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"The History of Mortal Kombat"

Its 11 years since the first Mortal Kombat yet to me it seems like it was only yesterday when I first got the game for the Mega Drive on my 7th Birthday. At the time the game already had a sequel but at the age of 7 I was just getting into games and my interests were in different areas. By the year 1995 there was already a 3rd Mortal Kombat game on the market and by this time the series was wearing thin. As the 4th Mortal Kombat game was released in 1997 it was almost non existent as gamers around the globe folded their arms to a series which had worn every aspect of the fighting genre to death. The sales on Mortal Kombat 4 were so poor that Midway were nearly in the red in terms of company funds but this didn't stop them from crashing on with one of the most controversial series ever created.

Looking at the present day it is hard to understand where the Mortal Kombat series went wrong. The latest Mortal Kombat game breaths new life into a series which was finished and already at the bottom of the spike pit. Ed Boon (co creator of Mortal Kombat) stresses on modern technology as being the saviour of the Mortal Kombat series, on this matter I believe it is something else. How could developers cope with a game that contained excessive amounts of blood and finishing moves that would give your grandma a heart attack and a reason for your parents to confiscate the game?! At the time of the first Mortal Kombat it was a battle between Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter and fans of each game would argue which one they preferred.

Street Fighter fans would say that the Mortal Kombat games were just an excuse for mindless violence and Mortal Kombat fans would state that Street Fighter games were boring after playing the future of fighting games. If I remember rightly I was stuck in between the battle as I believed that both games had something to offer which the other didn't. Mortal Kombat was one of the first games to sell well across the globe and this was due to the measures Midway stretched to in order to promote the game using television and radio adverts. With a development team of only four people it was Ed Boons responsibility to make sure that each one maximised the technology on offer.

Due to the limitations of the early 1990's and technology the developers at Midway could not utilise Motion Capture or enhanced computer graphics. Looking back at the first Mortal Kombat through a modern day gamers eyes is a chance to view how gaming has evolved in just over one decade. At the time Mortal Kombat was the most advanced game of the market which boasted a combination system (allowing gamers to press multiple buttons for different moves) and the most advanced in game graphics witnessed at the time. Even to this date I believe that the first Mortal Kombat game has been used as an example of what can be done with the most basic of computer technology. However there are two sides to the coin and this is why gamers ask so many questions about the poor quality of the latter Mortal Kombat games.

Exactly one year after the release of Mortal Kombat it was time for the series to advance in the form of a sequel. The second mortal Kombat boasted more characters, sharper graphics and a deeper fighting system. After the huge success of Mortal Kombat it was inevitable that the second in the series would continue where the first game left off. Sales figures rocketed from day one and it wasn't long before it managed to out sell the first game and take the number one spot in gaming charts. The advances in gaming technology were quickly upon Ed Boon and his team of developers and the release of a 32bit system was on the horizon.

For the current time however the 3rd and "final" Mortal Kombat would be released on the Sega Mega Drive. Much like the release of Mortal Kombat 2 gamers around the world rushed out to purchase the latest instalment in the series. At first it seemed like the game would carry on the huge success of previous Mortal Kombat games, however this wasn't going to happen and opinions began to impede sales figures. By this time gamers wanted something new and it was going to take something special from Midway in order to get the series back on track.

As the Playstation arrived so did the release of Mortal Kombat Trilogy which wasn't only the worst in the series but gamers around the world weren't prepared to part with their £44.99 and the game was a major flop. Only a couple of years after the release of Mortal Kombat Trilogy for the Playstation was the release of Mortal Kombat 64 for Nintendo's newer and more powerful entertainment system. Yet another poor quality Mortal Kombat?! By this time Midway had lost the respect which they had deservedly earned back in 1992 and gamers were calling for them to hang their boots up and leave the series; however this wasn't to be and Midway had other ideas.

It wasn't long before yet another console was on the horizon only this time it was Sega's attempt at grabbing the console market. When Mortal Kombat Gold was announced it was clear that gamers were expecting something as successful as the 1992 release on the Sega Mega Drive. This time the game was well and truly over and Scorpion had surely thrown his last spear... or had he? What were Midway playing at? The last 3 Mortal Kombat games had flopped worse than Rikishi from a diving board but this wasn't the time to give up and it was time for a new project to begin!

February 14th 2003 and after people had given up on the series it was time for Midway to get back on winning terms. Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is arguably the best Mortal Kombat in the series yet and from a fan like myself I would have to agree. Midway have finally restored faith into the series which spurned so many disappointments yet so many happy memories. With a new fighting system and a whole new 3-Dimensional engine Mortal Kombat has been revived in a way which has taken gamers by surprise! In the words of Ed Boon, "Mortal Kombat always has been and always will be" and although the Deadly Alliance can be beaten I am sure that the Dragon King will rise once again. The future looks Dark but in the world of Mortal Kombat this couldn't be a better compliment!

Thanks for Reading

VenomByte wrote:
> cookie monster wrote:
> You say that there are no cheap tactics, yet i believe NGC completed
> the game by hammering 1 button.
>
> *
> Can't you do that with most GameCube games though? :)

No.


And it's multi-format, you're not doing yourself any favours.

cookie monster wrote:
> You say that there are no cheap tactics, yet i believe NGC completed
> the game by hammering 1 button.


Can't you do that with most GameCube games though? :)

ÂLŠ†ÂÎR wrote:
> In the cases of Mortal Kombat 4, Mortal Kombat Trilogy and Mortal
> Kombat Gold that wasn't the case. If Deadly Alliance is anything to by
> it looks like the series is finally back on track and by the comment
> "Mortal Kombat always has been and always will be" it looks
> like a new Mortal Kombat game should be in development at this current
> time. There are hints of the Dragon King returning throughout of
> Deadly Alliance and after one of the characters endings I distinctly
> remember them saying that he had gone in search of the newly
> resurrected dragon king. The army that the Dragon king has raised is
> going to set the story to the new Mortal Kombat game and hopefully
> there will be some new additions to the series.

I notice that you haven't mentioned MK3, which was also a very poor game in itself, but not as poor as MK4, Gold and Trilogy. Anyway, I certainly hope that Deadly Alliance is a wake-up call to the three poor games before it, as the 2nd game was excellent and the 1st one also a decent attempt. My only fear is that the 3D element will fluff it up, as I was always a big fan of the 2D MK games. Let's just hope that the 3D factor will grow on me in time and that the gameplay and playability are there to help this along, even if I hate the way it looks. And I don't remember the Dragon King. Which MK games was he in? Probably 3, 4, Gold or Trilogy. I pretty much forgot about playing them after MK2.
>
> The history of Mortal Kombat has been like a Roller Coaster which
> keeps getting bits of the track added once the circuit has sopposedly
> been completed. Deadly Alliance is a major advance for the Mortal
> Kombat series but what I do hope is that the series does not go
> through a vertical drop back down to the levels of Mortal Kombat 4
> right through to Mortal Kombat Gold. As a fighting game Mortal Kombat
> is by far my favourite series, however after playing Dead or Alive 3
> it is obvious that there is a lot which can be done with the genre and
> hopefully this is the level that the next Mortal Kombat game will be
> aiming for.

Rollercoaster is exactly the word, but I wouldn't call it a huge advance, because graphics mean nothing. Graphically, it may be advanced, but gameplay-wise? I'm not so sure. I'll have to rent it to wait and see. I just hope that the battle mode is more complicated this time around instead of > > Kick = Flying Kick that takes away 1/4 of their health. I'd like to see more complicated combos like in some of the older wrestling games (just without the terrible gameplay :P). Although one thing that I think can be advanced on, as seen in Dead or Alive 3 (well, all of the DOA's really) is destructable scenery. That would be excellent for the type of game that MK is and suit it more than it does for DOA.
>
> Although Dead or Alive 3 and Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance use
> different fighting styles they can both learn a lot from each other as
> their sequels follow on later this year. Where Dead or Alive 3 is a
> faster paced and more technical game Deadly Alliance is a slower paced
> game which utlises a comprehensive combo system and some spectacular
> fatalities. If Dead or Alive 4 and the next Mortal Kombat game
> achieved the same goal I would be bitterly disappointed as I believe
> that they both have something unique to offer into the fighting
> market. I wouldn't like to choose which of the two I prefered as they
> are both so different. However if asked to make the decision I would
> have to say Dead or Alive 3. Hopefully the next Mortal Kombat game
> will ease my situation by showing that it is the best fighting game on
> the market and after seeing what is on offer in Deadly Alliance I have
> full confidence with Ed Boon and his team to deliver something very
> special.

Well said. I'd have MK over DOA any day, though, as it's a classic game that's been around for over 10 years now, while the first DOA game was released four or five years ago. Plus, MK has memorable characters and I found that DOA didn't. I can't remember one single characters' name in that game, but I know pretty much every character out of MK. I dunno, perhaps it's just because I played MK for hours on end and have only played DOA for 2 or 3 hours.

Ah well, great topic guys. Keep it going :)

At least Street Fighter can spell

The code is for an individual profile so that more than 1 person can play the game with the simple process of entering a code. By collecting 'Koins' you unlock items in the Krypt and in order ot protect your 'Koins' so that no one else can tamper with them you have to create a user profile. Its a simple process that doesn't create too much hassle.

The 3D licence in Deadly Alliance has been used to its full potential and unlike Mortal Kombat Gold this plays a fundimental part of winning a fight. Maybe in the enxt Mortal Kombat they will go for multiple tier fighting or bring back pit deaths?! It will be interesting to see where the series goes on from here.

I didn't think the first 3D Mortal Kombat was that bad. I think I still have it on my PC somewhere. Deadly Alliance isn't the first of the series in 3D, but it tries a lot harder than the previous effort to be a decent 3D game, rather than using the graphical changes as an afterthought.

One thing though, what's all this with the password stuff? It's stupid.

Cyclone whats a dump? Music festival?

Its so long since I have played a Street Fighter game now that I couldn't honestly say whether or not the series was still going strong. Although Street Fighter Alpha 3 was good it wasn't anything on its former self on the Mega Drive. However in the case of Deadly Alliance I can safely say that the game manages to re-create the brilliance of the original whilst adding a few worth while additions.

ÂLŠ†ÂÎR wrote:
>
> Thanks for Reading

Its a dump. But I agree about the music festival.

Tip top.

:D

Although if you're talking about the films

Mortal Kombat > Street Fighter

Unless, you add the anime film:

Street Fighter Alpha > Mortal Kombat > Street Fighter

Street Fighter > Mortal Kombat