Mortal Kombat

***Mortal Kombat*** is a video game franchise originally developed by Midway Games' Chicago studio in 1992. Following Midway's bankruptcy, the *Mortal Kombat* development team was acquired by Warner Bros. and turned into NetherRealm Studios. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment currently owns the rights to the franchise and rebooted it in 2011. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a video game starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, but as that idea fell through, a fantasy-horror themed fighting game titled *Mortal Kombat* was created instead. The original game has spawned many sequels and has spun a media franchise consisting of several action-adventure games, films (animated and live-action with its own sequel), and television series (animated and live-action). Other spin-offs include comic book series, a card game, and a live-action tour. Along with Capcom's *Street Fighter* and Bandai Namco Entertainment's *Tekken*, *Mortal Kombat* has become one of the most successful fighting franchises in the history of video games. As of June 2000, the franchise had generated $5 billion in revenue,[1] making it one of the highest-grossing media franchise of all time.

The series has a reputation for high levels of bloody violence, including, most notably, its Fatalities (finishing moves, requiring a sequence of button inputs to perform). The Fatalities, in part, led to the creation of the ESRB video game rating system. The series name itself is also known for using the letter "K" in place of "C" for the hard C sound, thus intentionally misspelling the word "combat", as well as other words with the hard C sound within later games in the series. Early games in this series were also noted for their realistic digitized sprites (which differentiated it from its contemporaries' hand-drawn sprites) and an extensive use of palette swapping to create new characters.

## Gameplay

The original three games and their updates, *Mortal Kombat* (1992), *Mortal Kombat II* (1993), *Mortal Kombat 3* (1995), *Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3* (1995), and *Mortal Kombat Trilogy* (1996), were styled in a 2D fighting fashion. The first two of them were played in the arcades with a joystick and five buttons: high punch, low punch, high kick, low kick, and block. *Mortal Kombat 3* and its updates added a sixth "run" button.[2] Characters in the early *Mortal Kombat* games play virtually identically to one another, with the only major differences being their special moves.[3] Through the 1990s, the developer and publisher Midway Games would keep their single styled fighting moves with four attack buttons for a different array of punches and kicks and blocks. *Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance* changed this by differentiating characters normal moves and even giving them multiple fighting styles. Beginning in *Deadly Alliance* and until *Mortal Kombat: Deception*, the characters would have three fighting styles per character: two unarmed styles, and one weapon style.[4] Few exceptions to this arose in *Mortal Kombat: Armageddon*, such as monster-like boss characters like Moloch and Onaga who would have only one fighting style.[5] While most of the styles used in the series are based on real martial arts, some are entirely fictitious.[6] 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.[5]*Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe* dropped the multiple fighting style trend altogether in favor of giving each character a much wider variety of special moves,[7] but some characters still use multiple fighting styles.[8] 2011's *Mortal Kombat* returned to a single 2D fighting plane although characters are rendered in 3D;[9] 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 and back indicating the limb closer to and farther from the opponent, respectively).

According to *Mortal Kombat* co-creator Ed Boon, "since the beginning, one of the things that's separated us from other fighting games is the crazy moves we've put in it, like fireballs and all the magic moves, so to speak."[10] When asked if Capcom's *Street Fighter* series would ever do a crossover game with *Mortal Kombat*, *Street Fighter* producer Yoshinori Ono called *Mortal Kombat* a very different game from *Street Fighter*.[11][12] Capcom's senior director of communications compared *Street Fighter* and *Mortal Kombat* by asking if the interviewer preferred the "precision and depth" of *Street Fighter* or the "gore and comedy" of *Mortal Kombat*; he also stated that the *Street Fighter* and *Mortal Kombat* rivalry was considered similar to the Coke and Pepsi rivalry in the 1990s.[13] Senior producer of *Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe*, Hans Lo, himself also called *Street Fighter* "a little more cartoonic fantasy" in comparison to *Mortal Kombat*.[14] In 2013, Boon named the hypothetical "*MKvsSF*" as his dream crossover game.[15] In 2014, Boon said his team has remained in touch with Capcom, but no one could resolve the incompatibility problem of *Mortal Kombat* being much more brutal than *Street Fighter*.[16]

*Mortal Kombat: Deception* and *Mortal Kombat: Armageddon* feature "Konquest", a free-roaming action-adventure mode that significantly expanded on the single-player experience. Both games also include distinct minigame modes such "Chess Kombat", an action-strategy game similar to *Archon*. Two other bonus minigames, "Puzzle Kombat" inspired by *Puzzle Fighter* and "Motor Kombat" inspired by *Mario Kart*, feature super deformed versions of *Mortal Kombat* characters.[2] The games also contain various unlockable content and hidden "cheats".[17]

### Finishing Moves

The defining and best-known feature of the *Mortal Kombat* series is its finishing move system called Fatality. An original idea behind it was to give gamers a free hit at the end of the fight.[21] The basic Fatalities are finishing moves that allow the victorious characters to end a match in a special way by murdering their defeated, defenseless opponents in a gruesome manner, usually in the predefined ways exclusive for the given character. The only exception from this is *Mortal Kombat: Armageddon*, which instead features the Kreate-A-Fatality, allowing the players to perform their own Fatalities by conducting a series of violent moves chosen from a pool that is common for all characters.[2][22]

Other finishing moves in the various *Mortal Kombat* games include Animalities (introduced in *Mortal Kombat 3*) turning a victor into an animal to violently finish off the opponent;[23] Brutality (introduced in *Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3*) which is bashing an opponent into pieces with a long combo 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, and later made more difficult in *Mortal Kombat II* by requiring specific and different button sequences to be pressed) utilizing parts of certain stages to execute a lethal finishing move (such as a pool of acid). *Mortal Kombat: Deception* added the Hara-Kiri, a self-Fatality allowing the losers to engage in a suicide-based finishing move (enabling a possible race between both players to see if the winning player can finish off the losing player before the losing character can kill himself or herself first).[21][24]

There are also some non-violent finishing moves in the series. Friendship moves, introduced in *Mortal Kombat II* and resulting in displays of friendship towards the enemy instead of slaughter,[25] were made as a comical response to the attention the series gathered due to its violent content.[21]Also introduced in *MKII* was the Babality, which turns the opponent into a baby and is humorous in the same vein.[25] *Mortal Kombat 3* marked the first appearance of the Mercy, where the victor restores a minimal amount of the opponent's health bar and the fight then resumes; the player must perform a Mercy to be able to perform an Animality.[23]

## Plot

The series takes place in a fictional universe consisting of eighteen surviving realms which, according to in-game backstories, were created by the Elder Gods. The *Mortal Kombat: Deception* manual described six of the realms as: "Earthrealm, home to such legendary heroes as Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage, and Jax, 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 and Noob Saibot; Outworld, a realm of constant strife which Emperor Shao Kahn 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 worshipped; and Edenia, which is known for its beauty, artistic expression, and the longevity of its inhabitants."[26][27] 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 participated in the tournament with the eventual prize being the continued freedom of their realm, threatened with 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.[28] In *Mortal Kombat II*, unable to deal with his minion Shang Tsung's failure, Outworld Emperor Shao Kahn lures the Earthrealm warriors to the Outworld where the Earthrealm warriors eventually defeat Shao Kahn. By the time of *Mortal Kombat 3*, Shao Kahn revives Edenia's (now a part of his Outworld domain) former queen Sindel in Earthrealm, combining it with Outworld as well. He then attempts to invade Earthrealm but is ultimately defeated by the Earthrealm warriors again. After Kahn's defeat, Edenia was freed from Kahn's grasp and returned to a peaceful realm, ruled by Princess Kitana. The following game, *Mortal Kombat 4*, features the former elder god Shinnok attempting to conquer the realms and attempting to kill the thunder god Raiden. However, he is also defeated by the Earthrealm warriors.

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 Earthrealms' warriors until Raiden steps forth to oppose them. The Dragon King Onaga, who had been freed by Reptile at the end of *Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance*,[29] had deceived Shujinko into searching for six pieces of Kamidogu,[27] the source of Onaga's power. Onaga then confronted the alliance of Raiden, Shang Tsung, and Quan Chi and thus obtained Quan Chi's amulet,[30] the final piece of his power. Only a few warriors remained to combat against the Dragon King and his forces. Shujinko eventually triumphed over the Dragon King and removed his threat to the Mortal Kombat universe.[31]

In *Mortal Kombat: Armageddon* the catastrophe known as Armageddon starts. Centuries before the first *Mortal Kombat*, Queen Delia foretold the realms would be destroyed because the power of all warriors from all the realms would rise to such greatness it would overwhelm and destabilize the realms, triggering an all-destructive chain of events. King Argus had his sons, Taven, and Daegon, put into incubation who would one day 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.[32]

In *Mortal Kombat* (2011), it is revealed that the battle between the warriors of the six realms culminated into only two survivors: Shao Kahn and Raiden. Badly beaten, Raiden had only one last move he could make to prevent Shao Kahn from claiming the power of Blaze. He sends last-ditch visions of the entire course of the *Mortal Kombat* timeline to himself in the past right before the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament (first game). This transfer of information to his former self causes a rift in time, causing a new "reboot" timeline to be introduced that splits off from the original *Armageddon* timeline, with a new outcome of Mortal Kombat history to be written. But this story leads to even worse unforeseen events. It ends with many of the main game characters dying at the hands of Queen Sindel and Raiden accidentally killing Liu Kang in self-defense. Eventually, the Elder Gods aid Raiden in killing Shao Kahn and saving Earthrealm. But as the scene goes on it is later revealed that this was all a plan by Shinnok and Quan Chi.

*Mortal Kombat X* sees Shinnok and Quan Chi enacting their plan, leading an army of undead revenants of those that were killed in Shao Kahn's invasion against the realms. A team of warriors led by Raiden, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade oppose Shinnok, and in the ensuing battle, Shinnok is imprisoned, Quan Chi escapes, and various warriors are resurrected and freed from Shinnok's thrall. Twenty-five years later, Quan Chi resurfaces and allies himself with the insect-like D'Vorah in manipulating events that lead to Shinnok's release. Though Quan Chi is killed by a vengeful Scorpion in the process, Shinnok resumes his assault against the realms. After a grueling, protracted battle, Shinnok is defeated by Cassandra Cage representing the next generation of Earthrealm's warriors. With both Quan Chi and Shinnok gone, the undead revenants of Liu Kang and Kitana assume control of the Netherrealm and Lord Raiden now protects the Earthrealm not defensively but offensively with the help of the remaining revenants.

*Mortal Kombat Reborn* take places in the Aethranorioum Universe.

## Kharacters

The series features scores of player characters (64 as of 2012[33]), including Baraka, Cassie Cage, Cyrax, Ermac, Goro, Jade, Jax Briggs, Johnny Cage, Kabal, Kano, Kenshi, Kitana, Kung Lao, Kurtis Stryker, Liu Kang, Mileena, Motaro, Nightwolf, Noob Saibot, Quan Chi, Raiden, Rain, Reptile, Scorpion, Sektor, Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, Sheeva, Shinnok, Sindel, Smoke, Sonya Blade, and Sub-Zero. Among them are Earth's humans and cyborgs, good and evil deities, and denizens of Outworld and other realms.

## Development History

### Origins

*Mortal Kombat* started development in 1991 with only four people: Ed Boon (programming), John Tobias and John Vogel (graphics), and Dan Forden (sound design).[34][35] Originally, Boon and Tobias were approached to create a video game adaptation of the 1992 film *Universal Soldier*[36] starring martial arts film actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, with a digitized version of the action star fighting villains.[37] Intending to make a game "a lot more hard edge, a little bit more serious, a little bit more like *Enter the Dragon* or *Bloodsport*" than *Street Fighter II*'s cartoon fantasy style,[38] Boon and Tobias decided to continue their project even after the deal to use the *Bloodsport* license fell through.[39] One of their own characters, Johnny Cage, became "a spoof on the whole Van Damme situation".[36]

John Tobias said that his inspirations for the game's story and characters came from the Chinese mythology and some of the stories and rumored events about the Shaolin monks.[36] Regarding the film *Big Trouble in Little China*, Tobias wrote that although this movie "kind of Americanized my obsession for supernatural kung fu films from China, it was not my biggest influence. My biggest influences came from Tsui Hark films -- *Zu Warriors* & *The Swordsman*. We had to get them from bootleggers in Chicago's Chinatown."[41] Tobias' writing and artistic input on the series ended in 1997, after the release of *Mortal Kombat 3*. Fifteen years later, he said: "I knew exactly what I was going to do with a future story. A few years ago I [wrote] a sort of sequel to the first *MK* film and an advancement to the game's mythological roots. The goal was to not runaway from what came before with a retelling, but to move the themes forward. I did it for fun as an exercise in screenwriting, but it felt good to get that out of my system."[42]

Ed Boon recalled that for six out of the eight months while they were in production of the original *Mortal Kombat*, "nobody could come up with a name nobody didn't hate". Some of the names suggested included "Kumite", "Dragon Attack", "Death Blow" and just "Fatality". Someone had written down "combat" on the drawing board for the names in Boon's office and then someone wrote a K over the C, according to Boon, "just to be kind of weird". Steve Ritchie, a pinball designer at that time, was sitting in Boon's office and saw the word "Kombat" and said to Boon, 'Why don't you name it Mortal Kombat?' and that name "just stuck".[43] Since then, the series uses the letter "K" in place of "C" for various words containing the hard C sound. According to Boon, during the *MK* games' development they usually spell the words correctly and only "korrect it" when one of the developers points out they should do it.[44]

### 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 drawn graphics.[45] Early *Mortal Kombat* games were known for their extensive use of palette swap, a practice of re-coloring certain sprites to appear as different characters which was used for the ninja characters. In fact, many of the most popular characters have originated as simple palette swaps.[46] In the very first game, the male ninja fighters were essentially the same character; only the colors of their attire, fighting stance, and special techniques indicated the difference.[46] Later games added other ninjas based on the same model, as well as several female ninja color swap characters initially also using just one base model (beginning with Kitana in *Mortal Kombat II*). All of them gradually became very different characters in the following installments of the series.

*Mortal Kombat 4* brought the series into 3D, replacing the digitized fighters of previous games with polygon models animated using motion capture technology.[47]

### Hidden Content

*Mortal Kombat* included secret characters, secret games, and other Easter eggs. For example, there is a hidden non-playable character in MK1 (Reptile), and three of them in MK2. Popular characters of Reptile and Jade were originally introduced as hidden enemies, becoming playable after returning in subsequent games. Also, there is a hidden game of *Pong* in *Mortal Kombat II*,[48] and *Mortal Kombat 3* includes a hidden game of *Galaga*.[23] Many extras in the series have only been accessible through very challenging, demanding, and sometimes coincidental requirements. The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis versions contains some unique eggs, such as "Fergality".[49] The Sega Mega-CD 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 comedy series *Dad's Army*.[50]

Some Easter eggs originated from in-jokes 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) and yell the phrase "Toasty!" This egg was also the key to unlocking the hidden character Smoke when it happened in the Portal stage.[48] 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.[51] "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,[52] 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.[53] In addition, a counter for ERMACS on the game's audits screen (ERMACS being short for ***er**ror **mac**ros*), 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.[54][55] The character Mokap, introduced in *Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance,* is a tribute to Carlos Pesina, who played Raiden in *MK*and *MKII* and has served as a motion capture actor for subsequent titles in the series.[56]

## Games

### Original Version

1. Mortal Kombat (1992)
2. Mortal Kombat II
3. Mortal Kombat 3
4. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
5. Mortal Kombat Trilogy
6. Mortal Kombat 4
7. Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero
8. Mortal Kombat Gold
9. Mortal Kombat: Special Forces
10. Mortal Kombat: Advance
11. Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
12. Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition
13. Mortal Kombat: Deception
14. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
15. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
16. Mortal Kombat: Unchained
17. Ultimate Mortal Kombat
18. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
19. Mortal Kombat (2011)
20. Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection
21. Mortal Kombat X
22. Mortal Kombat 11