Colossal Kaiju Combat: Bringing giant monster fans together for the ultimate giant monster experience!
Colossal Kaiju Combat!, formerly known as Kaiju Combat, was a planned series of video games and a Collectible Card Game created by independent video game developer Sunstone Games
,note centered on kaiju.The main selling point of the series was that most of the monsters were fan-created characters chosen from the site's forum via a multi-tiered voting process. Twice annually, an "SPN" vote was held to select Kaiju for the supplementary Collectible Card Game. Those who won the SPN vote became eligible for the Progenitor vote, the winners of which could choose one of their kaiju to become a potential playable character in future instalments of the series. Kaiju who won the SPN vote were also eligible for the EVO vote, where a limited number of the SPN winners were chosen to receive an "Evolved" form with an altered appearance and (usually) improved stats. In addition to fan-submitted content, the developers expressed the intent to include as many famous giant monsters as possible in future updates, with many fan suggestions ranging from the iconic to the obscure. Some of CKC's monsters — Grimmgarl, Tornaq, and Muligahn — were licensed for use in Chroma Squad.
Currently, only one incomplete game exists in the Colossal Kaiju Combat! series:
- Kaijuland Battles, which was released on Steam Early Access on August 11, 2014. It is in an alpha stage, used for debugging, and currently consists of four characters from the Kaijuland Facebook game. It currently costs a few dollars to play, but the final release was planned to be free-to-play.
- The Fall of Nemesis, was planned to be the first full game in the series and would have featured the eponymous monster from renowned author Jeremy Robinson's Nemesis Saga as the main antagonist and a playable character. The game's premise was that the Kaijujin, mystical entities that embody the fundamental traits of Kaiju, are gathering giant monsters from across the multiverse and pitting them together to determine which is the strongest. The previous champion had been deposed by Nemesis, who is now the reigning champion of the Kaijujin's tournament. However, countless other Kaiju are coming forth to contend for the crown. — The expiry of Nemesis's contract with Sunstone Games in January 2017 resulted in this game being put on hold, and with the cancellation of the CKC project in late 2017 development has been terminated.
CKC's development began in 2012, but was prolonged through a series of setbacks. In early 2016, the development of both The Fall of Nemesis and the card game were placed on hiatus due to an ill-timed series of unfortunate events beginning with Sunstone Games' longtime environmental artist passing away at a point in where further development was dependent on the environmental artwork being completed. While the card game briefly resumed production, it was divorced from the video-game's development. Development of Fall of Nemesis resumed in February 2016 when a new environmental artist was hired, but in February 2017 the project as a whole was cancelled — or at least indefinitely postponed.
This franchise provides examples of:
- Aerith and Bob: Kaiju names range from Chelonra, Bakuyoku, and Ouroboros to Duncan, Solomon, and Prospector Pete.
- Behemoth Battle: It's right there in the title. The premise of the games was a spiritual successor to the Pipeworks Godzilla trilogy, with giant monsters battling it out to become the champion of the Kaijujins' tournament.
- Breath Weapon: The grand majority of kaiju tend to have some variant of this, so as to make beam clashes between kaiju possible. This is a holdover from the Pipeworks Godzilla trilogy.
- Canon Immigrant:
- The Kaijuland Battles release exclusively features characters from the Kaijuland Facebook game.
- Fall of Nemesis was going to star the main kaiju character of Jeremy Robinson's Nemesis Saga, and Nemesis Prime was one of the Progenitor monsters.
- Red - or at least its "shadow" - from the NES Godzilla Creepypasta is one of the Progenitor monsters, as is its rival Solomon.
- Collectible Card Game: New kaiju were sponsored to join the card game first, then their cards are voted in for Progenitor status.
- Genetic Abomination: The Progenitor version of C'thura is an eldritch Bioweapon Beast created by extra-dimensional entities to spread terror and destruction so that they can conquer Earth unimpeded.
- Kaiju: Note the enlarged word in the title. The game's premise involved kaiju being gathered from across the multiverse by entities called the Kaijujin.
- Known Only by Their Nickname: Each kaiju's name is what observers tend to call it, not necessarily what the kaiju calls itself.
- Massive Multiplayer Crossover: The developers planned to enter negotiations with Toho to include Godzilla and other Toho monsters in a future release, and planned on adding giant monsters from as many franchises as they can get the rights to. Some fan suggestions have included: Godzilla, Gamera, Ultraman, Ultraseven, the Cthulhu Mythos, Talos, Mr. Stay Puft, Ymir, Rhedosaurus, Agon, Reptilicus, Zarkorr the Invader, Kraa the Sea Monster, Dol, Battle Birth, Vavilos, Gappa, Gehara, DeathKappa, Reigo, Raiga, Guilala and Take-Majin, Yonggary and Cykor, Giant Robo, the cast of King of the Monsters, Zone Fighter, the Evangelion Series, Mazinger Z, Megas XLR, and Ogra.
- Our Spirits Are Different: The Kaijujin. They're not gods, but capable of subtle influence, and they represent a kaiju's Ferocity, Fortitude, Agility, and Power and can bestow favours on those that appease the spirit of a particular aspect. They are also capable of bestowing enhanced power to a singular champion, and even moving kaiju across time, space, and dimensions. They also serve as a
memetic "A Wizard Did It" excuse for nitpick details. A separate set of this is explained with Shadow of Red's current existence. Possible homage to other fictional deities?
The Collectible Card Game provides examples of:
- Artistic License – Martial Arts: Some Combat Deck moves inevitably result in certain kaiju performing a move that technically should be impossible for their physical structure, like a limbless Nuclear Mutant snail pulling off a Diving Kick. The more generalized Combat Deck 2 suffers less from this than Combat Deck 1.
- The Berserker: The "Frenzy" and "Reckless Frenzy" cards in Combat Decks 1 and 2 respectively.
- Charged Attack: The "Build-Up" card in Deck 1.
- Deadly Lunge: The "Pounce" card in Deck 2.
- Diving Kick: "Drop Kick" in Deck 1, and "Twofoot Kick" in Deck 2.
- Elemental Punch: The "Energy Punch" card.
- Finishing Move: The "Finishing Beam" card in Deck 2.
- Hit-and-Run Tactics: The "Strike & Fade" card in Deck 1.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The "Impale" card, and Combat Deck 1's "Eviscerate".
- Improvised Weapon: The "Hurl Object" card in Deck 1, and potentially "Projectile" in Deck 2 (depending on the chosen kaiju).
- Razor Wings: The "Wing Rake" card in Deck 1.
- Roundhouse Kick: The "Roundhouse" card in Deck 1.
- Shoryuken: The "Uppercut" card.
- Spin Attack: The "Spin" and "Whirlwind" cards in Deck 1.
- Tail Slap: The "Tail Uppercut" card in Deck 1.
- Use Your Head: "Charging Headbutt" in Deck 2, and "Bull Rush" in Deck 1.
The Fall of Nemesis provides examples of:
- Action Girl: DragonLotus is this even in her Mara human identity. Nemesis is also female, and was powerful enough to dethrone the reigning champion of the Kaijujin.
- Aerith and Bob: Nemesis, Ikameijin, Tornaq, Moratitan, Macrosaurus, DragonLotus, Heart Eater, Lycanoid, Katyusha, Tursacra, and... Duncan.
- Alien Animals: Ikameijin is an extraterrestrial conquerer who resembles an anthropomorphic squid.
- Aliens Are Bastards: Ikameijin and Heart Eater are the only aliens in the first game; both have evil intentions. It should be noted that a third of the kaiju voting roster featured aliens, although it seems that the voters preferred terrestrial monsters at the time. Supposedly that dampered the idea of heavy use of alien environments.
- Bad with the Bone: Lycanoid can extract and wield bone knives when his nanomachine side is dominant.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: Macrosaurus and Duncan, as both of them had a history before Kaiju Combat.
- The Champion: The game's premise is that the Kaijujin have selected kaiju from across the universe to fight in a gladiator-style tournament to see who becomes their chosen one, with Nemesis being their current champion.
- Dark Action Girl: Nemesis was once a murdered human girl, and seeks to punish those she deems guilty without caring about the collateral damage.
- Decided by One Vote: Supposedly how Moratitan made the roster in the first game.
- Extreme Omnivore: Macrosaurus's personality in a nutshell, to the point of eating space-time.
- Fire, Ice, Lightning: DragonLotus, Tornaq, and Tursacra, all of whom fight for the balance of nature.
- Killer Rabbit: Katyusha was just a simple mouse that had a sentient bio-mechanical AI grafted onto her. Most of the time her mouse instincts will cause her to evade, but when the AI takes over, it will attack with its powerful cannon.
- Lethal Joke Character: Duncan's schtick is junkshots and his Secondary Attacks is listed as "Humor", but he's just as viable a character as the rest of them.
- Meaningful Name: Ikameijin's name translates to Squid Master, fitting as he was an overlord before the events of the first game.
- Mechanical Lifeforms: Heart Eater appears to be biomechanical in nature.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: Lycanoid is a werewolf mutated by nanomachines and can wield bone knives.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Nemesis and Nemesis Prime are instinctively driven to mete out ruthless justice on those who have committed sins.
- Sea Monster: Moratitan is a mutated amalgamation of sea life, including an eel, sea urchins, coral, and an anemone.
- The Symbiote: Heart Eater is bonded to the Hero's Heart, which allows her to draw power from her enemies' blood.
- Vampiric Draining: Will happen to Katyusha while her energy meter is fully charged because of her S.C.U.D. Cannon.
Yellow mecha with thunder motifs are manly, can you feel the storm?
The official concept characters provide examples of:
- Anthropomorphic Personification: Orikalkos, a bird-like kaiju who only appears in times of chaos, is the personification of order.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: Some like Ghol-Dom (a woodlouse), Bogma (a snail), Prospector Pete (a hermit crab that uses the gold rush-themed diner it's named after as a shell), and the Dozer in BullDozer (a caterpillar riding atop a chameleon named Bull).
- Blob Monster: Maladra who was formed from a space station experiment gone horribly wrong.
- Blood Knight: Exterminus's personality in a nutshell since he was constructed for war.
- Bondage Is Bad: Scaos, somewhat subverted because without restraints he will cause chaotic violence to everything around him.
- Came from the Sky: Maladra, Taligon, and Hound of Nita have this in their back stories with the last of them being of the Magic Meteor variety.
- Eldritch Abomination: Shadow of Red and C'thura are otherworldly monsters with powers that defy reality moreso than most other kaiju. Yiemniak was a Botanical Abomination — being a Lovecraftian potato.
- Everything's Better with Samurai: Gaonaga's design is deliberately evocative of samurai.
- Ghostapo: Vogeladra. A kaiju created by the Nazis using occult powers and can be controlled with similar magic.
- Gods Need Prayer Badly: The Bangladeshi god of prosperity Byatha was forgotten by worshippers when his temple was buried underground. In venegeance, he subjected Bangladesh to government corruption, overpopulation, poverty, and western imperialism (which are all actual problems in real Bangladesh).
- Gladiator Games: Kikiron was a champion fighter in extra-terrestrial kaiju gladiatorial games. Sarcosteon was made for such too, but he escaped to Earth.
- Healing Hands: One of Hound of Nita's powers, somewhat subverted as it is with a beam rather than her hands.
- Humongous Mecha: Jet Maiden. Parodied though as she's piloted by slacking teenagers, meaning that she's not always at top notch.
- Jungle Drums: Bunagi's main gimmick.
- Lightning Can Do Anything: In this case power Mecha-Baz not unlike a Frankenstein's Monster
- The Magic Versus Technology War: Gandiva, although subverted as both magic and technology come together.
- Making a Splash: Torrentula's main attacks consist of striking opponents with her legs, which are made of water.
- Mix-and-Match Critters:
- Sarcosteon is a combination of the extinct ''Sarcosuchus'' and ''Dunkleosteus''.
- Aggredora is a kaiju formed from the dead bodies of other kaiju!
- Sarcosteon is a combination of the extinct ''Sarcosuchus''
- The Muse: Urogora used to be one, but in vengeance at humanity forgetting the lessons of the Muses, she transformed herself into a monster.
- Noble Demon: Solomon is a demon, but he only seeks to fight his opponent Red.
- Our Dragons Are Different:
- Tian-Lung (meaning "Sky Dragon" in Mandarin Chinese) was created by a scientist who wished to make a real oriental dragon. Unfortunately, his creation was anything but benevolent.
- Gaidragon is the final boss of a video-game manifested in the real world by the Kaijujin.
- Khyranax is a geriatric alien dragon from another galaxy.
- Kaiotaita is a winged snake-like deity that was corrupted into a malevolent monstrosity.
- The Phoenix: Taligon can spawn phoenix wings when in ranged form.
- Paranormal Investigation: Included in the back stories of Bunagi and Hound of Nita.
- Prehistoric Monster: Many have traits of prehistoric beasts like Brutusk (a mutant mastodon), Tyrantasaur (a Triceratops mutated by aliens), and M.S.M (shorthand for Mecha-Stegosaurus Maximo, a gigantic cyborg Stegosaurus)
- Rock Monster: Cryx, though he's more of a crystal monster.
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Torrentula was one of the Phorcydes, but her more sinister siblings tormented her for her pacifistic nature. When they banished her to the bottom of the sea, she built herself a new form and slew all of them. Afterwards, she realized she had become just as horrific as her siblings.
- Things That Go "Bump" in the Night: The origin story of Nightstone Manor is that the non-kaiju sized monsters that humans used to fear (goblins, demons, ghosts, etc) combined all their energy into a massive Victorian mansion when they realized that in an age of kaiju they needed to find a new way to remain relevant.
- The Time of Myths: The backstory of Urogora, Torrentula, and Thanatorg who all came from the world of Greek Mythology. We also have Tri'Moloch (created by medieval sorcerers), and Saltora (whose kin are now the Nazca Lines).
- Ultimate Life Form: Enslaver was created by aliens to be such, but he came to see all other living beings as in need of being destroyed.
- Voodoo Zombie: Grimmgarl was turned into a kaiju when a pair of rival bokor reanimated her with incompatible Loa.
- Was Once a Man: A lot of kaiju used to be human, like Sizemosaur, Bakuyoku, and Cavorstein.
- Writing Around Trademarks: The word "Colossal" was added to the original name of "Kaiju Combat" on Hasbro's insistance to avoid confusion with Kaijudo.
