Review: Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered (Switch 2) - The King Returns With A Fun But Thin Kaiju Brawler
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by Ken Talbot · Nintendo LifeGodzilla fans are eating well. At the time of writing, we are on the brink of a new Toho release, a direct sequel to Goji’s first Oscar-nominated film, Minus One. There's also the next entry in Legendary's MonsterVerse to sate fans of the Western arm of the franchise (even though they have been a little Kong-heavy of late). Now, Tokusatsu mayhem is coming back to consoles, as original developer Pipeworks and Atari revamp their 2002 GameCube classic Destroy All Monsters. It smashes its way onto Switch 2 with Unreal Engine 5 visuals, online multiplayer, and some nice quality-of-life bonuses.
Destroy All Monsters Melee is a 3D arena fighter where you can choose from 12 iconic (well, maybe not Orga) kaiju and duke it out in major cities across the globe. It's an absolute joy to play for fans of the franchise, and it's accessible enough that anyone can jump in and relish the city-trampling mayhem.
There is a thin wraparound story that, while patently ridiculous, is in keeping with the lunacy of the series' Japanese entries. An alien race called the Vortaak has invaded Earth, unleashed the inhabitants of Monster Island and taken control of the kaiju that come pouring out. You play as the one friendly monster that has to battle their way to the alien mothership and take on the Vortaak's cybernetic facsimile of Earth's mightiest monster - Mechagodzilla.
That's the overarching plot, and there's only a tiny sliver of story across a couple of cinematics in the game's Adventure Mode, so don't expect a rich narrative. This game is mostly monster fights, and in this respect, it does not disappoint.
There really isn't much more to be said about the joyous spectacle of hefting Gigan over your head and hurling him into the side of a skyscraper. You can fill Anguiris with a faceful of atomic breath or fly rings around your opponent as Rodan. Destroy All Monsters Melee is filled with these moments of wonder amidst what is a fairly straightforward brawler. There are no elaborate combos here, no precise hitboxes, and no need for frame counting. There’s just multiple building-sized animals wailing on each other.
Each monster has basic punch and kick combos, coupled with powerful variants triggered by a push of the right stick. A power move knocks enemies flying at the cost of speed (Godzilla's tail whip is overpowered on any difficulty), while projectile abilities help manage distance.
Monsters can also enter Rage Mode, which lets them unleash a powerful ability that comes with an impressive visual flourish. Power-ups litter the arenas, sometimes dropped by the Vortaak’s 1950s-style UFOs. These will either top up health and special meters, or send in Mothra for an aerial bombardment. When in doubt, you can always pick up a building and throw it at your opponent.
Each monster gets its own distinct moveset, and the uniformity of the controls means it's easy to try out everyone before you settle on a main character. Godzilla is a good all-rounder, and his Millennium model is the best-looking in the game. Gigan has a powerful teleport ability that can easily bamboozle an opponent. Several monsters can fly, with Mecha-King Ghidorah in particular being a formidable combo of offence and evasion.
There are some duds, like Megalon and Orga, who have utility but just don't feel great to play. I had the most fun with Mechagodzilla (here depicted in his Heisei Kiryu form for the remaster), who combines his Maser Cannon projectile with shoulder-mounted missile salvos.
Single-player offerings include the story-driven Adventure mode, which comes in three tiers of difficulty. Survival mode has you run a gauntlet and try to last as long as possible. For pure brainless wish fulfilment, there's Destruction mode, in which one or more kaiju lay waste to a city to rack up points.
There's also a full suite of local and online multiplayer modes, including a tournament ladder to decide once and for all who gets to be crowned king of the monsters. Monsters level up in the Adventure Mode, increasing base stats and adding abilities to their repertoire, which incentivises spending time with each fighter.
The system for unlocking new arenas and monsters, which involves repeating fights in the local modes, has been updated for this remaster. Previously, the ‘research’ tied to specific unlocks was fixed. Now you can freely choose which one you want to prioritise (pro tip: unlock Ghidorah first).
That said, there isn't much to do beyond the final bit of research, and getting 100% is a patience-testing loop of the same old fights. The magic of this game is in the pick-up-and-play nature of those battles, and it doesn't stand up to laborious repetition just to view some nice artwork.
The presentation of this remaster on Switch 2 is exemplary. Monster models and arenas have all been updated, and battles play out butter-smooth both docked and undocked. Undocked in particular looks great, with those big chunky fighters and diorama cityscapes really suited to portable play. There's a real fluidity to some of the action, particularly when monsters like Gigan close the distance with incredible speed.
The audio combines lovingly polished sound effects from the movies with a cacophony of city-levelling bangs and garbled military transmissions. It's a real shame there isn't Japanese vocal audio; the early-2000s English voices really take a layer of authenticity away.
Special mention must go to Director mode, an enhanced photo mode that lets you control the camera during a fight. Adjusting the speed and setting up the perfect shot of your favourite beasts laying into each other is addictive fun. You can see why Ishiro Honda made so many of these movies.
Conclusion
Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered is a satisfyingly faithful update to a beloved Kaiju brawler. It’s simple and fun, with local and online multiplayer keeping you around for the long haul despite a wafer-thin single-player experience. Now if we could just get a remaster of Save The Earth and Unleashed…
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Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered - Nintendo Switch 2