Mortal Kombat

If you would have asked me in 1993 what I thought of Mortal Kombat, I would have given a much more positive opinion of this seminal game. Mortal Kombat was a breath of fresh air, especially given the gore version that presented itself on the Genesis. However, head to head fighting games are the one game genre in my mind that uniformly gets better in time. Playing the original MK now seems constrained and outdated. But before I get to that, a bit of background because the game does have a rich history that spans decades. Mortal Kombat was a major arcade smash in its day. Having funneled a ton of coins at the arcade playing MK, we were all patiently awaiting the game to make its eventual transition to the console. The original MK had seven available characters to play (all classic characters): Kano, Sonja, Liu Kang, Sub Zero, Scorpion, Raiden, and Johnny Cage. This is a very limited selection by today's standards, but at the time, this was an unbelievable game. You have the choice of fighting a friend in head to head mode as well as doing a ladder challenge like in the arcade. In this mode, you have to win a series of battles to make you way to the final test - Goro and then Shang Tsung. As with any fighting game, you have you basic kick, punch, and block. For newcomers, this means button mashing with hopes for victory. Each character has 2-3 unique moves that only they can do as well as a unique fatality.

Almost any retro gamer can identify with "Get Over Here!" and "Finish Him!" There were copious amounts of blood involved in the game (arcade) and the use of fatalities (a way to further beat up your enemy following your win) gained the attention of the US Congress as well as other political bodies across the world. This would eventually lead to the rating system established on all video games today. I have always found it funny how this game received so much attention for its gore. Nowadays, MK is put to shame by games like Manhunt, most of the survival horror games, and even parts of the Grand Theft Auto games.

I have always liked the original MK over other similar games like Street Fighter or Primal Rage. This was largely due to the gore which appealed to my younger self, but also because the characters were just so interesting. You have kung fu experts, half dead magicians, crazed wizards, everything. What makes the Sega Genesis version far superior to the Super Nintendo version is the ability to turn on the blood. For the Sega port, I will say the sound isn't all there. This will only annoy those who spent a lot of time at the arcades playing MK when it came out. As with the arcade, you have the option of finding and fighting Reptile in the Pit stage.

Where MK falters is in its replay value. Even MK II blows MK away and with the exception of a few bumps along the way, I think each new Mortal Kombat game adds to what the previous did not have to create a better game. The fact that each character only has 2-3 unique moves and one unique fatality really limits the depth of each character. At the time it was great but going back, it seems really dated. There still is a bit of nostalgia for me, but for the most part, this game is fair but there are a wealth of better fighting games out there.