Tokyo Clash Review
Editorial note: I use the terms Kaiju and Daikaiju in equal amounts in this review.
Kaiju = Monster. Daikaiju = Giant Monster. Daikaiju is more accurate nomenclature, though simply using kaiju to describe giant monsters is growing to be part of common parlance in English. Consider them to have the same definition and interchangeable.
Introduction and Conclusion:
If you are a fan of corny yet somehow charming Daikaiju movies, despite their best efforts at cinematic self-sabotage, you may have often found yourself daydreaming of being in the middle of your own urban rampage. Idle fantasies of terrorizing various denizens on the island of Honshu while battling other titanic monstrosities which are just as ridiculous as you, then you likely live a life of disappointment in a long line of games that have promised you heady excitement, only for it to miserably fail to deliver after you have listened to its slowly expressed box fart.
You may have even likely grown to believe that since you are a daikaiju fan, that you don't deserve anything more than garbage shoveled on to you. Always waiting for this dysfunctional cycle to end in hopes of a healthy relationship to finally come your way after enduring such sublime pain, for so very long. You may even feel a special sense of personal value for being a self imposed martyr. It's an easy trap to fall into.
Joining support groups so that you may discuss what is wrong with a specific kaiju game. Yet never discussing what is right about a game, since you have never had any healthy examples of what that would or could be. So, you remain locked in a dysfunctional feedback loop, fated to remain in negativity.
You see all these other thematic settings getting adequate and engaging game designs attached to them. Medieval marine mercantilism, fashion designers, gem dealers, lemmings, comic book super heroes, fjords of Norway, birdwatching, etc... The list is as limitless as the human desire to convey imagination and creativity.
"But, what about me?!?" I hear you cry, dear kaiju enthusiast? When are you going to get your turn to be treated well? Where is your cure for attachment disorder?
Is Tokyo Clash the game you can bring home to meet your family? Secretly hoping that this will become something long term, and not embarrassing for you to admit that you enjoy?
The short answer is, 'yes'.
You may now strike a pose and do a victory dance. 504
Go ahead, dear kaiju fan. You deserve it.
This is the kaiju game that will make you a healthier kaiju fan, and help you realize that you too deserve to be treated well. That you deserve to be happy. That you are an integral part of the world, just like those Renaissance farmers and ancient Peruvian astronomers. You belong, and are wanted. *rubs patchouli on your third eye chakra*
Tokyo Clash gives daikaiju fans what they should expect. Urban brawling, throwing each other and various human constructed items at each other for dominance and coaxing egos that match our gargantuan heights. Where you are inexplicably drawn to the middle of human habitations, like moths drawn to a flame, demolishing these cities and leaving wastelands in your wake. The game's complexity has a low demand on your mental real estate, which would otherwise prevent you from dedicating some space for fun, like imitating battle growls of your favorite daikaiju, laughing hysterically at the ludicrous fun of being part of a small group of 600 ton bullies amongst a colony of ants. Tokyo Clash doesn't require being a kaiju fan to enjoy it. In fact, I am willing to place wagers that this game is good enough to be the catalyst to create daikaiju fans.
My final rating of Godzilla: Tokyo Clash is 8.5 out of 10.
I enjoy it immensely and look forward to taking it with me to board game meet ups in hopes of finding other people who will join me in unleashing some titanic temper tantrums in Tokyo, and will never turn down a game. I am even supplementing the game on my own by adding 3-dimensional replacements for various bits to enhance the suspension of disbelief, investing even more money/time/and thought into this game whose design has exceeded my expectations.
The following is the why and how I have come to those conclusions:
Physical representation of the setting:
Starting with the box cover, we are thrown into fan service for the genre as seen from a westerner’s perspective after it has been smuggled into the west for our consumption. Everything is in English, and this is an entirely English language product. 504