War Gods - The Worst Fighting Game 

To this day, I mentally perform Warhead's victory pose (the spinning one) and "YEEEAAAAH!" cry during any moment of triumph. There is truly no better declaration of sweet, sweet victory.

I will never get tired of the aesthetic from late 90s/early 2000s Midway games. They're perfect.

I always thought that a modern version of this game would be awesome, maybe they could use it as their 3D fighter.

Honestly it feels just as much of a victory when a game gets into the ‘That’ll be just fine’ tier. Also that ‘Max as Lenny’ bit is top tier.

Appreciate the little background info about the development history, really puts it in perspective what the team was aiming for and what resources were available. My only real experience with the game during it's "hey day" was a single match at the local laser tag arena when the more popular games were being crowded. The mid to late 90s fighting game scene was something to behold, with seemingly a new title dropping every other week with only a handful having any sort of staying power but the sheer spectacle was somewhat magical when leaning hard on nostalgia.

War Gods feels like one of those games where its main flaw wasn't doing anything that looked wrong at the time, but just betting on the wrong horse in terms of approach. You saw a lot of that in early 3D games; it's not that War Gods' approach to making its characters was wrong on its face, or even looks that bad in practice. It just happened to not be the approach that'd end up working in 3D fighting games.

The moment you started talking about the development of this game, and showing a developer who clearly was trying but accepting he and his team just didn't do it right, I knew there was no chance of this game coming even close to the likes of Expect No Mercy. This might not be a _good_ game, but the effort that went into it _does_ show. So already it is on a whole other league than ENM.

This really made me think about Raiden's ending in MK 1, where he wins easily since he is a god, and then he invites all other gods to make their own competition. This would be a pretty fun premisse to a War Gods Remake, and if it ever happens, you heard here first.

Funny story about this one: my uncle bought it for me (N64 version) out of the back of some dudes creepy white van. As a kid I didn’t know what a Kabuki was, so I thought Jo was some kind of clown god and he terrified me.

Truly, I thought this was done now that Criticom was dethroned, this is ONE story I am VERY happy didn't end.

There's something satisfying about how, despite all of the flaws that War Gods has, Matt still considers it to be something of a guilty pleasure and something that he'll surely hold near and dear to his heart until the end of time! 😊

I actually unironically love this game. Loved the announcer, color scheme, characters, and cabinet. Played the hell out of this. Still play it like once a month.

A War Gods character could make their way into a future MK game. I feel.

I have fond memories of War Gods, Tak and Maximus were my guys. I still quote Maximus' "I kill you and I take your power" from time to time.

I adored this game growing up. My dad, sister, and I spent so much time playing it together and while it's not the best, it's one of my favorites! I remember drawing a picture of Voodoo doing his fatality and my dad was like "That's fantastic but DO NOT draw like this at school" haha

I had this game for N64. I liked it a lot back in the day but have never gone back to it. This video is enlightening in ways I was not expecting.

I played this for a summer as a kid. If you played MK3 you could play this. Same strategy and all. Run in combo. Run throw. Same basics. I actually used to think this was like MK4 dry run by midway. Didn’t know it was a separate team. Plays so similar.

finally one of these that i actually played i remember being under 10 and being bored out of my mind came into my hands via a borrowed copy from a neighbor and after a short play session it sat on my shelf for a week untill i returned it

Before watching this video, I had a feeling that it would end up in the "Just Fine" tier. I actually remember renting this as a kid, and having a decent amount of fun with it. It's no masterpiece, but it's perfectly playable and hits plenty of the notes one would want an MK-adjacent fighting game to hit.

I've been WAITING for this episode. I played the hell out of this game when I was in high school.

There was a War Gods arcade cabinet at the local roller rink when I was 6 or 7 and I was scared shitless of it. Something in the demo video loop really rubbed me the wrong way, but I don't remember what it was.

I love the sheer hubris of them deciding to put a big glowing "3D" button on the cabinet

Many years ago I was at Disney quest and they had this one fighter that I never got the title of. I thought it was okay until 2 things happened: 1) I was mostly mashing buttons to get a feel and apparently when you missed attacks you lost health. 2) After about 3 wins the AI got a bee in its bonnet and suddenly decided to brutalize you. I fought the same guy 3 more times and he did these monstrously impossible combos that I couldn't get out of. He also managed to hit me once at the match start and killed me instantly. When I saw the symbol on screen I knew immediately it was the characters for death touch. The game had a death touch move? Never saw it again. Also the characters had weird alternate outfits where they dressed as animals. That part was funny.

As a kid I always loved all these MK rip-off games, and sometimes I wish I could go back in time and be a part of the board meetings for some of these game developers. I just want to see what could’ve been if they had some input from an FGC member of today’s world. I feel like War Gods and Bloodstorm could’ve been awesome under the right ideas and opinions.

Yeah, much like how I instantly pegged Expect No Mercy to "win", I seen this War Gods was too competently made to get very high on the list. Just seeing in the interviews, this was a team that really gave a damn about trying to put out a good product. It wasn't a quick cash grab, its not some guys thinking 'oh making a fighting game is easy'.

I just finished watching the Criticom Saga compilation, wondering when and what the next game was going to be. Fuck yeah, love me some stiff, janky early 3D fighters

Midway really hit us with a Spicy Button

I think if you made an MK spinoff of sorts, using every single guest character from the recent MK games, like Rambo, Robocop, and Spawn, the title of War Gods would fit it like a glove. Maybe make someone like Pinhead the final boss. This game was an interesting concept for the time, but the execution falls apart. Still, it's a guilty pleasure for me too.

I can't hate any game where one of the fatalities is turning your opponent into a chicken and just... letting them live as a chicken. She doesn't even roast it. And then you can unlock the chicken as a hidden playable character. And then there's the Hanna Barbera sound effects library... yeah, I love this fever dream of a game.

To everyone's surprise, instead of announcing MK12 or Injustice 3, we get War Gods II: Olympic Boogaloo

I think this game would've been cooler if they used actual Gods instead of characters based on a mythology. Basically think if Smite and Mortal Kombat had a love child. I would play that game. Who even owns War Gods? Is it WB? Wouldn't mind seeing a reboot like that. Imagine having Odin or Freya in place of Vallah, Baron Samedi over Voodoo, Izanagi or Hachiman over Kabuki Jo. Would be pretty cool. Though I guess I don't mind the original characters too much the more I think of it but still would be cool to have a mythology fighting game that's you know, good? lol And if they wanted more human characters they could've also used real life warriors like Ragnar Lothbrok, Guan Yu, Leonidas, etc.

"Body Blows" from Team17 was always a weird one for me when I was very little. There are sequels, so it might not have been as weird as I remember. It was the only thing me and my brother could play on our first PC in VS mode, on a single keyboard.

I ADORE the animation for getting burned by the Kabuki guy’s ground fire attack. It’s so funny imagining all these stony-faced warriors going “Ooh! Yeowwch!!” and flailing about in mild pain

I remember seeing this one in the arcade. The cabinet seemed big and the screen was really bright but nothing about the characters or style made me ever want to play it. Even back then it had a weird look to it that I couldn’t put my finger on. You did a nice job explaining the design and motion capture method. I always walked past this on my way to Metal Slug 😁

I know it's not exactly a new thing, but Matt's fighting game skeleton avatar (is that the right word? Avatar?) is so damn cool. Tell me you wouldn't buy an action figure of that. Glad there are more expressions and stuff since it first started popping up in videos. 💪 💀

Man, I was just listening to the compilation yesterday thinking I'd like to see this game on the show, and here we are. Nostalgic memories of throwing rocks at people came flooding back watching this.

Oh I remember this. I like the style, but after stage 2, the AI will block every attack and counter whenever there's a chance, regardless the difficulty settings

I was only made familiar to War Gods thanks to N64 emulation and I gotta say, that legend about War Gods being a beta effort for MK4 felt rather justified. I even remember mentioning to friends back in the day that I didn't get why Boon was so bold on denying the links because it's not like they were exactly too far off from each other. That said, Kerri Hoskins is always a great sight and I'll never reject that.

From the moment you started showing the gameplay, I said, "You know... This isn't that bad. It is not GOOD, but War Gods looks better than most of the other fighting games shown in this webseries." So I pretty much guessed it would end up in "That'll be just fine" on the list.

I remember when my aunt bought a N64 in the late 90s this game came with the console as a promotion at the video game store she got it at. Used to play it non stop when she babysat me.

I remember seeing this game in the big high class arcade near my cousin's home and especially remembered that 'make your opponent T pose' attack. Didn't even realize it had a bad reputation.

I wish we can get a Modern version of this, it seems like a cool idea to have Gods Of Different Religions fight each other.

Generic-ness aside, those character models are actually really good looking by the standards of their time. If this game ever took off, I probably would have mained Voodoo just because of how cool he genuinely looks.

I remember playing War Gods once or twice in the arcade back then. I thought it was ok. The game probably would have been better received and remembered more fondly if it had been released a year earlier. Much like the devs said it was outclassed by other similar games in the genre at release.

I'd honestly really wanna see Flying dragon shown on the channel, period- I used to play it at a friend's and I think it was my first fighting game experience period. But I can't really find any sort of content about it here on youtube.

If there was a fighting game I could nominate, it's definitely not the worst fighting game, at least in comparison to Criticom or Expect No Mercy, but I have nothing but bad memories regarding Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament; a PS2 game published by Atari. I remember there were a lot of balance issues, the controls feeling very clunky, and for some reason or another; there was a token based mini game. It had mixed reviews when it came out, so it's really up in the air how everyone else may feel about it.

Given the devs seems like good people and knowing how it was made, I can’t help but have some affection for this game now. Edit: character models kind of remind me of Quake.

gotta love to see maximus special attack, the tiny net, is a death sentence, is a net and its tiny

Awesome video Matt! I am looking forward to eventual video on DINO REX

I like the premise. As a history enthusiast I thought the idea of mythological fighting game was awesome.

I got war gods for N64 at some trade in shop that also sold old coins and antiques and stuff. Didn't have a box, just the cart so it was vastly important in those days to have a freakin sick cover sticker.

I agree with the placement. It's sort of what I'd call the gaming equivalent to where if you put Corn Pops on the grocery list, and your mom got Kix instead. It's not what you asked for, and it'd never be your first choice, but it'll do.

I can never hate this game. It was a staple of damn near every sleepover when I was younger.

You could say this collection of War Gods weren't Gods at all. But merely pretenders!

The team behind War Gods put way more effort and content into the game than MK team put into MK4. This game at least has some originality in it. With MK4 it clearly shows they were tired with the franchise and having it transformed into 3D was a task they didn't feel like being bothered with at the time.

Is that Killer Instinct Gold player selection screen music I hear at 5:49 ?! lol Also my fondest memory of playing war gods was not knowing how to perform fatalities so me and my cousin would always just opt for the uppercut at the end of each fight cause they'd send the person flying up like 100 feet before dropping back to ground lol

You've showed Tattoo Assassins in the intro since the first episode, when are we going to get to it? Also, Clay Fighter 63 1/3 should definitely be showcased at some point.

I'm just here for the smash cuts to the KI character select theme. What a banger!

Hey Matt! Thanks for reviewing this one. I played it on N64 long time ago and didn't hate it. BUT you made me remember another one from the same era, also from Midway. *1998's Bio F.R.E.A.K.S.* That's my suggestion. I remember liking it because of the air combat mechanics, but I can't say its not garbage, so check it out if you like!

Man, I know it isn't a good game but this was the last arcade cabinet I ever played at my local movie theater. Super nostalgic over it! lol

Hi Matt, I was wondering if you've ever heard of Brudal Baddle? An MS-DOS game from 1994. I remember playing a demo back in those days, never the full game, but I do remember the game was pretty terrible, though I remember it mostly for the music. Could be right up your alley. :)

This video had me confused the whole way through because my brain kept thinking that this was a different PC game I used to love, but also that it couldn't be because I remembered it being 2D instead of 3D. Anyway, it was Savage Warriors, which you should consider covering if you haven't already.

We had this when I was a kid, a random buy from Toys R Us, when I was far too young to play something this violent. I remember reading Voodoo's backstory in the instruction booklet, about how he had been murdered by his fellow villagers for practicing black magic, or something of that nature, and was both terrified and intrigued. Funnily enough, I never did actually get to play the game itself. I think my Mom discovered it was actually rated M and made me get rid of it, because when I was 10 or 11, anything even rated T was a no-no.

War Gods is one of those games that I thought was bad but turned out it's perfectly in the middle. If I were to do a fighting game tier list of all fighters, it would be the perfect Mid game to measure from. Also Kabuki Joe needs to come back dammit!

That was a hilarious tidbit about the arcade version's 3D button. No one played it, so I never knew it did have that issue of getting hot!

So... my dad didn't know what to get me for a game when he bought me an N64. Couldn't even find a copy of Mario64 that close to Christmas. I did my best to pretend to enjoy it that Christmas day, but was secretly thinking that it was one of the worst games I'd ever played and after that weekend I spent with him I don't think I ever turned the cart back on.

I never played any of them much, but I always considered War Gods, Mace, and Bio Freaks as like Midway's non-MK trilogy.

stumbled on an old AVGN and there was Tattoo Assassins, and Shadow: War of Succession. Should potentially make them candidates for future episodes

what a champ this George Petro, admitting the problems and articulating them well, too bad it didn't work out and the same problems still exist today

Did you ever get your copy of your game back from the AVGN? I can still hear him screaming FUUUUUUUUUU- lol XD also subscribed

that thing about having 3 options for a fatality, combo, or dramatic finish was pretty cool. Im not sure anything like that has existed in other games.

COME BACK VICTORY!!! I'm with you, this game is a guilty pleasure of mine. My favorite arcade was dead by the time this game came out to arcades so I had no idea it existed until I rented it on the N64. You are absolutely right about this game being unabashedly 90s, there is just something so comfy about the graphics/sound/announcer. I wonder if the MAME ROM is any good, might have to spend an afternoon with it!

As a kid, I remember seeing this at the store all the time, but I just KNEW it didnt interest me. Honestly, this video is probably the most footage Ive seen of it in one sitting in my entire life. Something about it just didn't call to me, despite the graphics being of that time, and me thinking that this was as good as aesthetics in gaming was ever going to get. But I will say, this IS a fascinating story and video. Although I wasn't a fan, its nice to know how things kinda work behind the curtain.

I'm going to binge watch the crap out of these when Spring Semester is over

When i was a kid, i saw this game debut in a hosted TV show about Video game news (in the 90's) and was really hyped about it. I saw a match between Pagan vs Anubis. In that moment in time i was learning about Egypt in class and had some Knowledge about deities. I was so excited to play as Anubis. Never was able to play. Sadly enough, in my area, i only found the N64 version and i had a PS :/ Edit: Also, i'm patiently waiting for the day you'll review Bikini Karate Babes. I love that piece of a shit of a game. It's so bad... but so good at the same time.

It is wild how fast things were changing in those days. Cruisin USA came out in 1994 on the same hardware. If this game had come out just two years earlier as a launch game for that hardware, it would be remembered as wildly ahead of it's time. Today? I can't tell teh difference from stuff that came out in 2020 vs 2022 or whatever. The industry is just much more stable.

Still waiting for a Savage Warriors clip… I remember getting this and being totally excited just to be horribly let down as a kid

I used to play this every day with my friend back in the day. He always picked anubis and I picked the big rock guy. I always lost....

There was a 3d Jurassic Park fighting game back on the ps1 and some other consoles, you should do a video on that!

There was that one Mortal Kombat knockoff with the hot nurse who does the splits on your head for her grab move.

i always get such a nostalgia vibe when i see old videos with blue screen back before digital radically changed the entire industry, to green.

Ed is gonna reveal War Gods remake for NRS' next game, calling it now

That was a good review and it is true that this game was overshadowed by better games like Tekken 2 and Mace and I really don't remember it being in many arcades in the first place. I have a suggestion for a game, Zero Divide. I don't see many people talk about it. It's kind of an interesting game I do remember it being kinda stiff and the special moves being weird to pull off.

Kabuki Jo was always my favorite as a kid because of how the announcer said his name 😂

Guy: Fall like this, Sindel. Sindel: *falls like this* Crew: *golf clab*

The camera angle changes on the fatalities are unique and I wish they did more with them that included environmental hazards. The kick reminds me of Dragon Ball and the uppercut, MK2 classic stage fatalities. I don't know if this has been done before, but wouldn't it be cool if this game had God of War style quick time events for its fatalities? I know people generally hate QTEs, but these wouldn't be required for progression, just for flashy finishes awarding players skilled enough to pull them off with a satisfying "real-feel" and a complete evisceration of their opponents.

I remember heading to my local small independant games store and thinking I was super cool buying this for £70 Oh how wrong was I 😮😅

This Bizarre game left such an impression on younger me that I had to make Matt a fan art picture for a nonexistent sequel. I sent it to him on Twitter but I think I can find it again if asked.

Great video bro. Liked and subbed

My oldest sister learned how to do the unblockable jump attack by Anubis and used it to crush me many times

Any chance you'd ever do Slaughter Sport or Fighting Masters for the Sega Genesis? Or are those too old and creaky?

I genuinely cannot wait for you to talk about Fight of Gods. That game is a trip.

The "Fairly Stinky" Tier was making me giggle just a bit too damn much!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I felt so childish but it was named so so right!!!... I'm glad we share the same immature mind when it comes to this stuff... (It's why I love your channel)

I never got to play this since I was stationed in Japan at the time of release and VERY FEW American games get a release in Japanese arcades. Add to the fact that I only owned a Saturn at the time, I didn't get to play any of the home versions either! Looking at screens in magazines, I always thought "eh, MK wannabe in 3D." So I knew I'd be pretty indifferent about it. At least it made the "just fine" tier.

I remember playing this with my brother, and we enjoyed it fine. Diverse characters and good special moves, that weren’t too hard to pull off.

War Gods is the fighting game equivalent of a boulder: it's boring when it stands still, but if you push it down a hill you might have some fun.👍👍👍

How cool would it be if there was a fighter with Egyptian Gods that have the ability to turn from their human to animal forms mid battle?

I remember this game looking and playing much better when I had it in the 90s. We really did put up with a lot to make our expensive purchases feel worth it.

Took about 12 minutes into this video to realise I hadn't actually played War Gods, and that I was thinking of Midway's other gem Bio F.R.E.A.K.S.

Going to continue to nominate Funky Punch for the PSP Mini service, but also would like to throw in DnD Iron & Blood from this same era