Killer Instinct Gold
Reviewed by Scott McCall
"Coming to the Nintendo Ultra 64 in the fall of 1995" was the
advertisement that the original Killer Instinct arcade game often
displayed. Back then, little did we know that the Nintendo 64
would go through not one but two launch delays. At the 1995 E3
show, Nintendo also caught most people off-guard by announcing
that Killer Instinct would be available for the Super NES
and Game Boy -- and not the Nintendo 64.
In early 1996, the sequel to the game was launched in the arcades.
Killer Instinct 2 was met with mixed opinions from the gaming
world. The aesthetics of the game were nowhere near as impressive
as when the original KI arcade came out. There were also many
changes to the gameplay system.
Enter Killer Instinct Gold. Many gamers were still hopeful that the
64-bit version would be a port of the original game. Alas, those
hopes were smashed when Nintendo showed KI Gold at the 1996 E3
show. The game appeared to be a port of the KI2 arcade game. After
all, wouldn't it be better to port the newer fighting game to the
system? But KI Gold is more than just a direct port of KI2. You can
think of Killer Instinct Gold as an enhanced version of Killer Instinct 2.
Killer Instinct Gold entered the video game market in a prime
position. A terrible version of Mortal Kombat Trilogy was released
a few weeks earlier. Nintendo and Rare hoped to capture the
attention of the video game world with a better-than-the-arcade
port of Killer Instinct 2. While MK Trilogy had tons of missing
animation, unbalanced play and horrible sound, Nintendo knew that
its baby would easily become the king of N64 fighting games and
would not disappoint.
The Killer Instinct series has never been liked by die-hard
fighting fans because of the huge-hit combos and because
random button mashing can lead to cheap moves. But the fact
of the matter is, the Killer Instinct series is one of the most
popular fighting series out there. In fact, it's probably more
popular than all the other fighting games, except Street Fighter 2
and Mortal Kombat.
Killer Instinct 2 contained a slightly different cast of fighters
than the original Killer Instinct. Therefore, that means Killer
Instinct Gold contains the same fighters as KI2. The fighters
returning from the original to the sequel were Glacius, Spinal,
TJ Combo, Sabrewulf, Fulgore, Jago. The new fighters to KI2 and
KI Gold are Kim Wu, Tusk, Maya, and the boss Gargos. Unfortunately,
Riptor, Cinder and Chief Thunder did not make the trip from the
original KI to its sequel. These fighters were rumored to be hidden
in Killer Instinct Gold, but because of space limitations, the only
"hidden" fighter is Gargos.
One of the most impressive facets of Killer Instinct Gold is the
huge number of options available to the player. First of all, there
are many modes of play: Arcade (one-player game against the
computer or two-player game against one another), Team (each
player chooses a team of 2 to 11 characters to fight to the death),
Team Elimination (a team member can only be eliminated by an Ultra,
Ultimate or a Knock Off), Tournament (two to eight players can play
a "round robin" tournament where the winner keeps on fighting),
Practice (you get a full Super Bar to attempt any move you want
against a dummy), Training (one of the coolest additions to the
game; you are taught different theories of the KI fighting engine),
Focused Training (you can skip ahead to a lesson instead of going
through all the previous ones) and Options.
Besides all those fighting modes, there are a ton of options in
KI Gold. Most of the options are divided into "levels" that can
only be accessed after you complete the game on a certain level of
difficulty (or if you enter the cheat code to get all the options).
The options are Game Speed, Difficulty, Training Difficulty,
Controller Setup, Game Pak Options (Load/Save), Music, Random
After, Time Limit, Throwing and Blood! And we haven't even
gotten to any of the "level" options yet!
The Level One options are Throw Damage, Easy [Combo] Breakers,
Invisible Tag and Aerial Camera. The Level Two options include
Full Super Bar, Full Breakers and Powered Finishers. The Level
Three options consist of Missiles, Fast Fireballs and Autodoubles.
The Level Four options are Early Ultimates, Knockdowns, Quick
Openers and Cheap Juggles. And the Level Five option is Blocking.
As you can see, never before has a game offered so many options.
You can make the game a whole new fighting experience just by
toggling some of the aforementioned options on or off.
Before we get into how the actual gameplay of Killer Instinct
Gold works, we should probably discuss the control first. KI
Gold gives you the option of using either the digital Control
Pad or the analog Control Stick. It's almost like a catch-22
situation, though. Some players complain the digital Control
Pad is too stiff and the analog Control Stick is too sensitive.
Your best bet is just to loosen up that digital Control Pad.
Even though you can set the button configuration to however
you want in KI Gold, the default configuration is probably your
best bet. As you probably already know, the button system consists
of six buttons: Fierce Punch and Kick, Medium Punch and Kick,
Quick Punch and Kick. The default configuration sets the Quick
Punch as B, Medium Punch as Left C and Fierce Punch as Top C.
The bottom row has Quick Kick as A, Medium Kick as Bottom C
and Fierce Kick as Right C. Some people may complain that the C
buttons are too small or are too close together, but you shouldn't
have any problems with it. Let's go on to the meat of the game.
Contrary to what people who don't like the Killer Instinct
series may say, KI Gold contains arguably the most sophisticated
and strategic fighting engine out there. At the core of the fighting
engine is combo theory called the Auto-Double. An Auto-Double is
a single move which can be performed at certain times in a combo
to provide an extra hit. To perform an Auto-Double, it depends on
which Opener you used. To automatically double up the hit on your
opponent, you just have to press one button down from the valid
Opener. So if you opened with a Fierce Punch, then you could
immediately press Medium Punch or Medium Kick for an extra hit.
By using the Auto-Double theory, you can quickly turn a triple
combo into a super combo (four hits). There is also a Manual-Double.
The difference between an Auto- and Manual-Double is in the timing.
Auto-Doubles are done with jump-ins. Manual-Doubles are
started with a Fierce Kick or Punch followed up with a
Medium Kick or Punch.
Now there are multiple ways to continue the length of your combo.
You can't just keep doing Auto-Doubles unless you link together
some moves in between. A Linker will hit the character again but
will not knock them down. This means you can perform another
Auto-Double. You can also add an End Finisher, which is a special
move to end a combo sequence. Another way to extend your combos
is with a Juggle. Juggles are extra hits which you can sneak in. You might
be able to juggle your opponent with a special move or even a throw.
The strategy doesn't stop there. How fair would a multi-hit combo
be if you couldn't break out of them? Enter the Combo Breaker. You
just can't perform the Combo Breaker anywhere, though. It can only
break a combo during an Auto-Double or a Manual-Double. If your
opponent is doubling up with a punch, then you must do the Combo
Breaker motion with a kick. If they're doubling up with a kick, then
you must do the Combo Breaker motion with a punch. Manual-Doubles
are harder to break than Auto-Doubles, which helps fix the problem
of people whom have become quite skilled with Combo Breakers.
Performing combos with Manual-Doubles, Pressure Moves and
Super Linkers provide for some nearly unbreakable combos!
A new addition introduced in Killer Instinct 2 is the Super Bar. Your
Super Bar builds up every time you get hit. After building up your
Super Bar, you can perform special moves such as Super Linkers and
Super End Finishers. A Super Linker, which requires three Super Bar
Blocks, will add five hits to your combo instead of one hit. And a
Super End Finisher will hit four to six times at the end of the combo.
One of the main complaints with the original Killer Instinct game
was the dreaded "turtle" fighters. "Turtlers" are those whom just
block the whole time and only hit you after they block you. Fortunately,
Killer Instinct Gold contains several improvements to counter
turtlers. Besides the aforementioned Throws, which are a new
addition to the Killer Instinct series, there are also Pressure Moves.
Each character in the game has a Pressure Move that is designed to be
performed on a blocking opponent. Performing Pressure Moves on a
turtler will fill your Super Bar. If you manage to hit with a Pressure
Move, you can follow it with a Super Linker or Super Finisher for a
nearly unbreakable combo!
Combos, combos and more combos are not the only part of KI Gold.
There is also an extremely sophisticated countering system. The
first part of the system is the Rock, Paper, Scissors Priority. No,
your character's don't stop fighting and play the childhood game.
Every character has three Special Moves represented by this game.
For example, if you're playing as Tusk against Sabrewulf, and
Sabrewulf keeps hitting you with his Sabre Wheel, which is his
"rock" move, then you should counter with your "paper" move,
which is the Web of Death.
Other parts of the countering system include Through Projectiles
and Air Counters. Every character in the game has a Special Move
which can go under, over or through projectiles. And when both
characters are jumping, the Air Counters come into play. Fierce
beats Medium, Medium beats Quick and Quick beats Fierce.
But wait there's more! There's still Slow Motion End Finishers,
Air Doubles, Ultra Combos, Really Long Ultras (70+ hits),
Mini-Ultras, Ultimates, Knockoffs and Parry moves! And, oh yeah,
we didn't even talk about Pressure Breakers, Ultra Breakers,
Shadows Combos and Speed-Up Combos! We'll let you learn
those on your own, though.
If you're one of those people who have to learn by doing and not
reading, then Killer Instinct Gold has a great Training mode for
you. Some of the techniques outlined above, including Special
Moves, Combos, Combo Breakers, are taught to you for each fighter
in the Training Mode. Of course, you'll have to learn some of the
most advanced techniques on your own.
As you can tell, Killer Instinct Gold has one of the most
sophisticated fighting engines around. Almost every move can
be countered and almost every combo can be broken. Those unfamiliar
with the fighting series may think that's unfair, but considering
the huge number of possibilities, it's a matter of performing the
right move at the right time. And that's definitely not as easy as it
may seem.
One of the neat things about Killer Instinct Gold is that beginning
fighters can have a lot of fun in the game despite not understanding
any of the fighting theory. Most critics of Killer Instinct say
this is one of the game's biggest flaws. A beginner can come up
to the game, just move the stick around in circles and press
some buttons to pull off combos and super moves almost in the
double-digit range. Because of the advanced fighting theory,
though, an experienced KI Gold player should have no trouble
handling a beginner whom just presses all the buttons.
Although some people were disappointed that KI Gold is an
enhanced version of KI2 and not a combination of KI and KI2,
it makes for an extremely balanced fighting game -- unlike Mortal
Kombat Trilogy. And even KI Gold has an improved fighting
engine over KI2 with new moves and techniques. One of the most
odd things about Killer Instinct Gold has to be that those who didn't
like the arcade version of Killer Instinct 2 are finding
themselves loving the home version of Killer Instinct Gold. Go figure.
You have to admit it. You were extremely impressed by the
original Killer Instinct's visuals back when it first hit the
arcade. Now you also have to admit that you were underwhelmed
with Killer Instinct 2's visuals. Killer Instinct 2 in the arcade
had grainy graphics, a camera which didn't zoom out, and no
3-D fighting arenas.
All of those problems were fixed and then some in Killer Instinct
Gold. First off, all the arenas in the home version are completely
3-D. That means doing moves which send your opponent in the
air will rotate the camera by so many degrees. This subtle touch
is very effective in the game. And, amazingly enough, all the
arenas look just as good if not better than their arcade counterparts
even though they're made out of polygons. On some levels, because
of the way the camera turns sometimes, an object can obstruct
your view of the fight sometimes. This is not really a major gripe, though.
Killer Instinct Gold also brings back the "aerial camera" to
the series. That means the game will scroll out to make your
fighters smaller as you get farther and farther away from each
other. No more confined fighting arenas. The game also looks
considerably better than the grainy KI2 in the arcades.
Whether or not this is the result of anti-aliasing is anyone's guess.
For fast, smooth gameplay, look no further than KI Gold. Also,
hardly any animation is missing; it would take quite a discerning
eye to notice any missing unlike MK Trilogy. And the game moves
at an extremely brisk pace, which can be slowed down or sped up.
All the sparks and fireworks that go with certain moves also made
the jump from arcade to home. A critical gamer may also seemingly
notice slowdown when there's a lot happening. But, believe it or
not, the slowdown was put in for a dramatic effect.
As amazing are the graphics are in KI Gold, the sound is even
more surprising. With other Nintendo 64 games lacking in the
music department, Killer Instinct Gold comes through with
flying colors. The music is almost exactly like the arcade (a
few samples were changed), and it doesn't loop as quickly as you
think it would. In some respects, it's even better than the arcade.
While the arcade version had mono music, the Nintendo 64 version
is in full stereo sound. From the game's riveting techno tracks
with full-blown lyrics to heavy metal (with an awesome MIDI
guitar) songs to the more orchestrated tunes, KI Gold does not
disappoint even the most jaded gamer in the music department.
All the sound effects appear to be in the game, too, although
they are nothing to write home about.
As far improvements to Killer Instinct Gold go, there sure aren't
very many that can be mentioned. Sometimes the camera can be a
pain and obstruct your view (particularly in Combo's or Tusk's board).
It would have been nice to fix that. The graphics and sound are awesome
otherwise. The gameplay is extremely sophisticated and balanced. So
what can be improved? Pretty much nothing. Killer Instinct Gold is
at the pinnacle of 2-D Killer Instinct fighting games. I'm sure many
gamers, including yours truly, would love to see a completely 3-D
KI game. But that would require redoing the gameplay from the
ground up. Maybe that might not be such a bad idea since we have
the best version of KI at home now.
If you weren't a Killer Instinct fan to begin with, then this game
will more than likely not change your mind. It may open your eyes
a little wider, though. For us millions of KI fans out there, we
have an arcade-perfect port of KI2 and then some. With graphics
better than the arcade, sound better than the arcade, and gameplay
better than the arcade, Killer Instinct Gold is a KI fan's dream come
true. The only thing more alarming other than how good KI Gold is
probably has to be just how much better this game is than Mortal
Kombat Trilogy.
Graphics: 4.5 out of 5
Sound: 4.6 out of 5
Control: 3.9 out of 5
Gameplay: 4.2 out of 5
Lastability: 4.5 out of 5
Overall: 4.3 out of 5