King of the Monsters 2 (1992)

Game: King of the Monsters 2

Release Year: 1992

Time to complete: 3hr
Played on: Neo Geo CD

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Presentation: 6

Difficulty: 6

Fun: 7

Rating on a 1-10 scale

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Its time for more giant monster fun! In the follow up to 1991's King of the Monsters, SNK brings us revised game play and a new visual style in KOM2. I was sure I had played this game, but upon playing it again, I not sure thats true. My main memory of it was that they (SNK) had taken the unique gameplay of the original and turned it into a so-so side scrolling action game reminiscent of what SEGA did to poor Toe Jam & Earl. Well now that I've played through it, I can say that it's true that they introduced "side scroller" elements but its far from a standard approach. Each level is essentially broken into short walk to the right and battle small enemies section (the side scrolling part) and boss battles (the part like the first KOM). Presentation wise, most of the B-Movie charm of the original is lost and somewhat cartoony, simplistic visuals take their place. Not the worst look but it does not have that distinct Neo Geo look.


The storyline is that only 3 of the original 6 monsters have survived. I'm not sure what happend to the others, but its a shame because it's now up to the remaining 3 monsters to protect the earth from an alien onslaught. Each of the 3 playable monsters (ape, human, and dragon) have a fairly unique style of attack. The level design is not nearly as interesting as the original. Instead of destroying different detailed Japanese cities, you traipsing around the globe visiting more generic, less interesting locations. The levels do get slightly more unique closer to the end of the game with some pits and sink holes but still not much to write home about.


Overall the battle mechanics are not nearly as wrestling inspired as the original and play more like Final Fight's. In KOM2 both you and the larger enemies simply have a life bar that when expired results in death i.e. no more need to pin the opponent for a 3 count. It works fairly well and I confess, at first I didn't love it, but the more I played, the more I enjoyed it.


As you play through the generic levels you will once again get to the tried and true "fight every boss again" last level and I have to say jumping jesus on a pogo-stick! This sure was a common way cheap out back in the day. The saving grace of the final level is the comically large final boss and his great animations. Interestingly this game does offers multiple endings, a good and bad ending based on how you fight in the final battle. I was unable to gain the "good" ending the first time around and had to play through all of the bosses again to get the good one but it was well worth it. 


To wrap it up I did find myself liking the game more and more as it slogged along and came to appreciate the visuals certain charming simplicity. 

I've come to earth to to eat brains!