Killing Zone

PlayStation exclusive

In a mythical realm, in some unheard of dimension, all of the world's greatest monsters and mythological creatures have gathered to battle it out through this one-on-one 3D fighting game. Frankenstein, Medusa, Wolfman, the Minotaur, and a half-dozen others join this cast of classic monsters.

Released: 29 March 1996
Platforms: PlayStation
Genres: Fighting
Developers: feelplus
Publishers: —
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Fantasy Horror
Country: Japan
Age ratings: ESRB T

About

Killing Zone is a fighting video game developed by Scarab and published by Naxat Soft in March 1996 in Japan and by Acclaim in both July 1996 in North America, and September 1996 in Europe and Oceania, for the Sony PlayStation platform. The game was met with a poor critical reception.

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

In this videogame, there are a total of 14 characters in the game, and two modes: Normal Mode which is a standard fighting game mode, and Auto Mode. In Auto mode the player selects a type of monster, making their own version of one of the seven playable characters. Auto mode comprises three tournaments, during which the player can upgrade their monster by winning battles. Unlike the 2D digitized actors and platforms of its predecessor, the gameplay is more like Virtua Fighter in terms of 3D characters, move sets and ring outs.

Development

The development team's more ambitious unrealized plans for the game included allowing characters to dismember their opponents during fights.

Reception

Killing Zone received mostly negative reviews. Next Generation panned it, citing animation "among the worst we've seen", counter-intuitive controls, disorienting camera movements, poor enemy AI, and overpowered enemies. They remarked that "To call this game frustrating is to give the most unbearably frustrating games a bad name." The game was deemed "awful" by IGN, who repeated nearly all of Next Generation's points.

Legacy

In October 2018, the game's rights were acquired by Canadian production company Liquid Media Group along with other titles originally owned by Acclaim Entertainment.