When Capcom Released Street Fighter II in 1991, It Revolutionized the Video Game Industry Capcom’s fighting game became an instant success, and its formula turned into the recipe everyone wanted to replicate. It wouldn’t be entirely fair to say they invented the genre, but they were the ones who turned it into the mass phenomenon that dominated the 90s and the early 2000s. Virtually every company in the industry tried to develop a game that could rival it, with varying results. Some franchises earned a place in history, but most simply faded into obscurity, as was the case with Time Killers.
Is Time Killers a Copy of Mortal Kombat or Just a Coincidence?
When we think of the great rivalries within the fighting game genre, one of the first that comes to mind, due to its age, is the confrontation between Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. In this sense, Time Killers was born with the idea of creating a much more violent, impactful, and gore-filled version of Street Fighter. It’s normal for it to be compared to MK due to the similarities, but in reality, it’s more of a coincidence than anything else.
At first glance, Time Killers uses sprites to bring its characters and settings to life, just as Capcom did, and not pre-rendered graphics like Midway’s title. However, the basis for this comparison lies in the excessive use of blood, dismemberments, and gore in general as the central axis of the experience. Surprisingly, this approach was unlikely born from plagiarism.
If we search for information about this obscure game, we’ll mostly find it referred to as a copy of Mortal Kombat, a rip-off, or outright a “Mortal Clone.” But this doesn’t have to be true, and there isn’t much evidence beyond the use of gore to support this claim. If we consider the release dates of both games, we’ll discover that it’s highly improbable that MK was the main inspiration for Time Killers. Midway released its game in arcades in August 1992, just a month before Time Killers launched. In just one month, it would have been impossible to complete the game.
The only assumption that could support the plagiarism theory is that some of the people involved in the development of Time Killers somehow had access to prototypes or early versions of MK, which seems highly unlikely. Personally, I believe the similarities were purely coincidental. Both games relied on an abundance of visual violence as a hook for the audience, which inevitably created a sense of déjà vu.
History and Context
Time Killers was developed by Incredible Technologies, formerly known as Free Radical Software. This company specialized in developing video games for computers of the time as well as arcade software and hardware. Before starting this project, the company already had considerable experience in the field, having published around twenty games, most for computers but about nine for arcades. However, most of these were sports games, making this title their first foray into the fighting genre. The game was published by Strata, a small and not very well-known distributor.
Finally, in 1992, Time Killers debuted in North American arcades with decent results. While it fell far short of its main competitors, it’s estimated that around 7,000 arcade cabinets were sold at the time, which was a significant success for a small company. Following the positive results of the original version, several companies became interested in the project, and THQ acquired the rights with the idea of releasing ports for the 16-bit SEGA and Nintendo consoles.
Nintendo outright refused, as they didn’t want to deal with the controversies that arose during those years following the release of the popular Mortal Kombat. SEGA, however, gave the green light, and THQ even announced in some media outlets of the time that the game would be released on Genesis/Mega Drive in 1994. However, this didn’t happen, and THQ ended up canceling the release despite the port being 100% complete, citing the desire to “avoid controversy.” The reality was likely that the game received terrible feedback during preliminary testing.
Fortunately (or unfortunately), Black Pearl Software purchased the rights from THQ and announced its release for July 1996. This announcement was covered by GamePro magazine in its May 1996 issue (#92).
Mechanics
The mechanics are the same as any one-on-one fighting game: we face off in a deathmatch, best of three rounds, against each opponent until reaching the final boss. One difference from most titles in the genre is that in this game, all characters use weapons during combat, in addition to punches and kicks. However, without a doubt, the game’s main feature is the ability to dismember and even decapitate opponents mid-fight.
Controls
A very curious feature of this game is its control scheme. In the original arcade version, five buttons were used: one for each body part—left leg, right leg, left arm, right arm, and the head. This may seem illogical, but if we lose all or several limbs, we can still defeat our opponents with headbutts.
In the Genesis version, as was common in most fighting games, the button layout changes depending on whether we use a 6-button or 3-button controller.
Controls with a 6-Button Controller
In the ideal setup for this type of game:
- A: Back leg
- B: Front leg
- C: Block
- X: Back arm
- Y: Weapon arm
- Z: Headbutts
We can also attack with both arms or legs simultaneously by pressing the two corresponding buttons at the same time. The directional pad controls character movement, and blocking is done by pressing back (even diagonally), as standardized by Street Fighter. To execute enemies, we must press A + B + X + Y. This special attack can only be performed when the opponent is stunned.
Controls with a 3-Button Controller
With the 3-button controller, things get more complicated:
- A: Headbutts
- B: Both arms simultaneously
- C: Back leg
- A + B: Back arm
- B + C: Back leg
- A + C: Both legs
This setup is a real puzzle, and there’s no button assigned solely to the weapon arm. Blocking is done by pressing back on the directional pad, and the fatal attack is executed with A + B + C simultaneously.
Options
The main menu is very basic, offering options for one or two players and a settings menu where we can configure the most basic features: difficulty level, game speed, violence level, enabling/disabling the time limit, and the classic sound test.
Difficulty Levels
There are four selectable difficulty levels, ranging from easiest to hardest: “Piece of Cake,” “Warrior,” “Hero,” and “Timekiller.” The easiest level is ridiculously low, so much so that the jump to standard difficulty is enormous rather than a simple step. Similarly, the higher levels maintain this exaggerated increase. The maximum difficulty level is absurdly high and only makes sense for experts or masochists.
Game Speed
From the menu, we can select the speed at which the game runs. The default option is “Arcade,” which matches the original game’s speed. We can also play in “Champion,” which slightly increases the speed without being excessive, and finally, “Turbo,” which, as in Street Fighter II, increases the speed so much that it completely changes the gameplay. It feels like watching a video at double speed or even faster.
Violence
The game allows us to limit the level of graphic violence, which doesn’t make much sense considering gore is the central element of the experience. However, we can remove all blood, include blood without dismemberments or decapitations, enable dismemberments without decapitations, or play with everything activated. These options, which at first seem to only modify the graphics, can actually change the mechanics. Disabling both dismemberments and decapitations would make it impossible to end a round before depleting the opponent’s health (or the time limit, if active).
Timer
Finally, we can decide whether to keep or remove the time limit. If activated, it sets the maximum duration of each round to 90 seconds, as no other maximum duration can be defined.
Dynamics
Plot
The plot is the classic one found in most games of the genre: a death tournament. In this case, Death has captured the greatest warriors of humanity from different times—past, present, and future—and tricked them into fighting each other. Whoever manages to defeat all their rivals must face Death itself, and if victorious, they will become immortal.
Characters
The roster consists of 8 selectable characters and a final boss who cannot be used (though supposedly can be unlocked via a code on the start screen). Among the characters, we find several stereotypes such as the caveman, the medieval knight, the Viking, the samurai, and futuristic figures, but none of them are particularly memorable. All have a very poor visual design and lack gameplay distinction.
Below is a description of each character based on the information provided in the game manual, including their origin and background.
Thugg: The Caveman
Origin:
Time Period:
Weapon:
Mesopotamia
20.000 B.C.
Stone Axe
The typical caveman, complete with a loincloth. According to the game manual, the troglodytes who ruled the Earth at that time were a race of reptilians who enslaved humans. Thugg fought against them, even defeating their leader, which caused the troglodyte movement to lose strength, allowing humanity to prosper and evolve. Apparently, this guy was the savior of humanity, and we’re only finding out now.
During one of his battles against the troglodyte warriors, he bit off a piece of one and spat it at another, creating one of his signature moves, the deadly spit. Unfortunately, after his final battle against the supreme leader of the troglodytes, Thugg disappeared and was never seen again.
Leif: The Viking
Origin:
Time Period:
Weapon:
Harstad, Norway
829 A.C
Battle Axe
A stereotypical Viking with a battle axe and horned helmet. For years, he fought against the evil Black Army led by Black Thorn, preventing them from expanding beyond the northern coast of Norway. Frustrated by his inability to defeat the Black Army, Leif allowed himself to be captured by enemy forces and was taken as a prisoner to their castle, where he was tortured.
Eventually, he was brought before Black Thorn himself for execution. With his last surge of adrenaline, Leif surprised and killed him. His Viking comrades waited for him for days, but Leif never returned from the castle.
Lord Wulf: The Medieval Knight
Origin:
Time Period:
Weapon:
Camelot, England
1202 A.C.
Sword
A brave knight constantly seeking peace and happiness. At a very young age, he left his native Camelot and made Spinstershire his home. Unfortunately, this land was controlled by the evil Count Morbid. Lord Wulf organized a popular revolt and convinced the people to fight against Count Morbid and his army. During the battle, amidst a supernatural storm, he managed to eliminate the count by reflecting a lightning bolt with his sword.
This form of attack became his signature move. Once the storm ended, peace returned to Spinstershire, but Lord Wulf was never heard from again.
Musashi: The Samurai
Origin:
Time Period:
Weapon:
Nagashima, Japan
1455 A.C.
Katana / Combat Technique: Daito
An agile samurai and brilliant strategist, Musashi led an army considered invincible, as they always won battles without suffering any casualties. However, during a secret mission at the Serpent’s Fork, the powerful dragon Yofune-Nushi appeared and burned everyone alive except Musashi. Haunted by the hell he witnessed, he dedicated his life to training and improving his combat skills until he finally tracked down the dragon and tore it apart.
This is the last known event in his life, as neither Musashi nor the dragon were ever seen leaving the cave where they fought.
As a fun fact, Musashi is the only character who can jump off the edges of the stage, similar to Chun-Li in Street Fighter II.
Rancid: The Man with the X on His Forehead
Origin:
Time Period:
Weapon:
New Chicago, USA
2024 A.C.
Chainsaw
Rancid was abandoned as a child in the dark tunnels of a corrupt 21st-century city. He had to fend for himself to survive and eventually gained a reputation, becoming an urban legend. However, his world fell apart when he was falsely accused of committing a series of crimes known as the “X murders,” where the perpetrator marked an X on the victims’ foreheads.
Hunted by both the police and the people of the slums, Rancid used all his street knowledge to solve the mystery and track down the real killer. During their confrontation, he almost became a victim himself and even received the mark of death. But just before being killed, he managed to dispatch the murderer with a chainsaw. After that, the “X murders” stopped, the mystery was never officially solved, and Rancid disappeared into urban legends with no known whereabouts.
Orion: The Space Man
Origin:
Time Period:
Weapon:
Alpha X9 Outpost
2885 A.C.
Electro Saber
Born in a small space station in a desolate corner of outer space, Orion always felt trapped and dreamed of one day crossing the stars to explore the unknown. He trained as an exploration pilot and one day “borrowed” an experimental ship to go on a journey. When he returned, the space station had been attacked by a shapeless black creature that moved through space like a jellyfish.
When he tried to report it to the authorities, they attempted to arrest him, accusing him of being responsible for the murders. Orion took his ship and escaped in search of the creature to prove his innocence. Over time, his ship became a trophy room where he displayed the heads of the many beings he defeated during his odyssey. He gained fame as a daring outlaw. Eventually, he found a clue about the creature’s location, set course for an unknown sector, and was never seen in this galaxy again.
Matrix: The Girl with the Bionic Arm
Origin:
Time Period:
Weapon:
Colony A-7, Mars
3297 A.C.
Photon Blade
Matrix was only 4 years old when the cyber war struck her native Mars. During this conflict, an unknown force reprogrammed all robots to attack humans. As she grew up, she joined the resistance and fought alongside the few remaining humans. During one of these battles, she suffered a critical injury, leading to the amputation of her arm, which was replaced with a bionic one.
This cybernetic implant allowed her to remotely command the machines she fought against. Eventually, she tracked down the Master Drone, a bio-technical entity of unknown origin that led the robots. Matrix cut through the Master Drone’s flesh with her photon blade until she reached its core and destroyed it with her bionic hand. Afterward, the planet was left full of useless robots, but there was no trace of its savior.
Mantazz: The Insect Queen
Origin:
Time Period:
Weapon:
Unknown
4002 A.C.
Serrated Forearms
No one knows if Mantazz comes from a species that invaded Earth at some point or if it’s the result of a strange evolution in the radioactive jungle. These insectoid creatures have a tough exoskeleton that is both highly resistant and lightweight, allowing them to fly. Their forearms are equipped with sharp serrated edges, and they can shoot plasma bursts from their eyes.
Thanks to their high reproduction rate and nearly infinite lifespan, they quickly spread across the planet, almost driving humanity to extinction. However, their queen suddenly disappeared without a trace, leaving the species without leadership or reproductive capabilities, which caused them to cease being a threat to humanity. Eventually, they coexisted with humans.
Many believe the queen’s disappearance was orchestrated by Death itself, fearing that Mantazz might succeed in achieving the human extinction that Death longed to execute.
Death: The Final Boss
Death is never satisfied with the balance of life and death and has tirelessly sought to gather the power necessary to eliminate all its adversaries. To achieve this, it devised the plan that gives life to this game: kidnapping humanity’s greatest heroes from across history and the insect queen Mantazz, removing them from their space-time lines, and convincing them to fight one another.
Whoever manages to eliminate the rest of the contenders must face Death itself and its sharp scythe. If victorious, their reward will be immortality.
Gameplay
Finally, we arrive at the central point of the analysis, the gameplay. This is the only aspect in which the title could stand out thanks to the innovative nature of its control system; unfortunately, the execution is far too poor. If this title had been released before the legendary Street Fighter II, we could talk about a respectable attempt, but that was not the case. This game came after Capcom’s title that defined the genre, and it could be said that what it takes from it fails to execute it correctly.
First of all, the control scheme is excessively complex, or at least it is not clear at the beginning. It takes too much time to understand which buttons do what, and we will ultimately opt to use only weapon attacks and, very occasionally, a kick or punch from below just to buy time. Special moves cannot be canceled, and every time we hit an enemy, they step back a little, making it impossible to perform combos. The best strategy is usually to use the longest-range attacks possible and strike only when we are certain we will connect. And regarding special attacks, there are some that are very simple and others that are ridiculously complex, and due to the generic nature of the animations and sprites, in many cases, we will not be able to distinguish them from normal attacks.
A notable difference in this port compared to the original arcade version is the size of the characters. In the console version, they are much smaller, and while this may seem like just a visual change, it ends up affecting the mechanics. Since the fighters are smaller, the stages are more spacious, which often makes it harder to get close to our opponents, especially if they abuse projectiles to maintain distance. While the original game was no marvel, the fighter sprites were much larger, creating much more dynamic fights thanks to the claustrophobic nature of the playing field, which is usually the norm in fighting games.
Arcade Version
Genesis Version
Possibly the most distinctive feature of this game is the ability to dismember or decapitate our opponents. If we sever an arm or a leg, we will limit the enemy’s capabilities, and we can even leave them with just the torso and head as their only means of attack. But without a doubt, the most effective strategy is to attack our opponent’s head directly with our weapon. If we manage to time it correctly, we can decapitate them and end the round immediately—of course, they can do the same to us. Another way to quickly finish a fight is by stunning the enemy. During this lapse, if we hold down all the attack buttons simultaneously, we execute a fatal combo that amputates all limbs and ends with a decapitation. If at the moment of stunning the opponent we are close, it is easy to achieve, but that is not always the case. Now, when the AI manages to stun us, 100% of the time it finishes us off with that final move.
Difficulty
It is quite difficult for me to classify the level of difficulty of the game since at times it can be quite easy or incredibly difficult, and sometimes these changes occur within the same match. In this analysis, we will focus on the “warrior” difficulty level, which would be the medium level. It could be said that, in general, the game tends to be difficult. The AI has no problem cornering us with a rain of blows and also tends to have surgical precision with weapon attacks, which causes us to be eliminated in many cases with a single blow.
In fact, it could be said that the difficulty varies greatly depending on the opponents, although there are some that I find particularly difficult no matter who I face them with, such as Mantrazz, who with his dangerous Shoryuken is capable of decapitating us with a single blow, on more than one occasion at the very moment the round begins.
Despite the general difficulty, in terms of how much it will cost us to finish the game, I would say it is between high and very high. With only 4 continues and no password system, our chances of retrying the fights are quite limited. Additionally, the final boss is an abuse in every sense, not only does it have broken abilities, but the damage it generates is absurdly high, and it blocks the vast majority of our attacks. It is quite normal for final fighters in fighting games to be broken, but in this case, the power difference simply takes away the desire to keep trying. And this is considering the medium level. If we dare to play at higher levels, the abilities of the machine-controlled characters become absurd, as does their reaction capacity.
Aesthetics
Setting
Probably the most notable aspect of the game is its setting. Being a multi-temporal contest, both the characters and their corresponding scenarios recreate different eras. That said, none of the representations escape triviality. It could be said that each and every one of them is as generic as possible, from prehistory to the Viking era, Camelot, or the future—each setting is one cliché after another.
Graphics
If there was something in which the original game managed to stand out, it was in its graphics, which, without being anything extraordinary, did manage to catch our attention thanks to the large size of the sprites but above all for the excessive use of gore. Obviously, when having to port it to a console with much more limited hardware, it was necessary to make several concessions, which explains why in its Genesis / Mega Drive version it looks so bad.
Stages
As expected, each fighter has their own stage set in their corresponding era, and like everything in this game, they fail to escape mediocrity. The caveman fights in a jungle setting with a dinosaur carcass in the background (undoubtedly my favorite stage), the Viking fights on a ship, the medieval knight in front of a burning castle, and so on. While they represent both the story of each character and their time period, they do not escape being generic at any time, and the worst thing is that they are all completely static, not a single animation, although at least they present a layer of parallax scrolling.
At least there is some interesting detail, such as the fact that in the space station where we face Orion, the body of the defeated fighter floats due to the lack of gravity, curiously this does not affect the severed limbs. Another curiosity is that Mantazz’s stage is the same as Matrix’s but destroyed. This is somewhat contradictory since Matrix fought on Mars while Mantazz supposedly invaded Earth. It is also possible that both are identical launch platforms located on different planets, although that would be more forced than the plot of this game.
Characters
Even weaker is the representation of the characters. Their sprites are so small that they not only lose a lot of detail but also look somewhat ridiculous, giving the impression of watching a battle of armed dwarves. To the poor drawings, we must add clunky animations with very few frames, which give the sensation of being in front of a prototype rather than a finished game.
I previously mentioned that the most notable aspect of this game is its graphic violence, but even in this, it falls flat. The first few times we tear off a limb from the opponent, it is indeed satisfying, but it quickly becomes monotonous. All decapitations and dismemberments are the same, regardless of which character performs them, so once we’ve seen one of these sequences, we’ve seen them all.
If this game had been released in the early nineties like the original, it would have been acceptable, but considering that it arrived on SEGA’s console only in 1996, it loses against any other title from the same year. It’s clear that during all the time the game was in limbo, no effort was made to improve it even a little. They basically released an unfinished prototype years later without the slightest respect for consumers.
Differences between the arcade and Mega Drive / Genesis versions
Obviously, the console version had to make sacrifices in the graphics department due to more limited hardware. By default, SEGA’s console could only display 64 colors on the screen simultaneously, in addition to having much smaller sprite sizes. Curiously, this could be said to have worked in its favor when it comes to the stages. In the arcade version, they look like a collage of several superimposed PNG images, and the worst part is that the images are very grainy, giving a very unpleasant impression. When adapting them to the console, the backgrounds were redrawn from scratch but adhered to the limit of available colors, which ends up offering more simplified versions that fit much better with the overall aesthetic of the title. That said, the arcade version offers several layers of parallax scrolling, while the console version only has one layer for the effect.
Another small change regarding the stages is the absence of the impaled heads in Musashi’s level, and the fact that limbs cannot fall off the stages as they did in the original arcade version. Death has its own stage in the original game, which is not available in the console version. Instead, it fights each round on the map of one of the other fighters. As a detail, when playing in the arcade, before each fight, a sign appears indicating the area and year in which the fight will take place, something that does not happen in the port. Lastly, the health bars include the name of each fighter with a custom font, a detail that was also omitted in the console adaptation.
Audio
The game’s music meets all the characteristics of a poorly executed soundtrack on the old and beloved SEGA Genesis: overly sharp and screechy sounds, instruments that sound metallic, and the typical percussion that sounds like flatulence. This, combined with a composition that lacks any sense, results in something utterly bizarre. The songs seem like a random combination of sounds and instruments, as if someone started headbutting a synthesizer, hoping the music would compose itself. None of the songs are good or even memorable, and they fail to capture the essence of the places or eras they attempt to represent. The final result is amateurish, flat, soulless, and simply lamentable.
The sound effects maintain the general level of mediocrity of the work. They are the typical pre-set sounds that developers (mainly Western ones) seemed to love, as they were incapable of composing anything through FM synthesis. The little that could be salvaged from this section are the voices, which, although brutally compressed and practically unintelligible, add that nostalgic factor of games from the era. At least they do not overuse the voices and limit them to naming the characters during the fighter selection, the classic announcement at the beginning of each round, and the occasional scream of pain during combat.
Final Impressions
Time Killers is a game that tried to join the wave of fighting games unleashed by the resounding success of Street Fighter II but arrives late and poorly. Its only notable feature was the high level of graphic violence. But being released shortly after the iconic Mortal Kombat, it was relegated to total oblivion, as Midway’s title surpassed it in every aspect: more gore and more variety, better graphics, a richer narrative (as basic as it may be), and above all, gameplay light-years ahead.
And all this considering the original arcade version, which is the better of the two. If we also take into account that the console version arrived several years later, the situation worsens. By the time this port saw the light of day, both the Saturn and PlayStation were already on the market, and SEGA’s already aging 16-bit console had a good list of fighting games far superior to this one. The Mortal Kombat trilogy, several versions of Street Fighter II, titles like Fatal Fury or Samurai Shodown, and even SEGA’s controversial Eternal Champions outshine it.
Score
A really bad fighting game, with an extremely ugly graphical section, absurdly small and poorly animated characters, uninspired and static stages, a poor story with the most generic and completely unmemorable protagonists. Mechanically deficient, with a control scheme that is hard to understand, excessively complex and mostly useless special moves, practically no balance, and inconsistent and at times excessive difficulty.
This project should have remained a prototype or at least undergone a revision before releasing such an unfinished “final” version. All of this makes me think that its release was merely an attempt to make money off a stagnant license without any kind of quality control or respect for the players. It is not recommended in any aspect; in terms of gameplay, there are far superior examples, and if it’s for the use of gore, other titles offer a much better and more varied result.
Play Time Killers Online, Free and Without Downloads
If you want to experience the game for yourselves but don’t have a SEGA Genesis or don’t like having to download and configure emulators, there is the option to emulate it online without needing to download or install anything. Courtesy of archive.org, a website dedicated to rescuing and compiling software of all kinds, one of the greatest contributions to video game preservation on a global level.
