Developer: Rare Publisher: Nintendo Release: 08/01/95 Genre: Fighting
By 1994 the fighting game market was saturated with competition. Capcom had taken Street Fighter to the next level with Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Midway was on a roll with Mortal Kombat II, and SNK turned the genre on its ear with the King of Fighters ’94. Any title entering these waters had a tough time making a splash. Yet Killer Instinct did just that, and from the most unlikely source, Rare and Nintendo. Not only did Killer Instinct bring a number of unique features to the genre it was also a supposed showcase for the upcoming Nintendo 64 technology. However when that system was delayed a year Rare would port the game to the SNES. It was a tall order, but one that they nail far better than anyone could imagine. Killer Instinct is one of the SNES’s best fighting games in my opinion.
The Ultratech Corporation is the biggest and most powerful of the megacorporations with their hands in everything, from genetic engineering to military weapons development. They host the Killer Instinct tournament with promises to grant its winner their heart’s desire. This attracts fighters from around the globe. Some want to test their might; others have ulterior motives to take down Ultratech itself. Even Ultratech is using the tournament to test experimental creatures. Despite the odds Ultratech has an ace up their sleeve, demon from another dimension that no one suspects…..
Killer Instinct is probably only second to Darkstalkers in terms of variety in its cast for the time. The Ultratech Corporation’s machinations see warriors from all walks of life compete in their tournament as well as their own experiments. Jago is the closest to being the game’s Ryu and surprisingly he has no clone. Orchid is the lone femme fatale. You can see Rare’s influences in some of the cast. Glacius is the closest we had to the T-1000 in a fighting game outside of Rise of the Robots and Dural. Jurassic Park shocked the world the previous year which is why Riptor exists. T.J. Combo might seem like Balrog but he is more versatile. Sabrewulf is not as cool as Jon Talbain but is the easiest for newbies to play. Conversely Spinal is the hardest. Fulgore is my personal favorite, a massive cyborg with the most diverse moveset.
Killer Instinct borrows from both Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat in terms of its mechanics. It uses the familiar six button setup of the former while featuring juggle combos and fatalities of the latter. Speical moves use quarter circle motions and charge inputs too. There are a few odd ones like reverse charging (!) and downward quarter circles but those are outliers. Despite these similarities Killer Instinct does have unique features of its own. Rather than the strict round structure of other games there are none here. You have two life bars and when one is depleted there is a brief pause while your opponent rises for the second “round”. Your health does not refill as the match continues. This leads to hectic pacing as it is hard to make a comeback if you are losing. That frantic pace is also due to the game’s combo system.
Combos are a choice in other fighting games while in Killer Instinct they are mandatory. The combo system is advanced with a steep learning curve. But once you get “it” it feels satisfying and fun. Combos have specific patterns: every character has openers that include jumping attacks and certain special moves. Other specials are linkers which extend the combo and if done right initiates more automatic hits called auto doubles. You can continue the streak with more linkers that lead to auto doubles and finish with an ender. If done right you can string together as few as three hits to as many as twenty which is insane. Not only does it look cool but the damage makes it worth the effort. Even though it sounds free form the sequences are usually rote and require memorization. Although it sounds simple in practice it takes skill and timing.
Opponents are not completely defenseless however! If they can recognize the moves you are using you can time an anti-air special and perform a combo breaker, ending the combo. There is no penalty for missing a combo breaker although you want to hit it lest you lose 50% of your life bar. It becomes a psychological game of sorts as you weigh the pros and cons of going for short and simple combos or long streaks depending on your opponent’s skill level and ability to read your actions. The back and forth between combo breakers and watching helplessly as you are pounded relentlessly is what gives Killer Instinct its unique flavor in the genre.
To an extent the setup of the game’s fighting engine does make it a bit predictable. 9 times out of time both players are going to go for the longest combo possible as singular attacks are weak. The game is not set up for defensive play as everyone has gap closers making combat more active. Once you have experience with each character you can recognize which combo string they are attempting and when to break it. This means everyone plays a bit similarly. The moves may look different but their end result is the same: a lead in or extension of a combo. But you know what? In the grand scheme, considering everything else Killer Instinct does right it is a minor problem to have. You will have put hours in to the game before that repetition sets in, if it even bothers you at all.
Outside of its responsive and fluid controls this SNES version of Killer Instinct is notable for being one of the first fighting games to feature a practice mode. Practicing against an invincible opponent indefinitely is indispensable for learning the ins and outs of this game’s complex systems. It makes you wonder why no one did it sooner considering the explosion of the genre. Little by little developers were learning to add additional content to home ports outside of versus and tournament modes. This was a much needed step forward for the genre.
Rare faced an impossible task in porting Killer Instinct to the SNES. While there are many necessary cuts the SNES version still looks great. The character sprites are smaller and missing some frames of animation. In addition the zooming and scaling effect was removed. Certain backgrounds are simplified and use Mode 7 to simulate a 3d environment. Also they replace the FMV with still frames. Despite these cuts the game looks excellent otherwise. The art direction is still superb and the game still very much resembles the arcade game despite the hardware disparity. The soundtrack however is phenomenal. The music, including the now-iconic main theme and character stage music, hold up remarkably well with high-energy synths and percussion. This is one of the better fighting games soundtracks of that era and they knew it as the game included a CD with choice cuts from the OST.
In Closing
Killer Instinct is a standout fighting game and one of the best fighting games for the SNES. It is flashy, fast-paced, and original at a time most titles did the bare minimum in a crowded genre. While it lacks the power of its arcade counterpart, the innovative gameplay, unforgettable music, and unique identity remain intact. If you were a fan of Street Fighter II or Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct is an exciting and worthy addition to your SNES library.
