Yep, the one you might remember as part of the AVGN Godzilla episode, with the Godzilla chibi sprites, Puzzle Bubble-esque music, we’re doing this Godzilla game this Giant Monster March, because why not after downing shitty licensed affair such as – but not limited to – the PS3-PS4 Godzilla game?
Curiously, this isn’t an entirely random game, per sé, as this Game Boy title is actually a port of the MSX title Godzilla-kun by Compile (yes, the same company that would become Compile Heart and crank out Neptunia titles by the dozens), done by Compile themselves, and the game in turn was based on Godzilland’s merchandise line that had chibi versions of Big G and the various kaijus.
The only differences between the original japanese GB release and the localized American & European ones is the rescue target, as in the original japanese version various monsters kidnap Godzilla’s girlfriend, Bijira (which was apparently a thing), and the western one they kidnapped his son, Minilla, and trapped him in a maze.
Sadly there’s no “reverse Taken” option where you pay to let them keep the abomination, but then again, unless you read the manual or a wiki you would never know what the plot is, the game just shows you some decent pixel recreations of Godzilla’s roster of kaijus and their chibified pixel version you will encounter in the game itself, press New Game or Continue (via password) and that’s it., your thrown into what would have confused many Godzilla fans back in the day, especially those below reading age (and those who lost the manual or just randomly borrowed the cartridge).
not that anyone first guess would be “a puzzle game” for a Godzilla licensed title, even on the ol’ Game Boy, the “brick” one without colors or backlit screens.
Though the bamboozling might continue for a little while, as this is a puzzle game, but not the match-3 kind, more going for an action puzzle game, as you have to traverse levels and destroy all pushable rocks to make the exit appear.
I’m explaining it because it’s not really that clear from the get-go that you must destroy ALL the blocks to make the exit appears, especially as the first stage teases you with a “door-like” exit high up, despite Godzilla not being able to jump, he can climb vines and use a boxing glove attack that he does spit in a Puzzle Bubble manner when he’s not actively climbing….and that’s it.
It sound deceptively simple, because it’s not actually that easy as it would led you to believe, since blocks can only be destroyed once they’re positioned in a way you can’t push them anymore either left or right, you can’t jump, so you actually gotta think how to approach the levels, and learn that the levels have two exits points… one bringing you back to the previous level and one bringing you to the next one, which isn’t really self explanatory.
Because you see, there are many levels, actually 64, a lot of a Game Boy title (even if the levels themselves aren’t huge), and there’s actually a logic to the directional arrows that function as exit points… once you realize you actually have a map in the pause menu under the “entire plan” option, which points in which level/point of the map you are, marks new/uncleared levels with a question mark and lets you know where you will go by taking one of the two exits in that level.
Here comes the “catch” of sorts, because you’ll realize after a while this is a maze, so some level can lead only to some other levels, and you need to move to a specific tile/level in the map to actually progress, and you can easily or accidentally go back to the previous level, or an unexplored one that actually looks identical, so check the map often because otherwise you won’t be sure.
You actually gotta think about what you’re doing and where you’re going, which is a lot more than i ever expected out of a GB puzzle game like this, and makes things more complex, but thankfully tha map isn’t THAT overly complicated, the levels themselves are short and backtracking to a previous level you already know how to beat can be useful to rack up extra lives, which you’ll need as it’s quite easy to fall prey to the very same blocks you pushed, causing the one above to “crush-plode” your chibi lizard if it stands directly under it, which is one of the surprisingly many ways you can fuck up, because this is actually a pretty challenging game under the cutesy facade.
thankfully there is an option to try again the level if you got yourself stuck, since while most levels have respawning enemies coming from certain doors, there’s no explicit time limit… but take too long and an invincible chibi King Ghidorah will hunt you down. Though usually you’ll lose a life by getting stuck into an unsolvable position and having to try the level again, it’s far quicker that way.
But again, it’s not made unfair because even if you lose all lives you get kicked to the main menu and can actually choose to continue from the last stage you reached, so even on the original hardware back in the day it wasn’t made artificially harder than needed when playing it on longer sessions, you know, none of that “one life and you have to start from scratch regardless every time” bullshit that was common back on the NES and Game Boy.
So yeah, Godzilla on Game Boy is the very definition of getting sucker punchered with a good time, if you’re willing to look past the deceiving marketing and first impressions, or the chibi artstyle (which makes sense when you know where this game comes from in terms of Godzilla adaptations), you’ll find one of the best Godzilla games ever, outside of the beloved fighting game iterations by Pipeworks on PS2/NGC/Xbox and some other gems like Godzilla Domination on the GBA.
Fans of the big G can still find it used online for a reasonable price (unless you want a complete copy with box and manuals), or you know, easily emulate it in many ways, i mean, it’s a licensed game and a licensed Godzilla game at that, it’s not like we’re gonna ever see it officially show up for sale on digital platforms (even the PS3/PS4 Godzilla game has been delisted some years ago, for reference), or show up on the Nintendo Switch ‘s Game Boy Online catalogue anytime soon.
Yes, odd stuff like the Quest For Camelot GBC tie-in game did land on the service, but it was probably because it was developed by the infamous (and long extinct) Titus and the license itself most likely was very, very cheap to begin with, and the IP itself basically forgotten.
Though the GBA Robotech game did receive a “HD” re-release on the Switch eShop, so who knows? Still, wouldn’t hold my breath for it.
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