The future of Godzilla videogames.

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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

Post by LegendZilla »

^I still see major issues facing the probability of an open-world Godzilla game.

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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

Post by Godzillabrawler »

I'm going to be honest with myself and you all, and I'm going to espouse the same opinion I've held for years on this subject:

Godzilla games can only ever feasibly be marketed as giant monster fighty experiences, at least in the West.

Godzilla, despite his mass recognition, is something that very few people are actively fans of. It's hard for people to find the motivation to go and see new Godzilla flicks and kaiju films in general, at least here in the west. If you ask any casual consumer in the horde, they'd almost invariably tell you that the best part about Godzilla is watching him beat the ever-living-hell out of another monster. Or a couple monsters. They'd either say that, or the destruction is appealing. Sure, you could have Godzilla just free roam and destroy things, but I have a hard time seeing destroying things being appealing enough to last multiple hours of gameplay. And the money it would cost to even begin developing extensive open-world environments for such a game is probably more than any of us would care to admit.

The reality is that Godzilla games are often budget-made titles. Even the Namco Bandai game, while it had a lot of pretty accurate monsters, sound effects, and very Godzilla-y music, was not the most ground-breaking, earth-shattering money-sink of a game that a lot of us probably would foam at the mouth over. The Pipeworks/Atari games weren't hugely expensive games either from what I can recall. But those games were focused on the most marketable aspect of the franchise - a wide array of unique kaiju chucking buildings at each other and kicking tail in up to four-monster-mayhem. Hell, one of the PS3/PS4 game's biggest appeals to me was that Hedorah was finally playable, not to mention we were all riding the 2014 high as far as we could, and 2014's inclusion in the game was huge. Not only was he there, but he could interact with the classic Heisei Godzilla. Specifically, he could fight classic Goji. Granted, the combat in that game was hot garbage, but let's be honest with ourselves - normies didn't play that game. Hell, I'd posit that the general public doesn't know it exists. Except for the generator memes. And the monster intros. But that's all thanks to YouTube more than anything.

I unfortunately think that Godzilla videogames will continue to suffer in mobile game hell, as they're low investment for anyone to make and they unfortunately also make a decent amount of money. Godzilla will have to reach a certain height as a franchise again if a new game is to be marketed to a wider audience and get a decent budget. I think Godzilla vs. Kong could be that moment, but I anticipate we won't see anything emerge for a bit of time after that film has been out there, because it will need to buoy GA interest in Godzilla first, which won't be immediately apparent. Unless the world just spontaneously finds itself enamored with kaiju sometime soon, which I won't hold my breath for.

It's a shame, really. A new 2D or 3D fighting game with some of the newer additions to the series, like Godzilla Earth, Shin, or any of the new creatures from the MonsterVerse or the new renditions of Ghidorah/Rodan/etc, would be really cool to see in a fighter with some of the classic cast alongside. There is some nostalgia out in the general public for the Pipeworks games, especially DAMM, given people who grew up with them are getting old enough to be targeted for marketing for stuff like this. Save the Earth was one of my first three video games I owned, and I know a handful of friends of mine who played DAMM, STE, or Unleashed as youngins. Maybe someday a company will capitalize on that latent potential, but for now, I expect to continually be disappointed with flash-in-the-pan mobile games.
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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

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Godzillabrawler wrote:I'm going to be honest with myself and you all, and I'm going to espouse the same opinion I've held for years on this subject:

Godzilla games can only ever feasibly be marketed as giant monster fighty experiences, at least in the West.

Godzilla, despite his mass recognition, is something that very few people are actively fans of. It's hard for people to find the motivation to go and see new Godzilla flicks and kaiju films in general, at least here in the west. If you ask any casual consumer in the horde, they'd almost invariably tell you that the best part about Godzilla is watching him beat the ever-living-hell out of another monster. Or a couple monsters. They'd either say that, or the destruction is appealing. Sure, you could have Godzilla just free roam and destroy things, but I have a hard time seeing destroying things being appealing enough to last multiple hours of gameplay. And the money it would cost to even begin developing extensive open-world environments for such a game is probably more than any of us would care to admit.

The reality is that Godzilla games are often budget-made titles. Even the Namco Bandai game, while it had a lot of pretty accurate monsters, sound effects, and very Godzilla-y music, was not the most ground-breaking, earth-shattering money-sink of a game that a lot of us probably would foam at the mouth over. The Pipeworks/Atari games weren't hugely expensive games either from what I can recall. But those games were focused on the most marketable aspect of the franchise - a wide array of unique kaiju chucking buildings at each other and kicking tail in up to four-monster-mayhem. Hell, one of the PS3/PS4 game's biggest appeals to me was that Hedorah was finally playable, not to mention we were all riding the 2014 high as far as we could, and 2014's inclusion in the game was huge. Not only was he there, but he could interact with the classic Heisei Godzilla. Specifically, he could fight classic Goji. Granted, the combat in that game was hot garbage, but let's be honest with ourselves - normies didn't play that game. Hell, I'd posit that the general public doesn't know it exists. Except for the generator memes. And the monster intros. But that's all thanks to YouTube more than anything.

I unfortunately think that Godzilla videogames will continue to suffer in mobile game hell, as they're low investment for anyone to make and they unfortunately also make a decent amount of money. Godzilla will have to reach a certain height as a franchise again if a new game is to be marketed to a wider audience and get a decent budget. I think Godzilla vs. Kong could be that moment, but I anticipate we won't see anything emerge for a bit of time after that film has been out there, because it will need to buoy GA interest in Godzilla first, which won't be immediately apparent. Unless the world just spontaneously finds itself enamored with kaiju sometime soon, which I won't hold my breath for.

It's a shame, really. A new 2D or 3D fighting game with some of the newer additions to the series, like Godzilla Earth, Shin, or any of the new creatures from the MonsterVerse or the new renditions of Ghidorah/Rodan/etc, would be really cool to see in a fighter with some of the classic cast alongside. There is some nostalgia out in the general public for the Pipeworks games, especially DAMM, given people who grew up with them are getting old enough to be targeted for marketing for stuff like this. Save the Earth was one of my first three video games I owned, and I know a handful of friends of mine who played DAMM, STE, or Unleashed as youngins. Maybe someday a company will capitalize on that latent potential, but for now, I expect to continually be disappointed with flash-in-the-pan mobile games.
Unfortunately true, i do still think Godzilla does have a LOT of potential in the gaming format, I'm really excited for what will come in the future, although i don't think we're ever getting an open-world Godzilla game, there's still plenty of mechanics and option to explore on a stylized Godzilla fighting game.


My ideal Godzilla game would be a game entirely based on the kaiju movies, where you would be able to control both humans and Godzilla, both synchronized to fit with each other and a strong narrative to support everything, along with various other options to play. Attack on Titan managed to have a game like that, why Godzilla, a much longer and arguably much more famous franchise about giant monsters wouldn't?
When those fleeting lives destined to die, forget their humbleness and sing praises of their glory, such will shake the very heavens and split the earth, and they shall know the wrath of the divine. The inevitable incarnation of destruction. So, you show yourself at last. Since we last saw each other, it has been 20 years for us and 20,000 years for you. It's been a while... Oh, King of Destruction.

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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

Post by BlankAccount »

Godzillabrawler wrote:lots of stuff.
Well you need a good story (and fun gameplay) to keep people invested in smashing buildings for hours on end. It's part of why I keep playing Super Godzilla despite it's lackluster gameplay, I'm actually invested in the story. That combined with the music and art style gives life to a world I give a damn about. Unleashed was way too ambitious for it's own good but it's the last one I know that was trying to tell a story where as the PS3/4 game didn't even try, it was a paper thin excuse to say here's the set up, okay now play for hours with little motivation.

As cool as an open world would be, at this time I'd be fine with a liner adventure game that let's me traverse levels.
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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

Post by ReiwaGodzilla »

Living Corpse wrote:
Godzillabrawler wrote:lots of stuff.
Well you need a good story (and fun gameplay) to keep people invested in smashing buildings for hours on end. It's part of why I keep playing Super Godzilla despite it's lackluster gameplay, I'm actually invested in the story. That combined with the music and art style gives life to a world I give a damn about. Unleashed was way too ambitious for it's own good but it's the last one I know that was trying to tell a story where as the PS3/4 game didn't even try, it was a paper thin excuse to say here's the set up, okay now play for hours with little motivation.

As cool as an open world would be, at this time I'd be fine with a liner adventure game that let's me traverse levels.
I hope the next Godzilla game manages to synchronize well the gameplay and the history to give the player the best experience out of it. Having a weak history (or basically not having any history at all) REALLY hurts the game, and that looks like a quite common trait of the Godzilla games, really ironic considering Godzilla comes from a franchise with loads of histories you can tell.
When those fleeting lives destined to die, forget their humbleness and sing praises of their glory, such will shake the very heavens and split the earth, and they shall know the wrath of the divine. The inevitable incarnation of destruction. So, you show yourself at last. Since we last saw each other, it has been 20 years for us and 20,000 years for you. It's been a while... Oh, King of Destruction.

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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

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ReiwaGodzilla wrote:
Living Corpse wrote:
Godzillabrawler wrote:lots of stuff.
Well you need a good story (and fun gameplay) to keep people invested in smashing buildings for hours on end. It's part of why I keep playing Super Godzilla despite it's lackluster gameplay, I'm actually invested in the story. That combined with the music and art style gives life to a world I give a damn about. Unleashed was way too ambitious for it's own good but it's the last one I know that was trying to tell a story where as the PS3/4 game didn't even try, it was a paper thin excuse to say here's the set up, okay now play for hours with little motivation.

As cool as an open world would be, at this time I'd be fine with a liner adventure game that let's me traverse levels.
I hope the next Godzilla game manages to synchronize well the gameplay and the history to give the player the best experience out of it. Having a weak history (or basically not having any history at all) REALLY hurts the game, and that looks like a quite common trait of the Godzilla games, really ironic considering Godzilla comes from a franchise with loads of histories you can tell.
I can't find it anymore but there was unconfirmed rumors a long time ago that Konami had the rights to make a Godzilla game but did nothing with it. Kojima, back when he was working with them, would have had a field day. There's so many insane things in the Godzilla mythos. Oxygen Destroyer, ANEB, Black Hole gun, the Mothra fairys, Black Hole Aliens, Biollante and Erika's soul, Masers. You can make a whole plot line with any of these things alone.

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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

Post by ReiwaGodzilla »

Living Corpse wrote:
ReiwaGodzilla wrote:
Living Corpse wrote:
Well you need a good story (and fun gameplay) to keep people invested in smashing buildings for hours on end. It's part of why I keep playing Super Godzilla despite it's lackluster gameplay, I'm actually invested in the story. That combined with the music and art style gives life to a world I give a damn about. Unleashed was way too ambitious for it's own good but it's the last one I know that was trying to tell a story where as the PS3/4 game didn't even try, it was a paper thin excuse to say here's the set up, okay now play for hours with little motivation.

As cool as an open world would be, at this time I'd be fine with a liner adventure game that let's me traverse levels.
I hope the next Godzilla game manages to synchronize well the gameplay and the history to give the player the best experience out of it. Having a weak history (or basically not having any history at all) REALLY hurts the game, and that looks like a quite common trait of the Godzilla games, really ironic considering Godzilla comes from a franchise with loads of histories you can tell.
I can't find it anymore but there was unconfirmed rumors a long time ago that Konami had the rights to make a Godzilla game but did nothing with it. Kojima, back when he was working with them, would have had a field day. There's so many insane things in the Godzilla mythos. Oxygen Destroyer, ANEB, Black Hole gun, the Mothra fairys, Black Hole Aliens, Biollante and Erika's soul, Masers. You can make a whole plot line with any of these things alone.
Oh, i guess Kojima wasn't that much of a fan back them to make a Godzilla game :cry:

I wonder where the rights to make Godzilla games are situated right now, maybe with Disruptor Beam?
When those fleeting lives destined to die, forget their humbleness and sing praises of their glory, such will shake the very heavens and split the earth, and they shall know the wrath of the divine. The inevitable incarnation of destruction. So, you show yourself at last. Since we last saw each other, it has been 20 years for us and 20,000 years for you. It's been a while... Oh, King of Destruction.

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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

Post by shadowgigan »

Not much of a gamer, so would really enjoy just a classic Godzilla fighter I could play online or with my friends.

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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

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Godzillabrawler wrote:...I'm going to espouse the same opinion I've held for years on this subject: Godzilla games can only ever feasibly be marketed as giant monster fighty experiences, at least in the West....

...If you ask any casual consumer in the horde, they'd almost invariably tell you that the best part about Godzilla is watching him beat the ever-living-hell out of another monster. Or a couple monsters. They'd either say that, or the destruction is appealing. Sure, you could have Godzilla just free roam and destroy things, but I have a hard time seeing destroying things being appealing enough to last multiple hours of gameplay....
LOL you've just described the two Dreamcast games: Generations, and Generations: Maximum Impact, and like the PS4 game, all were not well-received by the general gaming public. I loved both DC games (and therefore it's no surprise that that I loved the PS4 game, too), but I'm obviously in the minority camp on all three.
Godzillabrawler wrote:...I unfortunately think that Godzilla videogames will continue to suffer in mobile game hell, as they're low investment for anyone to make and they unfortunately also make a decent amount of money. Godzilla will have to reach a certain height as a franchise again if a new game is to be marketed to a wider audience and get a decent budget. I think Godzilla vs. Kong could be that moment, but I anticipate we won't see anything emerge for a bit of time after that film has been out there, because it will need to buoy GA interest in Godzilla first, which won't be immediately apparent. Unless the world just spontaneously finds itself enamored with kaiju sometime soon, which I won't hold my breath for.
Completely agree. GvK will have to be a runaway success with the moviegoing public, eclipsing the bad press G:KOTM got, before anyone is willing to invest in and produce a big-budget new game. And then THAT game won't come out unless it can be marketed as a tie-in to some later film that magically comes out when the game does, i.e. that film would have to be a sequel to GvK.

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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

Post by Jetty_Jags »

I think Godzilla games are in the same bucket as Batman/superhero games where pre arkham. While not so much plagued by movie tie ins, the idea of a cheap game with little depth is still there. And as you guys where talking about, I think one of the reasons the Arkham games are received so well (regardless of your opinions on them) is their respect for the canon. The world feels like it has 40+ years of history, partly because it kind of does. A good Godzilla game would need to use its source material to the same advantage. The only problem though is I think it’s much less likely for this to occur do to the differences in popularity.
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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

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Yeah, we've had passionate fans work on official games but the publishers give the developers a small budget and little time to work on it thus holding them back. It's a catch 22, Godzilla or really kaiju games in general aren't seen as being good a lot of times so why invest in a risk that might not have payoff? And that results in more games being meh at best or bad at worst. And the cycle repeats.

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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

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Living Corpse wrote:Yeah, we've had passionate fans work on official games but the publishers give the developers a small budget and little time to work on it thus holding them back. It's a catch 22, Godzilla or really kaiju games in general aren't seen as being good a lot of times so why invest in a risk that might not have payoff? And that results in more games being meh at best or bad at worst. And the cycle repeats.
Yeah, i wonder how can we solve that problem.... maybe pressionating Toho or Legendary (would be a good option considering they hear the feedback and criticism from the fans)?
When those fleeting lives destined to die, forget their humbleness and sing praises of their glory, such will shake the very heavens and split the earth, and they shall know the wrath of the divine. The inevitable incarnation of destruction. So, you show yourself at last. Since we last saw each other, it has been 20 years for us and 20,000 years for you. It's been a while... Oh, King of Destruction.

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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

Post by Gigantis »

Honestly i want a Godzilla game like Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. Open world, control Godzilla and whoever else and make them fight other monsters etc.
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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

Post by Gojirawars 03 »

I would basically want something that's halfway between the Pipeworks trilogy and the PS4 game. I want something that's fast, not repetitive, has a big monster roster, and has couch co-op like the Pipeworks games, while also having movie-accurate portrayals of the kaiju and the world, and an overall movie style feel like the PS4 game. Oh and online multiplayer is fine, so long as the monsters get properly balanced. I got so sick of entering lobbies in the PS4 game full of nothing but Kiryu, Heisei Godzilla, Burning Godzilla, and Legendary Godzilla. It made the game's one actually non-repetitive mode get stale really fast.

Also, when it comes to balancing, that's another thing I'd want to be more like the films. Even the PS4 game didn't get the balancing right. Since when is Kiryu supposed to be leagues above kaiju like SpaceGodzilla or the Showa Mechagodzilla in terms of combat ability? Why can't any game thus far make Destoroyah a fair fight? Why was Legendary Godzilla able to refill his energy just by getting hit, even from a minimal amount of damage? Why did they design time limit levels in a game that moves so slowly? Why were there no Millennium monsters outside of Kiryu and Gigan? Why was Jet Jaguar present, but not Megalon? Why 1964 Godzilla? Like, at all?

Why the fuck did they make SpaceGodzilla and Showa Mechagodzilla so weak? I'd get nerfing them, but they went way overboard, especially with Mechagodzilla.

Basically, balance the fucking monsters better, and make the game move faster while being less of a repetitive, grinding chore.
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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

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Ocean level with stealth as an option would be cool.

Godzilla is a sea monster and yet both movies and games overlook that a lot. In the ocean Godzilla is capable of 3D movement, much as a a flying monster is in the air, yet the closest we got to anything remotely to that was the rail-shooter in Save The Earth. Have a level or two where the Navy is out in force, you can attack them head on. Or you can ambush them from down below. Or you can just avoid their detection and sneak by, with how the military acts on the land levels being different on you approached the ocean level.

We've seen that while Godzilla can be tracked, he isn't always easy to track, time and time again he has given the Navy the slip. And the idea of hunting for a sea monster in in the ocean is downright terrifying. He can come up right under the ship at any time. We could even have cool stealth/ambush kills where he jumps out of the ocean and lands on top of a ship, breaking it in two or slamming a nuclear sub into an underwater mountain to absorb the radioactive core, giving the player incentive to forgo complete stealth for more power.

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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

Post by ClandestineCanine9 »

honestly I thought the PS4 game was good in concept, but had poor execution. I like the idea of wandering around destroying a city and fighting random monsters, but I'd like there to be more variety, and no dumb objective like "dEsTroY tHe GeNeRaToRs"
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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

Post by Anguirus »

I wonder if we would have received a Pipeworks trilogy remaster announcement at E3 this year if there wasn't corona..

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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

Post by UltramanGoji »

Anguirus wrote:I wonder if we would have received a Pipeworks trilogy remaster announcement at E3 this year if there wasn't corona..
We wouldn't have.
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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

Post by KManX89 »

ClandestineCanine9 wrote:honestly I thought the PS4 game was good in concept, but had poor execution. I like the idea of wandering around destroying a city and fighting random monsters, but I'd like there to be more variety, and no dumb objective like "dEsTroY tHe GeNeRaToRs"
The mechanics and controls were complete ass as well. Why is it game companies can't get Big G right?
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Re: The future of Godzilla videogames.

Post by BlankAccount »

KManX89 wrote:
ClandestineCanine9 wrote:honestly I thought the PS4 game was good in concept, but had poor execution. I like the idea of wandering around destroying a city and fighting random monsters, but I'd like there to be more variety, and no dumb objective like "dEsTroY tHe GeNeRaToRs"
The mechanics and controls were complete ass as well. Why is it game companies can't get Big G right?
Didn't help that running and jumping had to be unlocked, something that would solve the complaints about him being slow.

I don't know. The kaiju genre has all the makings of an epic video game, the military are mooks and the enemy monsters are epic boss fights, there's enough lore in the 60+ years to make a good story. By all accounts the kaiju film genre should translate well into a fun video game.
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