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Time Killers

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Time Killers is a one-on-one versus beat-em-up with gameplay in a similar vein as Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter 2. What is primarily different is that you can attack with all body parts - the head, both arms and both legs. A damage system allows arms to be hacked off, but fighters can keep...

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Developer
Incredible Technologies

Released on
1992

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Fighting

Publisher
Strata

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

Time Killers is a one-on-one versus beat-em-up with gameplay in a similar vein as Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter 2.

What is primarily different is that you can attack with all body parts – the head, both arms and both legs. A damage system allows arms to be hacked off, but fighters can keep going with only legs and the head. A special feature allows the characters to perform a decapitation manoeuver called a ‘death move’ (similar to Barbarian), at any time during a round, instantly killing an opponent, and subsequently ending the round. The game features cartoon-like over-the-top blood and gore violence.

There are eight selectable characters, and each one has unique weapons and attributes pertaining to the period in time they are from, e.g. Thugg is a caveman with a stone axe from 20,000 BC, Musashi is a samurai from Feudal Japan 1496, Orion is an intergalactic bounty hunter with an electro-sword from 2885 etc.

In the single player game, if you manage to defeat all standard opponents, you can face off against Death himself.

Time Killers

Overview & History

Released by Incredible Technologies in 1992, Time Killers is a notoriously gory, chronological-hopping arcade fighting game that carved out a niche right alongside Mortal Kombat during the early nineties digitized-sprite craze. The overarching narrative centers on an eccentric, otherworldly being who plucks fierce combatants from vastly different historical epochs—ranging from the prehistoric Stone Age to a mechanized distant future—and forces them to fight in a dimension-spanning tournament for supremacy. Alongside its shock-value violence, the game became infamous for its unique physics and the ability to surgically dismember opponents mid-combat, allowing characters to keep fighting even after losing a limb.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Unlike standard arcade fighters of its era, Time Killers utilizes a distinctive five-button control layout that assigns specific attacks to the upper, middle, and lower sections of the opponent's body. The standout gameplay mechanic is the real-time dismemberment system: sustained damage to a character's arms will cause them to lose the limb entirely, permanently altering their moveset—losing a sword-wielding arm forces the fighter to resort to kicks or headbutts. The roster features memorable combatants like Merman (a prehistoric hunter), Rancid (a medieval executioner), Leif (a Viking), Musashi (a samurai), Viper (a modern cyberpunk assassin), and Death (the final boss). Special moves are executed via dynamic directional inputs coupled with specific height-targeted strikes, leading to delightfully chaotic matches culminating in gruesome finishing moves.