Editorials
From ‘Rampage’ to ‘Monster Hunter’ – The Evolution of Kaiju Video Games
Whether it’s because of the hours we’ve lost in traffic or an unconscious desire to rebel against the unnatural rat race of modern life, there’s an undeniable catharsis in watching gigantic monsters obliterate a metropolitan area on the big screen. Don’t get me wrong, a real life Kaiju incident would probably be regarded with the same severity as a massive terrorist attack, but fictional casualties are a small price to pay for some monster movie fun.
That’s why it makes sense that video games have been trying to emulate these destructive thrills for decades now, with Kaiju having been present in interactive media ever since it was possible to animate a crude little radioactive dinosaur out of 8-bit pixels. And with modern audiences still hungry for giant monster mayhem, we thought that this might be a good time to look back on the evolution of Kaiju in video games.
While Godzilla games are popular and abundant enough that they warrant their own article, it’s generally accepted that the first interactive kaiju experience was in fact an unlicensed Godzilla title. Released back in 1983 on the Commodore 64, the appropriately named “Godzilla” was a primitive strategy game that put players in the shoes of the military as they attempted to thwart the giant monster’s rampage. While it wasn’t exactly a massive hit (possibly because you couldn’t actually play as everyone’s favorite radioactive lizard), this depiction of the giant monster as a deadly force of nature ended up inspiring several other games, such as the NES’s Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum’s Godzilla: The Atomar Nightmare, and, bizarrely enough, elements of Maxis’ original Sim City.
While Godzilla kept consistently getting new titles both in and outside of Japan (from the obscure MSX exclusive Gojira-Kun to the NES’s popular Godzilla: Monster of Monsters), in 1986 we’d also see the first original Kaiju game in the form of Bally Midway’s Rampage arcade cabinet. Boasting a trio of giant monsters inspired by King Kong, Gojira and, weirdly enough, The Wolfman, Rampage was the first fully-realized monster destruction simulator – which is likely why it was such a huge hit.
It almost feels like a playable parody of Kaiju flicks!
Allowing players to level buildings as they ate humans and competed over a high score (and featuring monstrous graphics that actually looked somewhat like the cover art), it’s no surprise that Rampage would go on to become a successful franchise with over seven titles under its belt. Though these titles never flinched when it came to on-screen destruction, the exaggerated monster designs and a cartoony sense of humor kept these citywide demolition derbies from feeling too serious. The movie-inspired series would also come full circle as it eventually spawned its own big-screen adaptation in the form of the criminally underrated Dwayne Johnson vehicle, 2018’s Rampage movie.
The technical advances of the 90s would eventually lead to more complex and action-packed kaiju games, from the one-on-one claymation duels of Atari’s Primal – which featured clear analogues for characters like Godzilla, King Kong and even Anguirus – to SNK’s surprisingly engaging tokusatsu homage, King of the Monsters. That being said, the real golden age of Kaiju games would arrive with the sixth console generation, when polished 3D movement and more advanced hardware made it possible to really bring those cardboard buildings and rubber suits to life.
There were plenty of officially licensed Godzilla titles during this time, like the fondly-remembered Godzilla: Save the Earth or even the GBA’s Godzilla: Domination (as well as other licensed projects, such as the absurdly named Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie), but this era also gifted us with spirited knock-offs like Incognito Entertainment’s War of the Monsters. During the 2000s, these pseudo-wrestling games actually became more popular than the films that inspired them, introducing a whole new generation to the concept of giant radioactive monsters.
Good times were had by all!
Fortunately, these over-the-top brawlers weren’t the only giant monster games available at the time. We also had kaiju-inspired experiences in the form of more experimental titles like Team Ico’s Shadow of the Colossus and Robot Alchemic Drive. While these games didn’t necessarily borrow the narratives tropes and characters of famous Kaiju flicks, they certainly took inspiration from their sheer sense of scale. Two of the most popular franchises that came from this age of gaming were Capcom’s Monster Hunter (which had plenty of homages to the Kaiju of yore despite its monsters being more similar to animals and dinosaurs than radioactive behemoths) and Sandlot’s Earth Defense Force, which allowed players fight back against gigantic invaders.
With game development becoming more and more expensive, it makes sense that more recent hardware would mostly see new iterations of the previously mentioned franchises. That means titles like 2014’s critically panned Godzilla (which is actually quite fun if you can stomach its overall janky-ness) as well as numerous entries in both Monster Hunter and Earth Defense Force. However, one innovative licensed title came in the form of Granzella Inc’s ambitious crossover City Shrouded in Shadow. While this 2017 oddity remains a Japan exclusive due to character rights, the game flips the destructive catharsis angle on its head by having you play as regular people attempting to survive a giant monster attack, making it the only known instance of a survival horror Kaiju game.
Luckily for Kaiju fans, there are also a handful of new IPs capitalizing on our fascination with monstrous destruction. For retro gaming lovers, there’s 13AM Games’ Dawn of the Monsters, which mixes 2.5D beat ’em-up action with an original roster of unique creatures. Competitive multiplayer afficionados might prefer Passion Republic Game’s online brawler Gigabash, which has players compete to become the king of the titans in fully destructible arenas. Much like other online gaming phenomena, Gigabash has even expanded its collection of monsters to include licensed Godzilla DLC, meaning that you can have a ‘zilla knock-off fight the real thing!
With international internet culture and franchises like Universal’s Monsterverse movies re-popularizing Kaiju media in the west, it stands to reason that what was once a niche genre of gaming has become a staple of the industry. They may have began as licensed tie-ins, but it seems that Kaiju titles have finally found a dedicated audience of their own and will likely continue to allow players to wreak havoc in virtual cities far into the future.
That being said, I’m still waiting on a next-gen Ultraman game…
College kids, strippers and vampires—those were Donald P. Borchers’ only requirements when he approached Richard Wenk about writing and directing a movie for New World Pictures. As requested, Wenk cooked up Vamp (1986), a tailor-made blend of the decade’s teen movie craze as well as its horror boom.
Grim and earnest stories were still very much a part of the ’80s horror landscape, yet Vamp is something of a comedy. One difference between it and, say, Saturday the 14th, though, is the former avoids using schtick. Wenk’s movie proves that horror comedies also don’t have to subtract thrills from their recipes. Of course, it takes a minute before reaching that point; college antics and culture shocks preface this one macabre misadventure.
Vamp‘s initial setup is apt for a typical college-set, sex-driven comedy; to bribe their way into a fraternity house, two pledges (Chris Makepeace, Robert Rusler) go looking for some adult entertainment. Without wasting time on any further exposition, the characters embark on an all-in-one-night trip that quickly detours into terror.
To procure their elusive MacGuffin—a stripper willing to gyrate for some frat boys—Keith (Makepeace) and AJ (Rusler), plus a third wheel named Duncan (Gedee Watanabe), trade the safety of their remote college campus for the seediness of some unnamed city. The setting is recognizably L.A. by day, but as soon as night falls, downtown, along with the characters, slips into a kind of surreal universe. Director of photography Elliot Davis gave this early entry on his prolific résumé an unusual yet distinctive look; that Mario Bava-esque, magenta-green lighting is omnipresent, so much so that it’s almost its own character.
Chris Makepeace and Robert Rusler in Vamp
The faint comparisons to Martin Scorsese’s After Hours are merited, although not just because of Vamp’s distinguishing nighttime aesthetic. Save for the primary characters, the supporting roles in Wenk’s movie are also quite colorful and transactional in their behavior. The difference here, though, is the additional urge to ruin Keith and his friends at every turn. Some of that harm is humorous and tolerable enough, whereas the moment Vamp dishes out its first fatality, it’s abundantly clear how this movie qualifies as horror.
Vamp falls into that category of horror movie that reveals its genre with a scream rather than a series of whispers. The opening scene can function as a hint of what lies ahead—things are not at all what they appear to be—but otherwise, Wenk is more than happy to hold off on the horror. When that time does come, though, it catches the viewer off guard. In addition to the pure shock value is that sudden decision to upend the movie’s foremost feature. Or so it would seem.
If afraid of major spoilage, those new to Vamp would be wise to stop reading here. There’s just no skirting around the fact that the central fellowship in this buddy movie hits a serious snag when AJ is killed. That development causes the story to become more of a “long, bad night” journey for Keith and his romantic interest. So while Wenk scores points for subverting expectations, there is also a touch of sadness in his decision. Because if Vamp does anything well, it’s making the characters likable.
Something that comes easily to Vamp—and other teen horror movies from this same era—is its ability to invent young characters worth caring about, or at the very least, are interesting and not so immediately off-putting. More impressive is how Wenk did all this without actually fleshing out those characters. Still and all, Keith and his kind are a grade above cookie-cutter, and in some cases, aren’t completely devoid of growth.
Grace Jones in Vamp
Vamp appeals with an assorted cast of characters. No two are the same, nor are they operating on the same wavelength. The cinematically extroverted AJ, whose actor conveyed charm and vulnerability in near equal amounts, comes alive when he’s at his most undead. Makepeace then makes the chronically cautious Keith a sympathetic fellow, even as he’s more and more affected by the night’s bizarre events. Meanwhile, Duncan is indeed the designated loser of the whole bunch, but Watanabe still manages to humanize him. As a bonus, the role didn’t require him to pull a Long Duk Dong.
As for Dedee Pfeiffer, she is plain adorable as the mysterious After Dark server nicknamed “Amaretto”. She spends all night fixing her dress strap while at the same time trying to get Keith to remember how he knows her. As their offbeat romance grows, it becomes another highlight of this movie. Whether or not Pfeiffer’s character is really a vampire also creates some welcome tension in the story.
Like a lot of its contemporaries, Vamp went on to become a bit of a cult classic. That current status is determined by several factors, but without a doubt, the casting of Grace Jones is the most considerable. The image of her writhing on that unique-looking chair, a Keith Haring original, springs to mind whenever this movie is brought up.
Chris Makepeace, Billy Drago and Paunita Nichols in Vamp
Prior to that first display of unequivocal horror, local vampire queen Katrina (Jones) took to the stage and delivered a strip show like no other. One would expect nothing less from that renowned model and performance artist. By now reports of Jones’ tardiness on set are no secret, yet it’s also hard to deny her commitment to the part of Katrina. It was, in fact, Jones who took charge of her character’s appearance—on top of Haring painting her body and that now-iconic chair, she had Andy Warhol handle her costuming. And not too many actors could seize a room’s attention without saying a single line of dialogue.
In 2022, Vamp received a retrospective novelization from Encyclopocalypse. This literary union of preexisting source material—Wenk’s original screenplay—and new ideas from author Christian Francis amounts to a more comprehensive visit to the After Dark Club. The basic story there is no different than what’s shown on screen; however, Francis gets creative with the characters’ origins and designs, and he enhances a number of key scenes.
The novelization expands on the urban and social decay of the main setting, and supplies a background for the After Dark Club. Sandy Baron’s character, Katrina’s emcee and familiar, is given ample motivation for sticking around; up until the fiery end, he is loyal to his friend and former business partner “Squeak”, who looks like he was “fed through a combine harvester, and left as nothing more than a heap of mangled remains”. Then there is Billy Drago’s character Snow, the leader of a street gang called The Dragons. His reason for menacing Keith and AJ is more altruistic than in the movie; he and his peers act tough to scare off any potential food for the vampires.
Lisa Lyon in Vamp
If not for all the backstories, Francis’ Vamp would be a hell of a lot shorter. Instead, this tie-in read dives into how AJ met Keith—the orphaned Anthony Joseph hailed from a broken home back in Brooklyn—and how their friendship flourished over the years. Keith’s archership is no longer just an assumed part of his entire being; it’s a confidence-building extracurricular for a boy who got picked on before coming into the protection of the new kid in town. These supplemental, in-depth looks at the protagonists, plus their close connection, are maybe unnecessary. The movie already did a fair and concise job of addressing their platonic intimacy without the need for flashbacks and insights, specifically in that scene where AJ lays it all out as he sacrifices himself.
Where the novelization gets off course is its approach to the minor characters. Intermittently backstorying the likes of Katrina’s indentured servants, Seko (Leila Hee Olsen) and Vlad (Brad Logan), ends up disturbing the flow of the writing. Was it absolutely essential that readers know Vlad was the Grand Duke of the House of Romanov, or how Snow’s accomplice Maven (Paunita Nichols) became so dentally challenged? No, not really. However, one’s mileage with these random biographies may vary.
The novelization is a more substantial experience, but for a movie like Vamp, less is more. And as plentiful as they are, it never simply coasts on its campy charms, either. The character work sits comfortably in that realm between cursory and meticulous, the script is sharper than first realized, and Greg Cannom’s vampire makeup is straightforward yet effective. Most of all, the movie didn’t squander its out-of-the-box concept. Richard Wenk made his vision of a “comic nightmare in which just about anything that can go wrong does” come true, and it is very enjoyable.
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