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Mortal Kombat (video game)
Encyclopedia
Mortal Kombat is a 1992 fighting-game developed and published by Midway
for arcades
. In 1993, home versions were released by Acclaim Entertainment
. Released in the Fall of 1994, the Microsoft Windows 3.1x version was released by Activision Interactive. It is the first title in the Mortal Kombat series. Upon release, Mortal Kombat became one of the most popular arcade games of all time. It was subsequently ported to home video game consoles and became a best-selling game. Mortal Kombat also became one of the most controversial video games, for its depiction of gore and violence using realistic digitized graphics.
Mortal Kombat focuses on the journey of the monk Liu Kang
to save Earth from the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung
, ending with their confrontation on the tournament known as Mortal Kombat. The game spawned numerous sequels, as well as a successful 1995 motion picture
adaptation, and is one of the most popular fighting games to date.
in the title screen. These bios featured short videos of the characters taking their fighting stances and text informing the motives for each character to enter the tournament. The game takes place in a fantasy
setting, with most of the game's events occurring on the fictional realms
of the Mortal Kombat series. The original game is notably the only title in the series that features only one realm, that being Earthrealm. The tournament featured in the story actually takes place fully at Shang Tsung's Island, located somewhere on Earth, with seven of its locations serving as Kombat Zones.
To fully understand the plot of Mortal Kombat, the player must beat Arcade mode to unlock endings for each character, but only a few endings or a part of them are considered canonical to the Mortal Kombat storyline. Some endings even contradict one another. What really happened to the characters was only revealed in the sequel Mortal Kombat II
.
, the Earthrealm warriors are victorious and the monk Liu Kang
becomes the new champion of Mortal Kombat after defeating the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung
.
The storyline of the first Mortal Kombat was later adapted into Paul W. S. Anderson
's Mortal Kombat
motion picture, and also in an animated prequel to the first movie titled Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins, released straight to home video. In 2010, director Kevin Tancharoen
released an eight-minute unofficial film called Mortal Kombat: Rebirth
, featuring a more realistic and darker tone. An alternate climax for the first game would be featured on the adventure game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
, which tells an alternate version of the events between the first and second Mortal Kombat tournaments.
The original Mortal Kombat included seven playable characters, all of which would eventually become the series trademark characters and be included in later sequels at some point. The game was developed with digitized sprites based on actors, as opposed to animated cartoon graphics. The protagonist
of the game is the Shaolin monk Liu Kang, played by Ho Sung Pak
, who enters the tournament to defeat Shang Tsung, the main antagonist and final boss
who curiously is also played by Sung Pak. Despite his old age, Shang Tsung moves with incredible speed and summons skull fireballs at will, and can also steal the souls of fallen adversaries and morph into any character of the game, assuming their appearance and their special moves. Upon defeat, all the warriors' souls leave his body.
Elizabeth Malecki
played the Special Forces agent Sonya Blade
, who is pursuing the Black Dragon mercenary Kano, played by Richard Divizio
. Carlos Pesina
played Raiden, the god of Thunder and protector of Earthrealm, while his brother Daniel Pesina
played Hollywood movie star Johnny Cage
and the ninja specter Scorpion
. The yellow color of Scorpion's Ninja outfit was changed to blue in order to create the Lin Kuei warrior Sub-Zero
and to green for Shang Tsung's servant Reptile
, both also played by Daniel Pesina. Mortal Kombat would become famous for these palette swap
s, and later games would continue with this tradition.
The four-armed Shokan warrior Goro serves as the sub boss
of the game, being a half-human, half-dragon beast that is a great deal stronger than the other characters, and impossible to grab. Also, he takes less damage when attacked, and is not affected by sweep kicks. Although many of the characters displayed superhuman special powers, Goro was the only character from the game to actually look inhuman. The character's stop motion
model was created by Curt Chiarelli. When fighting on The Pit stage, the player could qualify to fight the secret character
Reptile. The requirements to face Reptile would be met on home ports if the fighter achieved a double Flawless Victory (winning without taking any damage) without blocking, and performed the standard finishing move, rather than the finishing uppercut to the pit. In some versions, a silhouette must float across the moon in the background during the fight, as described above. Goro, Shang Tsung and Reptile were not playable in the original game, but would later return fully playable in sequels. Additionally, the Masked Guard in the Courtyard stage was portrayed by Mortal Kombat developer John Vogel.
Whereas other fighting games had characters with considerable differences in speed, height, attacks, strength, jumping heights and distances, the characters in Mortal Kombat played virtually identically to one another (with the exception of unplayable characters), with only minimal differences in their moves' range and speed. The controls consisted of five buttons arranged in an "X" pattern: a high punch, a high kick, a low punch, a low kick, and a block button, as well as an eight-way joystick. If the two fighters were standing next to each other, hitting any of the attack buttons would result in a modified strike: a low punch turned into a throw, a high punch turned into a heavy elbow, head butt, or backhand, and either kick turned into a knee strike. Crouching and hitting a punch button resulted in an uppercut, which was one of the most damaging attacks in the game. Jump kicking and crouch-kicking were executed in a similar fashion to Street Fighter
, although leg sweeps and roundhouse kicks were performed by holding away while pressing the appropriate kick button.
The characters in Mortal Kombat differed mostly in their special moves and finishing moves. The game also changed the way special moves were performed. Mortal Kombat was the first to introduce moves that did not require a button press (such as tap back, tap back, then forward), and only a few of the special moves required circular joystick movement. In an interview with Computer and Video Games
, Ed Boon
stated, "[...] since the beginning, one of the things that's separated us from other fighting games is the crazy moves we've put in it, like fireballs and all the magic moves, so to speak." Another of the game's innovations was the Fatality
, a special finishing move executed against a beaten opponent to kill them in a gruesome fashion. For example, Sub-Zero
would grasp a defeated opponent by the head, then rip out the head and spine while the body fell to the ground in a pool of blood.
The blocking in Mortal Kombat by itself greatly changed the flow of fighting in comparison to contemporary games which used Street Fighter conventions. Characters do not block while retreating or crouching, but only block when the block button is pushed. Even then, characters still take damage from any hit while blocking, although it's very reduced. However, successfully blocking moves is simple–-a crouching block can successfully defend against all moves, even aerial attacks such as jump kicks–-and blocking characters give very little ground when struck rather than sliding backwards. This style of blocking rewarded dodging to avoid damage but also made counter attacks much easier after a successful block, and the ultimate result was an environment which rewards a more furtive playing style than contemporary games.
Mortal Kombat also introduced the concept of juggling, an idea so popular it has spread to many games and even other genres. Juggling takes advantage of the fact that when a character is knocked into the air, that player is unable to control his or her character and is still vulnerable to other hits, until he or she lands and gets up again. The idea behind juggling is to knock the enemy into the air and then follow up with other combat moves to keep them there. Theoretically, one could juggle one's opponent to death without ever taking damage, though this was difficult to accomplish in practice. In early versions of the game, juggling was extremely easy because the physics caused characters to fly upwards when hit; by version 5.0, however, characters reacted with somewhat more realism, and also fell more rapidly with successive hits, effectively limiting juggles to three hits under normal circumstances.
minigame
(similar to the breaking mini game featured as a bonus in Capcom
's 1987 fighting game, Street Fighter
) featured as a bonus level between battles. In it, the player's character is stood in front of a large block, and he must break the material in front of him with his bare fist by filling a strength gauge past its breaking point, which is noted by a red line placed on the bar. If the player fails to fill the strength gauge past that point by the time he strikes, the material won't break and the player fails the round. The first material the player must break is wood
, once broken he progresses onto stone
, then to steel
, ruby
and finally, diamond
. Each material has a higher breaking point than the last, with diamond being the hardest, requiring the player to fill the strength gauge almost entirely. As materials become harder, each of them awards more points than the previous one.
In single-player mode, the minigame appears after every three consecutive battles. However, since the single-player mode ends after the twelfth battle victory, this mode gives players only three chances to play Test Your Might before their game is over. This means that the two hardest blocks of the five (ruby and diamond) are reachable only by playing two-player mode. In this mode, the minigame appears after every five consecutive battles, with each player's progress maintained individually.
Test Your Might would eventually become the franchise's trademark minigame, but it was not used in the subsequent Mortal Kombat games until 2002's console-only Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
, where it returned with improved graphics, a similar but longer block sequence (bamboo
, coal
, oak
, brick
, redwood
, marble
, iron
, then diamond), and another minigame, Test Your Sight. Whereas in Mortal Kombat Test Your Might was there to earn points, it is in Deadly Alliance to earn "Koins" used to unlock special features. In Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
, the minigame appears whenever the player needs to perform some feat of strength, and at times, even during specific parts of boss battles. Test Your Might was also worked into Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
gameplay. While fighting in certain areas, the player can smash the opponent through a series of walls and engage in a tug-of war with the damage meter at the top of the screen. The player on the offense mashes buttons to increase damage, while the player on the defense mashes buttons to decrease damage taken.
, stated, "Mortal Kombat started out with four people in 1991; I was the only programmer, John Tobias
and John Vogel were the only two artists, and Dan Forden
was the only sound designer. That was it. We developed the first Mortal Kombat in ten months from beginning to end..." . however, other sources tend to differ. For example, on Shacknews
it is stated, "Mortal Kombat was created by Midway Games in only five and a half months as a competitor for the hugely popular Street Fighter II
..."
Originally, creators Ed Boon and John Tobias wanted to create a video game starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
, with a digitized version of the action star fighting villains. However, Van Damme was already in negotiations with another company for a video game that ultimately was never released. Van Damme's likeness is still clearly seen in the character of Johnny Cage
(with whom he shares his name's initials, JC), a Hollywood martial arts movie star who performs a split punch to the groin (performed by Van Damme in a scene from Bloodsport
). In a 1994 interview with the creators, Ed Boon and John Tobias, it was stated that the task that the developers were given by Midway was to create a "combat game for release within a year." The article later states that although both creators say the intention was to create a game for release in a certain time frame, they believe that the Midway officials may have been motivated to create a fighting game because of introduction of the Japanese fighting game series, Street Fighter.
In a podcast interview with the Official Xbox Magazine
, Ed Boon stated for six out of the eight months while they were in production of Mortal Kombat, "...nobody could come up with a name nobody didn't hate." Some of the names suggested were Kumite
, Dragon Attack, Death Blow, and even at one point, Fatality. Someone had written down "combat" on the drawing board for the names in Ed Boon's office and someone wrote a K over the C, according to Ed Boon, "...just to be kind of weird..." Steve Ritchie, a pinball designer at that time, was sitting in Ed Boon's office and saw the word "Kombat" and said to Ed Boon,'Why don't you name it Mortal Kombat?' and according to Ed Boon, that name "just stuck." The series itself commonly uses the letter "K" in place of "C"
for words containing the hard C
sound, thus misspelling them.
The September 13, 1993 launch of Mortal Kombat for home consoles by Acclaim Entertainment was one of the largest video game launch of the time. A "Mortal Monday" ad campaign featured a flood of TV commercials, and all four home versions of the game were made available for sale on the same date. On the same year, an official Mortal Kombat Collector's Edition, written and illustrated by the game's designer artist John Tobias, was available through mail order
, describing the backstory of the game in a greater detail. The mail order deal was displayed during the attract mode
of the game. The comic book would later be sold normally around the country, although it was close to impossible to get a copy outside of the United States. In 2002, the entire comic book was included as an unlockable bonus in "The Krypt" mode of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.
Mortal Kombat: The Album
, an album by The Immortals featuring techno
songs, was released in May, 1994 to accompany the release of home versions of Mortal Kombat. It featured two themes for the game, Techno Syndrome and Hypnotic House. Techno Syndrome was adapted for the 1995 movie soundtrack, and incorporated the familiar "Mortal Kombat!" yell first shown in the first game's commercial for home systems. Jeff Rovin also penned a novelization of the first Mortal Kombat game, which was published in June 1995 in order to coincide with the release of the first movie. There were also lines of action figure
s made in the original characters.
. The same publication also awarded the character of Goro the 1993 Hottest Gaming Hunk title. Mortal Kombat for the SNES
was rated by IGN
the 8th worst Arcade to console conversion stating, "So out went the decapitations and spine-rips, everyone sweated buckets instead of bled, and Kano's heart-rip move was turned into a fatal chest-hair pluck." "Mortal Kombat for the SNES, while having limited gore, had better graphics but the art direction of Nintendo straying from the blood led to a different perspective on a 'better game.'" The Arcade version of Mortal Kombat was rated the 85th "Top Coin-Operated Videogame of all Times". Forbes
called Mortal Kombat one of the "Most Loved Arcade Games" stating that it was the "king of the arcade" in its day. As of this article, the arcade machines of the original title go from a few hundred dollars to $2,500.
Joseph Lieberman and Herb Kohl
were held in late 1992 to 1993. The result of the hearings was that the entertainment software industry was given one year to form a working rating system or the federal government would intervene and create its own system. Eventually, the Entertainment Software Rating Board
(ESRB) was conceived, requiring all video games to be rated and for these ratings to be placed on the games' packaging.
on Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
and subsequent games. According to UGO.com, there was also an urban legend circulating around the time that had to do with inputting a secret code in the SNES version of Mortal Kombat that would allow uncensored Fatalities and blood in the SNES. However, this was later proven untrue, being only available on the Genesis version of Mortal Kombat.
Midway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
for arcades
Video arcade
An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
. In 1993, home versions were released by Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...
. Released in the Fall of 1994, the Microsoft Windows 3.1x version was released by Activision Interactive. It is the first title in the Mortal Kombat series. Upon release, Mortal Kombat became one of the most popular arcade games of all time. It was subsequently ported to home video game consoles and became a best-selling game. Mortal Kombat also became one of the most controversial video games, for its depiction of gore and violence using realistic digitized graphics.
Mortal Kombat focuses on the journey of the monk Liu Kang
Liu Kang
Liu Kang is a video game character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. First appearing in the series' first title, Liu Kang is portrayed as a Shaolin monk who enters the Mortal Kombat tournament to save his world, Earthrealm, from being destroyed due to having lost nine consecutive...
to save Earth from the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung
Shang Tsung
Shang Tsung is a boss and player character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. A powerful and deadly sorcerer and a primary antagonist in the Mortal Kombat series, Shang Tsung is a shapeshifter who absorbs the souls of those he slays in order to maintain his youth and power...
, ending with their confrontation on the tournament known as Mortal Kombat. The game spawned numerous sequels, as well as a successful 1995 motion picture
Mortal Kombat (film)
Mortal Kombat is a 1995 American action and adventure film directed by Paul Anderson. Based on the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games, the film was the first part of the Mortal Kombat film series...
adaptation, and is one of the most popular fighting games to date.
Plot and setting
In Mortal Kombat, the player receives information concerning the backstories of the characters and their relationships with one another mainly in biographies that are displayed when the start button is not pressed, during attract modeAttract mode
Attract mode is an arcade game's screen display shown when no one is playing the game. The main purpose of the attract mode is to attract passers-by to play the game, although it might also have the side effect to act like a screensaver.-Summary:...
in the title screen. These bios featured short videos of the characters taking their fighting stances and text informing the motives for each character to enter the tournament. The game takes place in a fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
setting, with most of the game's events occurring on the fictional realms
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
of the Mortal Kombat series. The original game is notably the only title in the series that features only one realm, that being Earthrealm. The tournament featured in the story actually takes place fully at Shang Tsung's Island, located somewhere on Earth, with seven of its locations serving as Kombat Zones.
To fully understand the plot of Mortal Kombat, the player must beat Arcade mode to unlock endings for each character, but only a few endings or a part of them are considered canonical to the Mortal Kombat storyline. Some endings even contradict one another. What really happened to the characters was only revealed in the sequel Mortal Kombat II
Mortal Kombat II
Mortal Kombat II is a competitive fighting game originally produced by Midway Games for the arcades in . It is the second game in the Mortal Kombat series. Like its predecessor, various home versions were produced...
.
Story
The original Mortal Kombat is the only game in the series to not have an introduction video explaining its plot. Eventually, the story of the Mortal Kombat universe was revealed, as well as the story behind the tournament itself. It is said that the Elder Gods created various realms, and that they decreed that the denizens of one realm could only conquer another realm by defeating the defending realm's greatest warriors in ten consecutive Mortal Kombat tournaments. With one of such realms, Outworld, already having won nine tournaments in a row, Earth's warriors would have to avoid handing Earthrealm the tenth loss, or all of humanity would crumble into the darkness of the Outworld. The first game takes place during this decisive battle. With the help of the Thunder God RaidenRaiden (Mortal Kombat)
Raiden is a player character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. Raiden, also known as Lord Raiden, is a thunder god of the Mortal Kombat universe and protector of Earthrealm. He commands many supernatural abilities such as the ability to teleport, control over lightning, and flight...
, the Earthrealm warriors are victorious and the monk Liu Kang
Liu Kang
Liu Kang is a video game character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. First appearing in the series' first title, Liu Kang is portrayed as a Shaolin monk who enters the Mortal Kombat tournament to save his world, Earthrealm, from being destroyed due to having lost nine consecutive...
becomes the new champion of Mortal Kombat after defeating the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung
Shang Tsung
Shang Tsung is a boss and player character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. A powerful and deadly sorcerer and a primary antagonist in the Mortal Kombat series, Shang Tsung is a shapeshifter who absorbs the souls of those he slays in order to maintain his youth and power...
.
The storyline of the first Mortal Kombat was later adapted into Paul W. S. Anderson
Paul W. S. Anderson
Paul William Scott Anderson , also known as Paul W. S. Anderson or Paul Anderson, is an English film director who regularly works in science fiction movies and video game adaptations.-Life and career:...
's Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (film)
Mortal Kombat is a 1995 American action and adventure film directed by Paul Anderson. Based on the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games, the film was the first part of the Mortal Kombat film series...
motion picture, and also in an animated prequel to the first movie titled Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins, released straight to home video. In 2010, director Kevin Tancharoen
Kevin Tancharoen
Kevin Harwick Tancharoen is an American dancer, choreographer, television producer and film director. On September 29, 2011 New Line/Warner Bros have announced that Kevin Tancharoen, will helm a big-screen adaptation of Mortal Kombat to be released sometime in 2013.-Life and career:Tancharoen was...
released an eight-minute unofficial film called Mortal Kombat: Rebirth
Mortal Kombat: Rebirth
Mortal Kombat: Rebirth is a 2010 action short film directed by Kevin Tancharoen with fight choreography by Larnell Stovall who also choreographed Undisputed III: Redemption. Based on the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games, the short-film "actually was made by the director to sell Warner Bros...
, featuring a more realistic and darker tone. An alternate climax for the first game would be featured on the adventure game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is an action/beat-em-up video game based on the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games. Shaolin Monks was developed by Midway LA and published by Midway for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox...
, which tells an alternate version of the events between the first and second Mortal Kombat tournaments.
Characters
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the game is the Shaolin monk Liu Kang, played by Ho Sung Pak
Ho Sung Pak
Ho-Sung Pak is an American film actor, martial artist, action choreographer, writer, and producer.-Early life and career:Pak, a Korean American, was born in Seoul, South Korea...
, who enters the tournament to defeat Shang Tsung, the main antagonist and final boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
who curiously is also played by Sung Pak. Despite his old age, Shang Tsung moves with incredible speed and summons skull fireballs at will, and can also steal the souls of fallen adversaries and morph into any character of the game, assuming their appearance and their special moves. Upon defeat, all the warriors' souls leave his body.
Elizabeth Malecki
Elizabeth Malecki
Elizabeth Malecki is a professional dancer, actress, and aerobics instructor, who is best known for her portrayal of Sonya Blade in the original Mortal Kombat arcade game....
played the Special Forces agent Sonya Blade
Sonya Blade
Sonya Blade is a player character from the Mortal Kombat series. She is portrayed in the games as an officer of the United States Special Forces.-In video games:...
, who is pursuing the Black Dragon mercenary Kano, played by Richard Divizio
Richard Divizio
Richard Divizio is an American actor best known for his work in the Mortal Kombat video game series...
. Carlos Pesina
Carlos Pesina
Carlos Pesina is a skilled martial artist and employee of NetherRealm Studios. He is most recognized as the actor who played Raiden in Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy...
played Raiden, the god of Thunder and protector of Earthrealm, while his brother Daniel Pesina
Daniel Pesina
Daniel Pesina is a martial arts expert and a former employee of Midway. He is most recognized as the actor who played Johnny Cage and ninjas Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Reptile, Smoke, and Noob Saibot in Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II.Pesina was fired from Midway in 1994 for wearing Cage's costume in...
played Hollywood movie star Johnny Cage
Johnny Cage
Johnny Cage, whose real name is John Carlton, is a video game character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. Cage is portrayed as a film actor who enters the game's tournament, and provides the comic relief of the franchise....
and the ninja specter Scorpion
Scorpion (Mortal Kombat)
Scorpion is a recurring player and boss character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He has been a playable character in all the games, with the exception of the original version of Mortal Kombat 3.-In video games:...
. The yellow color of Scorpion's Ninja outfit was changed to blue in order to create the Lin Kuei warrior Sub-Zero
Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat)
Sub-Zero is the name given to two video game characters from the Mortal Kombat series. The older Sub-Zero first appeared in the first Mortal Kombat game, being replaced by his younger brother in Mortal Kombat II and the subsequent games...
and to green for Shang Tsung's servant Reptile
Reptile (Mortal Kombat)
Reptile is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat series of video games. Created for Midway Games by John Tobias and Ed Boon, Reptile debuted in Mortal Kombat as a hidden boss and appeared in subsequent titles as a playable character. The character has also appeared on various merchandise,...
, both also played by Daniel Pesina. Mortal Kombat would become famous for these palette swap
Palette swap
A palette swap is a practice used in video games, whereby a graphic that is already used for one element is given a different palette, so it can be reused as other elements. The different palette gives the new graphic a unique set of colors, which make it recognizably distinct from the original...
s, and later games would continue with this tradition.
The four-armed Shokan warrior Goro serves as the sub boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
of the game, being a half-human, half-dragon beast that is a great deal stronger than the other characters, and impossible to grab. Also, he takes less damage when attacked, and is not affected by sweep kicks. Although many of the characters displayed superhuman special powers, Goro was the only character from the game to actually look inhuman. The character's stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
model was created by Curt Chiarelli. When fighting on The Pit stage, the player could qualify to fight the secret character
Secret character
A secret character can be a player character or a non-player character in a video game that must be unlocked by completing a goal within the game...
Reptile. The requirements to face Reptile would be met on home ports if the fighter achieved a double Flawless Victory (winning without taking any damage) without blocking, and performed the standard finishing move, rather than the finishing uppercut to the pit. In some versions, a silhouette must float across the moon in the background during the fight, as described above. Goro, Shang Tsung and Reptile were not playable in the original game, but would later return fully playable in sequels. Additionally, the Masked Guard in the Courtyard stage was portrayed by Mortal Kombat developer John Vogel.
Fighting system
Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...
, although leg sweeps and roundhouse kicks were performed by holding away while pressing the appropriate kick button.
The characters in Mortal Kombat differed mostly in their special moves and finishing moves. The game also changed the way special moves were performed. Mortal Kombat was the first to introduce moves that did not require a button press (such as tap back, tap back, then forward), and only a few of the special moves required circular joystick movement. In an interview with Computer and Video Games
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
, Ed Boon
Ed Boon
Edward J. Boon is an American video game programmer who had been employed for over 15 years at Midway. He now works for Warner Bros...
stated, "[...] since the beginning, one of the things that's separated us from other fighting games is the crazy moves we've put in it, like fireballs and all the magic moves, so to speak." Another of the game's innovations was the Fatality
Fatality (Mortal Kombat)
In the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games, a Fatality is a finishing move that can be used against one's defeated opponent at the end of the final match, after the boss character says "Finish Him/Her." The Fatalities are usually lethal, featuring a brutal and morbid execution of the defenseless...
, a special finishing move executed against a beaten opponent to kill them in a gruesome fashion. For example, Sub-Zero
Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat)
Sub-Zero is the name given to two video game characters from the Mortal Kombat series. The older Sub-Zero first appeared in the first Mortal Kombat game, being replaced by his younger brother in Mortal Kombat II and the subsequent games...
would grasp a defeated opponent by the head, then rip out the head and spine while the body fell to the ground in a pool of blood.
The blocking in Mortal Kombat by itself greatly changed the flow of fighting in comparison to contemporary games which used Street Fighter conventions. Characters do not block while retreating or crouching, but only block when the block button is pushed. Even then, characters still take damage from any hit while blocking, although it's very reduced. However, successfully blocking moves is simple–-a crouching block can successfully defend against all moves, even aerial attacks such as jump kicks–-and blocking characters give very little ground when struck rather than sliding backwards. This style of blocking rewarded dodging to avoid damage but also made counter attacks much easier after a successful block, and the ultimate result was an environment which rewards a more furtive playing style than contemporary games.
Mortal Kombat also introduced the concept of juggling, an idea so popular it has spread to many games and even other genres. Juggling takes advantage of the fact that when a character is knocked into the air, that player is unable to control his or her character and is still vulnerable to other hits, until he or she lands and gets up again. The idea behind juggling is to knock the enemy into the air and then follow up with other combat moves to keep them there. Theoretically, one could juggle one's opponent to death without ever taking damage, though this was difficult to accomplish in practice. In early versions of the game, juggling was extremely easy because the physics caused characters to fly upwards when hit; by version 5.0, however, characters reacted with somewhat more realism, and also fell more rapidly with successive hits, effectively limiting juggles to three hits under normal circumstances.
Test Your Might
Test Your Might is a breakingBreaking (martial arts)
Breaking is a martial arts technique that is used in competition, demonstration and testing. Breaking is an action where a martial artist uses a striking surface to break one or more objects using the skills honed in their art form. The striking surface is usually a hand or a foot, but may also be...
minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
(similar to the breaking mini game featured as a bonus in Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
's 1987 fighting game, Street Fighter
Street Fighter (video game)
is a 1987 arcade game developed by Capcom. It is the first competitive fighting game produced by the company and the inaugural game in the Street Fighter series...
) featured as a bonus level between battles. In it, the player's character is stood in front of a large block, and he must break the material in front of him with his bare fist by filling a strength gauge past its breaking point, which is noted by a red line placed on the bar. If the player fails to fill the strength gauge past that point by the time he strikes, the material won't break and the player fails the round. The first material the player must break is wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, once broken he progresses onto stone
STONe
is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Sin-Ichi Hiromoto. Kodansha released the two bound volumes of the manga on April 23, 2002 and August 23, 2002, respectively.The manga is licensed for an English-languague released in North America be Tokyopop...
, then to steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, ruby
Ruby
A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum . The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires...
and finally, diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
. Each material has a higher breaking point than the last, with diamond being the hardest, requiring the player to fill the strength gauge almost entirely. As materials become harder, each of them awards more points than the previous one.
In single-player mode, the minigame appears after every three consecutive battles. However, since the single-player mode ends after the twelfth battle victory, this mode gives players only three chances to play Test Your Might before their game is over. This means that the two hardest blocks of the five (ruby and diamond) are reachable only by playing two-player mode. In this mode, the minigame appears after every five consecutive battles, with each player's progress maintained individually.
Test Your Might would eventually become the franchise's trademark minigame, but it was not used in the subsequent Mortal Kombat games until 2002's console-only Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, originally known as Mortal Kombat V: Vengeance or simply Mortal Kombat 5, is a fighting game developed and published by Midway for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo GameCube, and Game Boy Advance...
, where it returned with improved graphics, a similar but longer block sequence (bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
, redwood
Redwood
-Trees:Conifers* Family Cupressaceae *** Sequoia sempervirens - coast redwood**** Albino redwood*** Sequoiadendron giganteum - giant sequoia*** Metasequoia glyptostroboides - dawn redwood* Family Pinaceae...
, marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
, iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, then diamond), and another minigame, Test Your Sight. Whereas in Mortal Kombat Test Your Might was there to earn points, it is in Deadly Alliance to earn "Koins" used to unlock special features. In Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is an action/beat-em-up video game based on the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games. Shaolin Monks was developed by Midway LA and published by Midway for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox...
, the minigame appears whenever the player needs to perform some feat of strength, and at times, even during specific parts of boss battles. Test Your Might was also worked into Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is a crossover fighting game from Midway Games and Warner Bros. Games. The eighth game in the Mortal Kombat series, MK vs. DC was released on November 16, . MK vs. DC contains characters from both the Mortal Kombat franchise and the DC Universe...
gameplay. While fighting in certain areas, the player can smash the opponent through a series of walls and engage in a tug-of war with the damage meter at the top of the screen. The player on the offense mashes buttons to increase damage, while the player on the defense mashes buttons to decrease damage taken.
Development and promotion
According to various articles, the first Mortal Kombat game was, "... put together in 10 months in 1991-1992..." and also in an interview with Official Nintendo Magazine, Mortal Kombat co-creator, Ed BoonEd Boon
Edward J. Boon is an American video game programmer who had been employed for over 15 years at Midway. He now works for Warner Bros...
, stated, "Mortal Kombat started out with four people in 1991; I was the only programmer, John Tobias
John Tobias
John Tobias is an American comic book artist, graphic designer and video game designer. Along with Ed Boon he is one of the creators of the groundbreaking Mortal Kombat fighting game series....
and John Vogel were the only two artists, and Dan Forden
Dan Forden
Daniel "Dan" Warner "Toasty" Forden is an American sound programmer and music composer, and was the lead programmer on several high-profile arcade and pinball games...
was the only sound designer. That was it. We developed the first Mortal Kombat in ten months from beginning to end..." . however, other sources tend to differ. For example, on Shacknews
Shacknews
Shacknews, commonly referred to as "The Shack", is a website offering news, features, editorial content, and forums relating to computer games and console games. Shacknews and its sister site, FileShack, are currently owned by GameFly...
it is stated, "Mortal Kombat was created by Midway Games in only five and a half months as a competitor for the hugely popular Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II
is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
..."
Originally, creators Ed Boon and John Tobias wanted to create a video game starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
, with a digitized version of the action star fighting villains. However, Van Damme was already in negotiations with another company for a video game that ultimately was never released. Van Damme's likeness is still clearly seen in the character of Johnny Cage
Johnny Cage
Johnny Cage, whose real name is John Carlton, is a video game character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. Cage is portrayed as a film actor who enters the game's tournament, and provides the comic relief of the franchise....
(with whom he shares his name's initials, JC), a Hollywood martial arts movie star who performs a split punch to the groin (performed by Van Damme in a scene from Bloodsport
Bloodsport (film)
Bloodsport is a 1988 American martial arts film directed by Newt Arnold and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb and Leah Ayres. The film is based on the claimed adventures of Frank Dux, and was followed by three sequels Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite , Bloodsport III and Bloodsport 4: The...
). In a 1994 interview with the creators, Ed Boon and John Tobias, it was stated that the task that the developers were given by Midway was to create a "combat game for release within a year." The article later states that although both creators say the intention was to create a game for release in a certain time frame, they believe that the Midway officials may have been motivated to create a fighting game because of introduction of the Japanese fighting game series, Street Fighter.
In a podcast interview with the Official Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine is a monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released for E3 2001, with another preview issue for November 2001. The magazine is bundled with a disc that includes game demos, preview videos and...
, Ed Boon stated for six out of the eight months while they were in production of Mortal Kombat, "...nobody could come up with a name nobody didn't hate." Some of the names suggested were Kumite
Kumite
Kumite means sparring, and is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which you train against an adversary, using the techniques learned from the kihon and kata....
, Dragon Attack, Death Blow, and even at one point, Fatality. Someone had written down "combat" on the drawing board for the names in Ed Boon's office and someone wrote a K over the C, according to Ed Boon, "...just to be kind of weird..." Steve Ritchie, a pinball designer at that time, was sitting in Ed Boon's office and saw the word "Kombat" and said to Ed Boon,
Hard and soft C
In the Latin-based orthographies of many European languages , a distinction between hard and soft ⟨c⟩ occurs in which ⟨c⟩ represents two distinct phonemes...
for words containing the hard C
Voiceless velar plosive
The voiceless velar stop or voiceless velar plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is k....
sound, thus misspelling them.
The September 13, 1993 launch of Mortal Kombat for home consoles by Acclaim Entertainment was one of the largest video game launch of the time. A "Mortal Monday" ad campaign featured a flood of TV commercials, and all four home versions of the game were made available for sale on the same date. On the same year, an official Mortal Kombat Collector's Edition, written and illustrated by the game's designer artist John Tobias, was available through mail order
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
, describing the backstory of the game in a greater detail. The mail order deal was displayed during the attract mode
Attract mode
Attract mode is an arcade game's screen display shown when no one is playing the game. The main purpose of the attract mode is to attract passers-by to play the game, although it might also have the side effect to act like a screensaver.-Summary:...
of the game. The comic book would later be sold normally around the country, although it was close to impossible to get a copy outside of the United States. In 2002, the entire comic book was included as an unlockable bonus in "The Krypt" mode of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.
Mortal Kombat: The Album
Mortal Kombat: The Album
Mortal Kombat: The Album is an album by The Immortals , released in 1994 to accompany the home versions of the video game Mortal Kombat.-Album information:The album featured a techno song for each of the 7 playable characters, as well as Goro, along with two...
, an album by The Immortals featuring techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
songs, was released in May, 1994 to accompany the release of home versions of Mortal Kombat. It featured two themes for the game, Techno Syndrome and Hypnotic House. Techno Syndrome was adapted for the 1995 movie soundtrack, and incorporated the familiar "Mortal Kombat!" yell first shown in the first game's commercial for home systems. Jeff Rovin also penned a novelization of the first Mortal Kombat game, which was published in June 1995 in order to coincide with the release of the first movie. There were also lines of action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
s made in the original characters.
Ports
Versions of the original Mortal Kombat game appeared on several different formats, notably the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and Nintendo's SNES. At the time of the game's SNES release in North America, Nintendo of America had a strict "Family Friendly" policy. This required the removal of graphic violence, religious imagery, and mentions of death from all game content. The SNES version, therefore, had characters that sweated upon injury instead of bleeding, and most of the Fatality moves were toned down-- even so, most of the fatality moves in this version caused injuries that are clearly incompatible with life (such as the loser being immolated by a fireball, leaving only his skeleton behind). Even though critics generally agree that Nintendo had the superior port graphically because of their censorship the game was not received as well and suffered in sales compared to the Genesis's port. As of Mortal Kombat II, however, Nintendo decided to leave the gore from the original arcade version intact.Official ports
- Mega Drive / Genesis (19931993 in video gaming-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
) – The Mega Drive/Genesis version was modified, but entering a secret cheat code restored the full gore and Fatalities from the arcade version. The code notably spelled out "ABACABB", a nod to the AbacabAbacabAbacab, released in 1981, is the 11th studio album by British band Genesis. It reached No.1 in the UK, where it remained in the charts for 27 weeks.-Background and recording:...
album by the band GenesisGenesis (band)Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
who obviously share their name with the console. A unique Easter eggEaster eggEaster eggs are special eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime.The oldest tradition is to use dyed or painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jelly beans...
in this version included a head shot of the President of Probe Software, Fergus McGovern, which sometimes flew in front of the moon in The Pit stage. This version was given an MA-13 rating by the Videogame Rating CouncilVideogame Rating CouncilThe Videogame Rating Council was introduced by Sega of America in 1993 to rate all video games that were released for sale in the United States on the Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear, Sega CD, and rarely, some computer games...
. The music in this version, while based on that of the arcade game, was rearranged, and rhythmically and melodically different. There were also few voice samples in this version. The Japanese port was named Mortal Kombat: Shinken Kourin Densetsu. - SNESSuper Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
(19931993 in video gaming-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
) – This version contained modified grey sweat in place of blood. Additionally, several Fatalities (now called "Finishing Bonus") were altered or changed completely, and the stage Fatality in The Pit arena awards no special bonus. Some critics overlooked the fact that the game played differently to the original arcade version. The venerable uppercut counter to air attacks was missing, and the combo system also differed from the arcade version. The graphics are superior to those of other console versions. The sound more closely resembles the arcade version (especially in terms of musical accuracy), though not as accurate as that of the Sega CD version. The use of gray sweat in place of blood led to the urban legend that players could activate blood in the SNES version of Mortal Kombat; however, no cheat code was ever in the game. There was, however, a Game Genie code that turned the gray sweat red, but it didn't change its more mist-like appearance, and had no effect on the Fatalities. - IBM PC/Microsoft Disk Operating SystemMS-DOSMS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
(1993) – Both the IBM PC version and MS-DOS are the most faithful ports of the arcade version in terms of graphics and gameplay. The PC and DOS ports differ in terms of music score however; the DOS version was more accurate in that factor. The DOS version came in CD and floppy-disk formats. - AmigaAmigaThe Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
(19931993 in video gaming-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
) – This version is famous for being able to perform all moves in the game using just one button on a joystick, although a second button could be used as a kick button. This was required because most Amiga joysticks of that time only had one button. The Amiga port of the second game in the seriesMortal Kombat IIMortal Kombat II is a competitive fighting game originally produced by Midway Games for the arcades in . It is the second game in the Mortal Kombat series. Like its predecessor, various home versions were produced...
included a Two Button option. Graphics-wise, the game was similar to the Genesis, but featured loading times. The music was arranged by Allister BrimbleAllister BrimbleAllister Mark Brimble is a video game music composer. Allister has written music and sound effects for the videogame industry since the mid 1980s for a vast array of games, such as Driver, Project-X, Superfrog, Alien Breed, Assassin, Colonization, Descent II, Dizzy series ,Slightly Magic...
, and due to limitations, there were only 3 tracks. However, some audio samples were squeezed in. - Game BoyGame BoyThe , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
(19931993 in video gaming-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
) – Due to technical issues the Game Boy version was severely cut down from its arcade counterpart. It suffered from laggy controls, (making most moves extremely difficult to perform), and a limited button layout. It also omitted Reptile and the bloodier Fatality moves. However, players could play as Goro via a code.Johnny Cage was apparently intended to be a playable character, but was cut out ; bits of his character data remain in the data files. - Sega Game GearSega Game GearThe was Sega's first handheld game console. It was the third commercially available color handheld console, after the Atari Lynx and the TurboExpress....
(19931993 in video gaming-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
) – Similar to the Game Boy version, but with major improvements, (color, faster gameplay, and tighter control). Like its 16-bit counterpart, the game was censored unless a cheat code had been entered. It lacked Kano and Reptile and had only two arenas. - Sega Master SystemSega Master SystemThe is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
(19931993 in video gaming-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
) – Similar to the Game Gear Port, but with more screen space. This port also lacked Kano and Reptile. - Sega Mega CD (19941994 in video gaming-Events:*Nintendo calls this year "1994: The Year of the Cartridge".*Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of Nintendo Co., Ltd is established and opened by Hiroshi Yamauchi and effectively ends Mattel Australia's distribution of Nintendo's products throughout Australia.*"Project...
) – The Mega CD/Sega CD version of the game was released with a grainy version of the famous Mortal Monday commercial and loading times (the shouting of "Mortal Kombat!" would later become infamous after being sampled in the Mortal Kombat theme song from the 1995 film). This version did not require a code to be entered and thus was given an MA-17 rating. While this port was technologically inferiorInferiorInferior means of lower station, rank, degree, or grade . It may also refer to:* Inferiority complex* An anatomical term of location* Inferior angle of the scapula, in the human skeleton...
to the better-looking SNES port, it resembled the arcade version more faithfully in actual gameplay. It also featured the authentic soundtrack, taken right from the arcade version, but some of the tracks play on the incorrect arenas, (such as Courtyard playing The Pit's theme). Like many other Sega CD games, the game's music could be accessed by putting the disc in a CD player, as it is standard CD Audio. Several remixes of the Mortal Kombat theme music were included as bonus, including the remix used later for the film adaptation. The gore could be disabled by entering the "DULLARD" code at the main menu. One notable issue with this version is the load times, which causes a lot of delays when fighting Shang Tsung, sometimes leaving him open to attack. - XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
/PS2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
(20042004 in video gaming-Events:*January 20 — Wireds Vaporware Awards gives its first "Lifetime Achievement Award" to recurring winner Duke Nukem Forever.*March 4 — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Peter Molyneux into the AIAS Hall of Fame*March 22-26 — Game...
) – In 20042004 in video gaming-Events:*January 20 — Wireds Vaporware Awards gives its first "Lifetime Achievement Award" to recurring winner Duke Nukem Forever.*March 4 — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Peter Molyneux into the AIAS Hall of Fame*March 22-26 — Game...
a new port was included with the Mortal Kombat: DeceptionMortal Kombat: DeceptionMortal Kombat: Deception is a fighting game developed and published by Midway as the sixth installment for the Mortal Kombat series. It was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in October 2004, while a Nintendo GameCube version was published in March 2005. Mortal Kombat: Deception follows the...
"Premium Pack". This port is an "arcade perfect" emulation. Unfortunately, it wasn't as arcade perfect as it claimed, as there were some sound issues such as the music for the Palace Gates stage being relatively low, as well as the ending music being abruptly interrupted at the start of the second segment of the credits, and gameplay being slightly faster than the actual arcade version. - Plug It in & Play TV GamesJakks PacificJAKKS Pacific, Inc. is a designer and marketer of toys and consumer products, with a range of products that feature numerous children's toy licenses...
(20042004 in video gaming-Events:*January 20 — Wireds Vaporware Awards gives its first "Lifetime Achievement Award" to recurring winner Duke Nukem Forever.*March 4 — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Peter Molyneux into the AIAS Hall of Fame*March 22-26 — Game...
) – In 20042004 in video gaming-Events:*January 20 — Wireds Vaporware Awards gives its first "Lifetime Achievement Award" to recurring winner Duke Nukem Forever.*March 4 — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Peter Molyneux into the AIAS Hall of Fame*March 22-26 — Game...
, Jakks PacificJakks PacificJAKKS Pacific, Inc. is a designer and marketer of toys and consumer products, with a range of products that feature numerous children's toy licenses...
released their version of Mortal Kombat as part of their TV Games lineup. The game was released as a joypad shaped like a Mortal Kombat cabinet. Two-player mode is also possible with a second joypad and a link cable. This version of Mortal Kombat is graphically similar to the Sega Genesis version but with slight resemblance to the original arcade version. The game sounds similar to the Genesis version, but with different MIDI-like music, and retains the original arcade voices. This port, however, lacks flashing text and a scrolling background layer, so moving objects—such as the clouds on The Pit and Palace Gates stages and the monks in the Courtyard—instead remain static. The programmer of this port was Chris Burke, for developer Digital EclipseBackbone EntertainmentBackbone Entertainment is an independent video game development company located in Emeryville, California.Backbone Entertainment is the result of a 2003 merger between Digital Eclipse Software and ImaginEngine...
.
- PSPPlayStation PortableThe is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
– The game was a part of Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play. This port features the same controls, graphics and gore that the original game contained, but like Mortal Kombat: Deception "Premium Pack", it suffers from sound issues, and no bios of the characters.
- 2011 Arcade Collection – It has been officially confirmed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment that an Arcade Collection consisting of Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 will be released as a downloadable title for PlayStation Network, Xbox LIVE Arcade, and PC on August 31, 2011 for $10 (or 800 Microsoft Points).
Unofficial ports
- NESNintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
- This version was illegally ported by Hummer Team as "Mortal Kombat II" and "Mortal Kombat III" (some with and without the "Turbo" in the name) and by Yoko (aka Cony) as "Mortal Kombat V1996 Turbo 30 Peoples". - Sinclair ZX SpectrumZX SpectrumThe ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
- Two unfinished but playable unofficial versions exist, one created in Ukraine in 1997 and the other in RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, both uses converted graphics. One unofficial full version exists too (1996); this one uses only the characters and setting of original game, and has its own graphics. It is mainly based on the first game and the first movie, but it has some features from Mortal Kombat II and Mortal Kombat 3 (for example, Liu Kang's "Fire Teleport" Fatality from MK3).
Hacks and other revisions
In the arcade version of Mortal Kombat, there were hacked versions of the arcade:- 3.1 Turbo/Kombo edition - This was an extremely rare hack for the arcade version, which tweaked the gameplay for more juggling and made the speed of Mortal Kombat up to Mortal Kombat II faster standards. Other features include Sub-Zero's freeze tweaked to levitate opponents to the top of the screen, which meant more combo possibilities, and fight Reptile faster (without double Flawless Victories but still with a Fatality, even without going to The Pit stage).
- Turbo Ninja - Another rare hack, but it is similar to 3.1 Turbo. This was the first Mortal Kombat hack dumped on MAME.
- Nifty Kombo - It is an earlier edition of 3.1 Turbo, similar features to its successor. Some differences includes Sub-Zero's freeze levitating opponents about an inch, and a harder Goro.
Reception
Mortal Kombat was awarded Most Controversial Game of 1993 by Electronic Gaming MonthlyElectronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
. The same publication also awarded the character of Goro the 1993 Hottest Gaming Hunk title. Mortal Kombat for the SNES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
was rated by IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
the 8th worst Arcade to console conversion stating, "So out went the decapitations and spine-rips, everyone sweated buckets instead of bled, and Kano's heart-rip move was turned into a fatal chest-hair pluck." "Mortal Kombat for the SNES, while having limited gore, had better graphics but the art direction of Nintendo straying from the blood led to a different perspective on a 'better game.'" The Arcade version of Mortal Kombat was rated the 85th "Top Coin-Operated Videogame of all Times". Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
called Mortal Kombat one of the "Most Loved Arcade Games" stating that it was the "king of the arcade" in its day. As of this article, the arcade machines of the original title go from a few hundred dollars to $2,500.
Controversy
Mortal Kombat was one of many violent video games that came into prominence between 1992 and 1993, generating controversy among parents and public officials. Hearings on video game violence and the corruption of society, headed by SenatorUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Joseph Lieberman and Herb Kohl
Herb Kohl
Herbert H. "Herb" Kohl is the senior U.S. Senator from Wisconsin and a member of the Democratic Party. He is also a philanthropist and the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks National Basketball Association team...
were held in late 1992 to 1993. The result of the hearings was that the entertainment software industry was given one year to form a working rating system or the federal government would intervene and create its own system. Eventually, the Entertainment Software Rating Board
Entertainment Software Rating Board
The Entertainment Software Rating Board is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games as well as entertainment software in Canada, Mexico and...
(ESRB) was conceived, requiring all video games to be rated and for these ratings to be placed on the games' packaging.
Rumored content
While many games have been subject to urban legends about secret features and unlockable content, these kinds of myths were particularly rampant among the dedicated fan community of the Mortal Kombat series. The game's creators did little to dispel the rumors, some of which were even eventually implemented in subsequent games. The most notable of these myths was due to a glitch where the hidden character Reptile was displayed red instead of green. As a result of this error, an internal error counter indicated as "ERMAC" (ERror MACro) was incremented. This would later lead the developers to include the red-garbed ninja ErmacERMAC
ERMAC is a forum in which risk management professionals can nurture relationships with other risk management professionals. It also provides a forum in which these professionals can discuss topical energy risk management issues and ideas...
on Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a fighting game in the Mortal Kombat series, released in arcades in 1995. It is an update of Mortal Kombat 3 and was later updated again into Mortal Kombat Trilogy...
and subsequent games. According to UGO.com, there was also an urban legend circulating around the time that had to do with inputting a secret code in the SNES version of Mortal Kombat that would allow uncensored Fatalities and blood in the SNES. However, this was later proven untrue, being only available on the Genesis version of Mortal Kombat.
External links
- Mortal Kombat at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...