Image: Pipeworks Studios & Atari

Sometimes a genre hits its peak early. Despite being over 24 years old, I still can't think of a kaiju fighting game I'd rather play than Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee on the GameCube. And while emulating the original is still an option, those wanting their giant wobbly rubber suit monsters to look a little bit more modern have a great option today. Despite Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered's title, it's closer to a full remake and a loving tribute to a venerable monster masher.

GOD: DAMM (to use its best possible abbreviation) being good is hardly a surprise, considering the demo was a big hit during the recent Steam Next Fest. What you're getting here is basically a wrestling game in rubber suits, and entire cities as the ring. Buildings can be crushed or torn up to be used as weapons and projectiles, and bigger attacks can wipe out significant chunks of real estate. While responsive, the characters move with exaggerated weight and heft befitting their giant monster status, which makes it all the cooler when you grapple your opponent and piledrive straight through a skyscraper.

It's not the deepest or most complicated of fighting games, and the 12-monster roster (including several Godzilla variants) isn't exactly massive. It probably won't hold up as a serious high-end competitive fighter, but whether you're playing solo or with friends, there's a lot to love here. Other kaiju games have felt either clumsily sluggish or like basic fighting games with a superficial monster skin. This one gets it, which is why there are still fans excited for its return almost a quarter-century later.

While the remake is largely faithful to the original, a few things have been tweaked. A bunch of the characters have been renamed to keep in line with current terminology. Mechagodzilla is now the more kitschy '70s version instead of the '90s redesign (as it should be), and Hedorah–a non-playable stage hazard kaiju that could completely upend a match–has just been removed from the game entirely. A shame to see such a venerable monster go, but I do recall it causing some trouble in matches.

There's been more improvement in general. Subtle balance tweaks, full online multiplayer (with matchmaking), easier character unlocks through a new currency system, and modern haptics/rumble features. It's still the same game at heart, but with a lot of things tuned and updated. The biggest change is the graphics, and why I'd argue this is a remake over a remaster. Very little of the old chunky GameCube visuals remain, with everything given a slightly more cinematic modern lick of paint, and detailed up-close character models.

Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered is out now for £26.75/$30, or a little extra for a Deluxe Edition, which adds two alternate character skins, one extra map (a monster-sized wrestling ring), and a black-and-white movie filter. Possibly not worth the extra cost, then.