Time Killers - why did this great fighter go unnoticed? [Archive]

Zap!

07-26-2005, 01:59 AM

With the exception of Street Fighter II, Time Killers was my favorite one-on-one fighting game. You could cut off your opponents legs, arms, and even heads. Yet it never gained the massive popularity that SFII or Mortal Kombat had. Heck, it never even gained popularity comparable to the Neo-Geo fighters. Why? It was awesome. Or maybe it's just me? As far as I know, it was only released on the Genesis. How is that version compared to the arcade? I would love to have seen it released on a better system (Saturn, N64, etc.). Opinions?

norkusa

07-26-2005, 02:11 AM

This was one of my favs back in the day. Sure, Street Fighter was always number one but Time Killers was was a blast to play. The local 7-11 had this for a while back when it was new and I'd play it all the time. I'd always play as the guy with the chainsaw and thought it was great how your opponent could still fight even after you hacked a couple of their limbs off.

I'd love to play Time Killers again but I don't own the Genesis cart and every single TK rom I've downloaded off the net won't work for some reason. :/

Jed

07-26-2005, 02:18 AM

I was always the chainsaw guy too. I remember playing this on Sega Channel back in the day, and I was fascinated at the massive amounts of dismemberment that was in the game. I need to find a copy of it so I can play it again.

RetroYoungen

07-26-2005, 02:26 AM

Time Killers was just so bad that I loved it SO much. It used to be at the local (tiny) water slides, and I would spend more time in that arcade than I would actually in the water. It was a lot of fun, even if once in a while that Nordic dude would cut my head off with a single move less than two seconds in. LOL

DeputyMoniker

07-26-2005, 07:54 AM

Time Killers was covered a few months ago in an issue of Digital Press. I never liked the game. It didnt go by unnoticed, it was just a terrible game. It was just a bloody ripoff of SFII & Mortal Kombat. I consider Time Killers to be one of the worst games of all time but then again, I havent played it in about 12 years. Perhaps I'll give it another shot if I happen to see it around. But for now my memories are of a virtual one button fighting system, crap graphics, one hit kills, slow response and awkward movement.

googlefest1

07-26-2005, 08:39 AM

i think its one of the worst fighters out there -- i couldnt stand the game - i knew people that liked it becasue you can hack the other guy up but i just couldnt get into it

i looked at it and said to my self - some @ss licker put this thing together in 10 min to cash in on the violent fighter fad

pragmatic insanester

07-26-2005, 09:43 AM

even though the genesis port was supposed to be bastardly, i still want to find and purchase a copy (hinthint).

Slimedog

07-26-2005, 10:10 AM

This game was largely unnoticed because it frankly wasn't very good. The fun lies mainly in the dismemberment aspect and that can only go so far. Technically the fighting engine in it wasn't very sophisticated and the one hit kills made it pretty unbalanced. Compared to other fighters at the time, the graphics and sound were substandard at best. That being said, I thought killing a guy with my head because he has chopped off my arms was a pretty neat thing, but honestly these concepts weren't carried over to other games for a reason. An interesting footnote to 2D fighters, but not a classic.

MegaDrive20XX

07-26-2005, 10:25 AM

The Arcade version I've seen once. That was pretty neat how the control set up was like. Right Leg, Left Leg, Right Arm, Left Arm.

As soon as a body part was chopped off, you were still okay lol

At the time I thought it was original, a blend of Eternal Champions like gameplay, but with the gore of Mortal Kombat pretty much.

By the time I saw this game again, it was being degraded in an issue of GamePro magazine as the worst fighter ever.

Which ask one question that comes to mind...Who made this game?

Sotenga

07-26-2005, 10:55 AM

Bah... Timeslaughter owns this game's arse. :D

Well, seeing as how I can't even beat the first freaking enemy every time I think it's a good idea to play TK, that turns me off to it. It's not a bad concept, but other violent games involving the use of time travel such as the aforementioned Timeslaughter and the awesome Eternal Champions make this game look like the hind end of a chicken-fried marmoset... whatever the hell that looks like. Anyway, I will give compliments to its sequel, Bloodstorm, which actually held my attention long enough to find all the hidden characters (via savestates, I'm not THAT good) and kick their asses. As much of a Mortal Kombat ripoff as this game can be considered, I guess it has its camp value... just try not to take it too seriously, mmmkay?

Gamereviewgod

07-26-2005, 10:57 AM

Wait a minute...

Wait a minute....

Wait...

Wait...

Did I just read Time Killers and great fighter in the same sentence?

MegaDrive20XX

07-26-2005, 11:02 AM

Wait a minute...

Wait a minute....

Wait...

Wait...

Did I just read Time Killers and great fighter in the same sentence?

Yes, you have entered a dimension...You unlock this door with the key of imagination, beyond it is another dimension. A dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossedover into . . . The Twilight Zone.....

98PaceCar

07-26-2005, 11:24 AM

Time Killers was great, but it's sequel Blood Storm was way better! It really turned into a parody of all the popular fighting games of the day. Yea, it kinda sucks (kinda is the nice way to say it) but it's so bad it's fun!

Arcade Antics

07-26-2005, 11:35 AM

98PaceCar

07-26-2005, 11:50 AM

Time Killers = complete and utter crap. Easily among the worst fighting games ever. EVER. LOL

Bloodstorm (the sequel) = also crap.

If you want to play a crappy arcade fighter that's "so bad it's almost good," check out Tattoo Assassins. At least you can actually play that one a little bit. Unlike Time Killers.

No, the worst fighting game ever was Pit Fighter. That game was the suckiest bunch of suck that ever sucked! Martial Champions is up there in contention too! Either one of those is way worse than even Time Killers!

The problem with Tattoo Assassins is that it was never really released. I knew of 1 complete, dedicated cab in private hands and heard of 2 others with no artwork. I never really heard of too many people that had boards either. Though I do agree with you, it would have been a really good bad game. Has it been added to mame yet?

davepesc

07-26-2005, 01:11 PM

I liked time killers in the arcade. Dismemberment = FUN!

The one I never "got" was Primal Rage, where monkeys and dinosaurs with what seemed like 2 moves each snapped and whipped their tails at each other. Now that was a bad fighter.

fishsandwich

07-26-2005, 02:07 PM

I played Time Killers at the arcade back in college. I thought it was terrible.

I have it for the Genesis. It's even worse. Terrrible, almost NES-quality graphics. Blecch!

Seriously... take a look at the comparison below. This is supposed to be the same stage on both games, folks. One of the characters si the same, too (Matrix.) Take a look at the Rocket coming out of the ground and the cityscape beyond. There was no need for this shoddy of a conversion!

Arcade version...

http://picnic.to/~taimatsu/images/emu/mame/timekill.png

Genesis version...
http://www.genesiscollective.com/Genesis/Screenshots/Time%20Killers%20(GS).png

Arcade Antics

07-26-2005, 02:38 PM

No, the worst fighting game ever was Pit Fighter. That game was the suckiest bunch of suck that ever sucked! Martial Champions is up there in contention too! Either one of those is way worse than even Time Killers!
I dunno, is Pit Fighter really a fighting game? One the one hand, you do fight other characters... but it's more of a free for all fest than a 1 on 1 fighter like SF, Time Killers, etc. I'm also willing to cut it some slack for being an early (first?) digitized fighter. There's just no excuse for Time Killers - they were cloning two of the most popular fighters of the day and still managed to make an unplayable mess. ;) Pit Fighter is at least a little bit playable.

Either way, here's 200 meseta for dropping one of the greatest all time Simpsons quotes. LOL

@davepesc: I still don't get Primal Rage either. It looks pretty good, but it, like Time Killers, is a sluggish, unplayable mess.

@fishsandwich: The Genesis port of TK was scheduled to hit the stores right after the arcade version, but someone realized how much it sucked and shelved it. Then in the final years of the Genny lifespan, THQ picked it up and released it. Good ol' THQ... LOL

98PaceCar

07-26-2005, 03:05 PM

I dunno, is Pit Fighter really a fighting game? One the one hand, you do fight other characters... but it's more of a free for all fest than a 1 on 1 fighter like SF, Time Killers, etc. I'm also willing to cut it some slack for being an early (first?) digitized fighter. There's just no excuse for Time Killers - they were cloning two of the most popular fighters of the day and still managed to make an unplayable mess. ;) Pit Fighter is at least a little bit playable.

You know, as I was typing that I started debate with myself whether or not Pit Fighter is a fighting game or not. I guess it almost falls more into the scroll-to-the-right-and-kill-anything-that-moves category, except that you can't scroll! I believe you are correct, it wasn't the first fighting game (I believe Karate Champ has that honor) and I'm pretty certain it was the first game with digitized players.

Admittedly, Time Killers is pretty bad. I do think that they cleaned up things a bit before Bloodstorm though. It's not near as bad as TK and as a parody game, it's really fun! Fun enough that it will have a place of honor in my multi-jamma fighting cab (along with all 5 MK, KI 1, and SF2 Turbo)!

Thanks for the Meseta! One step closer to my goal!! <evil laugh>

AB Positive

07-26-2005, 03:14 PM

Primal Rage is playable if you remove everything you know from fighters save for SF3:TS....

most of the special moves are done by holding buttons down first, doing a joystick motion and then -releasing- the buttons, a style of play somewhat incorporated into Third strike as negative edges. It works, but it's quirky and not for everyone.

*end PR defense*

-AG

Garry Silljo

07-26-2005, 03:27 PM

I can't stand one hit kills in games like this. I swear I've lost my head in this game even while blocking. Why did my head come off and my chainsaw weilding arm that was in the way stay on!?!?!?!? This game could have been good but the execution was too far off.

DTJAAAAMJSLM

07-26-2005, 03:39 PM

I found the arcade version of Time Killers quite enjoyable during my bloodthirsty youth. Rancid was my character of choice.

pragmatic insanester

07-26-2005, 03:40 PM

i like primal rage, pit fighter, and most of the fighting games people shit upon. anyone remember b.i.o.f.r.e.a.k.s ? i heard it was shitty, but wound up buying it years after the release. i found it entertaining, and probably played it more than more recent titles like tekken tag/tekken 4.

-hellvin-

07-26-2005, 04:04 PM

It's an interesting fighter, I don't think it's the most horrible fighter ever like I've heard it rated as before, I can pick far worse. Another thing I loved about it was the nice 35 bucks I made off my extra genesis version ;D.

Neil Koch

07-26-2005, 06:31 PM

I'm probably one of the few people that likes Pit Fighter. Yeah, the moveset is very limited and it's cheesy ("TOTALLY STUDLY!") but I like the fact that it's pretty interactive in that you can pick up weapons and even throw your opponent into the crowd. Sure, it's nowhere close to SF or MK but it's still pretty fun IMO.

The home versions except for the Genesis are total crap though... actually I like the Genesis version better than the arcade, the graphics aren't as good but it's easier to see what's going on without all the zooming.

Time Killers was mildly fun in the arcade, but the chopping limbs gimmick could only go so far and the computer had some cheap ass AI in the upper levels... the Genesis version is horrible beyond belief, the screen shot doesn't do it justice, it just has horrible control as well.[/quote]

Stringfellow

07-26-2005, 06:50 PM

Someone mentioned that they wanted a copy of Time Killers for the Genesis. I just remembered that I have it. I don't play it so I'm willing to sell it off. I don't have the instructions and never did since it was an ebay purchase.

RCM

07-26-2005, 07:19 PM

The answer why this "great" fighter went unnoticed is because it wasn't a great fighter by any standard. It was slightly entertaining but never ever approached being "great." Hope this clears things up for y'all.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

Mattiekrome

07-26-2005, 09:08 PM

I remember playing the hell out of this game at the beach when I was a kid. Me and my friend found it in a pizzeria next to our hotel, and actually spent more time in there playing it than out on the beach (sadly). We must have dropped $50.00 each into that game (sadly, as it was all about the shock factor, and not about being a good game)

evildead2099

07-26-2005, 10:31 PM

I am slightly troubled that someone whose favourite fighting game is SF2 could hold Time Killers in such high regard. Don't get me wrong, there are certain things about Time Killers that I find intriguing as well, but I find the game unplayable due to its terrible control system. Although its neat that single buttons were dedicated to attacks per each of your limbs (not to mention your head), the game's controls are sluggish, inconsistent, and irratic. Street Fighter II revolutionalized the way that 2D fighters controlled; Time Killers handles worse than almost every first generation 2D fighter that I've ever played.

Bloodstorm, the sequel to Time Killers, is a much better game. It actually gives Mortal Kombat II some fairly decent competition while still retaining some of the factors that made Time Killers stand out. The fight continues if you lose a limb, and it's possible to destroy someone in the midst of a fight provided that you interact with the background accordingly.

Are you sure you haven't confused Street Fighter II with Pit Fighter?

Classicgamesdepot

07-27-2005, 12:07 AM

definitly an arcade fav. back in the day, haven't had a chance to try my genesis copy, how does it compare to the arcade?

Arcade Antics

07-27-2005, 12:14 AM

definitly an arcade fav. back in the day, haven't had a chance to try my genesis copy, how does it compare to the arcade?
In short: the Genny version is an even worse piece of crap. :)

I'd also like to chime in with RCM - not only is it not "great," it also did NOT go "unnoticed." (How's THAT for a double negative? LOL)

It was noticed plenty. :) It's just that after the initial reaction of "cool, you can chop off limbs" dissipated (avg. length of time, 11 seconds) and everyone realized what an unplayable mess the game is, nobody played it.

Daniel Thomas

07-27-2005, 01:14 AM

Maybe he's confusing it with "Bonestorm." Want a little excitement? Then shove this up your stocking!!

Still, after five minutes, you're back to that ball and stick thing. It's a different game every time!

Ha, ha. Seriously, Time-Whatever-The-Hell-It's-Called is the single worst fighting game ever made. I can't even be bothered to scroll the screen down and remember the name. It's that bad.

Pit Fighter, however, was really, really good in its day. Remember that it predated SF2 by a year or two. It surely didn't age well, but it had its kicks, and the Genesis version was cool back in 1990.

Zap!

07-27-2005, 02:51 AM

Thanks for all the replies, guys. I won't quote you all one by one, so I'll get it out here:

First, I see that the majority here don't agree with me, as most of you guys say it sucked. I honestly only played the game over a period of a few months in a local comic store (when it was new), and haven't played it since, bt I remember having a blast with it. I'll have to re-play it, to see if it holds up. But good or bad, it should have been released on more systems, with a better version.

The worst fighter (90's) was Pit Fighter, no contest. Horrible controls. The only thing it had going for it was that it came out a full two years or so before the SFII revolution, and that it was the first fighter to use digitized characters. Not that that's a plus. I prefer sprites, and never was a big MK fan either.

Finally, I never knew it had a sequal. Tell me more about it. Has it ever been released on any home systems?

evil_genius

07-27-2005, 03:19 AM

I will have to check this game out, thanks.

Arcade Antics

07-27-2005, 11:30 AM

Finally, I never knew it had a sequal. Tell me more about it. Has it ever been released on any home systems?
Bloodstorm (the sequel to TK) wasn't released for any home systems. It was better than TK, but that's not saying much. :)

IIRC, the big bruhaha surrounding Bloodstorm was that the guy who played Johnny Cage in MK (the game, not the movie) endorsed Bloodstorm, appearing in their print advertising campaign (and the game too?) after his falling out with the MK series.

Also IIRC, you could play as Sen. Lieberman by selecting a particular character (was it Hellhound) and holding certain buttons when starting. There were other hidden characters and secrets too, but the game just never caught on in our neighborhood.

98PaceCar

07-27-2005, 06:31 PM