Mortal Kombat (1992 video game)

***Mortal Kombat*** is an arcade fighting game developed and published by Midway in 1992 as the first title in the *Mortal Kombat* series. It was subsequently released by Acclaim Entertainment for nearly every home platform of the time. The game focuses on the journey of the Shaolin monk Liu Kang to save Earthrealm from the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung, ending with their confrontation in the tournament known as Mortal Kombat. It introduced many key aspects of the *Mortal Kombat* series, including the unique five-button control scheme and gory finishing moves.

*Mortal Kombat* became a best-selling game and remains one of the most popular fighting games in the genre's history, spawning numerous sequels and spin-offs over the following years and decades, beginning with *Mortal Kombat II* in 1993, and together with the first sequel was the subject of a successful film adaptation in 1995. However, it also sparked much controversy for its depiction of extreme violence and gore using realistic digitized graphics, resulting in the introduction of age-specific content descriptor ratings for video games.

## Gameplay

*Mortal Kombat* is a fighting game in which players battle opponents in one-on-one matches. The fighter that completely drains the opponent's health bar first wins the round, and the first to win two rounds wins the match. Each round is timed; if both fighters still have health remaining when time runs out, the one with more health wins the round. Two players can start a game together, or a second player can join in during a single player's game to fight against him/her. If a game was in progress at the time, the winner continues it alone; if not, the winner begins a new game.

*Mortal Kombat* uses an eight-directional joystick and five buttons, including two punch and two kick buttons (each further divided between high and low). Attacks can vary depending on the player's distance from the opponent. All player characters have a shared set of attacks performed by holding the joystick in various directions, such as leg sweep and an uppercut; the latter attack knocks the enemy high into the air and causes a large amount of damage. Most special moves were performed by tapping the joystick, sometimes ending with a button press. Unlike previous one-on-one fighting games, few moves require circular joystick movement. The game's blocking system also distinguished itself from other fighting games, as characters take a small amount of damage from regular moves while blocking. However, the dedicated block button allows users to defend against attacks without retreating and blocking characters lose very little ground when struck, thus making counterattacks much easier after a successful block.

*Mortal Kombat* further introduced the concept of "juggling", knocking an opponent into the air and following up with a combination of attacks while the enemy is still airborne and defenseless. The idea became so popular that it has spread to many other games. Another of the game's innovations was the Fatality, a finishing move executed against a defeated opponent to kill them in a gruesome fashion.[1]

In the single-player game, the player faces each of the seven playable characters in a series of one-on-one matches against computer-controlled opponents, ending in a "Mirror Match" against a duplicate of your chosen character. The player must then fight in three endurance matches, each of which involves two opponents. As soon as the player defeats the first opponent, the second one enters the arena and the timer resets; however, the player's health meter does not regenerate. After the third endurance match, the player fights the sub-boss Goro, followed by a final match against Shang Tsung.

Between certain levels, players can compete in a minigame called "Test Your Might" for bonus points, breaking blocks of various materials by filling a meter past a certain point through rapid button presses. The first material the player must break is wood, followed by stone, steel, ruby, and finally diamond, with each successive material requiring more of the meter to be filled up and thus awarding more points. Two players can compete in the minigame at once and the last two materials are only accessible through two-player mode. The minigame would return in various forms in *Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance*, *Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks*, *Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe*, and *Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition*.[2]

## Plot

The game takes place on a fictional island in Earthrealm, where a tournament is being held at Shang Tsung's Island, on which seven of its locations serve as stages in the game. The introduction to *Mortal Kombat II* explains that Shang Tsung was banished to Earthrealm 500 years ago and, with the help of the monstrous Goro, is able to seize control of the Mortal Kombat tournament in an attempt to doom the realm.[3] For 500 years straight, Goro has been undefeated in the tournament, and now a new generation of warriors must challenge him. The player receives information about the characters in biographies displayed during the attract mode. The bulk of the game's backstory and lore was only told in a comic book,[4] but some additional information about the characters and their motivations for entering the tournament is received upon completion of the game with each character.

The storyline of the first *Mortal Kombat* was later adapted into Paul W. S. Anderson's film *Mortal Kombat*, including an animated prequel titled *Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins*, released direct-to-video. *Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero* was made as a prequel to the first game, focusing mostly on the eponymous character. An alternate climax of the first game would be featured on the action-adventure game *Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks*, which tells an alternate version of the events between the first and second Mortal Kombat tournaments.

## Kombatants

* Goro (Sub-Boss)
* Johnny Cage
* Kano
* Liu Kang
* Lord Raiden
* Reptile (Secret)
* Scorpion
* Shang Tsung (Final Boss)
* Sonya Blade
* Sub-Zero

## Stages

There is a total of seven different backgrounds to fight on:

* Courtyard
* Palace Gates
* Warrior Shrine
* Pit I - When an opponent is defeated on this stage, he/she can be uppercutted off the bridge where they will land on a bed of spikes. Although the announcer doesn't acknowledge it, this would be the series' first stage fatality.
* Throne Room
* Goro's Lair
* Pit Bottom - This stage is only accessible when the player is fighting the hidden opponent Reptile.