. You also have to watch out for the truly enormous buildings collapsing on top of you if you get thrown into them or are near them when they get damaged. Going back to Monster Island, the main part of that arena has all sorts of different environments to fight in, from the water to a volcanic area and even an area of thick mud that can slow the monsters down. The borders of each arena are marked by a glowing, green force-field that, although it doesn't cause damage, can

either stop you dead in your tracks or really fling you back if you run or get thrown into it with a lot of force. Finally, there don't appear to be as many potential hazards within the arenas as there were before. Although the military and navy can still be annoying, especially when they blast you hard enough to make you drop a potential weapon or cancel out an attack, the only time you have to worry about being frozen mid-fight is during a Super-X III airstrike (I hate that they still programmed the monsters to stand and roar after

breaking free of the ice, as that leaves you open to attack). And the Vortaak spaceships are only annoying in how they tend to drop power-ups near your opponent, giving them the advantage in grabbing; otherwise, you tend to forget they're even there (seriously, those that fire on you repeatedly in the Mothership arena don't harm you hardly at all).

Since it's only two years removed from Destroy All Monsters Melee, the graphics are pretty similar, albeit still noticeably advanced, and there's no denying that this was the best-looking Godzilla game ever at the time. Even nowadays, it holds up really well. Like before, the monsters all look great, if a little polygonal here and there, and very true to the movies, with their own unique intro and victory animations, and the same goes for the graphics and designs of not only the cities and other environments, with their day and nighttime

variations, and the days ranging from mid-afternoon to dusk, but also the military vehicles and battleships, Battra and the Super-X III in their airstrike appearances, and the Vortaak spaceships (which now most definitely resemble the cool Xilien ships from Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, or Invasion of Astro-Monster). There are the occasional glitches, like the monsters clipping through each other and buildings, and objects suddenly appearing and disappearing as a result of

the camera position, but those are just nitpicks. The only parts that look a tad dated are the opening cutscene, with Godzilla swimming through a bay, towards a city (the shots of his spines breaking the surface as he swims make me think of Godzilla vs. Kong), comes ashore, and attacks, only to be ambushed by various other monsters like Kiryu, King Ghidorah, Megalon, and Gigan, and the one with the Vortaak Queen at the start of Action Mode. Granted, they look really good for the time, and are an improvement on the cutscenes from the previous game, but they're so clearly different from the actual gameplay footage and have a filter to them that makes them look a bit washed out.

Also, the developers didn't fix the more annoying aspects of the controls and the camera from the first game. I guess they couldn't do much about the button combinations required for various attacks but, still, it can be frustrating to try to do one move, only to instead do some attack or action you didn't intend, which can not only cause you to waste energy but can also leave you open to attack. The controls for picking up and throwing opponents and projectiles are still really annoying, especially the latter. It feels like you have to be so precise in where you're standing to pick something up but, even when you're in the correct position and the potential projectile is flashing red, your monster may instead mime the motion for picking up an

enemy, again wasting time and leaving you vulnerable. Like I mentioned earlier, this is especially aggravating during the Challenge Stages where picking up projectiles and other monsters is an essential part of the game (that's one of the reasons why I hate those bowling and basketball stages; there have been times where I tried and tried and tried, but my monster would not pick up those rocks or glowing orbs). Targeting your opponents, vehicles, and spaceships with your beam weapon or projectiles is still a little wonky, even with the ability to lock onto specific targets. Unless you press L2 and use the control stick, your monster is almost always locked onto your opponent or other targets anyway, and if you don't

make sure that you're targeting something else that you need to hit, your attack may go in the complete opposite direction. And because of the limited range of motion your monster's head has when aiming, if your target manages to get out of the range of your beam before or when you just start firing, it can be nigh impossible to get a bead on them again. Not only does the game's third-person perspective sometimes make it hard to target opponents, as you can end up missing them or blasting a building that, because of the angle, you didn't realize was right in the line of the fire, but those Challenge Stages, where the camera gets right up on your monster from behind and puts an

aiming reticle up front, are even more awkward to work out, with the added time pressures not helping. Finally, the camera does still have a tendency to get caught behind buildings or other structures, blocking your view, and if it gets in front of you during a battle, it becomes pure guesswork trying to pinpoint where your opponent is.

Like with the first game, Save the Earth is absolutely awesome in the audio department, with Dolby Digital Surround; in fact, if you're like me and keep your TV's volume at one specific, default level, you may want to adjust it before you start playing, as this game can be quite loud. Again, not only do the sounds of combat, explosions, buildings crumbling, and artillery firing all sound great, but it's awesome to hear all of the monsters' familiar roars, vocalizations, and sound effects from the movies, not to mention the new ones they lay in there. Not only do the monsters from the first game's roster still have the unique sounds and audio textures that were introduced there, but I like what they did with some of the new ones, like how they got around Moguera not having a vocalization originally and incorporating the Showa Mechagodzilla's screech into one of Kiryu's attacks. Still, I have to nitpick about how, this time, Godzilla 2000 never once lets out his specific roar, not even during the opening cutscene; instead, it's always a slightly more high-pitched version of the classic Showa roar. And while it's not as bad as the random pedestrian during the previous game's opening, I still find the voice of the boat captain in the opening who yells, "Godzilla!", to be a little more over-the-top than I would like. Finally, while the sound effects are top notch, the music, again, leaves a lot to be desired for. Destroy All Monsters Melee had some memorable pieces here and there, like on the main menus, but I honestly can't describe any of Save the Earth's music. And again, the only time you hear any of Akira Ifukube's classic themes are over the ending credits, and it's a shame you couldn't hear them in the actual game (more than likely a case of rights issues, knowing how Toho is).

All in all, Godzilla: Save the Earth is an enjoyable game, and even if it is often very similar to Destroy All Monsters Melee, the larger roster of playable monsters, new variables to their performance statistics, added gameplay modes, and the battle point purchasing system make it different enough to where it doesn't feel like a total retread, as well as give it a little more replay value. The graphics are cool and notably improved upon from the previous game, the monsters all look true to their movie incarnations, the environments are well-designed, there are more than a few Easter eggs thrown in for fans, and the idea of playing as your favorite kaiju and beating the hell out of each other and destroying stuff, either by yourself or with friends, never gets old. Still, it does have some of the control, camera, and animation problems from the previous game, while also creating some all new ones, the Challenge Stages are often more annoying and inane than fun, the infinite number of continues during Action Mode are both a blessing and a curse, and while the audio quality is great, the music loves a lot to be desired. But, if you're a Godzilla or kaiju fan, and enjoyed Destroy All Monsters Melee, there's little reason why you shouldn't enjoy this as well.