Line #23 YMMV/KillerInstinct


1	This is the YMMV page for the original two ''Killer Instinct'' titles from the 1990s. For the 2013 reboot, see [[YMMV/KillerInstinct2013 here]].
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5	* AwesomeEgo: Cinder is very cocky, and fans love it. It gets even worse in the 2013 reboot.
6	* CommonKnowledge: That Riptor's ending in ''[=KI1=]'' reveals that it's a female. The ending actually never states whether Riptor did lay those eggs, or if they were just another genetically engineered batch of Riptor eggs from Ultratech, meaning that the original Riptor's gender is unconfirmed. This assumption may have lent a hand in making the 2013 game's Riptor a female, however.
7	* CreepyAwesome: [[DemBones Spinal]] is a classic, crazy skeleton with a chilling laugh.
8	* DuelingGames: ''Killer Instinct'' was created as something of a reaction to the success of fighting games in arcades, specifically the likes of ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' and ''Franchise/StreetFighter''. This rivalry has carried on into the 21st century, though ''KI'' has lagged behind somewhat due to the lack of consistent releases.
9	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
10	** Riptor was very popular in the first game due to being quite unique at the time. After all, what other fighting game lets you play as a dinosaur?[[note]][[RhetoricalQuestionBlunder Well]], there's ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'s 2, 3,'' and both ''Tag Tournaments'', ''VideoGame/PrimalRage'', ''VideoGame/WarpathJurassicPark'', to name a few...[[/note]]
11	** [[KillItWithFire Cinder]] was well-liked in the first game for his unique design and gameplay.
12	** Thunder was another popular character from the original who is generally regarded as the best of the three MagicalNativeAmerican characters introduced at the same time in ''[[Videogame/StreetFighterII Super Street FIghter II]]'' and ''Videogame/MortalKombat3''. This went to the extent fans were upset over him not being included in the second, to the point many game news articles on his return in the third game commented on him being a fan-favorite.
13	** Fulgore's {{Film/Predator}}-like design made him a fan favourite back in the day. He's even featured on the cartridge for the SNES version.
14	* FirstInstallmentWins: While ''[=KI2=]'' was a legitimately better game with a more robust and balanced combo engine, many players were, and still are, turned off of it by the [[ArtShift radically different presentation]] that came with the higher-fidelity graphics compared to ''[=KI1=].'' Aside from the look, many smaller changes also didn't sit well with some players, like the announcer lacking the combo names and missing three favorite characters.
15	* GameBreaker: Cinder in the first game is ridiculous. On his own, he holds several advantages such as simple move inputs, air maneuverability and easy combo resets, all of this topped with a fantastic moveset including: a flip kick with the second highest priority in the game as well as a lot of invulnerable frames, a torpedo that can be used in the air can can easily stun opponents, fake torpedo moves that work as combo resets, invisibility to the point only his outline is visible, the ability to darken himself and become invulnerable to projectiles until he gets hit, and teleportation. And ''then'' he has multiple bugs in his favor, such as an infinite combo involving his flip kick (patched out in later arcade versions, as well as the SNES version), [[HitboxDissonance disjointed hitboxes]] (giving his normals and his air torpedo more range than they look like), and the fact that his invisiblity move makes him completely invisible in the SNES version (with the exception of his shadow, which is not visible anyways in bridges or while Cinder is in the air). All of this makes a fighter that can only meet his match against Eyedol or another Cinder.
16	* GoodBadBugs: Many of the exploits in the original ''Killer Instinct'' are so instilled in gamers' memories, such as Cinder's infinite combo, that the digital re-release actually allows players to choose between playing the revised arcade build that fixed them or the original build with all the glitches intact.
17	* HarsherInHindsight: The comic book adaptation's first issue features a fight scene where the Tiger Spirit briefly possesses Jago in order to fight Eyedol. The comics came out before the release of ''[=KI2=]'' but with it and ''[=KI2013=]'' in mind, [[spoiler:knowing that the Tiger Spirit was really Gargos puts this scene in a much grimmer light.]]
18	* HilariousInHindsight: The original concept for ''Killer Instinct'' that Ken Lobb presented to Nintendo was dubbed "Melee". [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee Just wait seven years, then]].
19	* ItWasHisSled:
20	** [[spoiler: The truth about Jago and Orchid being siblings is now common knowledge.]]
21	** [[spoiler: The Tiger Spirit Jago worshiped being a phony stand-in for Gargos.]]
22	** [[spoiler: Fulgore's CPU being run [[GhostInTheMachine by Eagle's mind.]]]]
23	* LesYay: In the first game, Riptor is affected by Black Orchid's "Flash" finisher. On the other hand, while the Riptor from the 2013 game is female, the original one is not confirmed to be, so there's that.
24	* MemeticMutation:
25	** [[SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound C-C-C-]]{{COMBO BREAKER}}!!
26	** Also, "ULTRAAAAAAAAA COMBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
27	* MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales: Thunder is fairly popular among Native Americans in spite of his stereotypical nature and is more fondly regarded than [[AmbiguouslyBrown T. Hawk]] or [[CaptainEthnic Nightwolf]], who tend to get EthnicScrappy reactions. His 2013 incarnation is even more well-regarded, thanks to his Native American heritage being more focused upon (complete with him speaking the Nez Percé language instead of English).
28	* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound: The announcer has a few, such as the classic "C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!" and "ULTRAAAAA COMBOOOOOO!" The sheer enthusiasm the announcer has yelling them makes you feel awesome for pulling it off.
29	* {{Narm}}: The edginess and awkward 3D graphics really show what a product of its time this game was. The soundtrack, while fun and funky as hell, is the epitome of TheNineties cheese today.
30	* NarmCharm: Many of the first games' Ultimates. Special shout-outs to TJ Combo and Sabrewulf smacking their opponents against the FourthWall, Riptor eating them and gaining a cartoonish BalloonBelly, and Orchid flashing her breasts to induce a heart attack on her opponent.
31	* NightmareFuel: The Score theme from the SNES version is very creepy. Don't believe me? [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPa1oAsf0C4 Check this out]]!
32	* NightmareRetardant:
33	** Fulgore's elephant-like hit noises in the first two games, which are a rather jarring contrast to the image of a killer robot he presents.
34	** Some find Eyedol's name too silly to take him seriously.
35	** On the flipside, most players who found Eyedol intimidating weren't impressed with Gargos, whose design is much simpler in comparison.
36	* OlderThanTheyThink: Many older players never learned that [=KI2=]'s combo engine allowed 80+ hits without glitching and absent the 2013 game's ability to chain two ultra combos together.
37	* PolishedPort: Thanks to Nintendo being in a partnership with Rare at the time, they had the programming team for the arcade version handle the Super Nintendo and Game Boy ports, instead of outsourcing it to a third-party developer. The result is that the SNES version was well-received and the GB version was surprisingly faithful, and more importantly, playable.
38	* RatedMForMoney: Fairly blatant at that. It was actually rated T, but the intent was still there. Played straight and literally with the Xbox One release of Killer Instinct Classic, which has an M rating.
39	* ReplacementScrappy: ''Killer Instinct 2'''s newcomers Maya, Tusk, and Kim Wu aren't too popular with the fans, serving for replacements for Cinder, Thunder, and Riptor. Replacing three unique fan-favorites with a trio of generic human warriors? Not a great move. It also doesn't help Thunder is given no explanation for his disappearance and the other two are simply written as being dead, making for a rather cheap way to get rid of them. Fortunately, the 2013 reboot saw Maya, Kim Wu, and Tusk all being retooled and becoming more popular again, resulting in them being RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap.
40	** Gargos gets some heat as well from fans for being more of a stock character than Eyedol in addition to sharing his role and similar moves. However, there are some who like him for the fact that he contributed more in the story than Eyedol did. Like the other two, he's in the way from being Rescued due to his impact throughout all three seasons of Killer Instinct thus building him up for years.
41	* SpecialEffectsFailure: In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INJd6oG6aUU the CGI for Sabrewulf's ending]] in ''[=KI2=]'', the liquids from the potion he is making are just a bunch of small sphere particles with some bizarre behavior (they keep spilling out when they are poured anywhere, even into Sabrewulf's mouth, which makes him look more animalistic than he should).
42	** Most of the time, the sprites in ''Gold'' are placed well enough that they manage to disguise the SpritePolygonMix, but there are [[https://imgur.com/u3dWSQl a few moments]] where the blend is not as well done.
43	* {{Squick}}: Orchid using her "Flash" move against Jago in the first game can become this when in the sequel it is revealed that the two [[spoiler:are siblings]].
44	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: Tusk's theme music in ''[=KI2=]'' sounds an awful lot like the Conan theme.
45	* ThatOneBoss: Both Eyedol and Gargos weren't fair fights in the slightest, considering [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard they're capable of regenerating health while the player is down]] and are generally way over-powered compared to your characters.
46	* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: One of the criticisms towards the game was that it was a ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' clone. Some even mistake it for an MK game due its similar premise and aesthetics.
47	* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The first arcade fell into this by advertising for the "Ultra 64" long before it released, especially when sprouting the game would be for it. This was when the Nintendo 64 was still in development, but ran into problems that delayed it, so Rare decided to make a [=SNES=] version instead. They eventually did do one on the system for the second game.
48	* VindicatedByHistory: The 2013 reboot's callbacks to ''Killer Instinct 2'' have been received better than ''[=KI2=]'' itself was at its release.
49	* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Although it's hard to tell now, the graphics of the first Killer Instinct were ''mind-blowing'' in the arcades. Those 3D environments with the faux-3D character models - plus some fantastic sound design - made for an astonishing experience for all young arcade-goers.
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Context YMMV / KillerInstinct