The Pinnacle

The Pinnacle
The Pinnacle as seen in Killer Instinct Season 3.
Information
Location	Ultratech Headquarters, New York, USA
Stage(s) from	ARIA Kilgore (borrowed)
Default Theme(s)	.execute
Soundtrack
Killer Instinct S2 OST - .execute (ARIA's Theme)

The Pinnacle, or Pinnacle is ARIA's combat stage in Killer Instinct (2013). It is the seventeenth stage that is introduced to the game and the eighth (ninth, if counting bonus character Omen and his stage) and final stage introduced in Season 2.

Description

The stage takes place on the top floor of a massive Ultratech complex, in a large room that is ARIA's main office where she does most of her business. The room is initially very dark, almost pitch black even, only dimly lit by the blue holograms littered about the room and small lights lining the walls and floor. A large Ultratech emblem is emblazoned on the floor in the center of the room. A table can be seen in the background with a hologram of some sort of a city on top of it, and behind the table is an elegant throne that ARIA often sits in. However, as the fight goes on the stage begins to slowly change. The walls disintegrate into hexagons, revealing large glass windows and letting the light of a sunset flood into the room. In the sky several airships can occasionally be seen flying around the complex. Most of the holograms present in the room fizzle out and disappear, but not all of them. The table in the back folds itself up and sinks into the floor, and two completely static Fulgore units rise up out of holes in the floor on either side of the throne like sentinels.

Ultra Combo

During an Ultra Combo the room begins to break and collapse, with some of the windows cracking and debris and dust falling from the roof onto the floor in the background.

Stage Ultra

During a Stage Ultra Combo, the victor delivers one final hit to the opponent that causes them to spin backwards and crash through the large glass window behind them. The camera angle then changes to follow the opponent as they plummet down from the sky among the shards of broken glass, flailing helplessly as they go. As they approach the end of their fall, a large skylight shaped like the Ultratech logo can be seen on the ground below - the opponent crashes into the skylight, shooting a shower of sparks up into the air. The camera returns back to the top of the tower and shows the victor taunting in victory.

Music

ARIA's theme, entitled ".execute" and composed by Mick Gordon, is used as the background music for The Pinnacle. It is a heavy electronic track that uses purely digital instruments, featuring a thumping beat, quick rhythm, deep bass, fast percussion, synth strings, and high-pitched waves. It is similar to modern "drum n' bass" music that could be heard in a night club or rave.

During the 16-hit Combo, a remixed version of the original theme of Killer Instinct (1994), "The Instinct" can be heard.

When the characters hold still for a certain amount of time, the music will change to a subdued electronic version of the usual Killer Instinct character select-screen theme.

Trivia

• The Pinnacle's Stage Ultra is very reminiscent of the Stage Ultras present in the original Killer Instinct and the 1996 sequel, where the victor sends the opponent plummeting to their doom in stages such as the Chicago Rooftop, the Desert Rooftop, or Spinal's Rooftop.
  • The Stage Ultra is appropriately titled "Knockoff", which was the original call in KI2 for opponents sent off the stage by the victors.
• Pinnacle is a word used to represent something or someone that is at their peak in existence. This is a play on words, since the Pinnacle is also an incredibly tall structure that towers over the other buildings below.

Gallery

ARIA's render in The Pinnacle

Kilgore's render in The Pinnacle

The Pinnacle in Season 2.

The Pinnacle in Season 3.