In terms of new additions, there’s a lot more focus on juggling your opponent, and a variety of ways to set them up for it. You’re also no longer limited to a single special that counts as a Linker, so you don’t have to stick to that one move again and again to keep your combo going. Performing autodoubles and breakers now have grounded rules as to which button you’re supposed to use for them, which makes actually performing a lot easier to do. While the basics of the combo system still apply, everything’s been generally made a lot easier, so there’s a lot less memorization to deal with. Unfortunately, knowing just what moves beat what is pretty much going to be completely random without a guide on your side. Defensive players also have another slight advantage in a “Rock-Paper-Scissors” esque system where certain special moves will win out against others if they connect, meaning that you can play a little more patiently and focus on punishing your opponent.
On the defensive end of things, you can now parry certain standing normal, which can lead either lead to a dizzy or a special opener that can lead to extra long combos, if done properly. Besides, after the last game, they don’t have an excuse not to have them. Most characters can now throw people, as well as reversing your opponent’s throws, and while they’re not very damaging, they’re useful to get past an opponent’s guard. The fundamentals haven’t changed a whole lot from the original game, so if you remembered what you learned from the original KI, you’ll have a good start. Sadly, while Orchid’s model looks a little better this time around, her breast-emphasizing outfit certainly does not. The returning characters also get some tweaks to their design, like Sabrewulf getting cyborg arms for no particular reason. It’s definitely nice to have more of a female presence this time around besides Orchid, although it would have been nice to have an extra non-human character, too. In their place are kung fu lady Kim Wu, the Conan-esque Tusk, and the Amazon warrior queen Maya. That’s a rather unusual boast, considering there’s only been one other Killer Instinct game at all at this point.Ĭinder, Riptor, and Chief Thunder are out of the roster, supposedly because they got the least play in the original game. “Jago, Spinal, Glacius, Orchid, Combo, Fulgore, and Sabrewulf join Tusk, Maya, and Kim Wu in an all new Fighting Extravaganza! KI Gold has more Combos more characters and more fights than any other KI game!” The story matters so little, that this is what the N64 version has to say about the game’s plot: Truthfully, though, the whole time travel thing factors even less into this game’s plot, since there’s still several stages that take place in “modern” times, anyway. Now the stranded combatants have to fight their way to Gargos in their attempt to return home, while the warriors of the past make it their goal to kill the demon lord. This time warp also releases Eyedol’s rival in conquest, Gargos, from his dimensional prison. After Orchid defeated Eyedol, the two-headed cyclops Ultratech had hanging around their basement, his death creates a time warp that sucks the Killer Instinct fighters 2,000 years into the past.