Only when the opponent is near death will it allow extended combos, so do you use the super moves for a whopping 58% damage and a measly 35 hit Ultra or get an 80-hit Ultra that does a measly 15% damage? Do you play for spectacle or efficiency? More importantly, what’s your opponent going to do? This separates Killer Instinct 2 from its competition and even its predecessor because in those games there is no other use for super moves other than dealing damage. Throughout most of the match, two super-linkers and the intermediary doubles (more on that later) will end the combo prematurely.

In that respect, KI2 becomes a game of chicken, and to reinforce this notion: long combos cannot be sustained unless the opponent’s life bar is flashing red. And if your opponent also has a fully charged super meter, is he going to wait for his Ultra or use it now? Now you’re faced with the choice of saving up for the four-score Ultra Combo or using the super now because you’re not entirely sure you’re even going to win if you hold back. Instead, Killer Instinct 2 awards meter for taking damage and for having your attacks blocked which translates into more interesting matches the more skilled your opponent because if you’re gaining meter that means your opponent is successfully hitting and defending against you. No prize for beating little Timmy’s handicapped brother. On top of the five combo enders, you also have to build twelve bars of super meter to execute the four super-linkers, and KI2’s engine interestingly does not award meter for stomping your opponent. Thus you have to settle for a lower hit count or perhaps a Fatality-inspired Ultimate Combo, which might change your character’s ending. You have to remember which enders you’ve used, which ones you have left, and when you consider chip damage, mini-Ultras, misfires, combo-breakers, and basic four-hit Super Combos doing an excess of twenty percent damage, sometimes you just can’t get all five before they drop. So to get that spectacular 60+ hit Ultra finale, you have to prepare across the entire match.

Furthermore, each ender adds additional hits and damage to the ones that follow, and more importantly, it extends the game’s trademark Ultra Combos. The fifth ender only becomes available after successfully landing the previous four. Each character has five official combo enders, four of which can be executed in any order and unlocks the mini-Ultra to end the first round. Killer Instinct 2 offers a unique twist that I’ve never seen implemented in any other fighting game that keeps it engaging twenty-two years later. A neat little touch on the ladder portraits: defeated characters appear bloody & bruised, upcoming opponents are looking away, and current opponents turn to face you.

Killer instinct 2 video game