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 Battle Monsters, so that was to be expected.
Received a spiritual sequel in 1996's Killing Zone for PlayStation.
This game provides examples of:
- Artificial Human: La Pa, a human-sized doll with a ballet-based fighting style.
- Bald Mystic: Kap Ka, a magician who has no need for hat nor hair.
- Badass Normal: Within a cast that involves a ghost, a cyclops-like beasts, a pair of twins, a human-sized ballerina doll, a skeleton warrior with Wild Hair, a Headless Horseman, a gorgon, a Frankenstein's Monster, a Bird-man and a wizard, Shion is a regular human who gets quite a milage out of his swordsman skills, being the one character without any projectile attacks.
- Be All My Sins Remembered: Albiole, with his ending quote:Cursed specter though I be, I shiver in the joy of victory.
- Beast Man: Skythe is a half-man, half-bird fellow.
- Captain Ersatz: Makaryudo. Frequently indicated as a Shao Kahn knock-off due to the helmet.
- Cephalothorax: Drethdok is a borderline case, with his one-eyed face making up at least half of the spiky body.
- Crystal Ball: Kap Ka fights with these.
- Dem Bones: Fangore, the Mohawk-donning skeleton swordsman.
- Detachment Combat: Fangore's crouching forward "punch" and kick normals involve him shooting his head and leg out respectively before coming back to him.
- Elemental Powers: The Big 4 are essentially personifications of water, fire, wind and earth.
- Eyepatch of Power: As evidenced by his Bio portrait, Shion dons one.
- Extreme Omnivore: Drethdok's throw involves him getting quite a few chunky bites out of his opponent, regardless of whenever the victim would be a human, a skeleton or even a barely corporeal entity.
- Fastball Special: Chilli & Pepper have a special move that involves one of the twins tossing another at the opponent.
- Feather Boa Constrictor: Naga holds a snake like this, and in fact uses one as a weapon.
- Frankenstein's Monster: Deathmask is based on this mold, with a little bit of Michael Myers thrown in.
- Gorgeous Gorgon: Naga is not too bad looking for a Snaky-haired lady.
- Hammered into the Ground: Deathmask has a special move that allows him to do this to his opponents, which he'd then pull them out and launch them up.
- Healing Factor: Drethdok is cappable of regenerating his health when both the punch and kick buttons are held.
- 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!'
- Losing Your Head: Headless Harn is a curious take on a Headless Horseman, literally using his own detached head as a weapon that he holds by a ponytail. He re-attaches his own head for his ending cinematic.
- Magic Carpet: Kap Ka has a special move that involves him floating on a magic carpet, from which he'd be able to deliver a descending drop kick.
- Me's a Crowd: Kap Ka's super move involves him summoning a crowd of miniature Magic Carpet riding clones of himself.
- Primal Chest-Pound: Drethdok's taunt animation involves this.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Albiole, a wraith cappable of casting lightning in his attacks.
- Ring Out: Headless Harn's stage - the Hungry Cave - consists of a platform surrounded by pits that house the Venus Flytrap-like things that devour any unfortunate fighter that would fall in. This provides the game's only Stage Fatality.
- Screaming Warrior: Makaryudo emits a Tarzan-like scream in his victory pose.
- Single-Minded Twins: Chilli & Pepper, being a pair of Caveman twins that together form a "single" "character".
- Sinister Scimitar: Fangore's weapon of choice. Also welded by the more heroic Shion.
- Shapeshifter: Harn inexplicably turns into Drethdok in one of his special moves. Naga can also shapeshift into a hydra-like double snake in her super move.
- Shield Bash: Fangore can do this as one of his basic moves.
- Slide Attack: Chilli & Pepper has a variation that has one of the twins do a sliding kick while another does a jumping kick at the same time.
- Snake People: Naga is a downplayed example as her humanoid form doesn't have a snake lower half (except for her running animation).... but then she has a super move that has her shapeshift into a literal two-headed/tailed snake.
- 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
- Teens Are Monsters: La Fa, as she is apparently 17 and in her ending, takes immense joy in hearing the 'cries of the vanquished'.
- Use Your Head: Fangore can use his head as a buzzsaw as a normal move, and can turn it into a spinning flame as a special move. And that's to say nothing of Harn literally using his own head as a weapon.
- Wolverine Claws: Makaryudo's weapon of choice, mixed with a buckle that also holds a Bow underneath.