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''Mortal Kombat'' is an American
media franchise
A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or ...
centered on a series of
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s originally developed by
Midway Games
Midway Games Inc., known previously as Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known as simply Midway, was an American video game developer and publisher. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (series), Rampage'' ...
in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that
Ed Boon
Edward John Boon (born February 22, 1964) is an American video game programmer, voice actor, and director who was employed for over 15 years at Midway Games and since 2011 has worked for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in its daughter c ...
and
John Tobias
John Tobias (born August 24, 1969) is an American comic book artist, graphic designer, video game designer and writer. Tobias is best known for creating the ''Mortal Kombat'' series along with Ed Boon, to whom he pitched the game concept.
Tobia ...
had of making a video game starring
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...
, but when that idea fell through, a
science fantasy
Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientif ...
-themed
fighting game
A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...
was created instead. Still, the developers paid homage to him with
Johnny Cage
Johnny Cage is a fictional character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games/NetherRealm Studios. Introduced in the original 1992 game, he is an action movie star with an extensive martial arts background. The series de ...
(one of the main characters in the franchise), a fictional film star whose personal style resembles Van Damme's.
The original ''Mortal Kombat'' was the first fighting game to introduce a
secret fighter, reached if the player fulfilled a set of requirements.
The original game spawned
many sequels with several
action-adventure game
The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a story ...
s. It also has a comic book series and a card game. Movie producer
Larry Kasanoff licensed the rights to the game in the early 1990s and produced the first movie of the franchise. Kasanoff also produced the second movie, animated TV series, live-action TV series movies, the first one million platinum-selling album, and a live-action tour. ''Mortal Kombat'' has become the best-selling fighting game franchise worldwide and one of the
highest-grossing media franchises of all time.
The series has a reputation for high levels of graphic violence, including, most notably, its
fatalities, which are finishing moves that kill the defeated opponents instead of knocking them out.
Controversies surrounding ''Mortal Kombat'', in part, led to the creation of the
Entertainment Software Rating Board
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in the United States and Canada. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Asso ...
(ESRB) video game rating system. Early games in this series were also noted for their realistic
digitized
DigitizationTech Target. (2011, April). Definition: digitization. ''WhatIs.com''. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/digitization is the process of converting information into a digital (i.e. computer- ...
sprites and an extensive use of
palette swap
This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players.
0–9
A
...
ping to create new characters. Following Midway's bankruptcy, the ''MK'' development team was acquired by
Warner Bros. Entertainment
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...
and reestablished as
NetherRealm Studios
NetherRealm Studios (stylized as NetheЯRealm Studios) is an American video game developer based in Chicago and owned by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Led by video game industry veteran and ''Mortal Kombat'' co-creator Ed Boon, the st ...
.
Gameplay
![Mortal Kombat II arcade cabinet](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Mortal_Kombat_II_arcade_cabinet.jpg)
The original three games and their updates, ''
Mortal Kombat
''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...
'' (1992), ''
Mortal Kombat II
''Mortal Kombat II'' is a 1993 arcade fighting game originally produced by Midway for the arcades in 1993. It was later ported to multiple home systems, including MS-DOS, Amiga, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, 32X, Sega Saturn, Super Nint ...
'' (1993), ''
Mortal Kombat 3
''Mortal Kombat 3'' is a 1995 arcade fighting game developed by Midway Games and first released into arcades in 1995. It is the third main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 1993's ''Mortal Kombat II''. As in the prev ...
'' (1995), ''
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
''Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3'' is a fighting game in the ''Mortal Kombat'' series, developed and released by Midway Games, Midway to Video arcade, arcades in 1995. It is a standalone update of 1995's earlier ''Mortal Kombat 3'' with an altered gamep ...
'' (1995), and ''
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
''Mortal Kombat Trilogy'' is a fighting game released by Midway in 1996 as the second and final update to ''Mortal Kombat 3'' (the first being ''Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3'') for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn and PCs. Further versio ...
'' (1996), were
2D fighting game
A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...
s. The
arcade cabinet
An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Ma ...
versions of the first two used a
joystick
A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...
and five buttons: high punch, low punch, high kick, low kick, and block; ''Mortal Kombat 3'' and its updates added a sixth "run" button.
Characters in the early ''Mortal Kombat'' games play
virtually
In mathematics, especially in the area of abstract algebra that studies infinite groups, the adverb virtually is used to modify a property so that it need only hold for a subgroup of finite index. Given a property P, the group ''G'' is said to b ...
identically to one another, with the only major differences being their special moves. Through the 1990s, the developer and publisher
Midway Games
Midway Games Inc., known previously as Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known as simply Midway, was an American video game developer and publisher. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (series), Rampage'' ...
kept their single-styled fighting moves with four attack buttons for a different array of punches, kicks and blocks. ''
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance''
was the first Mortal Kombat game in which the characters could move in three dimensions, and ''
Mortal Kombat 4
''Mortal Kombat 4'' is a 1997 arcade fighting game and it is the fourth main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 1995's ''Mortal Kombat 3''. developed by Midway Games. Released to arcades in 1997, ''Mortal Kombat 4'' ...
'' was the first to use
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics, or “3D graphics,” sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for th ...
. From ''Deadly Alliance'' to ''
Mortal Kombat: Deception'', characters had three fighting styles per character: two unarmed styles, and one weapon style. While most of the styles used in the series are based on real
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
, some are entirely fictitious.
Goro's fighting styles, for example, are designed to take advantage of the fact that he has four arms. For ''Armageddon'', fighting styles were reduced to a maximum of two per character (generally one hand-to-hand combat style and one weapon style) due to the sheer number of playable characters.
''
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
''Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe'' is a 2008 fighting video game, developed and published by Midway Games. The last entry in the franchise before the company went bankrupt in 2009 and sold the franchise to Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment ...
'' dropped multiple fighting styles for most characters in favor of giving each character a wider variety of special moves
2011's ''
Mortal Kombat
''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...
'' returned to a single 2D fighting plane, although characters are rendered in
3D; unlike previous ''MK'' games, each of the controller's four attack buttons corresponds to one of the character's limbs, the buttons thus becoming front punch, back punch, front kick and back kick ("front" indicates the limb that is closer to the opponent, and "back" indicates the limb that is farther away from the opponent). This concept takes heavy inspiration from ''
Tekken
is a Japanese Media mix, media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The franchise also includes film and print adaptations.
The ...
''.
''Mortal Kombat: Deception'' and ''Mortal Kombat: Armageddon'' feature "Konquest", a
free-roaming action-adventure
The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
mode that significantly expanded on the single-player experience. Both games also include distinct
minigame
A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...
modes such as "Chess Kombat", an action-
strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game (e.g. a board game) in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous, decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Almost all strategy games require internal decisio ...
similar to ''
Archon
''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...
''. Two other bonus minigames, "Puzzle Kombat" inspired by ''
Puzzle Fighter
''Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo'', released in Japan as , is a tile-matching puzzle video game released in 1996 for the CP System II (CPS2) arcade board, by Capcom and its Capcom Coin-Op division. The game's title is a play on '' Super Street Fig ...
'' and "Motor Kombat" inspired by ''
Mario Kart
is a series of racing games developed and published by Nintendo. Players compete in go-kart races while using various power-up items. It features characters and courses from the ''Mario'' series as well as other gaming franchises such as ''T ...
'', feature super deformed versions of ''Mortal Kombat'' characters.
[ The games also contain various unlockable content and hidden "]cheats
Cheating generally describes various actions designed to subvert rules in order to obtain unfair advantages. This includes acts of bribery, cronyism and nepotism in any situation where individuals are given preference using inappropriate crit ...
".
Finishing moves
One of the most notable features of the ''Mortal Kombat'' series is its brutal and gruesome finishing moves, known as " Fatalities".
The basic Fatalities are finishing moves that allow the victorious characters to end a match by murdering their defeated, defenseless opponent.[ Usually Fatalities are exclusive to each character, the exception being ''Mortal Kombat: Armageddon'', which instead features Kreate-A-Fatality, a feature that allows players to perform their own Fatalities by conducting a series of violent moves chosen from a pool that is common to all characters.]
Other finishing moves in the various ''Mortal Kombat'' games include Animalities (introduced in ''Mortal Kombat 3''), in which the victor turns into an animal to violently finish off the opponent; Brutality (introduced in ''Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3'') which consists of bashing the opponent into pieces with a long combo
Combo may refer to: Technology
*Combo television unit, a television with either a VCR or a DVD player built into a single unit
* Combo drive, a type of optical drive that can read CDs and DVDs
*A guitar amplifier incorporating one or more loudsp ...
of hits; and Stage Fatalities/Death Traps (introduced in the original ''Mortal Kombat'' Pit Stage where the victor can uppercut their opponent off of the platform into a bed of spikes below, later made more difficult in ''Mortal Kombat II'' by requiring a character-specific button sequence) utilizing parts of certain stages to execute a lethal finishing move (such as a pool of acid). ''Mortal Kombat: Deception'' added the Hara-Kiri
, sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...
, a move that allows the loser to perform a suicidal finishing move, giving way to a potential race between both players to see if the winner can finish off their opponent before they can kill themselves.
There are also two non-violent finishing moves in the series, which were introduced in ''Mortal Kombat II'' as a satire to the outrage the first game caused due to its violent content.[ Friendship moves, which result in a display of friendship towards the enemy instead of slaughter,] and Babalities, which turn the opponent into a baby.
Plot
The series takes place in a fictional universe
A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...
consisting of eighteen surviving realms which, according to in-game backstories, were created by an ancient, eternal, and ethereal pantheon of preternatural divine beings, known as the Elder Gods. The ''Mortal Kombat: Deception'' manual described six of the realms as: "Earthrealm, home to such legendary heroes
Heroes or Héroes may refer to:
* Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good
Film
* ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama
* ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film
Gaming
* ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
as Liu Kang
Liu Kang is a character (arts), fictional player character, character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game series by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Depicted as Earthrealm's greatest warrior and champion, he is generally the main hero of ...
, Kung Lao
Kung Lao ( or ) is a fictional character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. A Shaolin monk, he debuted in ''Mortal Kombat II'' (1993). He is depicted as a primary hero in the series, includ ...
, Sonya Blade
Sonya Blade is a fictional character in the '' Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. She debuted in the original 1992 game as the roster's sole female fighter. Inspired by martial artist Cynthia Roth ...
, Johnny Cage
Johnny Cage is a fictional character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games/NetherRealm Studios. Introduced in the original 1992 game, he is an action movie star with an extensive martial arts background. The series de ...
, and Jax Briggs
Jax Briggs is a fictional character in the '' Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Introduced in ''Mortal Kombat II'' (1993) as the leader of a Special Forces unit, he became a mainstay of the ser ...
, and also under the protection of the Thunder God Raiden; Netherrealm, the fiery depths of which are inhospitable to all but the most vile, a realm of demons and shadowy warriors such as Quan Chi
Quan Chi is a fictional character in the '' Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games/NetherRealm Studios. He first appeared in the main series with ''Mortal Kombat 4'' (1997) following appearances in the non-canonical animated ...
and Noob Saibot
Noob Saibot is a fictional character in the '' Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Initially introduced as a black silhouette of the series' other male ninjas and sharing their special moves, he ...
; Outworld, a realm of constant strife which Emperor Shao Kahn
Shao Kahn is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Depicted as emperor of the fictional realm Outworld, he is one of the franchise's primary villains. Feared for his immen ...
claims as his own; Seido, the Realm of Order, whose inhabitants prize structure and order above all else; the Realm of Chaos, whose inhabitants do not abide by any rules whatsoever, and where constant turmoil and change are worshiped; and Edenia, which is known for its beauty, artistic expression, and the longevity of its inhabitants." The Elder Gods decreed that the denizens of one realm could only conquer another realm by defeating the defending realm's greatest warriors in ten consecutive Mortal Kombat tournaments.
The first ''Mortal Kombat'' game takes place in Earthrealm (Earth) where seven different warriors with their own reasons for entering the tournament with the prize being the continued freedom of their realm under threat of a takeover by Outworld. Among the established warriors were Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade. With the help of the thunder god Raiden, the Earthrealm warriors were victorious, and Liu Kang became the new champion of Mortal Kombat. In ''Mortal Kombat II
''Mortal Kombat II'' is a 1993 arcade fighting game originally produced by Midway for the arcades in 1993. It was later ported to multiple home systems, including MS-DOS, Amiga, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, 32X, Sega Saturn, Super Nint ...
'', unable to deal with his minion Shang Tsung's failure, Outworld Emperor Shao Kahn lures the Earthrealm warriors to Outworld, where Liu Kang eventually defeats Shao Kahn. By the time of ''Mortal Kombat 3
''Mortal Kombat 3'' is a 1995 arcade fighting game developed by Midway Games and first released into arcades in 1995. It is the third main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 1993's ''Mortal Kombat II''. As in the prev ...
'', Shao Kahn merged Edenia with his empire and revived its former queen Sindel in Earthrealm, combining it with Outworld as well. He attempts to invade Earthrealm, but is ultimately defeated by Liu Kang once more. After the Kahn's defeat, Edenia was freed from his grasp and returned to a peaceful realm, ruled by Princess Kitana. The following game, ''Mortal Kombat 4
''Mortal Kombat 4'' is a 1997 arcade fighting game and it is the fourth main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 1995's ''Mortal Kombat 3''. developed by Midway Games. Released to arcades in 1997, ''Mortal Kombat 4'' ...
'', features the fallen elder god Shinnok attempting to conquer the realms and kill Raiden. However, he is also defeated by Liu Kang.
In '' Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance'', the evil sorcerers Quan Chi and Shang Tsung join forces to conquer the realms. By '' Mortal Kombat: Deception'', after several fights, the sorcerers emerge victorious; having killed most of Earthrealm's warriors until Raiden steps forth to oppose them. The Dragon King Onaga, who had been freed by the warrior Reptile at the end of ''Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance'', had deceived Shujinko into searching for six pieces of Kamidogu, the source of Onaga's power. Onaga confronted the alliance of Raiden, Shang Tsung, and Quan Chi to obtain Quan Chi's amulet, the final piece of his power. Only a few warriors remained to combat the Dragon King and his forces. Shujinko eventually triumphed over Onaga and removed his threat from the realms.
In '' Mortal Kombat: Armageddon'', the titular catastrophe begins. Centuries before the first ''Mortal Kombat'', Queen Delia foretold the realms would be destroyed because the power of all of the realms' warriors would rise to such greatness that it would overwhelm and destabilize the realms, triggering a destructive chain of events. King Argus had his sons, Taven and Daegon put into incubation and so one day they can be awakened to save the realms from Armageddon by defeating a firespawn known as Blaze. In the end however, Shao Kahn is the one who defeats Blaze, causing Armageddon.
The crossover ''Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
''Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe'' is a 2008 fighting video game, developed and published by Midway Games. The last entry in the franchise before the company went bankrupt in 2009 and sold the franchise to Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment ...
'' does not share continuity with the other games. After the simultaneous defeats of both Shao Kahn and the alien warlord Darkseid
Darkseid () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby to serve as the primary antagonist of his "Fourth World (comics), Fourth World" metaseries, and was firs ...
in the DC Universe
The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...
causes both villains to fuse into the entity "Dark Kahn", both the ''Mortal Kombat'' and DC Universes begin to merge. This brings the warriors and heroes into conflicts after suffering bouts of uncontrollable rage. The heroes and villains of both universes repeatedly battle each other, believing each other to be responsible for the catastrophe, until only Raiden and Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
remain. The two confront Dark Kahn and team up to defeat their common foe. After Dark Kahn's defeat, the two realms defuse, with Shao Kahn and Darkseid trapped in each other's universes to face eternal imprisonment.
In the 2011 ''Mortal Kombat'' reboot, the battle of ''Armageddon'' culminated in only two survivors: Shao Kahn and Raiden. On the verge of death by the former's hand, the latter sent visions to his past self in a last-ditch attempt to prevent this outcome. Upon receiving the visions, the past Raiden attempts to alter the timeline to avert ''Armageddon'' amidst the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament. While he succeeds in preventing Shao Kahn's victory with help from the Elder Gods, he is forced to kill Liu Kang in self-defense and loses most of his allies to Queen Sindel; leaving Earthrealm vulnerable to Shinnok and Quan Chi's machinations.
''Mortal Kombat X
''Mortal Kombat X'' is a 2015 fighting video game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the tenth main installment in the ''Mortal Komba ...
'' sees Shinnok and Quan Chi enacting their plan, leading an army of undead revenants of those that were killed in Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm. A team of warriors led by Raiden, Johnny Cage, Kenshi Takahashi, and Sonya Blade oppose them, and in the ensuing battle, Shinnok is imprisoned within his amulet and various warriors are resurrected and freed from his control, though Quan Chi escapes. Twenty-five years later, the sorcerer resurfaces alongside the insectoid D'Vorah to facilitate Shinnok's return. A vengeful Scorpion kills Quan Chi, but fails to stop him from freeing Shinnok. To combat him, Cassie Cage leads a team composed of the next generation of Earthrealm's heroes in defeating him. With Shinnok and Quan Chi defeated, Liu Kang and Kitana's revenants assume control of the Netherrealm while Raiden taps into Shinnok's amulet.
''Mortal Kombat 11
''Mortal Kombat 11'' is a 2019 fighting video game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It is the eleventh main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 2015's ''Mortal Ko ...
'' and its expansion, Aftermath, sees the architect of time and Shinnok's Mother, Kronika, working to restart the timeline following her son's defeat and Raiden's tampering with her work. In doing so, she brings past versions of the realm's heroes to the present, aligning herself with some while the rest work to defeat her. After nearly killing Liu Kang a second time, Raiden discovers Kronika has manipulated them into fighting across multiple timelines as she fears their combined power. Despite her interference and attacks by her minions, Raiden gives Liu Kang his power, turning him into a god of fire and thunder so he can defeat Kronika. In the Aftermath expansion, it is revealed that Liu Kang inadvertently destroyed Kronika's crown, the item needed to restart the timeline. Her defeat also revives Shang Tsung, who was absent in the base game due to his imprisonment by Kronika. To recover the crown, Liu Kang sends Shang Tsung other Earthrealm heroes back in time to obtain it before Kronika, though Shang Tsung manipulates events so that he comes into possession of the crown. At the end, the player can choose to start a new timeline with either Shang Tsung or Liu Kang.
Characters
Through its iterations, the series has featured scores of player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
s, some of them becoming mainstays, such as Baraka
Baraka or Barakah may refer to:
* Berakhah or Baraka, in Judaism, a blessing usually recited during a ceremony
* Barakah or Baraka, in Islam, the beneficent force from God that flows through the physical and spiritual spheres
* Baraka, full ''ḥ ...
, Cassie Cage
Cassie Cage is a fictional character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game series by NetherRealm Studios. The daughter of martial arts actor Johnny Cage and Special Forces officer Sonya Blade, she debuted in the 2015 comic '' Mortal Kombat X: Bl ...
, Cyrax
This is a list of Player character, playable and boss (video games), boss characters from the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise and the games in which they appear. Created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, the series depicts conflicts between ...
, Ermac
Ermac is a fictional character in the '' Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Debuting as an unlockable character in ''Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3'' (1995), he is an amalgam of the souls of deceased ...
, Fujin, Goro, Jade
Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...
, Jax, Johnny Cage
Johnny Cage is a fictional character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games/NetherRealm Studios. Introduced in the original 1992 game, he is an action movie star with an extensive martial arts background. The series de ...
, Kabal Kabal may refer to:
* Kabal (earthworks), a desert fortification found in northern Kuwait used to house American military and coalition forces
* Kabal Tehsil, a town in Pakistan
* Kabal (Mortal Kombat), a character from the ''Mortal Kombat'' series ...
, Kano
Kano may refer to:
Places
*Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria
* Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State
**Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries
**Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...
, Kenshi, Kintaro, Kitana
Kitana is a fictional character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Debuting in ''Mortal Kombat II'' (1993), she is a royal from the fictional realm of Edenia. Her primary weapon is a pair o ...
, Kung Lao
Kung Lao ( or ) is a fictional character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. A Shaolin monk, he debuted in ''Mortal Kombat II'' (1993). He is depicted as a primary hero in the series, includ ...
, Liu Kang
Liu Kang is a character (arts), fictional player character, character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game series by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Depicted as Earthrealm's greatest warrior and champion, he is generally the main hero of ...
, Mileena
Mileena is a character (arts), fictional player character, character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Introduced in ''Mortal Kombat II'' (1993), she is a clone of the Edenian princess Kita ...
, Motaro
This is a list of Player character, playable and boss (video games), boss characters from the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise and the games in which they appear. Created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, the series depicts conflicts between ...
, Nightwolf
Nightwolf is a fictional character in the '' Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games/NetherRealm Studios. He debuted in ''Mortal Kombat 3'' (1995) as a Native American shaman selected to help defend Earthrealm against invading ...
, Noob Saibot
Noob Saibot is a fictional character in the '' Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Initially introduced as a black silhouette of the series' other male ninjas and sharing their special moves, he ...
, Quan Chi
Quan Chi is a fictional character in the '' Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games/NetherRealm Studios. He first appeared in the main series with ''Mortal Kombat 4'' (1997) following appearances in the non-canonical animated ...
, Raiden, Rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
, Reptile
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...
, Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
, Sektor
This is a list of playable and boss characters from the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise and the games in which they appear. Created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, the series depicts conflicts between various realms. Most characters fig ...
, Shang Tsung
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and f ...
, Shao Kahn
Shao Kahn is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Depicted as emperor of the fictional realm Outworld, he is one of the franchise's primary villains. Feared for his immen ...
, Sheeva, Shinnok
Shinnok is a fictional character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. One of the franchise's primary villains, he debuted in the action-adventure spin-off '' Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zer ...
, Sindel
This is a list of playable and boss characters from the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise and the games in which they appear. Created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, the series depicts conflicts between various realms. Most characters fig ...
, Skarlet, Smoke
Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product ...
, Sonya Blade
Sonya Blade is a fictional character in the '' Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. She debuted in the original 1992 game as the roster's sole female fighter. Inspired by martial artist Cynthia Roth ...
, Stryker
The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in London, Ontario. It ...
, Sub-Zero and Tanya
Tanya may refer to:
* Tanya (Judaism),an early work of Hasidic philosophy by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi.
* Tanya (name), a given name and list of people with the name
* Tanya or Lara Saint Paul (born 1946)
* List of Mortal Kombat characters#Tany ...
. Among them are Earth's humans and cyborgs, good and evil deities, and denizens of Outworld and other realms.
Furthermore, starting with ''Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe'', which featured several DC Universe
The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...
heroes and villains, all subsequent games have included guest characters such as Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger () is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. He was created by Wes Craven and made his debut in Craven's ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) as the malevolent spirit ...
from ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise, Kratos from the ''God of War'' franchise (exclusively for Play Station 3), Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees () is a character (arts), character from the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamel ...
from the ''Friday the 13th'' franchise, the Alien
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
from the ''Alien'' franchise, Leatherface
Leatherface is a fictional character in ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' film series created by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper. He first appears in ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' as a disfigured, cannibalistic and mentally unstable mass murderer ...
from the ''Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' franchise, the Predator
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
from the ''Predator'' franchise, the Terminator
Terminator may refer to:
Science and technology
Genetics
* Terminator (genetics), the end of a gene for transcription
* Terminator technology, proposed methods for restricting the use of genetically modified plants by causing second generation s ...
from the ''Terminator'' franchise, RoboCop
''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferre ...
from the ''RoboCop'' franchise, Spawn
Spawn or spawning may refer to:
* Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise
** '' Spawn: ...
from Image Comics
Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...
, John Rambo
John James Rambo (born July 6, 1947) is a fictional character in the ''Rambo'' franchise. He first appeared in the 1972 novel '' First Blood'' by David Morrell, but later became more famous as the protagonist of the film series, in which he was ...
from the ''Rambo'' franchise and the Joker from DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
, who was previously in ''Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe''.
Development
Origins
''Mortal Kombat'' started development in 1991 with only four people: Ed Boon
Edward John Boon (born February 22, 1964) is an American video game programmer, voice actor, and director who was employed for over 15 years at Midway Games and since 2011 has worked for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in its daughter c ...
(programming), John Tobias
John Tobias (born August 24, 1969) is an American comic book artist, graphic designer, video game designer and writer. Tobias is best known for creating the ''Mortal Kombat'' series along with Ed Boon, to whom he pitched the game concept.
Tobia ...
(art and story), John Vogel (graphics), and Dan Forden
Daniel Warner Forden (born September 28, 1963) is an American sound programmer and music composer. He has worked on video games developed by Midway and its successor NetherRealm Studios since 1989. Forden achieved recognition for his audio wor ...
(sound design). According to ''Mortal Kombat'' actors Richard Divizio and Daniel Pesina
Daniel Pesina (born December 1, 1959) is an American martial arts expert and a former freelance employee of Midway.
Pesina was born in Chicago, Illinois to Mexican born parents and have study martial arts since the age of 10.
Pesina started ...
, the first game actually began as a ninja-themed project by John Tobias (a young new employee of Midway Games
Midway Games Inc., known previously as Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known as simply Midway, was an American video game developer and publisher. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (series), Rampage'' ...
at the time) and them as well as Carlos Pesina
Carlos Pesina (born November 15, 1967) is an American martial artist and employee of NetherRealm Studios. He is most recognized as the actor who played Raiden (Mortal Kombat), Raiden in ''Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), Mortal Kombat'', ''Mortal ...
, however their pitch to Tobias' boss Ed Boon was rejected by the entire management of Midway. Midway was then abortively approached to create a video game adaptation of the then-upcoming 1992 film '' Universal Soldier'', starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...
,[''GamePro'' 58 (May 1994), page 28-31.] and Tobias imagined a fighting game featuring a digitized
DigitizationTech Target. (2011, April). Definition: digitization. ''WhatIs.com''. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/digitization is the process of converting information into a digital (i.e. computer- ...
version of Van Damme. Intending to make a game "a lot more hard edge, a little bit more serious, a little bit more like ''Enter the Dragon
''Enter the Dragon'' ( zh, t=龍爭虎鬥) is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse and written by Michael Allin. The film stars Bruce Lee, John Saxon and Jim Kelly. It was Lee's final completed film appearance before his death o ...
'' or ''Bloodsport
A blood sport or bloodsport is a category of sport or entertainment that involves bloodshed. Common examples of the former include combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, and some forms of hunting and fishing. Activities characte ...
''" than contemporary cartoonish fighting games,[Reyan Ali]
Ed Boon's 12 Biggest Mortal Kombat Memories
, Complex.com, September 12, 2012. Tobias and Boon decided to continue their project even after the deal to use the ''Bloodsport'' license fell through. The first of ''Mortal Kombat'' characters, Johnny Cage (Daniel Pesina), became "a spoof
Spoof, spoofs, spoofer, or spoofing may refer to:
* Forgery of goods or documents
* Semen, in Australian slang
* Spoof (game), a guessing game
* Spoofing (finance), a disruptive algorithmic-trading tactic designed to manipulate markets
__NOTOC__ ...
on the whole Van Damme situation."[ Divizio credits himself with convincing Tobias to go back to the original idea and trying again.]
It was the success of Capcom
is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
's '' Street Fighter II: The World Warrior'' that finally convinced Midway Games to let the team produce their own arcade fighting game (the genre chosen by Tobias for his game as to let him use as large digitized sprites as possible), but there was not much influence by ''Street Fighter II'' on the actual project. According to Tobias, who cited 1984's ''Karate Champ
''Karate Champ'', known in Japan as , is a 1984 arcade fighting game developed by Technōs Japan (which would later developing 1995 Neo Geo titles '' Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer'' with SNK) and released by Data East. A variety of moves can be per ...
'' as an actual inspiration, they even intentionally worked on making a game different than Capcom's title in every way. Besides the digitized characters that differentiated it from its contemporaries' hand-drawn ones, one stark difference was in the very high amount of blood and violence. Capcom's senior director of communications later compared ''Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...
'' and ''Mortal Kombat'' by asking if the interviewer preferred the "precision and depth" of ''Street Fighter'' or the "gore and comedy" of ''Mortal Kombat'' and also stated that the ''Street Fighter'' and ''Mortal Kombat'' rivalry was considered similar to the Coke and Pepsi rivalry in the 1990s.
John Tobias said that his inspirations for the game's story and characters came from Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions.
Much of t ...
and some of the stories and rumored events about the Shaolin monks
Shaolin Monastery (少林寺 ''Shàolínsì''), also known as Shaolin Temple, is a renowned monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin Kung Fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak of the So ...
.[ Regarding the film '']Big Trouble in Little China
''Big Trouble in Little China'' (also in known as ''John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China'') is a 1986 American fantasy action comedy film directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun and James Hong. ...
'', Tobias wrote that although this movie "kind of Americanized my obsession for supernatural kung fu film
Kung fu film () is a subgenre of martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema set in the contemporary period and featuring realistic martial arts. It lacks the fantasy elements seen in ''wuxia'', a related martial arts genre that uses historical ...
s from China, it was not my biggest influence. My biggest influences came from Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark (, vi, Từ Khắc, born 15 February 1950), born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong film director, producer and screenwriter. Tsui has directed several influential Hong Kong films such as ''Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain'' (1983), the ...
films -- ''Zu Warriors
''Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain'' ( zh, t=新蜀山劍俠) is a 1983 Hong Kong supernatural ''wuxia'' fantasy film directed by Tsui Hark and based on the xianxia novel ''Legend of the Swordsmen of the Mountains of Shu'' by Huanzhulouzhu ...
'' & '' The Swordsman''. We had to get them from bootleggers in Chicago's Chinatown." In 1995, he said about their general process of designing characters for the series: "First we figure out the type, like she or he and will she/he be big or small. Then we'll get the theme of the characters, like ninja or robot. Then we'll design the costume, and while doing that we create the storyline and how s/he fits into the universe. Then we'll find an actor that kinda resembles our character." Tobias' writing and artistic input on the series ended around 2000 following the release of ''Mortal Kombat 4''. In 2012, he said: "I knew exactly what I was going to do with a future story. A few years ago, I rotea sort of sequel to the first ''MK'' film and an advancement to the game's mythological roots."
The title ''Mortal Kombat'' was the idea of pinball
Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...
designer Steve Ritchie, following difficulties trademarking the original title of ''Mortal Combat''. Since then, the series often intentionally misspells various words with the letter "K" in place of "C" for the hard C sound. According to Boon, during the ''MK'' games' development they usually spell such words correctly, only making the substitution when one of the developers suggests it.
Graphics
The characters of the original ''Mortal Kombat'' and its initial sequels were created using digitized sprites mostly based on filmed actors, as opposed to hand-drawn graphics. ''Mortal Kombat'' games were known for their extensive use of palette swap
This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players.
0–9
A
...
ping, which was used for the ninja characters. In fact, many of the most popular characters have originated as simple palette swaps. In the first game, the male ninja fighters were essentially the same character; only the colors of their attire, fighting stance, and special techniques mark a difference. Later games added further ninjas based on the same model, as well as several female ninja color swap characters initially also using just one base model. All of them gradually became very different characters in the following installments of the series. Eventually, ''Mortal Kombat 4
''Mortal Kombat 4'' is a 1997 arcade fighting game and it is the fourth main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 1995's ''Mortal Kombat 3''. developed by Midway Games. Released to arcades in 1997, ''Mortal Kombat 4'' ...
'' brought the series into 3D, replacing the digitized fighters of previous games with polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
models animated using motion capture
Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...
technology.
Hidden content
''Mortal Kombat'' included secret characters, secret games, and other Easter eggs
Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tra ...
. Popular characters Reptile and Jade were originally introduced as hidden enemies, becoming playable after returning in subsequent games. There is also a hidden game of ''Pong
''Pong'' is a table tennis–themed twitch arcade sports video game, featuring simple two-dimensional graphics, manufactured by Atari and originally released in 1972. It was one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Alcor ...
'' in ''Mortal Kombat II'', and ''Mortal Kombat 3'' includes a hidden game of ''Galaga
is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. In North America, it was released by Midway Manufacturing. It is the sequel to ''Galaxian'' (1979), Namco's first major video game hit in arcades. Controlling a starshi ...
''. Many extras in the series have only been accessible through very challenging, demanding, and sometimes coincidental requirements. The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...
versions contain a unique finisher, named "Fergality". The Sega CD
The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan, ...
version also contained an additional code (known as the "Dad's Code"), which changed the names of the fighters to that of characters from the classic BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
comedy series ''
Dad's Army
''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...
''.
Some Easter eggs originated from
in-joke
An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or a private joke, is a joke whose humour is understandable only to members of an ingroup; that is, people who are ''in'' a particular social group, occupation, or other community of shared interest. It i ...
s between members of the development team. One example is "Toasty", which found its way into the game in the form of a small image of sound designer Dan Forden, who would appear in the corner of the screen during gameplay (after performing an
uppercut
The uppercut (formerly known as the undercut; sometimes also referred to as the ''upper'') is a punch used in boxing that travels along a vertical line at the opponent's chin or solar plexus. It is, along with the cross, one of the two main pun ...
) and yell the phrase "Toasty!", originating from him saying "you're toast". This egg was also the key to unlocking the hidden character Smoke when it happened in the Portal stage in ''Mortal Kombat II''.
In ''Mortal Kombat 4'', Forden would say "Toasty! 3D!" after Scorpion did his burn Fatality, a reference to the fact that it is the first 3D game of the series. "Toasty!" is also found in ''Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks'', appearing randomly after the character pulls off a chain of hits, though the picture of Forden was removed for that title, but brought back for the 2011 ''Mortal Kombat'' game. Yet another private joke was the hidden character Noob Saibot, who has appeared in various versions of the game starting with ''Mortal Kombat II''. The character's name derived from two of the series' creators' surnames, Ed Boon and John Tobias, spelled backwards. In addition, a counter for ERMACS on the game's audits screen (ERMACS being short for ''error macros''), was interpreted by some players as a reference to a hidden character in the original ''Mortal Kombat''. The development team decided to turn the rumor into reality, introducing Ermac in ''Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3'' as an unlockable secret character.
The character
Mokap
This is a list of Player character, playable and boss (video games), boss characters from the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise and the games in which they appear. Created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, the series depicts conflicts between ...
, introduced in ''Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance,'' is a tribute to
Carlos Pesina
Carlos Pesina (born November 15, 1967) is an American martial artist and employee of NetherRealm Studios. He is most recognized as the actor who played Raiden (Mortal Kombat), Raiden in ''Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), Mortal Kombat'', ''Mortal ...
, who played Raiden in ''MK'' and ''MKII'' and has served as a motion capture actor for subsequent titles in the series.
Games
Main series
The original ''
Mortal Kombat
''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...
'' game was released by Midway in arcades during October 1992, and has since been ported to several console and home computer systems, with early ports released by
Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in Glen Cove, New York. Originally formed by Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes and Jim Scoroposki out of an Oyster Bay storefront in 1987, the company established a worldwide d ...
. The sequel, ''
Mortal Kombat II
''Mortal Kombat II'' is a 1993 arcade fighting game originally produced by Midway for the arcades in 1993. It was later ported to multiple home systems, including MS-DOS, Amiga, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, 32X, Sega Saturn, Super Nint ...
'', was released for arcades in 1993, featuring an increased roster and improved graphics and gameplay, then ported to the numerous home systems in 1993–1995, released again by Acclaim. ''
Mortal Kombat 3
''Mortal Kombat 3'' is a 1995 arcade fighting game developed by Midway Games and first released into arcades in 1995. It is the third main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 1993's ''Mortal Kombat II''. As in the prev ...
'' followed in 1995 in both arcade and home versions. ''MK3'' received two updates which expanded the number of characters and other features from the game: ''
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
''Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3'' is a fighting game in the ''Mortal Kombat'' series, developed and released by Midway Games, Midway to Video arcade, arcades in 1995. It is a standalone update of 1995's earlier ''Mortal Kombat 3'' with an altered gamep ...
'', released that same year in arcades, and ''
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
''Mortal Kombat Trilogy'' is a fighting game released by Midway in 1996 as the second and final update to ''Mortal Kombat 3'' (the first being ''Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3'') for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn and PCs. Further versio ...
'', released for home consoles the following year. The following game, ''
Mortal Kombat 4
''Mortal Kombat 4'' is a 1997 arcade fighting game and it is the fourth main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 1995's ''Mortal Kombat 3''. developed by Midway Games. Released to arcades in 1997, ''Mortal Kombat 4'' ...
'', was released in 1997, and marked the jump of the series to 3D rendered graphics instead of the digitized 2D graphics used in previous games. ''Mortal Kombat 4'' was ported to the
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
,
Nintendo 64
The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...
and
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
. Its updated version titled ''
Mortal Kombat Gold
''Mortal Kombat Gold'' is a 1999 fighting game in the ''Mortal Kombat'' series that was published by Midway Games. It was developed by Eurocom and released exclusively on the Dreamcast as a launch title. It is an updated version of 1997's '' Mort ...
'' was released exclusively for the
Dreamcast
The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
in 1999.
At this point that the series started being targeted at consoles only, with ''Mortal Kombat 4'' being the last game in the series to be released for the arcades. Also the series' naming scheme changed to favor the use of sub-titles instead of numbered installments, beginning with ''
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance'' in 2002. ''Deadly Alliance'' was released initially for the
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
,
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
and
GameCube
The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
. ''Deadly Alliance'' was also the first ''Mortal Kombat'' game to feature fully 3D gameplay, where up to ''Mortal Kombat 4'' the gameplay had stayed in a 2D plane; this trend would continue for the following two games.
The next sequel was 2004's ''
Mortal Kombat: Deception'', released for the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
,
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
, and
GameCube
The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
. Its port for the
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
, ''Mortal Kombat: Unchained'', was released in 2006. ''
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon'' was published in 2006 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and in 2007 for the
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
.
''
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
''Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe'' is a 2008 fighting video game, developed and published by Midway Games. The last entry in the franchise before the company went bankrupt in 2009 and sold the franchise to Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment ...
'', a
crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Albums and songs
* ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album)
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album)
* ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album)
* ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
fighting game between the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
, was released in 2008 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
A ninth game in the series, a
reboot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
titled simply ''
Mortal Kombat
''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...
'', was developed by the former Midway Games, now known as
NetherRealm Studios
NetherRealm Studios (stylized as NetheЯRealm Studios) is an American video game developer based in Chicago and owned by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Led by video game industry veteran and ''Mortal Kombat'' co-creator Ed Boon, the st ...
. It was first released for the
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
and
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
in 2011, and was ported to the
PlayStation Vita
The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
in 2012 and to the
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
in 2013.
Downloadable content
Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...
became a feature of games in the series at this time. Its first sequel, ''
Mortal Kombat X
''Mortal Kombat X'' is a 2015 fighting video game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the tenth main installment in the ''Mortal Komba ...
'', was released in 2015 on
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
,
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
, and
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
, and marked a return to numbered sequels. This was paired with the first ''Mortal Kombat'' game for tablet and smarophone computers, ''
Mortal Kombat Mobile
''Mortal Kombat Mobile'' is a 2015 fighting game released for smartphones and tablet computers by NetherRealm Studios. A part of the '' Mortal Kombat'' series of fighting games, it came out at the same time as the standard '' Mortal Kombat  ...
''. A follow-up, ''
Mortal Kombat 11
''Mortal Kombat 11'' is a 2019 fighting video game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It is the eleventh main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 2015's ''Mortal Ko ...
'', was released in 2019 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One,
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
, and Microsoft Windows.
Spin-off games
Besides the fighting games, there are three
action-adventure
The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
titles that work as spin-offs from the ''Mortal Kombat'' storyline. ''
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero'' was released in 1997 for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64; its story is focused on the first incarnation character of Sub-Zero and is focused in the timeline before the first ''Mortal Kombat'' game. The next action game was ''
Mortal Kombat: Special Forces'', released in 2000 for the PlayStation, starring Major
Jackson Briggs in his mission to destroy the Black Dragon. Both games were
critically panned (although the reception of ''Mythologies'' was more mediocre). ''Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks'', developed by
Midway Studios Los Angeles, was released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox, starring Liu Kang and Kung Lao and telling an alternate version of the events between the first and second ''Mortal Kombat'' games. A similar game entitled ''Mortal Kombat: Fire & Ice'', which was to star Scorpion and again Sub-Zero, was canceled when the developers of ''Shaolin Monks'' "couldn't do it in time and under budget". On October 18, 2022, ''
Mortal Kombat: Onslaught'' was announced; it's a
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
scheduled for a 2023 release for Android and iOS. NetherRealm said it will be a cinematic experience and also it will be loyal to its core visceral nature.
Other media
Films
Animated
An animated
prequel
A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work.
The term " ...
to 1995's ''Mortal Kombat'' film, titled ''
Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins'', was released
direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
in the same year as the live-action film.
[ In 2020, a ]standalone Standalone or Stand-alone may refer to:
*Stand-alone DSL, a digital subscriber line without analog telephone service; also known as ''naked DSL''
*Stand-alone expansion pack, an expansion pack which does not require the original game in order to us ...
animated film, '' Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge'', was released on digital
Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits.
Technology and computing Hardware
*Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals
**Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...
and direct-to-video. Its sequel, entitled '' Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms,'' was released in August 2021. A third film, '' Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind'' was released on October 11, 2022.
Live-action
''Mortal Kombat'' was adapted into two major motion pictures, ''Mortal Kombat
''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...
'' (1995) and '' Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'' (1997), both released by New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
. The first film was released on August 18, 1995, grossing $23 million on its first weekend. Despite mixed reviews from critics, ''Mortal Kombat'' became a financial success, eventually grossing approximately $70 million in the U.S. and over $122 million worldwide; the film also gained a cult following amongst fans of the video game series with :Robin Shou, Linden Ashby
Clarence Linden Garnett Ashby III (born May 23, 1960) is an American actor and director. On television, he portrayed Brett Cooper on the final two seasons of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox soap opera ''Melrose Place'' (1997–1999) and Sheri ...
, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Japanese: 田川 洋行, ''Tagawa Hiroyuki''; born September 27, 1950) is a Japanese-born American actor, film producer, and martial artist.
Often cast as villains, he is known for his film roles in ''The Last Emperor'' ...
, Bridgette Wilson
Bridgette Leann Wilson Sampras (born September 25, 1973) is a former American actress, singer, model, and Miss Teen USA award winner. Wilson began her career as an actress after being crowned Miss Teen USA in 1990, playing the character of L ...
, Talisa Soto
Miriam Talisa Soto (born March 27, 1967) is an American former actress and former model. She is known for portraying Bond girl Lupe Lamora in the 1989 James Bond film ''Licence to Kill'', and as Kitana in the 1995 fantasy action film ''Mortal Kom ...
and Christopher Lambert
Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert (; ; born March 29, 1957) is a French-American actor, producer, and novelist. He started his career playing supporting parts in several French films, and became internationally famous for portraying Ta ...
starring, and its success launched the Hollywood career of its director, Paul W. S. Anderson
Paul William Scott Anderson (born 4 March 1965) is an English filmmaker who regularly works in science fiction films and video game adaptations.
Anderson made his feature film debut with the British independent film '' Shopping'' (1994), a ...
. However, this momentum did not carry over into the movie's sequel, ''Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'', which was directed by John R. Leonetti
John Robert Leonetti, (born July 4, 1956) is an American cinematographer and film director. He is known for his collaborative work with director James Wan, with whom he has acted as cinematographer on five films. He is the younger brother of cin ...
with Shou and Soto as the only two returning from the first film. The film received a poor reception by critics and fans alike, grossing only $36 million in the U.S. and $51 million worldwide, which was disappointing compared to the first film's worldwide intake of $122 million.
In 2010, director Kevin Tancharoen
Kevin Harwick Tancharoen (born April 23, 1984) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, dancer, and choreographer. On September 29, 2011, New Line Cinema/Warner Bros. announced that Tancharoen would be helming a big-screen adaptation ...
released an eight-minute ''Mortal Kombat'' short film, titled '' Mortal Kombat: Rebirth'', made as a proof of concept for Tancharoen's pitch of a reboot movie franchise to Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...
. Tancharoen later confirmed that the unofficial short featured the writing of Oren Uziel, who at the time was rumored to be writing the screenplay for a third ''Mortal Kombat'' movie. In September 2011, New Line and Warner Bros. announced that Tancharoen had signed on to direct a new feature-length film from a screenplay written by Uziel, with the intention of aiming for an R rating. Shooting was expected to begin in March 2012 with a budget of well under $100 million (projected at between $40–50 million) and a release date of 2013, but was ultimately delayed due to budget constraints. Tancharoen quit the production in October 2013.
The ''reboot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
'' was released on April 23, 2021 produced by James Wan
James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter and comic book writer. He has primarily worked in the horror genre as the co-creator of the ''Saw'' and ''Insidious'' franchises and the creator of The Conjurin ...
, directed by Simon McQuoid
Simon McQuoid is an Australian filmmaker, best known for directing the 2021 reboot of ''Mortal Kombat''. McQuoid's background was in directing commercials. In May 2022, ''Deadline
Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to:
* Time limit, a n ...
with a script written by Greg Russo and David Callaham
David Elias Callaham (born October 24, 1977) is an American screenwriter and producer.
Life
Callaham was born in Fresno, California on October 24, 1977 to Lee Hsu and Michael Callaham. He has a brother, Gregory. He is of Chinese descent through ...
. A sequel is in development with McQuoid returning as director and Jeremy Slater
Jeremy Slater is an American writer and producer of film and television, known for his work on films such as ''Fantastic Four'' and ''Death Note'', and on television series such as ''The Umbrella Academy'' and ''The Exorcist'', which Slater crea ...
set to write the screenplay.
* Cole Young was introduced as the protagonist of the 2021 film and had not featured in a Mortal Kombat game at the time.
Print media
Comics
A number of ''Mortal Kombat'' comic books were based on the video game series, including the official ''Mortal Kombat'' and ''Mortal Kombat II'' comic, books created by Tobias and advertised in the attract mode
This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players.
0–9
A
...
s on early versions of the first two games. In 1994, Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics Entertainment, Inc. (also known as Malibu Graphics) was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. Notable titles published by Malibu included '' ...
launched a licensed ''Mortal Kombat'' comic book series, spawning two six-issue series (''Blood and Thunder'' and ''Battlewave''), along with several miniseries and one-shot special issues dedicated to specific characters, until its publication ended in August 1995. Two more comics were also made as tie-in
A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...
s for ''Mortal Kombat 4'' and ''Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe'', and a new miniseries titled ''Blood Ties'' was published prior to the release of ''Mortal Kombat X'' in 2015.
Novels
Jeff Rovin
Jeff Rovin is an American magazine editor, freelance writer, columnist, and author, who has appeared on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list.
Biography
Jeff Rovin has been editor-in-chief of ''Weekly World News'', an assistant editor and w ...
penned a novelization of the first ''Mortal Kombat'' game, which was published in 1995 in order to coincide with the release of the movie, though the novel did not follow the movie plot. Novelizations of both ''Mortal Kombat'' movies were written by Martin Delrio and Jerome Preisler. Two paperback novels by C. Dean Andersson entitled ''Mortal Kombat: Reptile's World'' and ''Shango's Thunder'' were written but never published due to the publishing company not securing the rights from Midway.
Music
'' Mortal Kombat: The Album'', a techno album based on the first game, was created for Virgin America
Virgin America Inc. was a low-cost U.S. airline that operated from 2007 until 2018, when it was acquired by Alaska Airlines. The airline primarily focused on operating low-fare service between cities on the West Coast and other major metropoli ...
by Lords of Acid
Lords of Acid is a Belgian/American electronic dance music (EDM) group led by musician Praga Khan. They are best known for making songs with sexual lyrics and sexually explicit tracks, such as their hit " Pussy".
History
Lords of Acid debu ...
members Praga Khan
Maurice Joseph François Engelen (born 7 January 1959), known by his stage name Praga Khan, is a Belgian electronic musician. Khan is considered one of the leading pioneers of the new beat/acid house/techno electronic dance music scene that origi ...
and Oliver Adams as The Immortals in 1994. Its iconic theme "Techno Syndrome", incorporating the "Mortal Kombat!" yell first shown in the ''Mortal Kombat'' commercial for home systems, was first released in 1993 as a single and was also used as a theme music for the ''Mortal Kombat'' film series. Each movie had their own soundtracks (including the hit and award-winning compilation album '' Mortal Kombat: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack''), as had the second video game (''Mortal Kombat II: Music from the Arcade Game Soundtrack''). The 2011 video game saw the release of '' Mortal Kombat: Songs Inspired by the Warriors'', a new soundtrack album featuring electronic music by various artists.
Television
Animated
An animated series titled '' Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm'' was released in 1996. It ran for one season.
Live-action
In 1998, '' Mortal Kombat: Conquest'' was released. It lasted only one season. In 2010, Warner Premiere
Warner Premiere was an American direct-to-video label of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, itself a subsidiary of Warner Bros.
History Early years (2006–2008)
In 2006, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced that they would enter the market ...
ordered a web series inspired by the ''Rebirth'' short, titled '' Mortal Kombat: Legacy'' and also directed by Kevin Tancharoen. The series' first season was released for free on YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
starting in April 2011, promoted by Machinima.com
Machinima, Inc. was an American multiplatform online entertainment network owned by WarnerMedia. The company was founded in January 2000 by Hugh Hancock and was headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
It originated as a hub for its namesake, m ...
, and the second season arrived in 2013.
In 2014, Blue Ribbon Content
Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...
have been developing a live-action series that was to tie in with ''Mortal Kombat X'' for a planned 2016 release, titled ''Mortal Kombat: Generations''. The series, however, was not released.
Stage show
A stage show titled '' Mortal Kombat: Live Tour'' was launched at the end of 1995, expanded to 1996, and featured ''Mortal Kombat'' characters in a theatrical display on stage.
Collectible card games
Brady Games
Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages.
It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...
produced the collectible card game ''Mortal Kombat Kard Game
''Mortal Kombat Kard Game'' is an out-of-print collectible card game released in January 1996 by BradyGames in cooperation with Midway Games. It is based on the ''Mortal Kombat'' video game series but without excessive violence like its video ga ...
'' in 1996. Score Entertainment
Score Entertainment was a trading card design and manufacturing company based in Arlington, Texas. Their first card game was the Dragon Ball Z: Collectible Card Game in 2000. Score Entertainment was a member of the Donruss Playoff LP family of ...
's 2005 collectible card game ''Epic Battles
''Epic Battles'' is an out-of-print collectible card game produced by Score Entertainment that was released in September 2005. Gameplay attempts to emulate a traditional fighting game experience and features characters and attacks from several ...
'' also used some of the ''Mortal Kombat'' characters.
Interactive stock trading game
The ''Mortal Kombat: Federation of Martial Arts'' was Threshold Entertainment's answer to the restrictions of the franchise involving the Midway Game ''Mortal Kombat''. The challenge was to create a game that successfully promoted the video game without competing against it. The answer we developed was to use a stock market investing game model attached to an active online community to generate interest. The community discussion built every week leading to a big fight that would play out in installments over the weekend. This allowed players to essentially bet on their favorites by purchasing more stock prior to a fight and then hoping that their stock would go up in battle if their player won.
Reception
Sales
''Mortal Kombat'' has been one of the most successful fighting game franchises in video game history, previously only trailing Bandai Namco
also known as the Bandai Namco Group and generally Bandai Namco, is a Japanese multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, formed from the merger of Bandai and Namco on S ...
's ''Tekken
is a Japanese Media mix, media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The franchise also includes film and print adaptations.
The ...
'' and Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' and ''Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
'' '' Super Smash Bros.'' As of 2021, it has surpassed ''Tekken'', ''Street Fighter'', and ''Super Smash Bros.'' in worldwide lifetime franchise sales. It generated more than $4 billion by the late 1990s and $5 billion in total revenue by 2000. A particularly successful game was ''Mortal Kombat II'', which had unprecedented opening week sales figures never seen before in the video game industry, for the first time beating the box office numbers of summer hit films. The ''Mortal Kombat'' games, however, have not been localized in Japan after the Super Famicom release of ''Mortal Kombat II'', due to content guidelines against depictions of blood, gore and dismemberment (Tobias blaming their "very americanized" character design).
''Mortal Kombat'' games have sold more than 6 million units by 1994 and 26 million by 2007, and the figure has exceeded 30 million by 2012. As of 2021, the franchise had sold about 73 million units.
Ratings, reviews, and awards
The 2008 edition of ''Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' awarded the ''Mortal Kombat'' series with seven world records, including "most successful fighting game series". The franchise holds ten world records in the 2011 ''Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition'', including the "largest promotional campaign for a fighting video game" (''Mortal Kombat 3''), "highest grossing film based on a beat ‘em up video game" (''Mortal Kombat'' 1996), and "most successful video game spin-off soundtrack album" (''Mortal Kombat: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'').
Numerous publications described it as one of the most important and also most violent series in the history of video games; in 2011, the staff of GameSpy
GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
wrote "its place in fighting game history is undeniable". In 2009, GameTrailers
''GameTrailers'' (''GT'') was an American video gaming website created by Geoffrey R. Grotz and Brandon Jones in 2002. The website specialized in multimedia content, including trailers and gameplay footage of upcoming and recently released v ...
ranked ''Mortal Kombat'' as the ninth top fighting game franchise as well as the seventh bloodiest series of all time. In 2012, ''Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' ranked ''Mortal Kombat'' as 37th best video game franchise overall, commenting on its "legendary status in video game history". ''Mortal Kombat'' as a series was also ranked as the goriest video game ever by CraveOnline
Mandatory (formerly CraveOnline Media) is a lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. The site is owned by media company Evolve Media, LLC. Mandatory focuses its contents into the male- ...
in 2009 and by G4tv.com
G4 (also known as G4TV) was an American pay television and digital network owned by Comcast Spectacor that primarily focused on video games.
The network was originally owned by G4 Media, a joint venture between the NBCUniversal Cable division ...
in 2011; including it on their list of the goriest games, Cheat Code Central commented that "''Mortal Kombat'' had enough gore to simultaneously offend a nation and change gaming forever."
Legacy and cultural impact
According to IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
, during the 1990s "waves of imitators began to flood the market, filling arcades with a sea of blood from games like ''Time Killers
''Time Killers'' is a 1992 weapon-based fighting game, fighting arcade game developed by Incredible Technologies and published by Strata. Along with Allumer's ''Blandia'', ''Time Killers'' is one of the earliest weapon-based fighting games modele ...
'', ''Survival Arts
is a 1993 fighting arcade game developed by Scarab and published by Sammy. It uses digitized images of real actors with blood and gore, similar to Midway's arcade hit '' Mortal Kombat''.
Ports for the Super NES and Sega Genesis were annou ...
'', and ''Guardians of the Hood''. ''Mortal Kombat'' had ushered in an era of exploitation
Exploitation may refer to:
*Exploitation of natural resources
*Exploitation of labour
** Forced labour
*Exploitation colonialism
*Slavery
** Sexual slavery and other forms
*Oppression
*Psychological manipulation
In arts and entertainment
*Exploi ...
games, both on consoles and in arcades, all engaging in a battle to see who can cram the most blood and guts onto a low-res screen."[Travis Fahs]
The History of Mortal Kombat. Follow its bloody legacy from 1992 to present day.
, IGN, May 5, 2011 Notable ''Mortal Kombat'' clones
Clone or Clones or Cloning or Cloned or The Clone may refer to:
Places
* Clones, County Fermanagh
* Clones, County Monaghan, a town in Ireland
Biology
* Clone (B-cell), a lymphocyte clone, the massive presence of which may indicate a pathologi ...
, featuring violent finishing moves and/or digitized sprites, included '' Bio F.R.E.A.K.S.'', ''BloodStorm
''BloodStorm'' is a 1994 arcade fighting game published by Strata and developed by Incredible Technologies. It is considered a quasi-sequel to '' Time Killers''.
''BloodStorm'' was dubbed as a possible "'' Mortal Kombat''-killer" in an attempt ...
'', ''Cardinal Syn
''Cardinal Syn'' is a fighting video game developed by Kronos Digital Entertainment, the creators of '' Criticom'' and ''Dark Rift'', and published by Sony in 1998.
Gameplay
''Cardinal Syn'' is 3D fighting game with free roaming features th ...
'', ''Catfight
Catfight (also girl fight) is a term for an altercation between two females, often characterized as involving scratching, shoving, slapping, choking, punching, kicking, biting, spitting, hair-pulling, and shirt-shredding. It can also be used to d ...
'', ''Eternal Champions
''Eternal Champions'' is a 1993 fighting game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. It was one of the few fighting games of its time developed from the ground up as a home console title, rather than being released in arcades fi ...
'', ''Kasumi Ninja
''Kasumi Ninja'' is a fighting game, developed by Hand Made Software and published by Atari Corporation. Initially it was for the Atari Jaguar in North America and Europe on December 21, 1994, and was later released in Japan by Messe Sanoh in Jul ...
'', ''Killer Instinct
''Killer Instinct'' is a series of fighting video games originally created by Rare and published by Midway, Nintendo, and Microsoft Studios. The original ''Killer Instinct'' was released for arcades in 1994; the game was then released for t ...
'', '' Mace: The Dark Age'', ''Primal Rage
''Primal Rage'' is a fighting game developed and released by Atari Games to arcades in August 1994. The game takes place on a post-apocalyptic version of Earth called "Urth". Players control one of seven large beasts that battle each other to det ...
'', '' Street Fighter: The Movie'', ''Tattoo Assassins
''Tattoo Assassins'' is an unreleased 1994 fighting game developed by the pinball division of Data East for release in Arcade game, arcades. A few prototypes were test-marketed, but the game was never officially released. Spearheaded by Bob Gale ...
'', ''Thrill Kill
''Thrill Kill'' is a cancelled fighting video game developed by Paradox Development for the PlayStation. The game's plot involves ten people who all get sent to Hell after dying on Earth and are forced by Marukka, the Goddess of Secrets, to fig ...
'', ''Ultra Vortek
''Ultra Vortek'' (also released as ''Ultra Vortex'') is a fighting game developed by Beyond Games and published by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar in North America and Europe on September 5, 1995. It was the second fighting game released f ...
'', '' Way of the Warrior'', and Midway's own ''War Gods
A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in both monotheistic and polytheistic religions.
Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been po ...
''. John Tobias commented: "Some of the copycat products back then kind of came and went because, on the surface level, the violence will attract some attention, but if there's not much to the product behind it, you're not going to last very long."
In a 2009 poll by ''GamePro
Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...
'', 21% of voters chose ''Mortal Kombat'' as their favorite fighting game series, ranking it third after ''Street Fighter'' and ''Tekken''. In 2012, Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' producer Yoshinori Ono said he is getting a lot of requests for ''Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat'' and understands why people want it, "but it's easier said than done. Having Chun Li getting her spine ripped out, or Ryu's head bouncing off the floor...it doesn't necessarily match." In 2014, martial artist Frankie Edgar
Frankie Edgar (born October 16, 1981) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Beginning his career in the L ...
opined ''Mortal Kombat'' has been far superior to ''Street Fighter''.
The series and its characters are also referenced in the various other works of popular culture
Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
, such as in the title of Powerglove's debut album ''Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man
''Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man'' is the debut studio album by video game music, video game heavy metal music, metal/power metal band Powerglove (band), Powerglove released October 31, 2007. The album contains cover versions of music from vario ...
'' and the ''Workaholics
''Workaholics'' is an American sitcom created and predominantly written by Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, Anders Holm, and Kyle Newacheck, all of whom star in the series. ''Workaholics'' originally ran on Comedy Central from April 6, 2011, to Marc ...
'' episode "Model Kombat". According to ''Complex'' in 2012, "Years ago, ''MK'' became a phenomenon far outside gaming circles alone. Its name has become recognizable enough to be name dropped on sitcoms (''Malcolm in the Middle
''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes.
The series follows a dysfunctional ...
'' and '' Married... with Children''), found in movies (Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut with a leading role in ''The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakthrough role as Jason "J.D." D ...
plays ''MK4'' in ''Very Bad Things
''Very Bad Things'' is a 1998 American black comedy film written and directed by Peter Berg in his feature film directorial debut and starring Cameron Diaz, Jon Favreau, Daniel Stern, Jeremy Piven, Christian Slater, Leland Orser, Kobe Tai and J ...
''), and used as part of cultural studies (see Justine Cassell
Justine M. Cassell (born March 19, 1960) is an American professor and researcher interested in human-human conversation, human-computer interaction, and storytelling. Since August 2010 she has been on the faculty of the Carnegie Mellon Human Compu ...
and Henry Jenkins
Henry Jenkins III (born June 4, 1958) is an American media scholar and Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts, a joint professorship at the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School for Communication an ...
' book ''From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games'')." It was also featured in the film ''Doom Generation
''The Doom Generation'' is a 1995 black comedy thriller film written and directed by Gregg Araki. The film follows two troubled teenage lovers, Amy Blue (Rose McGowan) and Jordan White (James Duval), who pick up a young handsome drifter named Xavi ...
''. The name "Mortal Kombat" was even given to a dangerous illegal recreational drug that was introduced and caused multiple fatalities in early 2014.
In 2012, Tobias said: "If you look at any other pop culture phenomenon—like if you look at the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...
'', for instance—it became popular at the time right around when ''Mortal Kombat'' became popular, and it had its highs and lows, and here they are once again talking about a major motion picture. That's because of its place in pop culture. It's always there for someone to pick up, polish off, blow the dust off of it, and re-release it. And ''Mortal Kombat'' will always be that way. It'll be around 50 years from now."
Competitive play
Fighting games have been a popular genre among tournaments since the late 90s. ''Mortal Kombat'' has its place in some of the world's biggest fighting game tournaments including Evo and Combo Breaker, as well as many local and online tournaments around the world. Since the 2011 ''Mortal Kombat'' game was released, the game has been one of the most popular games at these events. Between 2014 and 2017, the game was mostly absent from the tournament scene, due to NetherRealm Studios being focused on their ''Injustice'' series as their top priority; ''Mortal Kombat'' games returned to Combo Breaker in 2018.
Controversies
The series was subject of a major video game controversy
Video game controversies refers to a wide range of debates on the social effects of video games on players and broader society, as well as debates within the video game industry. Since the early 2000s, advocates of video games have emphasized ...
and several court cases, largely related to its extremely violent content, especially in relation to the original game which paved a way for the introduction of the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in the United States and Canada. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Asso ...
) game rating system in 1994 as well as the Australian Classification Board
The Australian Classification Board (ACB or CB) is an Australian government statutory body responsible for the classification and censorship of films, video games and publications for exhibition, sale or hire in Australia. The ACB was establis ...
. Various games in the series, as well as advertisements for them, have been censored or banned in a number of countries. According to SuperData Research CEO Joost van Dreunen, "Because of the obvious rift between gamers on the one hand and adult society on the other, ''Mortal Kombat'' set the tone for what constituted gamer
A gamer is a proactive hobbyist who plays interactive games, especially video games, tabletop role-playing games, and skill-based card games, and who plays for usually long periods of time. Some gamers are competitive, meaning they routinely ...
culture."
In Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, every ''Mortal Kombat'' game was banned for ten years from its release until 2015. ''Mortal Kombat'' (2011) is also banned in South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, and was banned in Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
until February 2013. ''MK11'' is banned in Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
.
See also
* DC Universe
The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...
* List of best-selling video game franchises
This is a list of List of video game franchises, video game franchises that have sold or shipped at least twenty million copies. Unless otherwise stated, numbers indicate worldwide units sold, ordered alphabetically whenever two or more list the ...
* List of fighting games
Fighting games are characterized by close combat between two fighters or groups of fighters of comparable strength, often broken into rounds or stocks. If multiple players are involved, players generally fight against each other.
Note: Games ar ...
* Happy Tree Friends
''Happy Tree Friends'' is an American adult animated web series created by Aubrey Ankrum, Rhode Montijo, and Kenn Navarro, and developed by Montijo, Navarro, and Jeremy Viet Duong for Mondo Media. The show had achieved a cult following on ...
References
External links
*
* (Warner Bros.)
Mortal Kombat Wiki
at Fandom
A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...
''Mortal Kombat''
at MobyGames
MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...
"The History of ''Mortal Kombat'' video series
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Fighting video games by series
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* Fiction about murder