# Arcade1up - Killer Instinct - Can they really do this? **Source:** RetroRalph **Type:** video **Published:** 2021-01-15 **Duration:** 9m 35s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9Tfe_zHjeE --- ## Analysis RetroRalph examines Arcade1Up's upcoming Killer Instinct cabinet, explaining how Code Mystics will achieve arcade-accurate emulation on modest hardware using their proprietary Focal Emulator. The video details Code Mystics' track record (Death Adder, Outrun, Star Wars, NBA Jam), the technical challenges of emulating Killer Instinct on single-board computers, and features already available in the Xbox One version. Ralph encourages community feedback on desired features including tilted screen, control panel design, dip switch access, and online gameplay. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Code Mystics developed the Focal Emulator, a purpose-built emulator optimized for modest platforms while achieving high frame rates and accuracy — _Ralph explains the Focal Emulator as the key technology enabling Killer Instinct emulation on Arcade1Up hardware, contrasting it with generic MAME optimization_ - [HIGH] Code Mystics previously ported Killer Instinct to Xbox One with features including leaderboards, online play, and configurable dip switches — _Ralph demonstrates these features in the Xbox One version, noting Code Mystics' history with the property_ - [HIGH] Original Killer Instinct arcade boards required both ROM and internal hard drive (CHD file) to function, using pre-rendered sprites from Silicon Graphics computers — _Ralph explains technical specifications of original arcade hardware and the CHD hard drive image requirement_ - [MEDIUM] Killer Instinct arcade PCBs currently sell for thousands of dollars and original cabinets are very hard to find — _Ralph uses this market scarcity to justify the importance of an affordable Arcade1Up version_ - [MEDIUM] Arcade1Up's design is already developed to feature a tilted/slanted display matching the original cabinet design — _Ralph references design diagrams from Tastemakers/Arcade1Up showing the tilted display in development, though not yet shown in full renders_ ### Notable Quotes > "So they've built an emulator that's purpose built to be used on modest platforms while getting high frame rates and high performance." > — **RetroRalph**, ~2:30 > _Explains the core technical advantage of the Focal Emulator over MAME for hardware-constrained platforms_ > "Because MAME is all open source. It's all community driven. So unless someone in the community is optimizing MAME to run on slower single board computers, such as the Raspberry Pi, it's going to struggle to emulate this game." > — **RetroRalph**, ~3:10 > _Clarifies why specialized emulation is necessary for Killer Instinct on modest hardware vs. generic MAME_ > "Code Mystics hasn't failed us yet. They've done awesome so far." > — **RetroRalph**, ~8:30 > _Expresses confidence in Code Mystics' track record and likelihood of success with Killer Instinct_ > "This is our this is most people's only option so we gotta do this we gotta do it and we gotta get it right right" > — **RetroRalph**, ~15:45 > _Emphasizes the importance of Arcade1Up's version given the inaccessibility of original hardware_ > "Tell them what we want. That way we show it to them. I think that's awesome. So let's do that. Let's make sure this video blows up in the messages and I will show them this video." > — **RetroRalph**, ~17:00 > _Direct call to action for community engagement, positioning the video as feedback mechanism to manufacturers_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Arcade1Up | company | Home arcade cabinet manufacturer producing Killer Instinct cabinet with tilted display design in development | | Code Mystics | company | Emulation specialist company that developed the Focal Emulator and has ported Killer Instinct to multiple platforms including Xbox One and Arcade1Up | | Killer Instinct | game | 1990s Midway fighting arcade game being ported to Arcade1Up; original arcade used hard drives and Silicon Graphics pre-rendered assets | | Focal Emulator | product | Proprietary emulation technology developed by Code Mystics for efficient, accurate emulation on modest hardware platforms | | RetroRalph | person | Content creator and host analyzing Arcade1Up's Killer Instinct project, advocating for specific features and calling for community feedback | | Death Adder | game | Previous Arcade1Up cabinet developed by Code Mystics, cited as example of their quality work | | Outrun | game | Previous Arcade1Up cabinet developed by Code Mystics, cited as example of their quality work | | Star Wars | game | Previous Arcade1Up cabinet developed by Code Mystics, cited as example of their quality work | | NBA Jam | game | Previous Arcade1Up cabinet developed by Code Mystics, cited as example of their quality work | | Tastemakers | company | Design firm that created Arcade1Up's Killer Instinct cabinet design schematics including tilted display specification | | Midway | company | Original manufacturer of Killer Instinct arcade; co-developed Ultra 64 proprietary hardware with Rare | | Rare | company | Co-developer of Ultra 64 proprietary hardware used in Killer Instinct arcade | | Silicon Graphics | company | Used to create pre-rendered sprites and backgrounds for original Killer Instinct arcade game | | Nintendo 64 | product | Referenced in comparison to Killer Instinct arcade hardware; shared 64-bit CPU and file format but not memory media or graphics technology | | Raspberry Pi | product | Single-board computer used as benchmark for modest platform emulation; struggles with MAME Killer Instinct, even on Pi 4 when overclocked | | MAME | product | Open-source arcade emulator; generic optimization approach struggles on modest platforms compared to Code Mystics' Focal Emulator | ### Topics - **Primary:** Emulation technology and optimization, Arcade1Up cabinet hardware capabilities, Killer Instinct arcade technical specifications, Code Mystics track record and expertise - **Secondary:** Original arcade hardware scarcity and pricing, Cabinet design authenticity features, Community feedback and feature requests ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.82) — RetroRalph is enthusiastic about the Arcade1Up Killer Instinct project, praising Code Mystics' technical prowess and advocating constructively for community engagement. No negativity directed at manufacturers; tone is collaborative and encouraging. ### Signals - **[community_signal]** RetroRalph positioning his video as direct feedback mechanism to Arcade1Up/Code Mystics, calling for community input on specific features (confidence: high) — Multiple explicit calls for community comments, direct engagement pledge with manufacturers, and itemized feature list (tilted screen, dip switches, online play) - **[market_signal]** Original Killer Instinct arcade hardware extremely scarce and expensive (PCBs in thousands), making Arcade1Up version essential for mass market access (confidence: medium) — Ralph emphasizes hardware scarcity as justification for Arcade1Up's importance to the collector/player community - **[announcement]** Arcade1Up officially announced Killer Instinct cabinet with Code Mystics handling emulation; tilted screen design already in development (confidence: high) — Ralph references CES renderings and design diagrams from Tastemakers/Arcade1Up showing confirmed features - **[technology_signal]** Code Mystics' Focal Emulator represents specialized approach to modest-platform emulation, contrasting with generic MAME optimization strategy (confidence: high) — Ralph extensively details the technical differentiation and performance advantages of Focal Emulator vs. MAME on single-board computers --- ## Transcript All right guys, welcome back to the channel. In today's episode, we're going to talk about Killer Instinct. Killer Instinct on the Arcade 1UP. How the heck are they going to pull off an arcade-accurate emulation of Killer Instinct on something that's a slower speed processor like the Arcade 1UP uses? Well, here's how they're going to do it. They're going to partner with a company called Code Mystics. Now, you guys know Code Mystics because they did the Death Adder cabinet, they did the recent Outrun cabinet, they did Star Wars and NBA Jam, and those are all the top cabinets that Arcade 1UP has done. And so Code Mystics is naturally the right company to do this, but they've actually already done it. But what makes them unique is the Focal Emulator that they've developed. So the Focal Emulator, there's some key things about it. It's really meant to create efficiency and accuracy of emulation, right, using modest platforms. I'm going to repeat that modest platform. So they've built an emulator that's purpose built to be used on modest platforms while getting high frame rates and high performance. So this is where MAME emulation of Killer Instinct and this differ, right? Because MAME is all open source. It's all community driven. So unless someone in the community is optimizing MAME to run on slower single board computers, such as the Raspberry Pi, it's going to struggle to emulate this game. We all know the Raspberry Pi can't emulate it very well, especially the Pi 3, the 3B, the 3B+, like it doesn't emulate it well. The 4, it's starting to get better. But here's where John Youssi the connection here. as those processors got faster killer instinct is getting better at running the gate it's getting better at running killer instinct but that's no surprise they're throwing hardware at the issue because no one is sitting there optimizing maim for slower single board computers however that's where the focal emulator is awesome because they are optimizing it for more modest platforms so they're able to pull off games on a much more modest processor than let's say maim because MAME, you can sure, you can run Killer Instinct all day on MAME. If you throw it on like an i5 processor, you can throw it on an old PC, it'll work just fine. But the single board computers everyone's using, it doesn't run it that well. It still has some challenges even today when it's overclocked on a Pi 4. So let's dive in a little bit more. So why would they even choose Code Mystics? Well, because Code Mystics already did Killer Instinct for the Xbox One. They did the Killer Instinct Classic for Killer Instinct 1 and 2 And I show you that right now This is that version so they already built it it already done right i mean they already have it It has leaderboards on it which is awesome It got online play so you can go online and play it with other people which is killer And Codemystics prides themselves on the netcode that they actually developed to be really good for online play especially fighting games and the other cool thing is if you go to the options menu and you go under display settings you can set things like the screen size you can set the scaling effects so if you want to put on things like scan lines you can select that here you can turn borders on and off if you're using it on a widescreen display you can change the blood level right of course we're always going to keep that on high and then if you look at game settings you can change the difficulty so these are all dip switch settings that you would have had in the arcade board but they even give you access to that so if you go to game settings and you go to test mode on and then you go into the game watch I'll go play they actually before we do that there's two versions of the game too so both ROMs are actually here the 1.4 version and the 1.5 version so I don't know whether arcade 1up is gonna have both versions but hey you know what why not tell them in this video use the comment section to tell them what you want because they're gonna watch this video so if you want both versions tell them and hey maybe they'll do it maybe they won't but at least we told them right we told them we wanted to check it out so now I start the final version of the classic version it's gonna go straight into the test menu this is the actual menu that an arcade owner would be able to go to to adjust a whole bunch of things you know them what the game costs things like that game adjustments such as the pricing with you want free play on or off the computer difficulty right so you can see I can adjust the computer difficulty and all that stuff the winning streak so it's as reset high scores after certain number of games. So there's a bunch of cool features that they baked into this thing, which is awesome because this means we have the potential to see these features pop up in the arcade one-up version because Code Mystics is the one that's doing it. So I'm super pumped up about it. I think they're going to do a really good job. Code Mystics hasn't failed us yet. They've done awesome so far. The other thing I wanted to mention is Killer Instinct had a couple firsts. One of the firsts is that it was the first arcade game to use these internal hard drives You know you guys know what a hard drive is right spinning spinning drives right we maybe you've made depending on how old you are Maybe you don't remember spinning drives right because everyone uses flash nowadays everyone uses flash solid-state So no one no one uses spinning drives But those that did this was one of the first games to use it so it used both a game rom and an internal hard drive now if you go to try to emulate this game and you just download the rom it won work because people like what the heck it won work and it because it has a chd file and that chd file is actually a rip of that hard drive image and what's interesting about it is they used silicon graphics computers to create these pre-rendered sprites and backgrounds So it was actually pretty demanding hardware, although the Ultra 64 hardware that it advertises is not even what it was using, which is really funny. It was actually using Midway's technology. So there's a little bit of interesting tidbits if you feel like reading it, but it says the Ultra 64 hardware is proprietary hardware co-developed by Rare and Midway. But it says the hardware uses a 64-bit CPU and the Nintendo 64 file format, but not the Nintendo 64 memory media or graphics technology. so there's like a debate whether or not it actually was nintendo's technology or midways but whatever i don't know i don't really know the whole story on that so i'll digress if we go that that direction but the other thing i wanted to state really quick is how other things about this cabinet being authentic there's a couple things that we're not quite finished yet so when we saw the render of this for ces the screen was upright now if you guys know the original arcade machine it actually had a slant to it. Now, I would like to see them have the slant as well. And if you would as well, then let's tell them. Tell them I want the slanted screen. So if you look, this is a design diagram that's from Tastemakers or Arcade 1-Up. And you'll notice they do have the design already set to actually have the display tilted back. Now, we haven't seen a full render of that, but they have that in development and they are saying that's what they're going to do. The control panel will still come out flat but if you want the control panel to come out more like it does on the original killer instinct arcade perhaps we can put in the comments below and scream really loud now i don't know if they're going to hear us i don't know if they're going to care but at least if we tell them then at least we did our due diligence we at least said look we want it give it to us so in the comments below i want you guys to blow up the comments of this video with all of the things you want to see in this killer instinct cabinet because if you do that i will show them the video and be like look 5,000 of my closest friends just watch this and they all said they want the tilted screen they said they want the tilted control panel and maybe we don't get everything but at least we know we tried and look you probably asking yourself why would I go through all this effort I could just go by the original cabinet yeah sure you could but have you seen how much killer instinct costs right now the killer instinct pcbs themselves go for thousands of dollars the cabinets are super hard to find so this is our this is most people's only option so we gotta do this we gotta do it and we gotta get it right right and the dip switches i think that's going to be a given because they're working with code mystics but we should tell them that too absolutely say these are our non-negotiables you have to have the dip switches or else no buy. You have to have the slanted screen or else no buy. You have to have the slanted control panel. I'd say that's a bonus, right? If we can get that, that's a bonus because I think they're far in the development where they can't do that. We want online gameplay or no buy. So tell them what we want. That way we show it to them. I think that's awesome. So let's do that. Let's make sure this video blows up in the messages and I will show them this video. I'll like John D. I'll tie them, I'll strap them down, I'll duct tape them to a chair, and I'll say, watch this right now, this is what we demand, this is what the community demands, so do it. Anyway, that's it, guys, if you enjoy this video, give me a thumbs up, consider subscribing to this channel right here to get more content just like this, turn on notifications so you can be informed of other videos, and that's it for now, guys, we will see you on the next one. Don't mess with Saber Charles Wolf, Fulgor. Oh, crap. Oh, crap. Oh, crap. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, that's it. Fulgor, you're gone. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. What's with the lasers, dude? Oh, dude. All right, that's it. I'm feeling it, guys. I'm totally feeling this. Come on. The question is, can Fulgor hang with me? That's the question you need to ask yourself. Oh wait RetroWolf Come back Yeah Thank you. _(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: f6b45eea-655c-4af8-9ff0-bbecd0cfc87e*