We didn't mean the movie.
The game that changed everything. Spawned as a fighting arcade game to change the way we perceived fighting action games that would directly compete with Street Fighter - but with its own unique set of characters, special attacks, and what it’s really famous for: blood, gore and fatalities.
I won’t go into too much detail about the original arcade conception, other than it featured fantastic controls and graphics that just couldn’t be paralled on home consoles. Well, they came close. The game was released on a number of platforms, but most notably the SEGA Genesis (Mega-Drive) and the Super Nintendo. Both versions had their pros and cons. The Super Nintendo version featured no gore due to Nintendo’s ridiculous policies at the time and trying to maintain a family friendly image, but it also had superior graphics, and most importantly sound effects. Some might argue the controls were better too, but that’s down to opinion.
The Genesis version however featured all the gore and violence that Nintendo refused to include. Which naturally made it more appealling to most gamers. This didn’t last too long though, as Mortal Kombat II was released with all the gore on the SNES – leaving its inferior sister on the SEGA lying in the dirt.
If you haven’t figured it out already – it’s a fighting game with the sort of stuff you’d expect. However the main focal point of the game is the fatality system. After giving your opponent a rightful beatdown, with the right key combination, you have the chance to remove their very existance from the world in a number of brutal, yet so satisfying ways. From pulling out spinal cords to encasing them in ice, and pulling their torso from their legs.
The game is multiplayer and supports 2 players. This makes it all the more worthwhile when you know you can teach your friends a lesson they deserve. Or of course you could unexpectedly get your ass handed to you. Admittedly this has happened a few times to me. Guess that’s what I get for smack-talking.
The game has been reincarnated on other platforms since. The most faithful arcade ports that I know of are for MS-DOS computers, and of course can be ran via DOSBOX or VirtualBox. The game was also released on Game Boy and SEGA Game Gear, but the ports were fairly poor. But they did what they said on the tin. Basic portable fighting games. The game was also re-released on SEGA CD and took advantage of CD-ROM quality music. But ironically it was still inferior to the SNES version. Finally, there was both a SEGA Master System version of the game with downgraded graphics and fwer characters, and an Amiga version which I haven’t played.
The game was later re-released on Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PSP. These ports suffer with sound glitches and other problems. There simply isn’t any excuse to get a simple game perfect on such modern hardware. There’s a port on Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3, but I can’t comment since I haven’t played them.
I doubt very many of you will have not played this game – but if you haven’t, you should play it. You can acquire a new port of the game for newer platforms relatively easy, or grab a copy of the original cheap online. Definitely a must play and should not be missed.
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