The slow swell of Nintendo Switch Online’s N64 library continues with a brand-new addition for Expansion Pack subscribers: developer Rare’s much-loved 1996 fighter Killer Instinct Gold is available now in the west, with Japan getting something else entirely.
Rare’s Killer Instinct series – something of a response to the hugely popular (and considerably more violent) Mortal Kombat games – debuted in arcades back in 1994, with the series making its home console debut on Super Nintendo later that year. A sequel, Killer Instinct 2, hit arcades in 1996, and it’s this version that later made its way to the N64 under the name Killer Instinct Gold.
Killer Instinct Gold offered a bit of a glow-up compared to its console predecessor, replacing the previously 2D backdrops with new-fangled 3D. The pre-rendered characters, though, remained staunchly two dimensional across its 11-strong roster of new and returning fighters, which included the likes of Sabrewulf, Riptor, Galcius, and Spinal. Gold was warmly received at the time, but would mark the start of over a decade-and-a-half of dormancy for the series, which didn’t return until 2013’s Killer Instinct reboot on Xbox.
Anyone looking to relive the halcyon days of 1996 now have the option to do so on Switch, as long as they’ve got themselves a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription. Things are a little different for members in Japan, however, where the service’s latest N64 addition is Ridge Racer 64, which arrived in the west back in January this year.
Killer Instinct Gold and the rest of Nintendo’s Switch Online classic games catalogue will also be available to Switch 2 owners with an Expansion Pack subscription when the console arrives on 5th June. In addition to the already available NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, N64, and Sega Mega Drive titles, Switch 2 also brings access to a range of GameCube classics. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Soul Calibur 2, and F-Zero GX are all currently confirmed for launch day.