Killer Instinct was a great arcade game, but it somehow lost its magic as a console game...
Gameplay: The arcade version of this had great gameplay, and it was smooth as silk. On the SNES however, the controls just don't feel right (boy, I sound crazy right now huh?), maybe it was built for arcades or something, I dunno. However, all the characters, moves, and finishing moves are here still. There are even a few new modes to play with.
However, there is only one mode we care about, and that is the versus mode, which is still why it got an average score. I don't know what it is about a lot of early fighting games, but they seem to have just been BUILT for Versus, and Killer Instinct is a great versus game. And because it is easier to make combos, you can start a decent party with this, just like EVERY OTHER FIGHTING GAME.
Samey samey gameplay and missing arcade charm give this part a 5/10. If it wasn't in the arcades, it would have gotten maybe a 7 or 8.
Graphics: I was pleasently surprised here. This game was great looking in the arcades, and it ports suprisingly well to the SNES. All the backgrounds and characters look 3-D, and the close up images are just as gross and horrid looking as ever. It slightly tones down the graphics on the SNES, but that was expected.
Because of the arcade accursey and awesome backgrounds, this gets a 9/10, the only thing holding this game back is the close ups, but they were ugly in the first place >shrug<
Sound: Yes, you do remember the sound from the arcades? It sounds worse here, which is surpising. The music, at best, is as grim as the mood. At worst, it is a quiet, ugly sounding mess. I didn't like the music in the arcade, and I hate it more here.
The Sound FX share a similar fate, but they do at least make passable. This place gets a 3/10.
Overall: This really should only apply those who are curious and serious die-hard fans of this game. Even if you are curious, rent it first, because it tried hard, but it lost some of that poor arcade magic that made it so great.