It's the first fighting game to use the combo system extremely well but the sluggish controls are an inconvenience.
THE GOOD
-Excellent combo / combo-breaker feature
-Awesome graphics
-Great audio
THE BAD
-Slow controls
OVERVIEW
Killer Instinct is a fighting tournament created by a huge conglomerate of corporations which go by one name, Ultratech. There are ten unique fighters that join the tournament for their own reasons. Jago, Riptor, Glacius, Cinder, Fulgore, Sabrewulf, Orchid, Thunder, Spinal and Combo are the playable characters in this game. Each character has their reasons for fighting in the tournament like having ambitions to take down Ultratech, using the tournament as a scientific testing ground or looking for a lost loved one. For the most part there really isn't a story to the game and why should it, it's a fighting game, right?
GAMEPLAY
Right from the beginning you'll notice that this is no ordinary fighting game. The big difference is that Killer Instinct uses a very well planned out combo system. With this combo system you'll be able to string together multiple attacks in quick session. When you complete a successful combination an announcer will shout out things like "Super Combo", "Awesome Combo", and "Ultra Combo". Not only that but a graphic will appear showing your triumph and humiliating your opponent. Now I've played many fighting games with combo systems and it typically gets to be a one-sided game of rock, scissor, and paper to see who lands the first combo and is able to continue until their opponent is dead. When this happens to you, all you can do is sit there, helplessly; while your favorite character gets mauled to death. Well, you won't have to worry about this in Killer Instinct because they've added a Combo Breaker. This Combo Breaker, although requires some skill, will interrupt an enemy performing a huge barrage of attacks on you. This feature makes sure that each match is exciting because either player can win at anytime regardless of how much life they have left.
For a late SNES fighting game, ten playable characters are tolerable but more could have been better. However, the ten players that you do get to use are very unique. There's a cyborg, a boxer and even a walking undead character. Like I said before the cast is extremely unique, in a good way of course.
The actually fighting in Killer Instinct doesn't consist of winning separate rounds; instead a double energy bar is used here. When the first life bar is depleted the match resets with that player having full life (2nd health bar) and the other player continuing on the first health bar. This is a neat idea and makes Killer Instinct stand out among other fighters.
The controls, in this game, are what many people will find somewhat irritating. It's not that the moves or combos are difficult to perform; it's that the game pace is slowed down more than the average fighting game. This means that you're doing a lot of extra button mashing because it'll appear that you have button lag. Also, with the characters attacking slower, it's easier for your opponent to be able to block or counter you.
GRAPHICS & SOUND
The graphics are amazing. This game pretty much uses all the processing power of the Super Nintendo to render some sweet visuals. The clarity in the characters almost makes them look life like and the level design for each of the stages creates a grand picture.
The bone crushing sound effects are really fun to listen too. That and the voice work compliment the game nicely. The soundtrack is definitely memorable and the audio alone will have you coming back for more.
CONCLUSION
There are many enjoyable things about Killer Instinct that make it a good fighting game. However, the lethargic controls really put a damper on the game play that could of taking this game from good to awesome. By all means, pick up this game because it'll be fun for a while especially for die-hard fighting game fans.