Mortal Kombat has a fascinating timeline.
It started off with a bang and by the time
the industry moved into the 3D space, it struggled
to maintain its footing at the top as classics
such as Virtua Fighter and Tekken became the
new kings of the tournament fighter.
The fall didn’t necessarily start with the
series first foray into the 3D realm with
Mortal Kombat 4 as most might suspect.
We are going to look over the original trilogy
while examining why most people consider Mortal
Kombat 2 the pinnacle of the original series.
In addition, we will take a deep dive into
the second game to discover what version really
is the best.
This is retro impressions Mortal Kombat a
definitive analysts
Mortal Kombat was first conceived as a response
to Capcom’s massively popular Street Fighter
2.
The game used digitized images of real actors
giving it a unique, ultra-realistic, and almost
futuristic look at the time of release.
Midway had only hoped to grab a small piece
of the new emerging and popular tournament
fighter market.
One that was started by Final Fight and confirmed
a legitimate moneymaker with the release of
Street Fighter II.
What Midway ended up with was series that
would net over one hundred million dollars
in revenue in its first year.
In order to fully appreciate why the series
peaked with number two, we need to understand
the origins and what exactly people were unhappy
about with the third game.
After that, we will closely examine Mortal
Kombat 2.
Let’s start out by looking at the original
cast.
The game was revolutionary in many ways combining
a horrish atmosphere with a competent fighter
full of a cast inspired by pop culture icons.
Johnny Cage started life as Jean-Claude Van
Damme.
The development team had put together a demo
showing it to Van Damme in hopes of getting
him on board to make a game inspired by the
movie Bloodsport.
Van Damme wasn’t really interested so the
team scrapped that idea and restructured their
idea into what would become Mortal Kombat.
The Van Damme Character became a parody of
the man they once hoped to have as a partner
and the character all others would be modeled
after.
Scorpion and SubZero were inspired by traditional
Japanese ninjas.
One is the hunter, the other the hunted or
by color design Fire and Ice.
These two characters design was heavily influenced
by the storage limitations of the era.
For the same reasons we have Mario and Luigi,
a color swap allowed the inclusion of two
differed characters while nearly using the
data space required for one.
Radian is based on a combination of Japanese
and Chinese gods mixed with the Three Storms
from Big Trouble in Little China.
While everyone else represents the Earthrealm
or Outerworld Raiden is unique in that he
is a representative of Heaven.
There’s no mystery behind Bruce Lee’s
influence on Liu Kang.
What you might not know is he was originally
based on Minamoto Yoshitsune who is one of
the most famous Samurai’s to have lived.
In fact, he was going to be called Minamoto
Yoshitsune, but it was nixed because of the
difficulty in saying his name.
Kano was envisioned as some sort of android-human
hybrid.
He went through a few design changes before
the team finally settled on one inspired by
the T-800 from the terminator.
The final and 7th fighter was a last minute
addition to the game.
Sanya Blade was only included because the
team was given an additional month of development
time and felt the inclusion of a female cast
member would help balance out the experience.
Jax who was originally planned for the game
was replaced with intentions of including
him in the next installment.
Sonya was based on Cynthia Rothrock who was
one of the most decorated martial artists
of her time.
So that was the main playable cast.
In addition, there were two non-playable characters.
Goro which as created using clay and stop
motion animation.
This is essentially what would later be done
in Clayfighters.
The character was heavily inspired by the
brilliant work of Ray Harryhausen.
Shang Tsung was the final boss and another
addition that took inspiration from Big Trouble
in Little China.
His creation was greatly inspired by the sorcerer
Lo Pan.
The only other character is Reptile who you
must unlock.
Although he has been given considerable personality
in later games he was nothing more than a
pallet swap in his debut.
Scorpion’s yellow and Sub Zero’s blue
combined equaled Reptile green.
He wasn’t included in the Arcade release,
only in the Genesis and SNES versions, but
there's one additional thing that makes this
character noteworthy.
By all accounts, this is the first hidden
character in a versus fighting game.
While Scorpion and Liu Kang proved to be two
of the most popular characters, Kano and Sonya
were the least played so in the second game
both were removed and only appear as prisoners
in the background of Kahn’s Arena stage.
New playable characters introduced are Baraka,
Jax, Katana, Kung Lao, Mileena, and Sub Zero.
Reptile and Shang Tsung were also now official
playable as well.
Ok, you’re probably wondering why I just
mentioned Sub Zero as a new playable character
when he clearly appeared in the first game.
The reason is Bi-Han was Sub Zero and he was
murdered by Scorpion at the end of the first
game.
This is Bi-Han's brother Kuai Liang.
BI-Han is still around though as he was resurrected
as the famed Noob Saibot and appears as a
hidden non-playable character alongside Smoke
and Jade.
There's a ton more we could discuss about
other characters such as Blaze but the major
point is with a few exceptions the series
most popular characters were mostly introduced
at this point and Reptile was now playable
without any caveat.
For most people, this felt like a reward for
being a part of the series from the start.
Battle a hidden character, and in the following
game, you can play as that character further
enhancing the hype behind new games in the
series.
Mortal Kombat II was another massive hit and
understandably so.
The gameplay mechanics were mostly left alone
while the roster was expanded along with the
inclusion of many extra Easter Eggs, moves,
multiple fatalities, Babalities, and Friendships.
There was a lot more of what made Mortal Kombat
so special there to love and fans ate it up.
We’ll come back to discuss the available
versions a bit more in depth, but first, let's
examine just why it’s considered the best
of what’s now called the Original timeline
by looking at number three and why exactly
diehards fans were so unhappy with it even
if critically speaking it was fairly well
reviewed.
The largest issues for most people was the
roster.
They brought back Sonya and Kano along with
seven new playable characters but people were
ferrous when they found out this was at the
expense of some series favorites.
Gone were Johnny Cage, Raiden, Scorpion, Reptile,
Baraka, Katana, Mileena, Jade, Kintaro, and
arguably Nood Saibot (he was based on Kano).
To say people were upset by this would be
an understatement.
The new characters roster was also considered
weak making the loss of peoples mains a bit
harder to swallow.
People also hated the atmosphere.
The first two games took place in the fantastical
setting of the outer realms.
Places like the Living Forrest and Pit helped
to define the first two games.
Number three answered this call by giving
players the bank and Subway.
Not exactly what players were expecting from
a series known for its dark atmosphere.
For the hardcore fans, there was a bigger
issue though, this game was broken from a
competitive standpoint.
Face a player good enough and once they start
a combo they could keep it going until the
other player was dead.
Endless Combos Combined with the unnecessary
inclusion of a run button made the game unplayable
for anyone serious about competitive play.
other than a casual gamer.
That’s not to say that the first two games
were perfect or that number three didn’t
have people who loved it.
I myself remain a massive fan of all three
games and could speak at lengths about why
number 3, in particular, continues to have
a dedicated audience.
However, the backlash was strong enough that
it prompted Midway to release two major updates.
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 restored many of
the missing characters and fixed Noob Saibot.
In addition, more Outworld locations were
added along with a complete rebalancing of
the game which solved some issues while creating
new ones.
There would be one more update named Mortal
Kombat Trilogy.
This would also be the first game to not receive
an arcade release for the series.
It added additional characters and mechanics
but is widely considered to be the most unbalanced
of the three.
It was also panned for its rough, unpolished,
and rushed feeling in what many felt was nothing
more than a cash grab, especially considering
the misleading title.
Midway must agree because Ultimate Mortal
combat is the game used to represent Mortal
Kombat three in every single modern reissue.
To get in the mud for just a minute, there’s
one additional issue most people might not
know about.
Due to a legal dispute over royalties regarding
payment for use of the actor's likeness in
home ports of the game, over half the actors
from the first game were replaced.
The court ultimately decided in Midway’s
favor as the contracts they signed were very
clear in what everyone's rights were.
The in-game characters affected were Liu Kang,
Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, all of the Scorpion
style Ninja Characters, Shang Tsung, Kitana,
Mileena, and Jade.
So while number three has its fans myself
included, two is still considered the best
of the original storyline games by most people.
After all, there’s a reason it remains the
best selling in the series, so let's roll
things back and take a deeper look into the
game most people consider the best traditional
game in the series.
There are a few ports we won’t discuss.
The Game Boy, Game Gear, and Master System
versions were all poorly executed demakes
while the Dos and Amiga versions are not easily
accessible using today's hardware and don’t
hold up to other home console releases.
Accessibility issues aside, they both have
technical issues that would keep them ranked
at the bottom of this list, so it’s best
to not waste time discussing them.
There were two additional physical copies
released that also won’t be covered.
One included with Midway Arcade Treasures:
Extended Play on the PSP the other an unlockable
in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks for PS2 and
Original Xbox.
Unfortunately, both of these are mediocre
emulations of the arcade release.
The versions in contention are the Saturn,
32X, Genesis, SNES, and PSX.
First up let's talk about
Sound
As I started this journey, I honestly figured
sound would be the most cut and clear of the
categories I intend to cover.
The expectation going in was the CD based
games would be at the top with the real comparison
being an examination for third place.
Unfortunately, both the PSX and Saturn really
drop the ball here relying on their onboard
system sound processor to handle everything.
Even Mortal Kombat on the Sega CD utilized
Redbook audio so this decision is a bit questionable.
I guess it would be unfair to judge the port
based on my expectations rather than what
it delivers so I dived in deep to examine
them both.
To be fair, the sample quality of the effects
are superb although a number are oddly absent
making the game seem closer to a beta than
the polish product I was expecting.
One of the most notable examples is the lack
of an announcer when you select your character
and win a fight.
The PSX release did add this as an option,
but it’s defaulted to off.
Heck, even the SNES and 32X versions have
this.
There’s a bigger problem though and it’s
the weird direction both versions take with
the music.
It’s very much an ambient chill sound that
at first glance seems inspired by the Original
Sound Track rather than the OST itself.
In what I consider a massive shocker, both
soundtracks were indeed lifted from the MS
DoS release, it’s even listed as such in
the credits.
It really doesn’t fit the game and with
storage not being an issue, there’s no excuse.
Considering the missing sound effects I’m
more inclined to believe this is not an artistic
decision but rather poor implementation of
the music resulting in full audio channels
being absent from the final product and laziness
to correct this issue when bringing it over
to the Saturn and PlayStation.
The PlayStation does include a few additional
voice clips and sound effects plus a music
test option that’s worthless as all the
music is bad, but it’s something the Saturn
doesn’t have putting it just above that
version.
The SNES takes up third place.
While it has effects that are missing in the
Genesis version, the sample quality is down
right terrible.
The give and take here which is more sound
effects at at expense of overall quality simply
isn’t worth it.
The audio is oddly mixed with the music being
noticlaby quieter than in any other version.
I have a feeling this is a subtle attempt
to hide the low sampling rate.
The plus side here is it sounds like the arcade,
but the audio experience is more similar to
the result you would expect putting a microphone
up to the radio in an effort to record your
favorite song.
That brings us to the Genesis and 32X release.
Honestly, there’s no battle here as it would
have been more between the SNES and Genesis
if that was even a consideration.
At a personal level, I just prefer the chiptune
sound.
However on a technical level, everything that’s
there is clean, clear, and of a high quality.
It’s all quite good but at the expense of
forgoing a number of samples such as the ring
announce declaring the round number.
The 32X builds upon the Genesis released and
fixes most of its shortcomings bringing it
closer in line with the arcade version.
I guess when things are good, less explanation
is needed.
Next up is visuals.
Feel free to pause the video and look over
the screen.
What you are seeing is the same lug Kang displayed
in order by in-game spite size across the
same setting.
I’m going to revealed which one is from
which version in a minute, but take a second
to make an educated guess.
You’ll also notice I included the number
of frames used for this standing animation.
for reference, The arcade release contains
8.
On to the breakdown.
Like it or not, returning to this game on
the Genesis isn’t a visually pleasing experience.
The limited color plate of the hardware causes
a number of issues with ports that recycled
high color assets rather than create new ones
to deal with the limitation.
Toss digitized images at the system and it
can become a mess.
I expected this version to be at the bottom
due in part to this issue.
In addition, the game is missing a number
of background assets.
Here’s the deal though, Both the SNES and
Genesis games come in at nearly the same size,
so the result is truly the action of design
decisions between the two different companies
tasked with handling each port.
So while the SNES has these missing assets,
it does so at the expense of lower resolution
textures.
It’s not terrible, but I promise if you
spend sizable amounts of time going between
versions the SNES port starts to look like
you’re viewing a show recorded on VHS using
extended long play if you get my drift.
I don’t feel either have aged well, but
I’ll take lower color counts over one that
looks like it’s slightly out of focus any
day of the week.
The rest of this section is very cut and clear.
The 32X places third with what I consider
acceptable visuals while the Saturn and PSX
games are both fantastic.
These two versions are nearly identical with
the main standout being the way they handle
shadows.
The Saturn keeps them solid as did the arcade
while the PSX adds transparency.
It’s nearly a toss up but this round goes
to the PlayStation.
It’s time to look at Controls and the Game
Play Experience
I played through all five games then played
through them again in a different order, then
again, then again, wash and repeat many more
times.
Moving from controller to controller wasn’t
an issue and pulling off the moves seems to
be met with the same degree of success no
matter what version my attention was turned
to.
Any particulars between the versions would
just be nitpicking and personal preference.
In fact, I think it might be safe to say that
the preferred experience will be the game
you grew up with or one attached to the controller
you like the most.
It’s really a compliment of just how well
executed these games are in certain aspects.
Ok, so the controls were a wash, but what
about the single player gameplay experience
itself?
Well, I had quite a bit of fun with the Saturn
and PSX versions because I was able to dominate
the computer even on the highest difficulty.
The AI is incredibly dumb to the point you
can crouch then entire time and never be attacked,
but the AI is noticeably worse on the Saturn
release.
The other three games are extremely cheap
on higher difficulty settings.
Not only is the opposition merciless in their
attacks, but I swear they mirror the player's
input on the 32X build.
I’m sure that’s not the case, but It’s
one of the few games I’ve ever played where
I constantly feel like the AI has access to
my controller inputs knowing my every move.
Thankfully moving the difficulty meter down
makes a difference so not all is lost for
a below average player such as myself.
The Arcade release feels fun and well balanced
but none of the home versions seem to have
achieved that same degree of challenge and
reward.
When it comes to the Genesis 32X and SNES
release moving a character backward is significantly
slower.
The arcade and all other versions being discussed
here use the same speed to move a character
back or forward.
It seems a bit odd and was very noticeable
after jumping through the various versions
multiple times.
While I’m certain some of you have found
odds and ends that don’t feel right between
these versions, I personally found nothing
distinguishing enough in the gameplay department
to separate them in rank.
There was however one notable exception and
that's with the PSX and Saturn versions.
Both games require load times when using Shang
Tsung’s morph abilities destroying the pace
of a match.
The Saturn takes around a second to load while
the PSX can take much longer.
It’s such an issue his ability to use these
moves is defaulted to off in the options menu.
It’s honestly unacceptable and while I was
still able to enjoy both versions because
the characters I enjoy most are not be affected,
it’s still a very real problem that a core
character is neutered in an attempt to rectify
loading screens mid-match.
So what Extras or missing content might each
version have.
The Genesis and 32X support the Activator…
if that’s your thing.
Unfortunately for a dedicated 6 button controller
user such as myself, this game defaults to
the Activator setting causing the 3 button
controller to always be selected.
It’s a small annoyance that you’re required
to always change this setting before you can
start the game.
There are some other small extras from game
to game, such as fergalities in the Genesis
release but nothing notable enough to sway
a recommendation of one version over another.
This brings us to my final recommendation,
and I don’t think there’s many surprises
here.
5th would be the PSX release.
It released nearly half a year after the Saturn
port and appears to be a direct port of that
version.
Being it’s an expensive Japanese exclusive
it’s simply cheaper to buy any of the other
versions along with the system required to
play it.
Price didn’t actually factor into this though,
that’s just an observation.
The real reason is load times during the middle
of a match are unacceptable.
For all its extras, it still feels less polished
when compared to the Saturn release.
Combine this wish a soundtrack that is an
abomination and there’s no wonder it remained
in Japan.
The Saturn comes in 4th for the same reasons
the PSX release came in 5th, but steps it
up with better load times and seems to be
a more fluid experience overall.
Even If the games were Identical, the Saturn
still has the better controller in my opinion.
The Saturn and PSX versions are so close,
they would practically receive the same score
it I was rating them on a ten point scale
but my preference if for the Saturn release.
3rd is the SNES
With it’s low textures and audio samples,
it’s hard to take this version seriously.
Still I appreciate that it included everything
from the arcade and most importantly it nails
it in the game play department.
If you only have a SNES or have a preference
for that controller when playing this sort
of game, it’s still quite enjoyable and
worth owning.
The unfortunate bit is even using RGB I can’t
deny that this version looks about as I would
expect if using RF, thankfully it fairs ok
on a PVM.
In the most anti climatic result I can give,
the 32X comes out on top.
The reality here is the SNES Geneis and 32X
versions all control well, so if your playing
on a CRT or only care about game play, you
can’t go wrong with any of these three.
However when you start getting into the detailed
execution of the total package the 32X truly
is at the top.
It’s might seem like nothing more than an
improved release of a Genesis game, but that’s
all the 32X needed to gain a game in its library
that has remained the best home option available
for an arcade classic for nearly 25 years.
