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Review  Killer Instinct Gold
- By Joe Ridino
[Contributing Editor]
It's true that the N64 doesn't have many good fighting games. There is one that I am partial to, however. It's called Killer Instinct Gold and it's from Rareware. We've seen Killer Instinct on Super Nintendo and now it's souped-up for N64. Does it outlive the original KI? If you're not sure, read on.
Gameplay:
It's true that the N64 doesn't have many good fighting games. There is one that I am partial to, however. It's called Killer Instinct Gold and it's from Rareware. We've seen Killer Instinct on Super Nintendo and now it's souped-up for N64. Does it outlive the original KI? If you're not sure, read on.
In KI Gold, there are 11 fighters to choose from and if you've played the original KI you'll recognize them easily. There are three new fighters, however: Maya, Kim Wu, Tusk, and one new boss, Gargos. Along with these three fighters, you can pick from Jago, Sabrewulf, Glacius, Spinal, Fulgore, Orchid, and TJ Combo. Each of these fighters have their own unique moves. Tusk has his long sword, Glacius has an ice pick, Jago has Ryo/Ken-esque moves, etc. There are combos to pull off and finishing moves to inflict on the enemy. One thing that is really lame, however, are the finishing moves. They shouldn't be in the game because I think you should fight until one person is defeated, not just use a finishing move to cheat to victory.
Combos play such a vital role in this game that I think they deserve their own paragraph. You can pull off wicked combos, ranging from 10-hit combos all the way to a massive 90-hit combo. To do combos, you must first pull off an ordinary move, then do a linker, then finish it off with a small hit. If you're lucky and pull off more combos, you'll eventually do shadowed or slow-motion combos. A shadowed combo is where you do a combo but you see like 4 or 5 of your guy. It's trippy but cool. The slow-motion combos basically do the combo in slow-mo which let you see the whole combo really slow! This game is all about combos and they will lead you to victory if you can pull off some monster combos. Lucky for you, KI Gold comes packed with a move list featuring loads of special moves for every character.
Control:
The control in KIG is really simple. You move your character with the D-Pad. The A, B, and C-buttons are your kicks and punches. You block just like in the Street Fighter games by pressing back on the D-Pad. Pulling off combos sometimes seems too easy. A little kid can button mash on the controller and pull off a 15-hit combo with ease. I'm not saying the combos are worthless, I'm saying that they are easy to pull off when you are fooling around. In short, KI Gold controls so easy.
Sound:
KI Gold features some of the best music in any fighting game for the N64. It sounds like techno and up-beat and it works well with this kind of game. The sound effects really help the immersion factor. An example of how cool the sound effects are lies in the midst of Tusk. He has this massive sword and every time you strike the other person it sounds like a real sword hitting them. A level in particular that gets me pumped up is in Glacius's stage. It's an ice level that has some synthesizing techno song that really gets me pumped for the fight. Add to this the awesome soundtrack and you've got a treat for the ears.
Multiplayer:
Killer Instinct Gold boasts a great 2-player mode with loads of options. First off there's the Arcade mode which pits you against the computer or against a friend. You just fight to the death. Next there's Team in which you pick a specified number of players for your team (up to 11) and the computer or human gets to pick that amount of players also. There's also a Team Elimination. When you die, you are eliminated. There's a Tournament option which basically pits you against a comp or human and it runs like a tournament should. If you need some training, you should go to Practice. And lastly, there's training and Focused Training where a master trainer teaches you moves and you must copy that move to earn new options for the game. KI Gold is loaded with options and features and it's definitely worth a second look!
OVERALL:
If you haven't played KI Gold yet, you're kinda out of luck. Nintendo has stopped making the game and you can't find this game in stores. Luckily, EBay has loads of copies that people are trying to sell. So go there to find yourself a copy before it's too late!
Is KI Gold the best fighting game ever? No. Is it the best fighting game for the N64? In my opinion it is. It offers 11 fighters, tons of two-player modes, an awesome soundtrack, and some wicked combos. Rare did well with this series which players loved so much back on the SNES and in the arcade.
The Lowdown on  Killer Instinct Gold
| Aesthetics: Very Good |
Control: Awesome |
| Gameplay: Very Good |
Multiplayer: Very Good |
| Sound: Awesome |
Innovation: 5/6 |
| Lasting Appeal: 5/6 |
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Overall: Above Average!
"A Quality Game"
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This game is:
Above Average
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