Figure of the King of the Monsters of Monsters

What are two of the things I liked the most growing up? Well, Godzilla and the NES are way up there. I was a big fan of the NES game, Godzilla: Monster of Monsters – one of my favourite games on the platform. So when I caught wind that NECA was producing a figure based on Godzilla’s sprite in this game – I was there friend, I was there. It’s like this figure was made for me.

 

Now let’s first clear the air and address the elephant kaiju in the room – a lot of people complain about Monster of Monsters – so I’m going to say my piece as simply about this: I consider this a solid game and a nostalgic game. I’m not going to linger on the video game itself in this article, I’ll write a separate piece for that.

That said, this figure is very much tailored towards folks who grew up not only with the Big G but more specifically Monster of Monsters. How does that figure hold up outside of being a nostalgia piece? Is it for Godzilla fans in general?

Packaging

Immediately apparent with this figure is that the packaging is absolutely incredible. Even if you aren’t a classic game enthusiast you have to give props to the box design here.

As seen above, the toy comes in a box baring the art of the classic Monster of Monsters NES game box. The game has always had a very appealing classic sci-fi monster movie poster look, and it works well here. And it marries the product to the source material. Also check out the NECA seal of Approval. Pretty slick ;).

The other sides of the box are a little plainer but gets the point across. The distressed cardboard look? That’s actually part of the box art rather than damage. So it’s meant to look aged or worn or used. Subtle but cool.

Inside is glossy so it’s a little hard to see, but this is the bes bit of the box design. Behind where Godzilla was nestled is a background from the game, and there’s an ingame hex map (The Moon) on the inside of the cover flap. If you want to keep your figure in the box, that’s a really cool display option.

All in all, this is some of the coolest packaging I’ve seen in ages.

Appearance

Taking a cue from the NES Godzilla, this sculpt and paint job will differ slightly from the normal Godzilla figure.

One of these things is not like the other! This is where we ask – is this figure for all G-fans? Of course it’s going to be wildly different, it wouldn’t be a very solid nostalgia piece otherwise. But does it look good? I’d say so, but let’s have a gander…

The sculpt is pretty solid. From the front he’s all hips and some of the “pixelation” painted on can look a little awkward in places. But his limbs and digits all look good, he’s got a winning smile, and the rolls and striations in his hide add a lot of detail.

 

It’s not the most detailed Godzilla, of course. There are more detailed and well proportioned sculpts available. But then you have to start looking at a higher tier of figure (in the foreground here and background of many other shots is an S.H.MonsterArts Godzilla).

 

From the side the figure looks a lot better. I’m wondering if this is because Godzilla’s sprite was almost always in profile in the game? Easier to translate to this angle, perhaps.

But the paint job looks a lot more natural than I thought it would and in specific his fins look terrific. This is a seriously rad figure!

My one quibble is that his eyes generally aren’t red in game, though I suppose this adds some contrast.

Godzilla stands tall though you may need some extra clearance for the tail!

Articulation

Of course, if you take your figure out of the box then poseability becomes the big question. NECA’s Classic Video Game Godzilla has a few degrees of articulation, though nothing spectacular. But let’s have a look…

Of course the jaw is hinged so he can spew his radioactive breath and stop Gezora in its tracks. As you can see most of the articulation is in the face, neck, and arms.

The feet and legs on the other hand look more poseable than they actually are. You can spin the feet and sort of move the legs but they will generally not be moved very much and I would actually recommend against trying to over extend them.

The box boasts that the tail is articulated – and it is, to an extent. The base of the tail up to about the halfway point is articulated to a small degree. He can wag his tail back and forth fairly handily.

However, the second half of the tail out to the tip is actually a solid piece. That is because it is a separate item that you have to attach to the first half of the tail. It’s separated like this so that Godzilla can fit in the display box without having to make room for a big tail.

This isn’t to say that this Godzilla is incapable of rocking a good pose – as above some cool shots can be made where the articulation actually pulls through. Just don’t go into it expecting something very poseable.

In The End

This figure really is mostly for fans of the NES game and that’s fine – I am super thrilled that they put this item out. Would the average Godzilla fan like it? I would say maybe seek out a MonsterArts Godzilla of some variety if you just want a cool Godzilla in general. But if you want to collect quirky memorabilia from all walks of the big guy’s life then by all means pick it up!

For fans of the game Monster of Monsters, well, this is super badass. A real treat I never expected to see ever. But I’m really stoked that it happened and super happy that I picked one up.

The figure looks good, maybe could be articulated a little more. However, this is a middle of the line figure (in the great spectrum of Godzilla figures) and will not cost you nearly the same as a MonsterArts (as of this writing). Most shops I’ve seen carry it price it relatively afforably so if you’re curious about it, it’s probably not the investment some other sculpts are (again, as of this writing). I’ve waited a while since this was released in July to cover it, so I hope it’s still available if you’re interested.

Major thanks to NECA for releasing this figure. I’d heard about some of the other classic game projects, I might be paying more attention now. All in all, really happy with this.