My first memory of KI is a strategy guide that had pretty cool characters. We got a used N64 much later actually and it came with KI Gold. Never really played it though. Now that I’ve been playing this one I was surprised to hear a stat that KI sold like 3 million copies. Could be wrong. But either way this game had a much bigger impact than I understood.
I’m just curious was KI a sleeper hit when it first came out? When KI2 came out was it considered as good of a game by the fans and/or critics? And just what is the kind of fanbase KI had? Like MK, and I’m just speaking as someone who only rented the occasional MK game, always seemed to be about checking out fatalities and gore and even before I had any conception of tournament going for a game MK always seemed kind of sensational without much substance. Street Fighter, which i think i practically never touched once maybe, always seemed as if it was a really really mature hardcore game. How was KI percieved at launch? Was KI2 seen the same? Were the originals seen as a western analogue to street fighter? Or more of a MK party type of game?
KI ruled the 90s…MK grew to be bigger once MK3 came out…but SF was pretty much dead since it did not have a title on N64.
KI was big, way bigger than SF and MK in the arcade when KI 1 hit. Now KI2 was a bit over shadowed in the arcade by Ultimate MK3.
But as far as Super Nintendo and N64… KI 1 and KI Gold were the fighting games to have for those 4 years from 94-98.
Then fighting games kind of just died off and the arcade scene died as well.
This is all how it went down in my town back then… not sure about a major city…but here in the small town of West Monroe Louisiana…that how it was.
I recall KI being rather well hyped by Nintendo Power magazine (internet wasn’t really a thing yet). I got some KI trading cards from it and even ordered some KI Pogs (look it up, and yes, we were stupid kids). It was sort of like the next big thing after Donkey Kong Country showed off the graphics it had, but it was never as big as the more established names like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. Not that it wasn’t popular, it was, but people in general were probably more aware of the announcer (combo breaker!) than the game itself. It was supposed to be one of the big reasons to get the fast approaching “Ultra 64” system, but one day we got a Nintendo Power with KI on the cover which announced that it was coming to the SNES also (“16-bit No Lie!” on the cover lol). Of course, the Ultra 64 became the Nintendo 64, and they never released KI for it until they did the KI 2 port (as KI Gold) which I don’t think was as hyped up. There was also a Game Boy version of KI1, which I thought was really cool. A few characters were missing, and the graphics were super rough, but it was totally playable and even had a few things the SNES version didn’t have, like full shadow combos (more like silhouette combos).
I should point out that I wasn’t an arcade guy, so others might have different memories. Good times though.
ki2 as terrible and as the end of a great franchise it ddnt do as ell as K1 did, but KI 1 was a powerhouse in the 90’s up the with MK even though it wasnt really as good
emphasis on way bigger SF AND MK were still bigger and popular then KI worldwide MK always ruled the arcade with KI 1 being almost as close
My first memory of KI was wen my mom came home with my older brother one day. He had in the case, a Black Cartridge. I was quite excited to see what it was. My older brother and his freind played a couple rounds and then let me and my brother @Justatherpeitle to play.
When we went through the character select screen. The first character that caught my attention was Riptor. My brother and I both chose her and we began to fight it out, well…sorta lol.
Then as time went on we played the hell out of that game, lol. Like Primal-Rage I discovered the Ultimates by accident and I remember I’d spend hours practicing, trying to figure out the finishing moves lol.
In that time I also ended up maing Fulgore and Cinder along with Riptor.
My brother and I loved KI1. Then one christmas morning my brother and I got an N64. One of the first two games was Mario 64, and Killer Instinct Gold.
The first thing I wanted to do once the screen booted up was to find Riptor, no Riptor, ok how about Cinder? No?..Only other character I cared about that was still in the game was Fulgore.
My brother had it a bit worse though. Riptor was the only character he liked really. So he just ended up having to settle for Glacius and Sabrewulf.
Were it not for Fulgore’s inclusion in KI2 I’d of not remembered KI2 as fondly as I do now (which it really isn’t that fondly, by replacing a dinosaur, and a living being of fire with two more himan fighters really killed the diversity, which is one of the reasons I consider KI2 the worst of all the KI games, but it’s not a bad game by any means, just very VERY lacking in comparison to KI1 and 2013)
So yeah that’s what made the kind of KI-fellow I am today.
as a whole KI has been one of my top 3 favorite fighters of all time.
Its funny to hear the KI2 hate here. I liked that one way more 