Video Game / Battle Monsters

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A 1995 Sega Saturn exclusive somewhat-platform based Fighting Game developed by Scarab (their second attempt at the genre after Survival Arts), released in Japan by Naxat Soft and in the U.S. by Acclaim.

It falls into the category of the considerably large line-up of fighters that are considered Mortal Kombat 'rip-offs'; however, this game only seems to take inspiration from Mortal Kombat's aesthetic (dark tones, digitized sprites and a minor amount of blood), but little-to-nothing Gameplay-wise. Ironically enough, this game actually plays more like Street Fighter than Mortal Kombat games; it doesn't even have Fatalities.

The selection of characters is very odd, ranging from a headless knight to a ghost to a two-midgets-duo. The game was called Battle Monsters, so that was to be expected.

Received a spiritual sequel in 1996's Killing Zone for PlayStation.

This game provides examples of:

• Artificial Human: La Pa, a human-sized doll with a ballet-based fighting style.
• Bald Mystic: Kap Ka, a magician who has no need for hat nor hair.
• Badass Normal: Within a cast that involves a ghost, a cyclops-like beasts, a pair of twins, a human-sized ballerina doll, a skeleton warrior with Wild Hair, a Headless Horseman, a gorgon, a Frankenstein's Monster, a Bird-man and a wizard, Shion is a regular human who gets a lot of mileage out of his swordsman skills, being the one character without any projectile attacks.
• Be All My Sins Remembered: Albiole, with his ending quote:
  Cursed specter though I be, I shiver in the joy of victory.
• Beast Man: Skythe is a half-man, half-bird fellow.
• Captain Ersatz: Makaryudo. Frequently indicated as a Shao Kahn knock-off due to the helmet.
• Cephalothorax: Drethdok is a borderline case, with his one-eyed face making up at least half of the spiky body.
• Crystal Ball: Kap Ka fights with these.
• Dem Bones: Fangore, the Mohawk-donning skeleton swordsman.
• Detachment Combat: Fangore's crouching forward "punch" and kick normals involve him shooting his head and leg out respectively before coming back to him.
• Dub Name Change: Half of the roster had their names changed in the non-Japanese exports of the game.
  • Drethdok = Strawbelly Jam
  • Fangore = Ki-Ba
  • Headless Harn = Heart Heat Harn
  • Kap Ka = Kaf Ka
  • La Pa = La Fa
  • Skythe = Kuja
• Elemental Powers: The Big 4 are essentially personifications of water, fire, wind and earth.
• Eyepatch of Power: As evidenced by his Bio portrait, Shion dons one.
• Extreme Omnivore: Drethdok's throw involves him getting quite a few chunky bites out of his opponent, regardless of whenever the victim would be a human, a skeleton or even a barely corporeal entity.
• Fastball Special: Chilli & Pepper have a special move that involves one of the twins tossing another at the opponent.
• Feather Boa Constrictor: Naga holds a snake like this, and in fact uses one as a weapon.
• Frankenstein's Monster: Deathmask is based on this mold, with a little bit of Michael Myers thrown in.
• Gorgeous Gorgon: Naga is not too bad looking for a Snaky-haired lady.
• Hammered into the Ground: Deathmask has a special move that allows him to do this to his opponents, which he'd then pull out and launch them up.
• Healing Factor: Drethdok is cappable of regenerating his health when both the punch and kick buttons are held.
• Inevitable Tournament: The backstory of the game itself is that every character in the roster is fighting for a place in the 'Dark Kingdom'.
• Kiai: During some of Shion's attacks, he belts out something akin to 'NANANANANANA...NAWWWWW!'
• Losing Your Head: Headless Harn is a curious take on a Headless Horseman, literally using his own detached head as a weapon that he holds by a ponytail. He re-attaches his own head for his ending cinematic.
• Magic Carpet: Kap Ka has a special move that involves him floating on a magic carpet, from which he'd be able to deliver a descending drop kick.
• Me's a Crowd: Kap Ka's super move involves him summoning a crowd of miniature Magic Carpet riding clones of himself.
• Palette Swap: A bit downplayed by The Big 4, which are all portrayed by the same actor in the same costume with different fighting stances and special effects aproporiate for their element in addition to differentiate between them.
• Primal Chest-Pound: Drethdok's taunt animation involves this.
• Our Ghosts Are Different: Albiole, a wraith capable of casting lightning in his attacks.
• Recycled Soundtrack: The game's main theme tune is actually derived from the music of the final stage of the Japanese version of BIOMETAL. Both of the games were scored by Yoshio Nagashima.
• Ring Out: Headless Harn's stage - the Hungry Cave - consists of a platform surrounded by pits that house the Venus Flytrap-like things that devour any unfortunate fighter that would fall in. This provides the game's only Stage Fatality.
• Screaming Warrior: Makaryudo emits a Tarzan-like scream in his victory pose.
• Single-Minded Twins: Chilli & Pepper are a pair of Caveman twins that together form a "single" "character".
• Sinister Scimitar: Fangore's weapon of choice. Also welded by the more heroic Shion.
• Shapeshifter: Harn inexplicably turns into Drethdok in one of his special moves. Naga can also shapeshift into a hydra-like double snake in her super move.
• Shield Bash: Fangore can do this as one of his basic moves.
• Slide Attack: Chilli & Pepper has a variation that has one of the twins do a sliding kick while another does a jumping kick at the same time.
• Snake People: Naga is a downplayed example as her humanoid form doesn't have a snake lower half (except for her running animation).... but then she has a super move that has her shapeshift into a literal two-headed/tailed snake.
• Teens Are Monsters: La Fa, as she is apparently 17 and in her ending, takes immense joy in hearing the 'cries of the vanquished'.
• Use Your Head: Fangore can use his head as a buzzsaw as a normal move, and can turn it into a spinning flame as a special move. And that's to say nothing of Harn literally using his own head as a weapon.
• Visible Invisibility: Being an Air-based elemental of the Big 4, Jinnee is often only visible with his outlines.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: From waist up, Makaryudo only wears shoulder pads and a helmet as befitting for a Barbarian Hero archetype. Harn only covers his neck with a big golden collar. And as a bird-man, Skythe doesn't exactly concern himself with modesty.
• Wolverine Claws: Makaryudo's weapon of choice, mixed with a buckle that also holds a Bow underneath.