Pro Tip of the Day - killer instinct

Pro Tip: playing in the Sky Stage in Killer Instinct

Will — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:12:52 +0000

When you go to the Character Selection screen in Killer Instinct, you have the ability to influence the stage you play on and the music that plays by holding either Up or Down on the Control Pad and pressing one of the Punch or Kick buttons.

But, what if you and a friend are playing the game and you go to the Player Select screen

Highlighted the character you wanted and then held Down on the Control Pad and pressed whatever button you designated for Medium Kick (the default is B)?

You'd be taken to the VS. screen (where you might want to take advantage of Easy Combo Breakers)

But once the fight actually starts you'll be on a platform mysteriously floating in the sky!

Which is very easy to get knocked off of

So even with Easy Combo Breakers turned on, if you get backed into a corner, you're going to be in trouble.

Have fun!

And yes, this works in the Arcade version as well.

Pro tip: Playing as Eyedol in the SNES Killer Instinct

Will — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:29:23 +0000

Killer Instinct, like a lot of fighting games, has a ridiculously unbalanced final boss character. One that will nearly make you break your controller in frustration the first few times you face him.

But what if there were a way to use him as your own character?

Well, good news for you!

If you select Cinder

And then on the Vs. screen hold Right on the control pad and quickly press

L, R, X, B, Y, A

Done correctly, you should hear the announcer say "Eyedol", and once you get into the match

He will be yours to command! He's slightly toned down from when the computer's playing him, and he's kind of tough to maneuver. But, hey, you're playing the boss! That counts for something, right?

Pro tip: Easy combo breakers

Will — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:00:00 +0000

Killer Instinct has a kind of convoluted combo system, which we'll talk about in depth another day. You can, with skill, string together lots of moves to just pummel your opponent senseless for several seconds.

Good thing, then, that there's a method to break the combos in mid-stream. A move that everyone has called, oddly enough, a 'combo breaker'. The breaker is different for each character, but it's normally just one of their regular moves done at the right time, and with the right button.

Okay, at its basic form, a combo consists of an opening move (the Opener), an autodouble (for a couple more hits), and then a finisher for a few more hits and the icing on the cake.

Problem is, though, that to break the combo you have to have timing and a pretty deep understanding of each character's moves.

Timing. You have to do your breaker during the autodouble portion of the combo (or the linker stage, but that's another pro tip). Not too tough, right? Just have to learn to recognize where the opening move ends and the next couple of hits start. Now, the 'intimate knowledge' part comes in. You have to recognize whether the autodouble was initiated with a weak, medium, or strong button, and press the corresponding button to break the combo. Weak breaks medium, medium breaks strong, and strong breaks weak.

But that's a whole lot of memorization, attentiveness, and, *gasp*, work!

Turns out that there's a slightly easier way.

On the 'Vs.' screen (that shows the matchup) press Down + Start and you'll hear this sound.

Then, the combo breakers get way easier. Now you can do them with any strength button you want. Though you still have to get the timing down.

But once you get that down, you're in great shape.

Oh, and it works in the arcade version, too.