The Wonder Years 10.11.07: Week 25 - Killer Instinct
Posted by Owain J. Brimfield on 10.11.2007
40-hit combos in a quality arcade port.
Welcome to the column where all gamers of a certain age come to wallow in 16-bit nostalgia. I'm your host, Owain J. Brimfield, and I'll be discussing some of the hidden gems and instant classics of gaming's golden era. Some of these games may crop up on the Wii's Virtual Console at some point, some may be consigned to the annals of history. Either way, they're worth tracking down if you missed them first time round, or replaying if you were lucky enough to catch them. Let's take a trip to:
KILLER INSTINCT
(Rare, Super NES, 1995)
For all that Rare have pretty much slipped off the radar these days, for all their vaunted gameplay quality that was the hallmark of the N64 era, and for all the old-school classics they produced as Ultimate Play the Game, it's interesting to look back and see that a major part of their legacy is the sheer technical achievements of their Super NES titles. Donkey Kong Country was a graphical revolution (as well as being a damn good game) on its 1994 release, providing new insights into the capabilities of the hardware, and Killer Instinct set the bar even higher. A port of the Rare/Nintendo arcade fighter of the same name (the machine itself based on the system capabilities of what was then the Ultra 64, a name that proves that only Sega ever had a clue when it came to naming their consoles), KI was another huge step forward for 16-bit consoles. Although it naturally lacked the FMV and pre-rendered backgrounds of its arcade counterpart, it was still responsible for many gamers' jaws dropping at the time. And while it may look rather dated now, it happens to, handily, be a rather decent game, falling nicely in between Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat while retaining its arcade credentials.
KI's plot, for what it's worth, centers around a company called Ultratech (that word again - you wonder why they never got Steve Vai to do the soundtrack) that organizes a fighting tournament - quel surprise - in which it can test out its genetic experiments and creations, with such delights as a man made of fire, a man made of ice, a skeleton, a dinosaur, a robot, a boxer and a werewolf. Also taking part are a kung fu monk, a Native American chief, a sexy lycra-clad lady and a two-headed alien. Granted, it sounds as though Rare went through an appalling dearth of creativity on this one, but the character design is actually surprisingly appealing, and while the combatants never quite exude as much creativity as Ryu and their SF cousins, they certainly make a mark.
The central game mechanic is a huge over-emphasis on the art of the combo, with flurries of attacks ranging from eight to forty hits. The animation on the fighters during these extended attacks is pleasingly fluid, and every hit feels sufficiently meaty. The catch, though, and what initially turned me off from the game, is the ridiculous length of the input needed to actually perform said combos. Let's take a look at an example of T.J. Combo (hahahahahaha... oh no, wait, that's not funny at all) and his 36-hit Ultra combination. Here's the button sequence:
B,F,2,B,1,F,5,B,1,F,5,B,1,F,5,B,1,F,4,F,5,F,5,B,3
I think this is what the expression "WTF" was invented for. In all seriousness, remembering such a sequence is far more of a chore than should be necessary - especially given that, in the arcade original, certain combos could be executed with little more than a button press.
Of course, if you're a beat 'em up freak, this will undoubtedly prove to be nirvana, but for those of us who prefer a little more of the user-friendly, things are kept much simpler when dealing with attacks in the range of ten to twelve hits. Tricky enough to pull off while still viscerally pleasing, it's a good compromise. An early outing of the now more prevalent double energy bar system, rather than the more traditional "best of three", also livens things up, as does a shocking amount of gore for a game openly endorsed by Nintendo, who twelve years later are still shaking off their kiddy-friendly image in the mainstream. The fatalities - oh, sorry, "No Mercy" moves - are equal parts inspired and mundane, although special mention must go to B. Orchid's finisher whereby she exposes her breasts to her opponent. In a Nintendo game! Yeah, it's not quite Leisure Suit Larry, but still.
Let's return to our original point, though, which was the KI's technical prowess. The graphics, natch, are scaled down from the arcade original but are still streets ahead of anything else that was around at the time. Where the game really scores points in my opinion, though, is the soundtrack, which although hampered somewhat by its MIDI format is still lushly orchestrated and highly eclectic, with everything from techno beats to classical epics scoring the brutal battles on display. For those who pride depth over surface quality, the game is perhaps a little more limited, with the typical tournament ladder mode joined only by a reasonably solid two-player and a training mode where you get to beat the stuffing out of an inanimate robot.
The game is, although not overtly difficult to come by, still reassuringly expensive, with mint copies fetching upwards of £30 these days. It's almost worth it for the immensely stylish black cartridge the game featured. A Virtual Console outing is, though, probably a little far away given Rare's ambivalence towards its former best buddy these days. One of the Super NES's finest fighters though, Killer Instinct is more of a cult classic these days, still reveling in the brief 15 minutes of fame it was afforded before being discarded in favor of increasingly ridiculous Mortal Kombat sequels. If you can find a copy, it does equally well as a solid retro game and a harrowing test of one's muscle memory ability. Ultra... Combo!!!
Killer Instinct trivia
The game was packaged with a soundtrack CD entitled Killer Cuts, featuring some surprisingly decent remixes of the background music.
A sequel, KI Gold, was released on the N64, which although improving greatly in the visual department was not a great success.
For some bizarre reason, the company decided a Game Boy port would be a good idea. Whoever thought that a fighter known for its graphical detail and intricate button combinations would be well suited to a monochrome, two button console deserves a slap.
Killer Instinct is number 69 in my official all-time Top 100 games.
Splendid visitation possibilities
The place to come for random retro gaming tidbits, links and videos, and general amusing games-related stuff collated from the interweb.
Holy shiznit! Check out this dude, who is actually selling an original KI arcade machine. Get to it peeps, the arcade version is even better than the console port.
One of the funnest online games I've come across - in fact I think I pimped this one a few months back, but it's still just as fun as it was then. Make tracks for a little bloke to sled down, simple as.
Apparently Street Fighter still arouses such passion in people that they're willing to destroy furniture to play it. The guy's narration is hilarious.
General indulgences
Every week in this section I'll endeavour to provide you, the faithful readers, with a fascinating insight into the various forms of entertainment currently dominating my spare time.
This week, I have been mostly enjoying:
FIFA International Soccer, which after covering in my column last week I realized I hadn't played properly in years. It's pretty simplistic on further review, but still (importantly) fun.
Wired For Dreaming by Electrasy, a hugely underrated British band who were unfortunately screwed by their record label. Sadly the album isn't up to the standards of their previous output, but it's still pretty good.
Heroes. Actually wait, I missed it this week. Bollocks.
and The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks, which is bound to come in handy the next time there's an undead information. Watch out for an upcoming movie based on his World War Z book.
And finally…
As always, reader feedback and suggestions are welcome, I respond to everything so just drop me a line. You can also check out my science fiction column "The Flux Capacitor" over at 411 Movies. Next week in "The Wonder Years" - the debut starring role of everyone's favorite lizard/dinosaur hybrid. Until then - keep it real, keep it retro.
