Mortal Kombat

Unique Ideas

The Mortal Kombat series popularized a few ideas both in the fighting games genre and others. Among these is "juggling", or hitting an opponent into the air, then successively knocking the flying body before it hits the ground (and before the other player can react). Mortal Kombat is also well-known for a number of wacky "easter eggs" that could be found by persistent (and lucky) users.

Fatalities were the most controversial part of the game but also generated most of the buzz. Upon winning the match, players could perform finishing moves on their dazed opponent. Gory acts such as decapitation, pulling the arms off of an opponent, or tearing their bodies in half were just a few of the moves. The fatality theme was continued in later games to include multiple moves per character and more creative finishing moves.

Midway included a few new ways to "finish" opponents in later games. Two of these were apparently an answer to critics' shouts at the violent nature of the games.

• Animality - Turn into an animal to defeat your opponent.
• Brutality - Decimate the losing player with a long series of attacks.

• Friendship - Offer the opponent a flower, box of chocolates or other token of friendliness.
• Babality - Turn the loser into a baby.

In direct opposition to it's competitor Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat featured a simple control scheme of two punches and two kicks - a high and a low for each. Many special moves could be executed with only the D-pad and required no thumb-rolling, only tapping single directions in succession.

Battles with Censorship

Mortal Kombat was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis in the mid-90's. The SNES version featured superior graphics and sound to its Genesis counterpart. However, at Nintendo's urging, all traces of blood and over-the-top fatalities were removed from the game. For example, Sub-Zero's spine pull was replaced by a much less gory "freeze and smash" maneuver. This caused an uproar in the gaming community and was perhaps the beginning of Nintendo's reputation for making games for a younger audience.

Mortal Kombat Sequels

Mortal Kombat spawned three sequels that were each bloodier and gorier than the previous. The fourth installment, Mortal Kombat 4, replaced the digitized characters with 3D polygon models, a first for the series.

In addition to direct sequels, Mortal Kombat also expanded into TV, film and other mediums. Two feature-length movies were released in the 1990s that, though popular among Mortal Kombat enthusiasts, are widely regarded as sub-standard.

• Mortal Kombat Advance
• Mortal Kombat Gold
• Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero (platform game starring Sub-Zero)
• Mortal Kombat Trilogy
• Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
• Mortal Kombat: Deception
• Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
• Mortal Kombat: Special Forces (action game featuring Jax)
• Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition
• Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3