Killer Instinct’s New Ghost Character, Hisako, Holds a Grudge

Hisako, the naginata-wielding phantom, brings a new flavor to Killer Instinct's already-varied roster of fighters in a way that would make Hsien-Ko proud.

Shoryuken brings us news on the newest addition to Killer Instinct's ever-expanding roster. The game's newest entrant is a spectral lady who is one part Ring girl, one part Grudge, and all parts freaky. In addition to the usual Instinct and Shadow meters, Hisako has a Wrath meter which can turn her heaviest blows into high-damaging, staggering counter hits or let her cancel attack animations into other moves. She also has a very slow walk speed, but quick back and forward dashes, giving her base movement options reminiscent of Street Fighter's Makoto, and some crazy teleports and wall-jumps to give her serious mix-up options. Plus, if all that crazy teleporting and naginata-slashing wasn't enough for you, Hisako's command throw lets her possess the other player for a moment, contorting their body into broken, unearthly positions for big damage (skip to about 9:50 in the video if you want to see it).

In addition to Hisako, future plans for Killer Instinct include an expanded Story Mode to arrive at the end of June; this beefed-up mode will add the season two characters' respective tales of mayhem. There's also a Shadow Mode being added which will allow players to upload versions of themselves based on their fighting styles and tendencies to online servers for other players to download and practice against, giving regular folks a chance to duke-it-out against tournament-quality players without having to actually pack up their arcade sticks and head to a tournament.

Killer Instinct keeps adding brilliant new characters and modes with each update, and Hisako looks like one of their coolest and most original to date. Keep your eyes peeled for this phantasmal fighter when she arrives at the end of March.