Nintendo has announced that Killer Instinct Gold, a classic fighting game from the Nintendo 64 days, is now available via Nintendo Switch Online’s Expansion Pack service.
Rare’s fighter is the latest N64 game to join the subscription service’s lineup, following on from other classics like Ridge Racer 64, spooky action-adventure game Shadow Man, and cult classic Iggy’s Reckin’ Balls, among others.
Unlike some Switch Online N64 releases, it doesn’t look like Killer Instinct Gold will be packing any extra online features; it’ll just be you against the computer, or a friend that’s daring enough to test their might against your unbeatable Sabrewulf.
Originally released in 1996, Killer Instinct Gold is a port of the previously arcade-only game Killer Instinct 2. It features ten playable characters, three of whom (Kim Wu, Maya, and Tusk) are new additions to the roster.
Unfortunately, several characters from the original Killer Instinct haven’t made it into Killer Instinct Gold‘s roster, including Chief Thunder, Cinder, and Riptor. All of them would return for 2013’s Killer Instinct reboot, however, as would every other character from the series up to that point.
Designed as a response to Midway’s hugely popular Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct features a focus on combo-based gameplay; the infamous “C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER” soundbite comes from the original 1994 release.
Killer Instinct Gold largely carries across Killer Instinct 2‘s gameplay and characters from the original arcade release, but it omits voiceovers and full-motion video sequences thanks to the memory limitations of the N64’s cartridges.
To date, 2013’s Killer Instinct remains the last game in the series, and since developer and custodian Iron Galaxy suffered layoffs back in February, I’m not sure another one is on the way anytime soon.
Still, you can content yourself with Killer Instinct Gold, which is available now as part of a Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscription. It’ll also be playable on Nintendo Switch 2 when the console launches on June 5th.