Happy Birthday to us! KI turns 20

August 30th, 1995. Killer Instinct released this day 20 years ago on the SNES, and our lives have never been the same.

Read the full article here: Happy birthday to…us! KI turns 20 today! - Killer Instinct

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Memories of seeing Sabrewulf and calling him Saigawolf

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Happy B-day KI!!! :birthday:

My favorite moment was the hype I felt when the KI revival was first announced at E3 13’. I wanted to die of happiness!

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WOO!! :fireworks: Happy Birthday to KI SNES. My dad bought an SNES and KI when it came out, I was born in '94 so it took me a bit, (my brother was allowed to play it before me, so he used to play with my dad and I was crazy jealous) but by the time I was in kindergarten I was already button mashing in that game with my brother and thinking about it constantly. I was a bit young for the game, but that only made it more interesting and exciting. Eventually as I got older I started actually understanding the game and thus appreciating it more. Even now I go back and play it every once in a while. Good times. I love it.

Happy birthday KI

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Happy Killer B-day~!!!

happy 20 years killer instinct! my birthday is on august 24th, so KI released when I was… 13? Holy mother

NIce! It’s a good time to be a fan… :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Here’s to another 20! Cheers guys! :birthday: :tada: :cocktail:

Happy Birthday to the one and only, Killer Instinct!

I remember being 13. Went to the mall like usual to play some games at the arcade. There were 2 arcades in the mall (Millcreek Mall in Erie, PA). Red Baron and TILT. Red Baron was always the first to get the latest arcade games, while TILT got the somewhat older games and the redemption machines. I arrived at Red Baron, but they were unpacking a new game called Cruisin’ USA. I decided to wait and hit up TILT instead. Played for about an hour, went back to Red Baron and the game was ready. But no one was playing it. Ah, that’s why. 75 cents a play. That was unheard of in my area, unless it was some uber special machine. I decided to give it a go anyway. In the middle of a race, I hear those famous words…

“AVAILABLE FOR YOUR HOME IN 1995, ONLY ON NINTENDO ULTRA 64…KILLER INSTINCT!” BOOMING throughout the arcade

I was like “whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat was THAT?! Nintendo?! Ultra 64?! I HAVE TO SEE THIS THING!” I walked up to the KI machine and was blown away by the graphics, the insanely loud sounds, combo system, ultra’s…everything. I spent the next 4 years mastering the game in the arcade and on the SNES. To say I had a love affair with KI is an understatement. Thank you for 20 years of excellence! Here’s hoping the next 20 are just as amazing, with less waiting for another installment :stuck_out_tongue: <3

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Around the time SNES KI came out there were 2 other fighting games releasing nearby; Mortal Kombat 3 and Primal Rage. I remember that school year being filled with fighting games… and KI was the one that I spent the most time with. The fact that it came with a soundtrack CD was just an amazing thing.

Keep rocking.

It’s so sad. Back on SNES days, somebody stole my black cartridge…

NOW I HAVE BOTH KI & KI2 ARCADE PLUS NEW KI ON MY XBOX OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!!!

My favorite moment was when I first saw KI 2013 over at my Uncle’s house. He’s always been a big gamer (he was the one that introduced me to the original Xbox way back in the day when I was so much younger, in fact) so he’s always had each of the latest consoles and really wonderful displays to play them on. We often play stuff as a family whenever we visit, and it’s a lot of fun. Anyways, his current set-up is a huge hi-definition projector which looks absolutely beautiful, and he was like, “Hey you should look at this game, the characters are really awesome-looking and the gameplay is fun”.

I didn’t think much of it at the time; I know my Uncle has good taste in games but I have never been super into fighting games and had only played the old Killer Instincts a couple of times, so I figured we’d just go a few rounds and then move onto other games. But as soon as we got to the character select screen and I saw how badass Sabrewulf looked and how well he animated, I was enthralled. And then I scrolled over to Glacius, and I remember this very clearly, my friend who was sitting next to me looked over at me and said, “This character has you written all over it”.

And he was right. As an artist and creature designer I was fascinated by Glacius’ design and really appreciated how convincing it was to see him in game. I chose him and button-mashed my way through a few rounds; even though I didn’t know what I was doing I had a lot of fun because the character resonated a lot with me, and it was so badass to have a game where there was a werewolf and an ice alien tearing into each other with these dynamic environments and this adrenaline-pumping soundtrack in the background. I was hooked. I remember jumping off of the couch in excitement when I somehow managed to do a shadow puddle punch ender; I was so thrilled that I recorder it to the Xbox DVR, which makes me grin looking back on it because it was something so simple that just about anyone can do and yet pulling it off made me feel unstoppable. And I feel like that is really what the core of the KI experience is about. There was just something so pure and exciting about the game; I think a large part of it was the passion that I could feel that went into its creation.

From there I went home and began looking up Killer Instinct wikis to learn about all of the characters and refamiliarize myself with the old games. Then I went back and watched old trailers like the E3 launch announcement and really enjoyed watching how excited all the fans got, it was just great to know there was this passionate cult following behind the games. And then, when I ultimately bought my own Xbox One, Killer Instinct was one of the first games that I bought, and I gradually went about learning the ropes… and from there I’ve only sunk in even deeper. I began drawing fanart and watching tournaments and participating with the community as much as I could (shout-out to all those high level Glacius players that have chatted with me while they streamed! <3).

That first step of the journey was definitely my favorite memory, but each and every leg that followed has been memorable in its own way. Killer Instinct and its community have so much to offer… I hope it stays around for a long time!

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Happy birthday KILLER INSTINCT!

I was 10 when KI born, and I love playing it!

Also, giving that it’s KI birthday… We could use some S3 info… as present…

Just saying :stuck_out_tongue:

My favorite moment was when you guys first revealed Riptor at the end of Kan-Ra’s trailer. I was on the bus home from school when I watched it and had a total geek out.

Woah, I was 12 years old when the game released - that makes me feel old… :weary:

Still, I recall playing the original KI in the store - back then I loved Orchid because she was so easy to spam (I didn’t understand the concept of combos or counters back then). I would just kick and punch and push my opponent to the edge of the stage without taking a single hit and watch them fall to their doom and onto a car. Ah, good times. I was untouchable then, and while I’ve tempered that feeling today, I’m still well, to put it bluntly, pretty darn good. :stuck_out_tongue:

Happy Birthday!!!
The years have been, KILLER.

Can’t say what’s a better memory, hours rocking to an idle main menu on a cranked TV during the high school years;


or
E3’13’s reveal;

I have always felt KI was about love for the genre. By extension of the genre, the passion for music and over-the-top comic style animation came with it.
KI isn’t about copying the others, it’s about expressing what is loved most about them.

And now KI is one of the most balanced and deep fighters ever made!! It’s not just flashy sights and sounds, it’s a serious business 2-way fighting machine.
I don’t plan on getting into the serious side, at least not too deep, but wow, THANK YOU Double Helix for your initial passionate work. THANK YOU Iron Galaxy for continuing with equal zeal.
The other big guys/gals have taken notice and are stepping up to the bar once again raised by Killer Instinct.

Happy B-Day KI!!! TURN UP! Cheers to Season3.

SUPREME BIRTHDAY!!! Never forget going to the arcade to play SF2 and MK and one day just hearing something different something louder something Ultra! After the first 50 cents I knew this was my new favorite fighter!

Happy 20th anniversary celebration, Killer Instinct. Happy 20th anniversary to you, Killer Instinct :sunglasses: