User Reviews

Mortal Kombat is one of the biggest video game series to ever come around.

Also Mortal Kombat is one of the most controversial video games for it feature of finishing moves known as Fatalities.

The game feature seven characters to fight with. Sub-Zero Liu Kang, Raiden, Kano, Scorpion, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade. My favorite Mortal Kombat characters are Sonya Blade and Sub-Zero

The game's main antagonist is Shang Tsung. The game feature a well crafted story line and help created some of the best characters of any video game. Each one has their own It factor that make them fan favorites.

The Graphics of the game were using live action actors to help create the moment of the characters and the results make you wonder how they did.

The controls depends on what system you are playing it on will give you a run for your money as this game needs you to be at your best because it will bring you down hard.

It took a few times to get use to the way the game play works but the game play is good enough to share with friends because fighting games are about having someone extra to play against however the game isn't easy at all you have to be ready for whatever the game has in store it is not a easy game at all.

Mortal Kombat remains a fan favorite even today so do yourself a favor and play this game.

I give Mortal Kombat an 7 out of 10

This was one of the few games that gave the then-very-popular Street Fighter II video game some competition, and it tried to better that classic by not only including real digitised martial arts fighters, but by putting in some really gory bits.

Just punching someone's head in repeatedly causes liquid crimson to spurt from their face in ridiculously high amounts, and when you had one two bouts out of three against your opponent you had the option (if you knew how) to perform a fatality that would actually kill your opponent in some rather horrible way.

As usual with this kind of game, every single character has a special move (the best ones were Scorpion's harpoon and Sub-Zero's freezing move that froze his opponent rigid for a short time, leaving him/her open to an attack); otherwise, all characters had much the same set of punches and kicks.

While the graphic violence (which probably started the video game rating system) is amusing for a little while, it hides a less-euphoric truth; there's not really much to all of this, and once you've seen the fatalities a few times it's doubtful you'll bother much with them (or even the game) anymore.

In 1992 I hardly had any time for any other game coming out that year. Most of my time was spent playing this game. I can count the times that I beat this game and did every fatality. You get to play as seven characters. All of which have their own special moves. Any MK fan already knows the story and how this game started the ratings systems for games.

One of this games biggest selling points is it's violence. As mentioned above it started the ratings systems for games today, because it was one of the most violent games for it's time. Thankfully the controversy surrounding it only made it more popular as it does with most controversial games.

Another thing that made this game so different from the rest of the fighting games was that the characters were real people digitized into the video game. The series would stay that way up until Mortal Kombat 3.

As a young kid, mortal kombat was just about the most incredible game in the history of the world ever ! Nothing could touch it !The digitised graphics , while done before were executed well and the characters were so dark, menacing and vivid that they made other video game characters look like wimps.

And in addition to the then amazing look of the game there were moves that allowed you to actually kill your opponent ! Streetfighter never went that far ! It was all too exciting. "Greatest game ever!" i squealed at the time.

Now I'm old and wise , mortal kombat doesn't do it for me no more- time has revealed its mediocre nature.The characters are still inspired, but the game play is jerky, and the difficulty level can get insanely hard . The music is bland and quickly gets annoying while the combos and moves never come out as smooth as streetfighter 2 , MKs one time rival.

Its funny how time can change things.

This was a land mark game in its time and is still a joy to play. at the time of release there was controversy over the blood content, but it laid the moral ground work for such titles as the resident evil series. It is just a pity that such a classic has been tarnished by many bad sequels such as mythologies or special forces.

A Saturday morning staple in any early-90s household. This was my introduction to fighting games and I've never forgotten it. One of my favorites to this day! So innovative; I loved the button combos and the gore!

This is a great game that brings back many child hood memories which i so eagerly want to relive to the point where I'm going to purchase perfect arcade versions of all 3 games on x box.

Anyways this game which is the very first game in the series is still great and is a classic and i can't wait to be able to play it again.

The graphics are excellent the fighting and gameplay are all excellent and all of the fighters are unique.

My favourite fighters in this game were Sub Zero and Scorpion. This game was also and obsession for me and my other friends when i was younger and it along with the other MK games were very addictive and games which i never got tired of playing.

If you ever get the opportunity to find an video game arcade which has it then by all means have a play of it. Although this game is more then 10 years old and has certainly aged with time it still remains an all time classic.

It's really a shame though that the original MK games which were all good and enjoyable have had their reputation altered due to crappy modern sequels and i could never and have no desire to ever play any of the latest MK games because they all look stupid and they don't have the digitalized graphics that the original MK games had and instead they have computer animated graphics and they all are just plain terrible.

Some words of advice and that is only play the first 3 MK games and don't play any of the other MK games because they are all crap.

This game is very important to the evolution of video games and it has its spot in gaming history. Mortal Kombat is known for violence and this game was the most violent game back in the day. These days this game has aged pretty bad though.

The graphics still look good if you are playing the arcade version. The characters are extremely big though and take up a lot of space on the screen. They are very detailed.

The negative thing is that the speed is very slow, the fighting is very clunky, the music is annoying, the grunts are also very annoying, and fatalities are kinda difficult to perform because you have a very short amount of time to do them.

Anyways, maybe back in the day it would had been a 9/10 but now this game is a 6/10 at best.

It was 1992. I was at a children party in a very well known Pizza Place with all kinds of amusement park games.

I decided to play arcades when suddenly, a video game caught my attention because of it's realism and most of it, because of the violence level. It was Mortal Kombat. Since that day, my life changed... well, my video game life.

I spent hours playing it on the arcade and I even bought the snes and genesis version. I was thrilled! It was one of those video games that changed history because of well you know, fatalities, special moves, creepy settings, creepy sounds and atmosphere, etc. It wasn't the first horror video game but it paved the road for extreme violence in arcades and home systems overall.

The plot is excellent and very interesting. You don't get tired of it and mainly because of the characters background.

You just need to play it on the Arcade to experience it's greatness. It's something I just can't describe with words... Let the Mortal Kombat begin.

MORTAL KOMBAT, in my opinion, is one of the best Sega Genesis games I have ever played. Even though Even though I haven't owned a Nintendo Wii for very long, I enjoy this game very much. In addition, beating the game makes me want to play it even more. If you want to know what happens, you'll have to play the game. When and if this game is made available for download on the Nintendo Wii, I'm definitely going to download it. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that the people at Sega Genesis know how to keep video game fanatics entertained. Now, in conclusion, if you're a video game fanatic, this is definitely one you'll want to play and own.

"Mortal Kombat"("MK") and "Street Fighter"("SF") were the two biggest games on the arena of fighting-games back in the early 1990`s. Most people preferred the SF-series, but I always preferred MK because of the graphics, gameplay and not to mention the extreme violence. The first MK remains playable today and a classic, but it has been bettered by superb sequels.

8/10

The only reason for giving it an 8 and not a 9 is because I think MK2 is even better so THAT one deserves the 9.

This game will forever hold the title 'first in its kind'. The game that started motion capture acting with real martial arts champions. The game that started blood and gore. The game that started fatalities.

Not only was it fun to play and great to look at. It had a great, original and exciting storyline that was asking to be exploited. And since then it spawned many sequels, movies and series.

However the quality went down after a few games, this 1st game will never loose its status.

Good version of the classic arcade game. As you would expect it is vastly scaled down, given it is running on a machine which is half the power of the Mega Drive. This version I think has two, maybe three backgrounds for the stages, more limited animation and it runs at a slower pace. Much like the Mega Drive version a cheat is needed to activate the blood and gore, this version has more blood than the SNES version, but plays worse.

On the plus side it was a miracle this was even ported to the Master System and it's a fairly late title, but it sold well. To put it in perspective the Mega CD was out by this time and the Playstation 1 was launched in Japan a year later.

The game plays fairly well and I really enjoyed it when I owned a MS back in the day, I think it features all the characters and to me seemed easier than the other versions, which is a good thing because I am bad at games and the other versions are rock hard. It scores a solid 7 from me, but there is little point playing it now given the Arcade version has been ported perfectly since the PS2 and XBOX days (as part of the Mortal Kombat Deception Premium pack), the Mega Drive\Genesis version is also cheaper to buy for anyone looking for a cart version. For me it still holds nostalgia and I admire the developers Probe (arguably best known for Die Hard Trilogy on the PS1, PC, Saturn) for making a playable one on one fighter for limited hardware.

It was in 1993 when I got my first taste of gratuitous bloodshed and dazzling martial arts action in the form of the greatest 2-D fighting game ever created: "Mortal Kombat." "Kombat," as envisioned by creator/programmers Ed Boon and John Tobias, revolutionized martial arts video gaming with this awesome fighter. It also sparked an unprecedented controversy for its violence, something that would only help to further ensure its success, not defer it.

In "Mortal Kombat," we're introduced to the fighters, who include monk Liu Kang, martial arts movie star Johnny Cage, Special Forces agent Sonya Blade, Lord Rayden the god of thunder, shape-shifting sorcerer Shang Tsung, terrorist Kano, rival ninjas Sub-Zero and Scorpion, Shang Tsung's guardian Reptile, and the four-armed Goro.

"Kombat" received the big screen treatment in 1995 with British director Paul W.S. Anderson behind the camera; that movie was plain awesome, but unfortunately suffers from a bad reputation because of a horrible, disjointed sequel, "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation" (1997).

The series of games have gotten a better reputation over the years, especially with the release of two new advanced "Kombat" games, "Deadly Alliance" and "Deception," and a third - the upcoming "Shaolin Monks" - each of which takes full advantage of a revamped fighting engine.

The violence is shocking, the fights are brutal, and the blood flies but the martial arts action suffices over all of it. Though it's progressed significantly since 1992, the original hasn't lost any flare. The game that started it all, "Mortal Kombat."

10/10

That really sucks ass. There was one time when I almost beat all three endurance levels and therefore get to fight Goro (something I've never done before in my life). By the time I got up to that level, it was 1 in the morning and my my thumbs were swollen from playing for so long. Needless to say, I was completely exhausted. But unfortunately, for some godforesaken reason, you can't pause the game. So I had to do the unthinkable and turn it off; terminating my chances of fighting Goro and now I have to try all over again.

Luckely in MK2, it's pretty much the same as the original except (you guessed it) you can finally pause the game and relax.

Mortal Kombat and its sequels are some of the greatest games ever created! It has a good story, incredible action, great music, awesome characters, very fun, really interesting looking stages, and more! Below is a brief In-depth review of the game called Mortal Kombat!

Story: Many fighters around the world enter this deadly tournament. Since now the contest is in Shang Tsung's hands it will become much more difficult for the Kombatants to win!

The Kombatants!

Liu Kang - This Chinese warrior is a fearless fighter who is bent on getting revenge!

Johnny Cage - An action movie star, Cage enters Mortal Kombat!

Sonya Blade - A beautiful Texan who is a Lt. in the United States Army. The skilled fighter enters the tournament but why? Is it because a certain red eyed individual is Kompeteing?

Lord Rayden - Is it true Lord Rayden is the God of thunder?

Shang Tsung - This old shapeshifting fighter is one of the greatest fighters ever in the history of the world! He has the power to take a living being's soul!

Kano - A member of the Black Dragon Organization, Kano fights with no fear in the tournament!

Scorpion - A poor soul, when he was a live his wife and child were murdered by Sub Zero and the Lin Kuei clan of ninjas. Scorpion with his trusty spear is seeking revenge on the cold one.

Sub Zero - The murderer of Scorpion's family is in the tournament. Now it will be a big showdown like never seen before!

Reptile - Not much is known about this fighter except he wears the same exact ninja uniforms as Scorpion and Sub Zero but only green and can mimic other fighters maneuvers! Though it is thought that he is the last of an ancient reptilian humanoid specie, he protects Shang Tsung from enemies.

Goro - A huge half-human dragon from Kuatan, the 4th Astrial Plane of Shokan in the Realm of Outworld. This giant has been undefeated for half of a millennium. He defeated Liu Kang's ancestor the Shaolin Monk Kung Lao. Now the tournament begins!

Game Play: The game play is very good. The basic movies are easy to perform but the fatalities are very hard to do but with the help of cheats it can be much easier.

Graphics: The graphics are wonderful. Most of the game is digitalized!

Difficulty: The game can be very easy or it can be very hard depending on what you set the difficulty level.

Music: The music is great! Just awesome catchy tunes through out the game! In My opinion its some of the best music ever in a video game!

Sound: The sound is great. The real voices sound clear and the punching and kicking does as well.

Overall: I have always loved Mortal Kombat. If you like excellent fighting games then I strongly recommend you play Mortal Kombat today!

To purchase this video game on many game formats check out Amazon.com!

Mortal Kombat was released at a time in which every other fighting video game was an utter rip off of Street Fighter 2. Street Fighter 2 for a long time remained the only fighting game worth having a tournament for. But then in 1992, Mortal Kombat was released. By today's standards the game lacks depth, but back then it was completely original and fresh. Never before have we seen a fighting game with such creative attacks, a block button, and balance from the fact that all characters had the exact same set of normal attacks.

I'm sure anybody who plays video games remembers the controversy that Mortal Kombat started. It was a shame that the game was so violent, because it completely distracted from what made Mortal Kombat good. There were plenty of players who liked the game because it more adult, but there were a large number of tournament players who actually enjoyed the challenge.

Today, here in the USA great games like Guilty Gear XX#R do not have an official American arcade release. Fighting games simply didn't take off too well in this country.

Seven fighters: Johnny Cage, Kano, Raiden, Liu Kang, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Sonya Blade have been invited to participate in the Mortal Kombat tournament. Which, at the time, interestingly took place right next door to the Street Fighter 2 cabinet.

First and foremost on everyone's mind: The violence -- Sub-Zero ripping Scorpion's head off. The humor -- Scorpion throwing his famous spear and screaming, "Get over here!" The secrets -- double flawless victory and a fatality, and there's a green ninja at the bottom of the pit! The digitized actors, and the blood, the blood, and the blood.

Perhaps forgotten by now, MK also offered the endurance matches where players faced off against two opponents. After which came the final battles with Goro, and then the shape-shifting Shang Tsung. These two, unlike the villains in most other fighting games, apparently played by a different set of rules than the other combatants. Not to mention they looked drastically different, bigger, than any of the playable combatants.

Mortal Kombat provided a different flavor of a fighting experience than its competition. Mostly in atmosphere due to the digitized actors, the darker themes, the blood. On a game mechanics note Mortal Kombat waged its battles at a leisurely pace, making it perhaps one of the slowest fighting games out there at the time. A fighting game on Thorazine, if you will. Just listen to the game's generally subdued music that treads the waters of ambient sound effects. Or even the announcer's voice as he says, "Finish Him!" Or perhaps even the noticeable pause between "Scorpion wins" and "Fatality."

Compounding the problem: MK lacked any sense of speed, rhythm, or escalation pressure in their fights. Each character had a full assortment of moves -- punches, kicks, uppercuts, sweeps (which all the combatants shared) along with their own handful of special attacks (which, along with the Fatalities, truly set the characters apart) -- however, most of these attacks stood alone. The creative player could string a handful of moves together for a quick combo (2 or 3 hits), but these maneuvers never truly flowed together or built up momentum. A character never found themselves trapped in the corner with an endless onslaught of attacks raining down upon them, chipping their life away even if they managed to block. (Well, okay, an infinite barrage of standing punches could be strung together, but anyone defeated by that deserves to have a Fatality done on them.) Mortal Kombat features a few surprisingly original moves. Or more accurately phrased: original twists to moves seen before. Raiden flies across the screen (a la E. Honda), and rather than just knock his opponent down, Raiden pushes them back until they slam into a a wall while screaming gibberish. Sub-Zero's projectile, unlike a traditional fireball, freezes his opponent in place for a limited time. Scorpion, in addition to his famous spear, jumps into one side of the screen and pops out the other to punch his opponent in the face.

That's not to say MK doesn't blatantly rip off special moves from other sources. Kano, for example, apparently took lessons from SF2's Blanka. Not to mention his knife throw has a similarity to Guile's sonic boom. Liu Kang, Raiden, Sonya, Johnny Cage all have a projectile move -- whether throwing Lightning, a green energy ball, purple rings, or a streak of fire, it's still a fireball with a few superficial changes. Then again, how many 2D fighting games had no projectile moves?

In fairness, Mortal Kombat was a quick, cheap, and easy Midway project with a clear, defined, sales gimmick -- digitized actors and the opportunity to "Finish him!" which none of the competition offered. Perhaps MK1 really did not deserve the attention it received, but fortunately it lead to better designed and better executed sequels.