Killer Instinct Gold

Killer Instinct Gold is a 1996 fighting video game based on the arcade game Killer Instinct 2. The game was developed by Rare and released by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 video game console. As in other series entries, players control characters who fight on a 2D plane set against a 3D background. Players press buttons to punch and kick their opponent in chains of successive hits, known as combos. Large combo successions lead to stronger attacks and brutal, stylistic finisher moves underscored by an announcer. Characters—including a gargoyle, a ninja, and a femme fatale—fight in settings such as a jungle and a spaceship. Killer Instinct Gold includes the arcade release's characters, combos, and 3D, pre-rendered environments, but excludes its full-motion video sequences and some voiceovers due to restrictions of the cartridge media format. The Gold release adds a training mode, new camera views, and improved audiovisuals.

Killer Instinct Gold follows on where the first installment left off. Eyedol's death at the hands of Black Orchid accidentally sets off a time warp, transporting some of the combatants back in time and allowing the Demon Lord Gargos (Eyedol's opponent) to escape from Limbo.

Now, trapped 2000 years in the past, the warriors that survived Killer Instinct, along with several new faces, fight for the right to face Gargos in combat. Each character that survived the journey from the first game have corresponding backstories, while new characters in this installment are native inhabitants of this past time period. Some fighters, like returning fighter T.J. Combo, just want to get home. Others, like new character Tusk, want to bring an end to Gargos and his reign of evil. This time there is no tournament or prize money, just a fight to the finish with the fate of the future hanging in the balance.

Killer Instinct Gold is a port of the arcade fighting video game Killer Instinct 2. Like other entries in the Killer Instinct series, two characters controlled by humans or artificial intelligence fight in one-on-one matches to deplete their opponent's health meter. While the characters move and attack on a 2D plane, the background is depicted in pre-rendered 3D and gives the appearance of depth. Players fight with a six-button setup: three punch buttons and three kick buttons, similar to the controls in Street Fighter II. Players can chain together a series of hits into 'combos' for increased damage, with some combos requiring a specific, memorized sequences of button presses. Multiple hit combos lead to stronger attacks and brutal, stylistic finisher moves, or 'fatalities'. Characters on the receiving end of a combo can interrupt the sequence with a 'combo breaker' move. An announcer narrates major game moments with phrases like, 'Awesome combo!'

Gold features arcade, team, and tournament gameplay modes. The game's new 'practice mode' lets players rehearse their skills and follow tutorials. In the new knockout tournament mode, players cycle through a preselected team of characters when their current character is eliminated. Gold features the same characters, combos, and environments available in the arcade Killer Instinct 2. Players can unlock new character appearances, gameplay difficulty levels, and additional playable character. Gold and Killer Instinct 2's shared roster contains ten characters in total: three new additions and seven returning from the previous title. Characters include a gargoyle, a ninja, and a femme fatale. Fights are set in spaceship, jungle, and castle settings, among others, and some backgrounds are interactive. Gold features new camera functions that automatically zoom to better frame the fight. The release also includes enhancements to the 3D backgrounds and an upgraded soundtrack, but excludes the full-motion video sequences and some voiceovers from the arcade release due to the Nintendo 64's cartridge media data storage restrictions. While Gold's backgrounds are fluidly animated in 60 frames per second, its character animations have fewer frames than its arcade equivalent.