Battle Monsters

A Sega Saturn only somewhat-platform based fighter released by an obscure company known as Naxat Soft.

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 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 Fighting Monsters, so that was to expect.

This game provides examples of:
 * Annoying Laugh - Naga, who does this numerous times when attacking and upon victory.
 * Badass Grandpa - Kaf Ka, who is only 48, but his ending (not to mention posture) seems to depict him as 'ancient'.
 * Badass Long Hair - Albiole.
 * Badass Normal - Shion.
 * Barbarian Hero - Makaryudo.
 * Be All My Sins Remembered - Albiole, with his ending quote, "Cursed specter though I be, I shiver in the joy of victory."
 * Captain Ersatz - Makaryudo. Frequently indicated as a Shao Kahn knock-off due to the helmet.
 * Crowning Music of Awesome - Usually noted as one of the best aspects of the game.
 * Dumb Muscle - Fangore. "Me win, me surpreme!"
 * Elemental Powers - The Big 4 are essentially personifications of water, fire, wind and earth.
 * Establishing Character Moment - Anyone's endings. The characters are not given dialogue or, hell, even backstories otherwise.
 * Everything's Deader With Zombies - Fangore, Albiole to an extent.
 * Evil Laugh - Naga.
 * Follow the Leader - Battle Monsters is regularly accused of falling into this trope.
 * Finishing Move - The Hungry Cave, the only finishing move in the game.
 * Headless Horseman - Harn takes an interesting level in this...
 * He Who Fights Monsters - Shion, Makaryudo
 * I Just Want to Be Human - Deathmask
 * 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 - Shion, during some of his attacks where he belts out something akin to 'NANANANANANA...NAWWWWW!'
 * Mighty Glacier - Deathmask
 * Most Annoying Sound - The voice clips are rather limited, so they might start getting to you after a while.
 * Mirror Match - Is technically the sub-boss.
 * Narm Charm - Usually those who like the game mention this as a redeeming factor.
 * Rule of Cool - The innovative stage designs, atmosphere and character design are sometimes deemed to fall into this trope.
 * Shape Shifter - Harn inexplicably turns into Drethdok in one of his special moves.
 * Slasher Smile - Harn's ending.
 * Also qualifies for Incredibly Lame Pun.
 * So Bad It's Good - According to some. Others genuinely like it.
 * Spell My Name With an "S" - Half of the roster have 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
 * Stupid Evil - Fangore
 * Teens Are Monsters - La Fa, as she is apparently 17 and in her ending, takes immense joy in hearing the 'cries of the vanquished'.
 * Token Human - Shion, Makaryudo
 * Unfazed Everyman - Shion, Makaryudo
 * Walking Shirtless Scene - Harn, Skythe, Makaryudo