![]() The Mortal Kombat franchise has sold at least 73 million units as of 2021. Mortal Kombat: A Legacy That Endures After 30 Years Though palette swaps and the rapid-punch-move-that-every-character-has stayed popular, Mortal Kombat II (1993) and subsequent titles began to add in many of the unique series’ gameplay staples we know (and love) today, including: But Mortal Kombat Is More Than Gore…Īs video game hardware improved, Midway was able to gradually upgrade its animation quality and expand the characters’ move-sets without giving up the game’s unique look. However, this didn’t stop a host of video game companies - including Capcom with its Street Fighter - The Movie! Game - from mirroring the bloody Mortal Kombat gameplay and introducing digitized sprites on both home consoles and arcade cabinets. However, that one-two punch of gore and Fatalities drew the attention of federal regulators, who pressured home gaming companies to tone down (or completely remove) these elements from the game. ![]() Photo Courtesy: NetherRealm Studios/Warner Bros. Scorpion and Sub-Zero duke it out in Mortal Kombat 11 (2019). Mortal Kombat also included the now-infamous Fatality - a murderous finishing move that the winner of a match could perform on a defeated opponent with a unique, complex series of button presses. And, perhaps most glaringly, the animation frame rate was also noticeably lower, making the signature Mortal Kombat gameplay less smooth.ĭevelopers understood the trade offs, though, so the gameplay was centered around making every hit an incredibly satisfying experience - complete with crunching bones and copious amounts of blood. ![]() The ninjas Scorpion and Sub-Zero, meanwhile, identical-looking sprites - save the colors of their outfits. For starters, all of the characters had the same basic moveset. Of course, facilitating this level of graphical prowess with the somewhat limited technology of the ‘90s came with its trade offs. ![]() Instead of featuring cartoon characters, the game’s roster was composed of digitized sprites, all of which were based around the moves of live-action actors. When Mortal Kombat entered the fray it was a uniquely realistic-looking fighter, complete with more believable - that is, bloody - fallout. (Landing some close-quarters, fierce punches in SFII will cause your opponent to vomit, but that was about as wild as it got.) Scorpion delivers a bloody uppercut to Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat II. In fact, many now-classics featured cartoonish characters and only cursory amounts of gore. While 2D fighting games were an essential genre during the height of arcades’ popularity, none of them were all that realistic when it came to portraying combat. The element of timing was so essential in the second iteration of Street Fighter - something that certainly helped set it apart from previous arcade hits, like Karate Champ or Yie-Ar Kung Fu. Capcom’s Street Fighter II ( SFII) introduced more mainstream gamers to extremely complex, combination-based gameplay. The early 1990s marked a golden era for video games. So, “Get over here!” “Finish Him!” The Gory Realism of Mortal Kombat To celebrate Midway Games’ fighter franchise, we’re taking a closer look at the development of Mortal Kombat - and how it cultivated such a dedicated fanbase. While the game’s gore and lore helped it stand out, the signature Mortal Kombat gameplay is what really gives this title 30 years of staying power. In 1992, Mortal Kombat was the game everyone wanted to play. But before everyone wanted a piece of Mortal Kombat - or to make their own knock-off fighting game - there was the series’ first iteration. ![]()
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