Obsidius (kaiju)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Toho character
Obsidius' character model
Obsidius
Species Igneous Rock Elemental
Alias Magmouth (place holder name)
Pyrodorah (voting name)
Kazango (voting name)
Dotoryo (voting name)
Volcanis (voting name)
Height 150 meters
Weight 90,000 tons
Allies Krystalak
Mutants
Major Enemies Godzilla
Earth Defenders
Global Defense Force
Mutants (at times)
Aliens
Origin Seattle Washington
Relationships SpaceGodzilla (possible creator)
First appearance Godzilla: Unleashed

Obsidius is a fictional kaiju from the video game Godzilla: Unleashed. Obsidius became the creature's official name as of July 2007. The creature is the first official video game Godzilla kaiju in the United States since Bagan from Super Godzilla for the SNES, since several other kaiju were created exclusively for the Japan-only PlayStation game Godzilla Trading Battle in 1998.

Contents

[edit] Info

Obsidius was selected from a roster of 4 original kaiju created by Pipeworks. Under the working names Magmouth, Firelion, The Visitor, and Lightning Bug, IGN ran a poll for viewers to vote on which kaiju would be developed as a fighter for Godzilla: Unleashed. After attracting 6,000 voters (according to IGN), Magmouth was the winner. Later, second poll selected "Obsidius" as the chosen monster's new name while beating out alternatives "Dotoryo," "Kazango," "Pyrodorah," and "Volcanis." He is part of the Mutant Faction.

[edit] Biography

Although most of the crystals deposited on Earth by the meteor showers embedded themselves in the surface, some of them managed to punch through the earth's crust and enter the lithosphere. There, brought together by the magma flows from within the earth, a sentient creature was brought to life by the accumulated power of the crystals and the raw, ferrous materials of the earth. Obsidius emerged from a volcano onto the surface world only recently, and thus far has resisted all attempts at communication. His virtually impenetrable mineral exterior shields him against both physical and energy assaults. He advances single-mindedly toward the most unstable crystal formations on the surface, and as such should be considered extremely dangerous.

Obsidius' personality and attacks are similar to that of a gorilla.

[edit] Powers and Abilities

Obsidius is able shoot a stream of fire/magma from his mouth similar to Godzilla's atomic ray. He is also able to absorb energy from his enemies in the PS2 version, but this is probably carried over from Orga which he is based on. In the Wii version he can curl up into a ball and roll forwards with tremendous speed and force. In Critical Mass, Obsidius does not become covered in glowing red lines. Instead, the orange magma flowing through his body becomes red. He can be bought for 20,000 store points.

While Krystalak's roar is unique, Obsidius' roar is composed of generic monster roar sound clips.

Although Obsidius has no eyes, he can 'see' perfectly.

[edit] Sightings

Obsidius was not seen on any official gameplay until September 12th 2007. He was briefly seen on the extended trailer for the game being attacked by King Ghidorah. Obsidius's official biography and character model was revealed on September 21st 2007 in an animatic along with Megaguirus and Mecha-King Ghidorah on IGN. There is also a video of Obsidius fighting Kiryu at Gameradar that was revealed on October 9th 2007.

[edit] Criticism

Many fans were initially upset with Pipeworks for pushing to include the original kaiju. Fans argued that the selection from the IGN poll were "unimaginative" and felt that their inclusion would require time and energy by the game developers that should otherwise be spent on existing Toho kaiju. Other fans argue that an original monster will not hurt the series seeing as Gigan, Megalon, Hedorah and many other kaiju were all original at some point in their filmography, and that the Godzilla series could benefit from new monsters. Nevertheless, Producer Shelby Willis and other Atari/Pipeworks representatives were quick to reassure fans that plenty of Toho monsters would make the cut into the final game and that the original kaiju were not "pushing out" the classics. As of May 23rd, Atari and Pipeworks re-launched the official Godzilla website with the announcement that at least 23 monsters would be playable in the final game (26 have been officially unveiled). The Gamespot Monster Battles had Obsidius got the least amount of votes in the first round (9380 votes).

[edit] Appearances

Obsidius has appeared in Godzilla: Unleashed for the PlayStation 2, as well as the Wii version, as a monster on the Mutants faction. He is the focus of four of the game's missions, appearing in Osaka, Seattle, Monster Island and Sydney in different missions. His character model, actions, behaviors and powers in the PS2 version are based on Orga, but his model has been changed greatly.

[edit] Links