Killer Instinct: The Most Underrated Fighting Video Game in History

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The debate about which is the best fighting video game of all time is a toss-up between Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter (with Tekken and King of Fighters peeking through the bushes every so often). Yet, it’s strange how Killer Instinct has all but disappeared from the conversation and most gamers wouldn’t even think twice about it when prattling off names. Granted, it has only had three games released in the franchise’s series – but judging by the demand for the genre, one would expect it to generate a little more hype.

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So, why isn’t Killer Instinct more fondly remembered and regarded as a serious fighting game? Well, there are several reasons for this that might help to paint a full picture. Let’s head to the snazzy DeLorean in the garage and go back in time to find out more about this fighting franchise and why it doesn’t stand a fighting chance today.

Developed by Rare, Killer Instinct arrived in arcades in 1994. Released a little while before Mortal Kombat 3, the fighting game featured impressive graphics, the ability to execute combo moves, and two life bars instead of the traditional best of three rounds matchups. The audience also had their jaws on the floor as the characters included the likes of werewolf, velociraptor, and skeleton in action. Who wouldn’t be wowed by that?!

The biggest problem that Killer Instinct suffered was a delayed home release, as it only arrived on home console almost a year after rocking the arcades. Due to Rare’s partnership with Nintendo, it was meant to be a big game for the Nintendo 64, but it had to downgrade its expectations for the SNES and Game Boy. By that time, MK3 had captured the cultural zeitgeist and it was a hard sell to