Mortal Kombat Review

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Arcades were heating up again in the early 90s with the rise of the fighting genre. Street Fighter got the word out to gamers but Mortal Kombat got the word out to the world with its “controversial” gore and violence which is comical looking back on it. Developed and published by Midway and released by Acclaim Entertainment for multiple home consoles, I’ll be reviewing the Sega Genesis version which kept the blood. How does the 1992 headline fighting game rank in my opinion? GET OVER HERE and read this Mortal Kombat review!

Moral Kombat Plot:

For a fighting game, Mortal Kombat has a confusing and elaborate story. I’ll do my best to share my knowledge of what I’ve learned researching the game but there’s a good chance I don’t have all the details or messed something up so bear with me. I will say that this Mortal Kombat review score points for having such a detailed plot, even if I can’t understand it.

There are multiple realms within the universe including an Earth realm. Within the multiple realms is a fighting tournament where the best warriors in the universe fight. This tournament is called Mortal Kombat. Five hundred years ago this tournament was high-jacked by Shang Tsung a sorcerer shapeshifter and his warrior Goro who is half-man and half-dragon. Goro destroys the competition and becomes the Grand Champion for the next five hundred years. Shang Tsung wanted to give the power of the tournament to the Outworld which is another realm. Various fighters from the realms gain access to the tournament one way or another. After fighting each other, the surviving fighter must battle Goro and then Shang Tsung to become the Grand Champion.

Let’s take a look at the playable fighters and their reasons for joining the tournament.

Johnny Cage – He’s a famous Hollywood actor known for his action movies, but his critics have cast doubt on his real fighting abilities believing he is just an actor who uses stunt doubles. He decided to enter the Mortal Kombat tournament to prove himself as a real mixed-martial artist.

Liu Kang – He’s a monk that’s a member of the White Lotus Society. He is an excellent fighter and according to the history of Mortal Kombat is the fighter that is supposed to win the tournament. His ultimate goal was to return the tournament to its rightful coordinators and end the reign of Shang Tsung.

Kano – He’s a mercenary that works for the criminal organization called the “Black Dragons”. He enters the tournament in hopes of winning it and monopolizing it for the Black Dragons.

Raiden – He’s the God of Thunder…literally. Although perhaps he should be the God of Lightning as he shoots it from his hands. He enters the tournament after receiving an invitation. As a god, I think he’s just bored, he must be to enter a mortal tournament. He’s also who I used during my Mortal Kombat review.

Sub-Zero – He’s a ninja assassin who enters the tournament in hopes of killing Shang Tsung as his enemies have paid Sub-Zero a good deal of money.

Sonya Blade – She’s a high-ranking member in a U.S. Special Forces team that is in charge of taking down the criminal gang of the Black Dragons. After tracking one of the Black Dragons to a mysterious island, Sonya finds herself in the tournament.

Scorpion – He’s a ninja who has been resurrected from the dead so he can avenge his death on the man that killed him, a rival ninja called Sub-Zero.

Moral Kombat Gameplay:

I need to say this right now. I am not good at Mortal Kombat, like at all. I was only able to beat a playthrough when I played on “very easy” and had six credits. I know, what a wimp but man this game doesn’t mess around. I defeated the tournament with Raiden using his uppercut to my advantage. It was only because of that uppercut that I was able to complete my Mortal Kombat review.

Becoming the Grand Champion is no easy task. You will face the six other fighters in the best of two-out-of-three fights. Defeat them, and you’ll face yourself in a mirror match. Next up will be three endurance fights which are two fighters that you already beat teamed up against you. You must defeat them both without your health regenerating between fights. This was by far the most difficult test of the tournament. No matter who I played with I struggled. Eventually, I broke through with Raiden, learning to be patient and backing away from attacks instead of always moving forward being aggressive.

After defeating the three endurance fights, you will face Goro. All I picture is Goro’s depiction from Robot Chicken which gives me a good chuckle. Goro is tough but not impossible. Finally, you’ll face off against Shang Tsung who looks like an old man in this version.

Each fighter will receive an ending detailing what they did after the tournament. I received the Raiden ending, which turned out to be my favorite after looking them up. Raiden grows bored of his champion status and invites other gods to participate, their powers lead to the mass destruction of our world. Have a nice day. It literally ends with “have a nice day”. I love it.

I’m sure Mortal Kombat is a great game, I just suck at it. I didn’t know how to pull off any combos or fatalities, so when I was told to “Finish Him” I just pushed them over. Kudos to anyone who beats Mortal Kombat on any skill level above “easy”. I’m more of a Tekken guy.

The soundtrack reminds me of something that belongs in Donkey Kong Country, which is a good thing! I thought the backgrounds were interesting and the character models were probably so “realistic” in the early 90s.

Memories:
I was too young to remember Mortal Kombat as a child so sadly I don’t have any memories of it. I tried to play it a few years ago and it was too tough back then, but I brought it back out this month and was able to at least get through a playthrough and write a Mortal Kombat review.