Video Game Retrospectives: Mortal Kombat.
Few series out there can claim that after over twenty years they would still remain strong and fewer yet can say they would have come full circle. Starting with an idea between two developers Ed Boon and John Tobias it rose to prominence and world wide acclaim by being one of the first truly graphic game series to be released. The main series has seen eight major titles, numerous video game spinoffs and various other media endeavors across every medium ranging from television to stage shows.
Mortal Kombat
The series started with humble beginnings. The very first game in the series had a small development staff of a measly four people who themselves were just barely outnumbered by actors used for the motion capture of the game itself. The game gained notoriety from the fact that realistically for the time rendered actors were juxtaposed by an outlandishly surreal quality of bloodshed and hyper-violence. As an arcade game competing against Street Fighter Two it stood out among others as most of the fighting games of the time merely copied that style without any extra substance or flare. The unique fatality system in the game allowed one to finish a match with an extra gory completion if a proper button sequence was imputed which has earned the series its remembrance. With a memorable cast of of characters with distinct special abilities we see a strange mix of eastern and western cultural influence tying into popular culture of the day. Numerous Easter Eggs were placed in the game as hooks to keep speculation running and started a long tradition of rumors and misinformation being spread with every subsequent release.
Mortal Kombat 2
Here we see a jump from a meager seven characters to a larger cast of twelve. Even more hidden characters were scattered with various criteria to access them with the shape shifting boss from the first game and original hidden character both back as regular members of the cast. New forms of finishers were introduced such as humorous nonsensical friendships, a greater number of specific stage related deaths and the ability to turn opponents into children called babalities. A tremendous media campaign pushed the franchise into a greater limelight including live action actors used in commercials, numerous ads being run in every major video game magazine and even posters produced for arcades. This is often cited as being the highpoints of the series popularity. The actual design tone of the game shifted in this game from a fantastical island setting of the first to being set in a varied though hellish wasteland of an alternate dimension. Arenas presented here have been reutilized through later games throughout the series more then most others.
Mortal Kombat 3
This game has the distinction of being redone technically twice. When it started in arcades it had a roster of a normal fourteen characters now with one hidden accessed through a new “Kombat Kode” system where one enters codes in at various points of the game with varied results ranging from mini games one can play to increasing difficulty if playing against a computer opponent. New finishers were added in such as the new aptly named Animalities and Brutalities. Multi-Tiered Arenas became a new staple of the series where a player could be upercutted through the ceiling to another level as part of certain arenas and of course new level specific finishers were included in as well. The storyline and setting pick up where the last left off with Earth and the other dimension Outworld from the second game Outworld merging leading to what would be familiar vistas merged with surreal and distorted imagery. The first rerelease was also produced for arcades and is generally the one that has been ported to other platforms dubbed “Ultimate” Mortal Kombat 3. The game included four characters cut in the gap between 2 to 3 who were cited as being missed by fans with three unlockable characters on top of that. The last version, Mortal Kombat Trilogy takes the same gameplay of Ultimate for various home releases which include almost all of the content from the entire series with certain omissions due to space constraints on various platforms it was released for. New characters were added in on top of this using the series tried and true method of a simple “palate-swap”. This entails using different color schemes for the same male/female ninja characters with different move sets which was present in previous titles though here ran more on the ridiculous side with seven basic duplicates of the male ninja, three cyborg ninjas and three female ninjas. Adding to the level of bizarreness related to this was a color changing ninja which cycled through all the others abilities. The gender was different platform to platform and both had variations of the name Chameleon. The male version had the male character abilities in one release where an alternate female version in another had the female ninja abilities.
Mortal Kombat 4
Here was what was to some a bit of a low point for the series. This was the series first foray into 3-D at a time where they had little experience with such technology. It featured a series of new options to the series such as 3-D sidestepping and a new weapons combat system. Each character has a set of two fatalities and a unique sequence to use the very few stage fatality abilities. With the later rereleased of three, this games roster seems a bit more tame. It was back down to fifteen characters putting it at around the same number as the first release of Mortal Kombat Three with an added returning hidden character. This game’s story took place in multiple dimensions so its levels were varied in design from industrial hell levels to frozen ninja temples. It was a first for the series where the final boss of the game itself was a playable character from the beginning and without any type of codes. It can be said the boss was a riff on the boss of the first game in the series with the ability to duplicate any other characters moves, though without taking on their appearance as it was earlier in the series. This game was later brought over to home systems where the graphical quality was trimmed down originally when it came to the original Playstation and Nintendo 64. When a latter version had finally come to the Sega Dreamcast, the crew had completely redone the visuals, and added in an extra four characters with the time they had which is considered vastly superior to the other releases.
Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance
Here is the game where the series truly reinvented itself. The game tossed of the shackles of the older series in a varied number of ways. To start with, it was only released on home consoles with no arcade launch like the others. With previous games special moves where nearly the only difference between each character where now each has two fighting styles unique to them based on real world martial arts, a fighting stance with a unique weapon and a combo system for switching between them. The movement in the game has the basic 2-D premise though unlike the simplistic sidestep of the last game it is now possible to circle around the arena in this game. Weapons aren’t dropable like in 4 but they can be impaled into the enemy to give them a constant health drain if successful. Numerous modes were added in. A training mode exists where one is guided through each characters move sets and abilities showing how to properly combo every ability. The basic arcade mode is given an overhaul with a new map instead of a simple tower with opponent images. This map has the different game locations it cycles through with an informational graphic of the opponent and stats such as an increasing difficulty. There are new mini games included as well, a traditional “Test Your Might” where different blocks or boards are broken by filling a power gage and a new Test Your Sight where you follow a koin hidden under three cups in the form of the shell game. There is a collection of series related extras and media and all of the games unlockables through the new “Krypt” system. “Koins” are earned through any form of gameplay are used to unlock various tombstones with that content.
Characters have a new system where as the fights progress bruising and blood will begin to appear as fixtures for the duration of matches. Twenty one characters are playable with two extra unlockables through the Krypt with keys acquired through meeting certain criteria. Locations are varied like with four due to multiple realities the arenas take place in. This is the first game with a major focus on continuing plot as Lui Kang who has served as the major protagonist dies in the opening moments of the beautifully rendered opening cinematic. The storylines of all previous games weave together for the first time as two reoccurring villains so called “Deadly Alliance” becomes the backbone of all current games to come. The endings for the first time almost all have story significance as well. Instead of being a conclusion to the game and even series, they start to be plot hooks for future events and many tie multiple characters actions together for the first time. It even established the villain for the next game.
Mortal Kombat Deception
Deception follows on the heels and story of the previous game rather well. Numerous characters return, new ones hinted at previously are added while a few are included are included in the game only as characters to fight against though there entire movesets and abilities are still intact. The Krypt system returns as the major form of unlocking game content though much compressed with new coffins used in game as the graphical representative. While there is less of a focus on extra game related material, the level and character unlocks are about the same. The roster is up to twenty six here now. A new type of fatality is added. As a counter to letting an opponent finish you, a counter “hara-kiri” is included as the ability to finish yourself of instead. New mini games are more fleshed out then those in the previous game. Instead of simple tests, there exists a form of chess with fights to determine which character pieces take a position and something akin to a game of tetris. Konquest mode, the simple tutorial from the previous game is much expanded. It is now a roving adventure game unto itself. It begins with a character in his early adulthood and leads to his old age with gaps with him aging as you live through his life. He is embroiled in events that weave through the story of the series and is on a quest to save the world like almost everyone else. Along his way he crosses paths with most other characters as he goes. He is unique in that he has no real unique moves. He doesn’t turn into other characters, he just has a moveset composed of the moves of others explained in the story as his learning from most of the masters the others have or having learned their abilities fighting against them.
There is a hub in Konquest leading to six separate realms. The dimensions encompassing the various dimensions of this universe. Each world is fairly explorable in a grid based system with koins, treasure chests with unlockables, and numerous fights laid out on top of story related content. It is easily the most expansive part of the game with the story leading directly into the events of the game. It is unique in that between background characters in certain levels and characters in this mode, almost every character to date and even some who were previously rumors crop up with dialogue and missions available from almost all of them. This mode rewards everything accomplished with Koins and is the easiest way to unlock most of the Krypt. There are some irritating Krypt pieces that again require keys, this time gained from treasure chests in Konquest that are unlockable only at certain points. There is a flow of time and calendar in that mode, luckily on can easily skim through that by “meditating” that allows one to rapidly speed up in game time for use to get these items. Some only actually appear on exactly certain times, so finding them is easiest using the power of the internet. Long story short, that is almost a necessity. This is probably the most expansive and lore filled game in the series overall.
Mortal Kombat Armageddon
Ah, the second Mortal Kombat Trilogy in a way. Nonexistant on story outside an opening cinematic with no bios and fairly basic endings, the normal arcade and versus modes exist solely to let you fight with any character in the series proper against the entire cast. This is an outrageous roster of sixty two characters overall in the normal character select. Added to that there is an in depth character creator where abilities and appearance can be adapted to personal tastes to add more variety to the game. The major drawback is that due to the number of characters and the overlap of fighting styles in the last two games, it was decided near the end of development the redundancy would be reduced if the characters were brought down to a single fighting style a piece and one weapon stance. This does eliminate a good deal of the combos that were used in the last two games. There is also an exclusion of numerous mini games as there was not time to flesh more than one out with so much crammed in. This new one is Motor Kombat, a quirky yet fun karting title in the Mario Kart vein. Fatalities are honestly the biggest hit. The create a character is the excuse, but there are simple strung together attacks that compose this new form with any of the classics that use to exist entirely excluded. These drawbacks aside, it follows the conventions of the second trilogy here to good detail. There is still a similar krypt, and again an entirely redone conquest mode. This was actually developed by the team that did the best selling action-adventure spin off Mortal Kombat Showlin Monks. Instead of being a stage based fighter, it takes you through some series locals as the only real form of story the game has. You play as the son of a god who has been in stasis for millions of years to be awoken in time to stop the titular Armageddon. To do so you fight your way through hordes of enemies with special abilities and crazy finishers. It is certainly an amazing style of gameplay, though the two player style featured in Shaolin Monks was at times a little bit simpler due to at times a bit higher difficulty then with a singular player. It is likely the most enjoyable highlight to be found in the game overall, as it certainly shows the love they tried to put in while so much of the rest of the game was rushed. This game signals the end of this era, and did lead to something new.
Mortal Kombat
This is named after the original and for good reason. The worlds were at an end. Armageddon came and the forces of good lost. A message was sent back to change fate. This is an altered retelling of the first Mortal Kombat Trilogy with a vast majority of those characters returning. There are two basic story modes like the second trilogy. The first is basic arcade mode with a simple series of fights to get to the top and earn an ending. The second is a long multiple chapter story mode telling how the fight to change fate plays out, and just how different the story ends up being. Instead of a string of tutorials presented as a story or journey, they are separated into a basic training piece, or as challenges in a new tower of challenges. These are a series of progressively more difficult tasks that begin to grow insane as you go netting you a singular extra costume and personal accolades for completion. The gameplay harkens back to the games of yore, meaning it is back to the old purely 2-D fighting style that made the series popular. The graphics are as gorgeous as 3-D gets still though. The game draws upon the features of the second game most heavily, the characters who originally featured later in the series crop up earlier in this arc from almost the beginning.
Even the second trilogy up through Armaggedon feature heavily as the game foreshadows a second game arc following on the story of MK4 and Deadly Alliance quite heavily. The Krypt returns, much more gruesome than before. It has swamps, guillotines or other torture devices graphically displayed when unlocked, the more basic tombstones again that crumble, and a palace showing off the characters themselves. A new special gage fills in combat itself. Allowing for upgraded damage to attacks, special counter abilities and lastly a new X-Ray mode. This feature allows for a powerfully literally bone-crushing attack to be done which is exactly what it says on the can. As the x-ray feature is used you see into a characters body as bones break, muscles and cartlidge is ripped apart and veins spurt blood. It leads to a couple variations depending on where the enemy is attacked either front or back/from the side. It is an amusing addition that works much better in use then it sounds. The team worked quite hard on recapturing the spirit of the games from its earliest artstyle. All the classic fighting arenas return with much greater detail then where possible in the 16 Bit/Arcade era. What was a simple arena before for instance is now transformed into a totally immersive stadium. Crowds filled into a stadium. Giant Monsters and handlers in the background restraining them. People chained to pedestals and the Emperor on his throne surrounded by woman all for elaborate and lavish spectacle. Again, the total effect needs to be seen to be believed. NetherRealm Studios has outdone themselves on their newest game and in a generation of fighting game revivals done just what was needed to still stay relevant. A new Konquest or Shaolin Monks style game or mode would be amazing, but I’ll personally take what I can get. This is a legacy which has weaved into the minds of a generation and is so entrenched it won’t go anywhere. Looking back fondly, one can only wait for what’s next.
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