ACA NEOGEO King of the Monsters

Genre: Pro Wrestling

Players: 1-2 Co-Op / Competitive (Local), Online Leaderboards

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Review:

King of the Monsters is a Pro Wrestling-style game starring kaiju monsters, released in Arcades in 1991, then ported to the NEOGEO AES home console later in 1991 as a launch title for that platform, ported to Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992, then to Sega Genesis in 1993. It was included in the SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 compilation on PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii in 2008. And then it was released as a part of the ACA NEOGEO series on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2017, and then on Nintendo Switch in 2018.

And yes, I do see this as a Pro Wrestling game, despite that it stars giant city-destroying monsters. You have a three-dimensional space combatants move around in, where in addition to punches and kicks they use throws and holds. Heck, when they grab something out of the environment to smack their opponent, it’s much the same as a Pro Wrestler grabbing a folding chair.

However, as much as I love the concept, I hate the execution. the controls are clunky, the hit detection is absolutely miserable, it takes forever to get up when you’re knocked down… as joyous as this concept is, it’s kinda’ miserable to play.

This release of the game includes a new “Hi-Score Mode” that challenges players to get as far as they can in one run. There is also a new “Caravan Mode” that does much the same, but with the limit being five minutes. In addition, this release of the game includes both English and Japanese versions, and gives players a decent array of options, including various display options, sound options, challenge modifiers, button mapping, and online leaderboards.

At $8, the Arcade Archives release of King of the Monsters seems pretty steep, and I just don’t think the game itself holds up to all the nostalgia built up for it. Unless you happen to have that nostalgia yourself, I think you’re better off skipping this one.

tl;dr – King of the Monsters is for all intents and purposes a Pro Wrestling game starring giant city-stomping kaiju monsters. While this is an outstanding concept, in practice it simply isn’t very fun to play. Unless you have nostalgia for this game from decades ago, I suggest you skip it.

Grade: C-

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