History VideoGame / PipeworksGodzillaTrilogy

* AdultFear: The main human protagonists, a military commander in the Global Defense Force and his son, are separated from each other throughout the game, with both of them trying to convince each other that the monsters must be destroyed and that they have to be understood in their intentions, respectively. Due to all the disasters happening, both are understandably scared. Things get worse in the San Francisco level when the city—which the son's academy is located—erupts and becomes volcanic. Thankfully, though, they both reunite and are alright by the end.

** Similarly, while Battra is a defender of the Earth(just not its intelligent inhabitants), here he's a Mutant seeking absolute power and dominion. When you think about it, he's using the power of the crystals infesting the planet to get more power, going against everything he was before!

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The main Pipeworks trilogy]]
! ''Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee''

! ''Godzilla: Save the Earth''

! ''Godzilla: Unleashed''

[[/folder]]

Plans were proposed for a fourth game, but Atari's license expired before development could begin. Some of Pipeworks staff, including developer Simon Strange, left to create their own company, Sunstone Games, and the idea for a fourth ''Godzilla'' fighting game evolved into the SpiritualSuccessor, ''VideoGame/ColossalKaijuCombat''.

* Krystalak - Mutants [[note]]An original character created by Pipeworks for the game.[[/note]]

* AdaptationalWimp: Mothra is simply an assist character in ''Destroy All Monsters Melee'', and when she got PromotedToPlayable in the next game she's the weakest monster in the game due to having weak attacks and less defensive power(in particular a complete inability to block). Not helped by the fact that you start out in her larvae stage. ''Unleashed'' gives her some more useful abilities, such as a pulse beam, poisonous powder that absorbs beams and causes damage, and a stunning shockwave, not to mention an actual block in both forms. Players have since figured out that Mothra is designed around long-range and hit-and-run attacks.

* Spacegodzilla - Crystal Prison

* Spacegodzilla - Mutants

* Atoragon

* AdaptationalWimp: Mothra is simply an assist character in ''Destroy All Monsters Melee'', and when she gets PromotedToPlayable she's the weakest monster in the game due to having weak attacks and less defensive power. Not helped by the fact that you start out in her larvae stage. ''Unleashed'' gives her some more useful abilities, such as a pulse beam, poisonous powder that absorbs beams and causes damage, and a stunning shockwave. Players have since figured out that Mothra is designed around long-range and hit-and-run attacks.

* BadassBack: Starting in ''Save The Earth'', Anguirus's block consists of him turning away from his opponent and letting their melee attacks hit his spikes with an appropriately painful effect. For the same reason, he can't be punished when he's lying on his stomach.

** Spacegodzilla pulls a HijackedByGanon in ''Unleashed'', making him a DragonAscendant.
* BigBadEnsemble: In ''Unleashed'', the Vortaak have united plenty of old foes together to help in their invasion of Earth. Mainstays like Godzilla's main ArchEnemy, King Ghidorah and [[PsychoForHire Gigan]] are obligatory, but Orga has been brought back to life to fight again, the first Mechagodzilla is rebuilt to bolster their forces, and Megalon was loaned to them by the Seatopians for another go at wiping humanity out.

* ChargedAttack: Your monster's BreathWeapon, or whatever main ranged attack they use, has to be charged before using. The longer you charge it, the more damage it does and the longer it lasts, with enough charge means it will knock your opponent over and allow for more damage, but the more energy it uses. This does mean charging for too long can backfire if you are using a character with a shorter range attack as your opponent can get out of the range, or block it and minmize the damage. This drawback was removed in ''Unleashed'' due to blocking being removed.

** In ''Save the Earth'', it's Orga on Easy and Normal and Spacegodzilla on Hard.
** Spacegodzilla is this again in ''Unleashed''[='=]s regular ending. In the Tyrant ending, however, ''you're'' the final boss, with a number of monsters, including your once-allies, rushing to stop you.

* GemTissue: Spacegodzilla and Krystalak are partially and completely made of crystalline flesh respectively.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Even within the same setting -- just compare Godzilla and King Ghidorah.

* PlayingWithFire: Several of the monsters use fire attacks.

* RockMonster: Obsidius is a vaguely saurian monster made of LivingLava, spawned when one of Spacegodzilla's crystals plunged into a volcano.

* UnitsNotToScale: All the monsters are depicted as being relatively close in size, even though the Heisei era monsters should for the most part be the largest. On an individual level, some of the monsters are also smaller than in the movies. Mechagodzilla 2, for example, was bigger than Godzilla, but in this game is roughly the same size. Destoroyah is both shorter and less bulky than in his movie. Averted for Biollante for the most part, who isn't quite the behemoth she was in the film but still towers over the entire cast in size, to the point where her grab is her using her maw to bite down on a Kaiju's entire upper body and throw them into the sky.

* WingsDoNothing: Despite having wings, Destoroyah is incapable of flight in every game except ''Double Smash''. This, along with his vulnerability to Heat instead of Freezing, was a result of concerns that letting him fly would make him overpowered.

* CompetitiveBalance:

* OffModel: Minor, but some of the monsters have some unique, cartoony coloring that was never seen before. In ''Destroy all Monsters Melee'' Godzilla is a stereotypical green, and Megalon in particular is turquoise and purple instead of uniform brown. The game in general is a lot more cartoony-looking; Megalon's napalm bombs also resemble realistic sea mines and Mechagodzilla fires missiles not with his ports, but through gigantic boxy rocket launchers that [[{{Hammerspace}} spontaneously appear on his shoulders]].

* Spacegodzilla

* AdaptationalHeroism: The villainous Battra, King Ghidorah, Destoroyah, Megalon, Gigan, and Krystalak are playable, meaning they can help Godzilla, Mothra, Anguirus, and Rodan stop Spacegodzilla's crystal invasion.

* BigBad: Once more, Spacegodzilla.

* DummiedOut: Biollante was going to be in ''Save the Earth'' and was actually finished, but licensing issues meant she couldn't appear in the final product, instead being delayed for ''Unleashed''. Similarly Hedorah was planned to be in ''Unleashed'' and there are still references to him(there is a purchasable monster unlock hint that is clearly intended for him, one mission in the toxic Osaka says there is an opportunity to unlock a monster with the cutscene beforehand saying a new monster has spawned as a result of said toxicity, and his skeleton and sound files are actually in the game), but he was ultimately left out because they couldn't make his transformations and cel-shaded blob body work.

* GemTissue: Spacegodzilla and Krystalak.

* FireIceLightning: The game has these elemental damage types and many more.

* GemTissue: Spacegodzilla and Krystalak.

* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: King Ghidorah is a three-headed draconic Kaiju, alongside his cyborg incarnation Mecha-King Ghidorah.

* WingsDoNothing: Despite having wings, Destoroyah is incapable of flight in every game except ''Double Smash''. This, along with his vulnerability to Heat instead of Freezing, was a result of concerns that letting him fly would make him overpowered.

* OffModel: Minor, but some of the monsters have some unique, cartoony coloring that was never seen before. In ''Destroy all Monsters Melee'' Godzilla 90's is a stereotypical green, and Megalon in particular is turquoise and purple instead of uniform brown. The game in general is a lot more cartoony-looking; Megalon's napalm bombs also resemble realistic sea mines and Mechagodzilla fires missiles not with his ports, but through gigantic boxy rocket launchers that [[{{Hammerspace}} spontaneously appear on his shoulders]].

* OffModel: Minor, but some of the monsters have some unique, cartoony coloring that was never seen before; Godzilla is a stereotypical green, and Megalon in particular is turquoise and purple instead of uniform brown. The game in general is a lot more cartoony-looking; Megalon's napalm bombs also resemble realistic sea mines and Mechagodzilla fires missiles not with his ports, but through gigantic boxy rocket launchers that [[{{Hammerspace}} spontaneously appear on his shoulders]].

* ''Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee'' (2002 - [=GameCube=])

* ''Godzilla: Save the Earth'' (2004 - [=PlayStation=] 2, X-Box)

* OffModel: Minor, but some of the monsters have some unique, cartoony coloring that was never seen before; Godzilla is a stereotypical green, and Megalon in particular is turquoise and purple instead of uniform brown. The game in general is a lot more cartoony-looking; Megalon's napalm bombs also resemble realistic sea mines and Mechagodzilla fires missiles not with his ports, but through gigantic boxy rocket launchers that [[Hammerspace spontaneously appear on his shoulders]].

* AdaptationalBadass: Mechagodzilla 2 was in its film of origin built as a LongRangeFighter that suffered from CripplingOverspecialization to point where it struggled in close quarters with Rodan, and was no match for Godzilla when he managed to get in close. In this series, it is just as capable in a fist fight as any other monster.

* BigBadEnsemble: In ''Unleashed'', the Vortaak have united plenty of old foes together to help in their invasion of Earth. Mainstays like Godzilla's main ArchEnemy, King Ghidorah and [[PsychoForHire Gigan]] are obligatory, but Orga has been brought back to life to fight again, the first Mechagodzilla rebuilt to bolster their forces, and Megalon was loaned to them by the Seatopians for another go at wiping humanity out.

* ConvectionSchmonvection: In Seattle, monsters don't take damage from the heat. They only lose health if they're in the lava itself, though Obsidius and Rodan(in the PlayStation 2 version) are immune as well.

* DeathFromAbove: Rodan, King Ghidorah, Mecha-King Ghidorah, Mothra, Megaguirus, Mechagodzilla 2, and Kiryu are capable of flight. Also Mothra or Battra as an [[AssistCharacter air-strike character]].

* DestructiveSavior: Whoever you use in the first two games, and if you don't get the "Tyrant" ending in ''Unleashed'', you will also play this as a monster from the "Earth Defender" and "GDF" factions. In all the above, you're trying to thwart the AlienInvasion, and in ''Unleashed'' also prevent TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, but since the game revolves around fights between giant monsters, you are inevitably going to be causing a lot of collateral damage and destroy a number of buildings.

** Averted in ''Unleashed'', whose main game mode deals a global catastrophe being dealt with/exploited by multiple factions over around twenty days.

* FastTunneling: Originally was Megalon's main schtick, which allows him to burrow into the ground to either avoid attacks or appear right below the opponent for a grab. Then Baragon got in on it by being able to do the same, albeit more slowly. Larva Mothra and Battra are also capable of burrowing, but to lesser effect. Biollante also burrows underground in one move, but it's more of a "fast travel" and she can't be controlled doing this. She and M.O.G.U.E.R.A. tunnel out of the ground in their intro animations.

* {{Flight}}: Almost any monster who could do this in the films can do so here; Destoroyah, Gigan and M.O.G.U.E.R.A. are the only exceptions, except for a shoot'em up level in ''Save The Earth''. Imago Mothra and Megaguirus are technically always flying.

* FragileSpeedster: Rodan is much faster than most other characters, especially in flight where he moves very quickly instead of a slow pace like most characters.
** M.O.G.U.E.R.A. , Megaguirus and Mothra are quick and nimble, but their physical strength is lower than average. They make up for that with a fighting style that emphasizes either hit-and-run tactics or zoning via projectile and BeamSpam.

* MightyGlacier: King Ghidorah and Mecha-King Ghidorah are both slow, but powerful and have long reach as well as higher than normal health. King Ghidorah puts more emphasis on [[CloseRangeCombatant melee]] while Mecha-King Ghidorah focuses on [[LongRangeFighter weapons]].
** The Showa and Heisei Mechagodzillas are below average in terms of speed, but are very durable and strong with their ranged weapons. The Showa [=Mechagodzilla=] has a bit less speed than the Heisei one in exchange for more defense.

** [[Subverted Trope Subverted]] with Mechagodzilla and Mechagodzilla 2 in the Wii version of ''Unleashed''. While they have similar movesets, Mechagodzilla 2 can fly, is noticeably more smooth in its movements, and can fire a plasma grenade from its chest. Mechagodzilla, meanwhile, can't fly, has a clunky style of moving (using the basic kick multiple times makes Mechagodzilla look like it's doing the Nazi Goose Step), and can shoot flames from its nose. This in addition to Mechagodzilla exchanging one point of speed for more defense, puts Mechagodzilla as more of a close-quarters fighter compared to Mechagodzilla 2's preference for ranged attacks.

* PromotedToPlayable: Mothra went from being an AssistCharacter to playable between ''Destroy All Monsters Melee'' and ''Save The Earth'', and her replacement Battra made the same transition in the [=PS2=] version of ''Unleashed''.

* TinCanRobot: The original Mechagodzilla appears as a fighter in ''Unleashed'' in all its 70s robot aesthetic and an incredibly stiff and clunky way of moving. It’s no less dangerous than any other monster however, easily being able to hold its own in a fight despite how outdated it's become beside newer Mechagodzillas.
* UnconventionalAlignment: ''Unleashed'' divides the monsters into four factions: the good-aligned Earth Defenders and Global Defence Forces, and the evil-aligned Aliens and Mutants.

** The Global Defence Force generally consist of human-aligned mechs and cyborgs, and aims to protect mankind first and foremost. As such they are mainly opposed to the Aliens - though they'll go after any monster who isn't careful around human structures.

* WrestlerInAllOfUs: Some Kaiju can perform some awfully human looking fighting moves like flying kicks or body slams, but Orga takes the cake by performing Press Slams and Elbow Drops on opponents, with a couple of other flashy grappling moves he can pull off thanks to his giant hands.

* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: [[spoiler: Mecha-King Ghidorah]] in ''Domination'' is this [[UpToEleven even compared to the other monsters]]. He's so big that playable characters don't even come up to his hips.
* BigBad: [[spoiler:Mecha-King Ghidorah]] in ''Domination'', who is the source of the waves driving monsters berserk.

* CycleOfHurting: One of King Ghidorah's aerial attacks can be repeatedly spammed as long as he doesn't touch the ground. If you can press a foe against a wall with it, it's downright lethal.

** Megalon vanishes into the depths of the Earth. Nobody knows his exact whereabouts, though the ancient legend of a subterranean people bringing him into our world with magic is brought up and will be investigated in the years to come.

* OffModel: Minor, but some of the monsters have some unique, cartoony coloring that was never seen before; Megalon in particular is turquoise and purple instead of uniform brown. Megalon's napalm bombs also resemble realistic sea mines and Mechagodzilla fires missiles through giant launchers that [[Hammerspace spontaneously appear]] rather than the many ports all over him.
* PoisonousPerson: Mothra, much like before, but oddly Rodan is this too, being able to emit a green radioactive toxic mist, something he's never done before.

* AdaptationalWimp: The military can ''actually hurt you'' this go around, with bigger vehicles even able to make monsters flinch.

* SignatureRoar: It's a weird case. Most of the famous roars are there, but quite a few monsters have their roars mismatched; obviously Ghidorah, Godzilla, and the more famous like have theirs correct, but Ebirah actually uses Rodan's roar and Manda uses Titanosaurus' roar, who himself uses Hedorah's roar, who uses Ebirah's roar...

** The Earth Defenders generally consist of natural monsters concerned with destroying the crystals to save the environment and as such are mainly opposed to the Mutants, but don't go out of their way to avoid destroying human buildings should they get in their way -- except King Caesar, whose bio mentions as going out of his way to protect humans.

''Godzilla: Save the Earth'' is the second game in the trilogy, in which the Vortaak return to harvest Godzilla's cells, but are driven off when [=SpaceGodzilla=] is sucked into a black hole. Plans were made for a full story mode in which the Vortaak return to steal Godzilla's G-Cells and empower their monsters, but these plans were ultimately scrapped save for the opening and ending cutscenes. Also included a series of mini games, including RailShooter segments played as Godzilla 2000 (vs. the Atragon and Ebirah) and M.O.G.U.E.R.A. (vs. [=SpaceGodzilla=]. A rail shooter featuring Rodan was planned, but ultimately scrapped.

* [=SpaceGodzilla=] - Crystal Prison

* Atragon

* [=SpaceGodzilla=]

* [=SpaceGodzilla=] - Mutants

* Atragon

* [=SpaceGodzilla=]

* AdaptationalBadass: [=MechaGodzilla=] 2 was in its film of origin built as a LongRangeFighter that suffered from CripplingOverspecialization to point where it struggled in close quarters with Rodan, and was no match for Godzilla when he managed to get in close. In this series, it is just as capable in a fist fight as any other monster.
* AdaptationalVillainy:
** Biollante in ''Unleashed'' is one of the evil Mutants, in sharp contrast to her canon self, who was largely passive towards humanity and even fought Godzilla in their defense. The cutscenes seem to say this is a [[ThereIsAnother entirely different Biollante]], given they refer to her existing previously, yet she forms in a lab due to an experiment gone wrong during the game's events.
** Titanosaurus in the same game is also in the Mutant faction. The only reason he fought Godzilla in Film/TerrorOfMechagodzilla was due to being under MindControl and was stated to be unusually [[GentleGiant peaceful]] for a giant monster when not under anyone's influence. Some fans argued that he should have been an Earth Defender.

** [=SpaceGodzilla=] pulls a HijackedByGanon in ''Unleashed'', making him a DragonAscendant.

* ClimaxBoss: Critical Mass King Ghidorah in ''Unleashed'', unless of course you're playing on the Alien side. The Atragon is also this unless you're allied the GDF. To a lesser extent, Biollante, despite being a normal foe, often winds up with her own boss mission simply titled "Biollante".
* CompositeCharacter: Mechagodzilla 2 in ''Destroy All Monsters Melee'' uses the appearance of the Heisei incarnation, but being used by aliens as their ultimate weapon and firing missiles from its fingers draw influence from the Showa original.
* ConvectionSchmonvection: In Seattle, monsters don't take damage from the heat. They only lose health if they're in the lava itself, though Obsidius and Rodan(in the PlayStation2 version) are immune as well.
* CycleOfHurting: Destoroyah in ''Destroy All Monsters Melee'' can lock an opponent into this with his LaserBlade since once an opponent is knocked over, he can keep hitting them with it over and over with there being nothing to stop him until his energy runs out.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Any monster you pick will be the hero at the end of the game. Played straight, inverted, ''and'' averted in ''Unleashed''; "Alien" monsters can do a HeelFaceTurn(though the Vortaak still win), the "Earth Defender" and "Global Defence Force" monsters can become corrupted, and "Mutant" monsters are locked into being evil at the end even if you try to ally yourself with the Earth Defenders or GDF.

* FastTunneling: Originally was Megalon's main schtick, which allows him to burrow into the ground to either avoid attacks or appear right below the opponent for a grab. Then Baragon got in on it by being able to do the same, albeit more slowly. Larva Mothra is also capable of burrowing, but to lesser effect. Biollante also burrows underground in one move, but it's more of a "fast travel" and she can't be controlled doing this. She and M.O.G.U.E.R.A. tunnel out of the ground in their intro animations.

* FightingSeries: ''Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee'' was followed by ''Godzilla: Save the Earth'' and ''Godzilla: Unleashed''.

** In ''Save the Earth'', it's Orga on Easy and Normal and [=SpaceGodzilla=] on Hard.

* GiantFlyer: Quite a few of the monsters, both organic and mechanical, are capable of flight. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] with several monsters who could fly in the films but can't fly in the games (Gigan, Destoroyah, M.O.G.U.E.R.A.).

* LifeMeter: The first two have standard variations, while ''Unleashed'' mixes things up with multiple smaller bars that follow after each other.

** Subverted with Mechagodzilla and Mechagodzilla 2 in the Wii version of ''Unleashed''. While they have similar movesets, Mechagodzilla 2 can fly, is noticeably more agile, and can fire a plasma grenade from its chest. Mechagodzilla, meanwhile, can't fly, has a clunky style of moving (using the basic kick multiple times makes Mechagodzilla look like it's doing the Nazi Goose Step), and can shoot flames from its nose, putting an emphasis on close-quarters combat compared to Mechagodzilla 2's preference for ranged attacks.

* RockMonster: Obsidius is a vaguely saurian monster made of LivingLava, spawned when one of [=SpaceGodzilla=]'s crystals plunged into a volcano.

* TemptingFate: The Vortaak announcer in the original game, where after pointing the Vortaak have mind-controlled Earth's giant monsters and turned them loose to threaten humans into surrendering, boasts that "Not even your strongest monster can break free and defeat the others." Later in the "Aliens" opening of ''Unleashed'', Vorticia is seen presiding over a new invasion fleet and boasts NothingCanStopUsNow, only for her fleet to be hit by an asteroid.

* UnitsNotToScale: All the monsters are depicted as being relatively close in size, even though the Heisei era monsters should for the most part be the largest. On an individual level, some of the monsters are also smaller than in the movies. [=MechaGodzilla=] 2, for example, was bigger than Godzilla, but in this game is roughly the same size. Destoroyah is both shorter and less bulky than in his movie. Averted for Biollante for the most part, who isn't quite the behemoth she was in the film but still towers over the entire cast in size, to the point where her grab is her using her maw to bite down on a Kaiju's entire upper body and hoist them up.
* VictoryPose: Typically with an epic roar and everything. Although, some monsters will have a pose that deviates from the norm: [[OmnicidalManiac Destoroyah]] in ''Unleashed'' will begin laughing maniacally into the sky, [[UnwillingRoboticisation Kiryu]] will look at his hands and then clutch his head to [[WhatHaveIBecome roar in despair over what he's become]], Godzilla will roar and flex his muscles, and M.O.G.U.E.R.A. will begin raising and lowering its arms in a celebratory dance while chanting its name.

** FragileSpeedster: Rodan once more, with Mothra being a slightly less extreme alternative. While Rodan is centered around getting off big combos of weak, fast attacks, Mothra is suited for the long game, zoning them with her exploding larvae and poisonous powder.

** MightyGlacier: Mechagodzilla, with Megalon being a less extreme alternative. Both have rather slow-charging specials and are terribly slow(Mechagodzilla in particular has some hefty endlag on many of his attacks), but if they touch, they hurt. Godzilla is also this, albeit in a different way; he's as slow as Megalon but doesn't have the power of either of the other glaciers. Instead he has a massive Special stat, so get ready to see him throw out his Atomic Breath a lot.

* Atragon/Gotengo

* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: Inexplicably, in several monsters are significantly scaled up compared to their canon sizes, towering over the playable monsters. Specifically, Mecha-King Ghidorah[[note]]though a cutscene does show a crystal-induced thunderstorm striking and enlarging him[[/note]], the Sphinx, Manda, and Biollante are shown to be at least as tall as the Eiffel Tower(about 300 m tall), while Ebirah and Hedorah are about half that. Godzilla and most of the others seem to be only about half of Ebirah!

* SignatureRoar: It's a weird case. Most of the famous roars are there, but quite a few monsters have their roars mismatched; obviously Ghidorah, Godzilla, and the more famous like have theirs correct, but Ebirah actually uses Rodan's roar and Manda uses Titanosaurus' roar, who himself uses Hedorah's roar.

In 2003, it received a spinoff of sorts, ''Godzilla: Domination'' for the Gameboy Advance, which was developed by Creator/WayForwardTechnologies rather than Pipeworks, but uses the same cover artwork as ''Destroy All Monsters Melee'' and is considered part of the series by Atari.

! ''Godzilla: Unleashed Double Smash''

''Godzilla: Unleashed Double Smash'' for the Nintendo DS is a [=2.5D=] side-scoller that was developed and released concurrently to the Wii and [=PS2=] versions of ''Godzilla: Unleashed'', and features its own roster of characters and bosses. Taking advantage of the DS's split screen, characters are divided into two categories: Ground Characters on the bottom screen and Aerial Characters on the top screen.

!! Playable Characters

* Anguirus - Ground Character
* Battra (Imago) - Aerial Character
* Destoroyah - Aerial Character
* Fire Rodan - Aerial Character
* Gigan (Showa) - Ground Character
* Godzilla - Ground Character
* King Ghidorah - Aerial Character
* Krystalak - Ground Character
* Megalon - Ground Character
* Mothra (Imago) - Aerial Character

!! Bosses

* Atragon/Gotengo
* Baragon
* Biollante
* Destoroyah
* Ebirah
* Hedorah
* Jet Jaguar
* Manda
* M.O.G.U.E.R.A.
* Mecha-King Ghidorah
* Mechagodzilla
* Megaguirus
* Orga
* [=SpaceGodzilla=]
* The Sphinx
* Titanosaurus

!!This series provides examples of:

** [[spoiler:Mecha-King Ghidorah]] is the BigBad of ''Domination'' despite being a heroic character in canon. He's also much bigger -- the final boss having originally planned to be Biollante.

* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: All the playable characters, but [[spoiler: Mecha-King Ghidorah]] in ''Domination'' is this [[UpToEleven even compared other monsters]]. He's so big that playable characters don't even come up to his hips.
** Inexplicably, in ''Godzilla: Unleashed Double Smash'', several monsters are significantly scaled up compared to their canon sizes, towering over the playable monsters. Specifically, Mecha-King Ghidorah[[note]]though a cutscene does show a crystal-induced thunderstorm striking and enlarging him[[/note]], the Sphinx, Manda, and Biollante are shown to be at least as tall as the Eiffel Tower(about 300 m tall), while Ebirah and Hedorah are about half that. Godzilla and co. seem to be only about half of Ebirah!
* TheBadGuyWins: If a villainous monster wins in ''Unleashed'', then the ending has them destroying the world or helping the Vortaak conquer it.

** [[spoiler:Mecha-King Ghidorah]] in ''Domination'', who is the source of the waves driving monsters berserk.
* BlowYouAway: King Ghidorah, Mecha-King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Rodan have attacks that send powerful gusts of wind at opponents, damaging them and pushing them back.

* CanonImmigrant: Toho considers Krystalak and Obsidious to be official Monsters, though they have yet to appear in any movies (they're very popular in fanfictions and fangames, though). On the other hand, attacks developed for the series for Gigan and Anguirus have been used by their respective monsters in ''Film/GodzillaFinalWars''.

* CompositeCharacter: The [=MechaGodzilla=] in ''Destroy All Monsters Melee'' uses the appearance of [=MechaGodzilla=] II, but being used by aliens as their ultimate weapon and firing missiles from its fingers draw influence from the original [=MechaGodzilla=].

* DarkIsNotEvil: Any monster you pick will be the hero at the end of the game. Played straight, inverted, ''and'' averted in ''Unleashed''; "Alien" monsters can do a HeelFaceTurn (though the Vortaak still win), the "Earth Defender" and "Global Defence Force" monsters can become corrupted, and "Mutant" monsters are locked into being evil at the end even if you try to ally yourself with the Earth Defenders or GDF.

** Averted in ''Unleashed'', whose main game mode deals a global catastrophe being dealt with/exploited by multiple factions over two or so weeks.
* EyeBeams: For any monster without a BreathWeapon.

** [[spoiler:Mecha-King Ghidorah]] is this for ''Domination''.

* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: [[spoiler: Mecha-King Ghidorah]] in ''Domination''. The rest of the game is about a meteor that is projecting magnetic waves that are driving monsters insane. After seven stages fighting other monsters, you have a level on said meteor and where you fight [[spoiler: Mecha-King Ghidorah]].

* HumongousMecha: The GDF faction in ''Unleashed'' consists of Mechagodzilla (2), Kiryu (Mechagodzilla 3), M.O.G.U.E.R.A., Mecha-King Ghidorah, and Jet Jaguar. The Aliens get Mechagodzilla (1).

* MeleeATrois: Like in any 4-player fighting game, this can happen if all 4 available monsters are set against each other. On top of that, the military will sometimes join in to attack whichever monster is causing the most damage.
* MightyGlacier: King Ghidorah and Mecha-King Ghidorah are both slow, but powerful and have long reach as well as higher than normal health. King Ghidorah puts more emphasis on [[CloseRangeCombatant melee]] while Mecha-King Ghidorah focuses on [[LongRangeFighter weapons]]. In ''Domination'' King Ghidorah is a JackOfAllStats instead.

* MultipleEndings: ''Domination'' ends first with a news recap of Meteor X and [[spoiler: Mecha-King Ghidorah]], before showing the [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue whereabouts of the monster you played as]].

* ObviousBeta: ''Godzilla Unleashed'' was criticized for motion control issues, and Godzilla 1954 in particular is unpolished in comparison to the other monsters -- the camera goes above his head in his introductory cutscene, and he lacks a proper roar taunt.

* OurSphinxesAreDifferent: Art/TheSphinx itself appears as the boss of the Egypt stage of ''Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash'' -- wouldn't be a {{Kaiju}} game without some MonumentalDamage, now would it?

** The Mutants simply want absolute power and seek to harvest the power surges and crystal energy for themselves, destroying anything and everything in their path.

* VictoryPose: Typically with an epic roar and everything. Although, some monsters will have a pose that deviates from the norm: [[OmnicidalManiac Destoroyah]] in ''Unleashed'' will begin laughing maniacally into the sky, [[UnwillingRoboticisation Kiryu]] will look at his hands and then clutch his head to [[WhatHaveIBecome roar in despair over what he's become]], Godzilla will roar and flex his muscles, and MOGUERA will begin raising and lowering its arms in a celebratory dance while chanting its name.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: OH GOD YES! The developers knew how much fun causing damage to the cities would be so they included the "Destruction Mode" where two players compete to see how causes the most damage. The Xbox version of ''Destroy All Monsters Melee'' allows you to play this solo, like a classic ''Godzilla'' film.

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* Destroyah - Aerial Character

* Destroyah

** Titanosaurus in the same game is also in the Mutant faction, the only reason he fought Godzilla in Film/TerrorOfMechagodzilla was due to being under MindControl and was stated to be unusually [[GentleGiant peaceful]] for a giant monster when not under anyone's influence, in fact some fans argued that he should have been an earth defender.

* AdaptationalWimp: Mothra is simply an assist character in ''Destroy All Monsters Melee'', and when she gets PromotedToPlayable she's the weakest monster in the game due to having weak attacks and less defensive power. Not helped by the fact that you start out in her larvae stage. ''Unleashed'' gives her some more useful abilities, such as a pulse beam, a "rainbow" of sorts that absorbs beams and causes damage, and a shockwave. Players have since figured out that Mothra is designed around long-range and hit-and-run attacks.

** Megalon has an attack that has him shoot a patch of ignited napalm at the legs of his opponent, causing the same effect as above.

* AssistCharacter: Mothra in ''Destroy All Monsters'', Battra and the Super-X III for ''Save The Earth''.

* BeamOWar: Starting from ''Save the Earth'', two Kaiju that fire their beam attacks at each other at the same time will enter a battle to try and push the beam into the opponents face. Losers get a chunk of their health blasted away and blown away from the explosion.

* CycleOfHurting: Destroyah in ''Destroy All Monsters Melee'' can lock an opponent into this with his LaserBlade since once an opponent is knocked over, he can keep hitting them with it over and over with there being nothing to stop him until his energy runs out.

* DeathFromAbove: Rodan, King Ghidorah, Mecha-King Ghidorah, Mothra, Megaguirus, and Mechagodzilla are capable of flight. Also Mothra or Battra as an [[AssistCharacter air-strike character]].

* DestructiveSavior: Whoever you use in the first two games, and if you don't get the "Tyrant" ending in ''Unleashed'', you will also play this as a monster from the "Earth Defender" and "GDF" factions. In all the above, you're trying to thwart the AlienInvasion, and in ''Unleashed'' also prevent TheEndoftheWorldasWeKnowIt, but since the game revolves around fights between giant monsters, you are inevitably going to be causing a lot of collateral damage and destroy a number of buildings.
* DifficultySpike: Taking the difficulty off the easy setting in ''Save the Earth'', which causes the AI to go from a mild challenge to being able to outright destroy you.

* FastTunneling: Originally was Megalons main schtick, which allows him to burrow into the ground either avoid attacks or appear right below the opponent for a grab. Then Baragon got in on it by being able to do the same, albeit more slowly. Larva-Mothra is also capable of burrowing, but to lesser effect. Biollante and MOGUERA also tunnel out of the ground in their intro animations.
* FireIceLightning: The game has these elemental damage types and many more: Alien Energy, Blunt, Concussive, Edged, Electricity, Explosive, Heat, Freezing, Nuclear, and Poison.

* FinalBoss: Mechagodzilla (Or Mecha King Ghidorah if you ''are'' Mechagodzilla) in ''Destroy All Monsters Melee'', Orga on Easy and Normal and [=SpaceGodzilla=] on Hard in ''Save the Earth'', and [=SpaceGodzilla=] again in ''Unleashed''[='=]s regular ending. [[spoiler:Mecha-King Ghidorah]] is this for ''Domination''.
* {{Flight}}: Almost any monster who could do this in the films can do so here; Destroyah, Gigan and MOGUERA being the only exceptions, except for a shoot'em up level in ''Save The Earth''. Adult Mothra and Megaguirus are technically always flying.

** MOGUERA, Megaguirus and Mothra are quick and nimble, but their physical strength is lower than average. They make up for that with a fighting style that emphasizes either hit-and-run tactics or zoning via projectile and BeamSpam.
* FunWithAcronyms: Most notably MOGUERA, although [[AllThereInTheManual the acronym isn't explained in-game]].

* GemTissue: [=SpaceGodzilla=] and Krystalak.
* GiantFlyer: Quite a few of the monsters, both organic and mechanical, are capable of flight. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] with several monsters who could fly in the films but can't fly in the games (Gigan, Destoroyah, MOGUERA).

* HumongousMecha: The GDF faction in ''Unleashed'' consists of Mechagodzilla (2), Kiryu (Mechagodzilla 3), MOGUERA, Mecha-King Ghidorah, and Jet Jaguar. The Aliens get Mechagodzilla (1).

* MightyGlacier: King Ghidorah and Mecha-King Ghidorah are both slow, but powerful and have long reach as well as higher than normal health. In ''Domination'' King Ghidorah is a JackOfAllStats instead.
** [=MechaGodzilla=] 2 is below average in terms of speed, but very durable and hit very hard, especially with ranged attacks.
** Destroyah follows a similar pattern, but is more geared to towards close range thanks to his short range BreathWeapon, land mine like move that pulls enemies in closer, and unblockable LaserBlade.
** Biollante is the biggest and slowest character in the entire series, and as such is the strongest and has the most health.

** Obsidius and Battra in the Playstation 2 version of ''Unleashed'', with Obsidius being a clone of Orga and Battra being a clone of Mothra. In the Wii version, Obsidious has a unique moveset, while Battra is outright omitted.

* MythologyGag: Godzilla 90's Critical Mass form in ''Unleashed'' is his Burning form from ''Godzilla vs. Destroyah''.

* UnitsNotToScale: All the monsters are depicted as being relatively close in size, even though the Heisei era monsters should for the most part be the largest. On an individual level, some of the monsters are also smaller than in the movies. [=MechaGodzilla=] 2, for example, was bigger than Godzilla, but in this game is roughly the same size. Destroyah is both shorter and less bulky than in his movie. Averted for Biollante for the most part, who isn't quite the behemoth she was in the film but still towers over the entire cast in size, to the point where her grab is her using her maw to bite down on a Kaiju's entire upper body and hoist them up.

* WingsDoNothing: Despite having wings, Destroyah is incapable of flight in every game except ''Double Smash''. This, along with his vulnerability to Heat instead of Freezing, was a result of concerns that letting him fly would make him overpowered.

** Biollante in ''Unleashed'' is one of the evil Mutants, in sharp contrast to her canon self, who was largely passive towards humanity and even fought Godzilla in their defense. The cutscenes seem to say this is a entirely different Biollante, given they refer to her existing previously, yet she forms in a lab due to an experiment gone wrong.

** Biollante in ''Unleashed'' is one of the evil Mutants, in sharp contrast to her canon self, who was largely passive towards humanity and even fought Godzilla in their defense.

''Unleashed''[='=]s Wii version contained novel features such as a lengthy modular story mode with multiple endings, improved destruction physics with buildings, a large character roster, and a Wiimote control system that was met with mixed receptions. The [=PlayStation=] 2 version was largely a upgraded port of ''Save the Earth'', featuring the same roster with only a couple of new additions that were moveset clones of existing characters. Both versions replaced the Rage attack mechanic with Power Surges, powerful attacks that could be utilized once per battle; and [[SuperMode Critical Mass]], where monsters supercharged with crystal radiation would grow in size, turn black and glowing red, and deal increased damage at the price of decreased defence.

* Battra - Mutants [[note]][=PlayStation=] 2 version exclusive[[/note]]
* Biollante - Mutants [[note]]Wii version exclusive[[/note]]

* Gigan (''Final Wars'') - Aliens [[note]]Wii version exclusive[[/note]]

* Godzilla 1954 - Earth Defenders [[note]]Wii version exclusive[[/note]]

* King Caesar - Earth Defenders [[note]]Wii version exclusive[[/note]]

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Even within the same setting - just compare Godzilla and King Ghidorah.

* MightyGlacier: Applies to monsters such as Destoroyah, Mechagodzilla 1 and King Ghidorah who trade mobility for raw power, but is especially apparent in Biollante: she's painfully slow, is a massive target and only has either a quick tunnel maneuver to jump a short distance or a 'sprint' that's barely faster than her normal speed, but she hits like a tank and can have deceptively long range for her attacks thanks to her sheer size.

* VictoryPose: Typically with an epic roar and everything. Although, some monsters will have a pose that deviates from the norm: [[OmnicidalManiac Destoroyah]] in ''Unleashed'' will begin laughing maniacally into the sky, [[UnwillingRoboticisation Kiryu]] will look at his hands and then clutch his head to [[WhatHaveIBecome roar in despair over what he's become]], and MOGUERA will begin raising and lowering its arms in a celebratory dance while chanting its name.