Monster Maulers

[Discoalucard]

www.hardcoregaming101.net/monstermaulers/monstermaulers.htm

Interesting Konami beat-em-up that features several references to Gradius monsters, amongst others. The only reason it wasn't featured in the other beat-em-up articles (the one with TMNT, Simpsons, etc.) is that this one is more like a versus fighter. Interesting idea.

[Gendo Ikari]

Does someone read into my mind here? I replayed this game recently and I was going to open a discussion in the main section, and here's an article! Going to read immediately...

Ok, read. Lately I was searching for more info about the game, so mine is incomplete, but the article could use some additions. For example, there's no comparison between the japanese and western versions of the game.

- In the Japanese version, the title cards have also a narrator voice.
- In the Japanese version, not even Eagle's nationality is known.
- Brain Golem is called "Brainy" in the western version.
- There's no mention of the minor monsters you have to fight before Moai (a carnivorous plant called Hydrante in the Japanese version, maybe some mishmash between "Hydra" and "Biollante") and Brain Golem. They are skipped if you choose one of them as the first enemy.
- Two music tracks are switched between versions. In the Japanese, the theme song plays while fighting the first chosen enemy, in place of its theme music. In the western version, the theme plays during the first scrolling section on the Happy Droppers ship.
- The robots on the ship remind me a lot of Casshern, also in one of their destruction animations, with their torso ripped in two vertically. This would be another homage to the still-popular Tatsunoko series of the 1970s.
- Apparently, you need to cause evident damage (Centaur's mask, Moai's face, Slime's nucleus...) to at least a few of the monsters to get a better ending. If not, even after defeating Happy, you'll be treated with a final credits sequence where the trio gets their asses kicked by the monsters, and an ending screen with the Happy Droppers. Interestingly, this means that, by setting the game to the lowest difficulties, the monsters are dispatched so rapidly you don't even have the time or opportunity to cause such damages.
- I have scant information in this right now, but apparently there was a Dadandarn audio CD with some drama tracks and some music tracks sung by, along Shimon, Hironobu Kageyama! Also, a remixed title theme was part of a more recent audio CD of Konami's themes, a sign at least that they haven't completely forgotten about the game, despite its obscurity.

[ReyVGM]

How exactly do you cause evident damage? I saw a youtube video where the guy got the best ending, but I didn't see him destroying the slime's nucleus among other stuff.

Apparently there are 3 kind of ending variations:

-Your characters poses while the enemy ship is going down in flames (apparently you have to beat the game without continuing. But I haven't confirmed it yet.)

-The credits

-The Konami screen. It either shows the good guys or the bad guys. Don't know what triggers it yet.

[Gendo Ikari]

I played the game several times (also setting the P1 and P2 controls on Mame to be the same, fun!) and watched most of the few videos available on Youtube, and still cannot figure how the best ending is achieved. I even heard of people who played with no continues but still got the bad ending! You know you reached the good one if the heroes, instead of making their victory poses while the Happy Droppers ship explodes, face towards it and Anne makes a "bang!" gesture.

It's also unclear how to exactly damage the monsters. More than once I was able to stun Slime/Fungus and he exposed the nucleus, but after I hit it, it was still in one piece. This happens in movies too. Moai is quite easy, I even managed to completely smash his face; even easier is making Centaur's mask fall off. The Dragon's horns, that's trickier, I managed rarely and, from a movie where it happens, maybe a hit from the back (which is possibile when the big monsters are stunned or recovering from their attack moves); same may be for Brain Golem, from the only movie where I saw him lose the eye - and even then, it was a few seconds before he was killed! However, that empty eye socket... Do not want. The movies also show a very cool move of Anne, she grabs the enemy and jumps very high, outside the screen, and she smashes.

Finally, I correct a previous statement: you can skip the mini-bosses if you choose Moai or Brain Golem as first enemies only in the Japanese version.

[ReyVGM]

Weird thing happened to me.

I was playing the game ready to get the bad credits by not doing any visible damage to the enemies. Then, at the last boss, I lose all my lives to also get the bad ending.

And guess what?

I got the good end and credits by not doing any visible damage and by using a continue.