Mortal Kombat

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 have health remaining when time runs out, the one with more health wins the round.

Whereas other fighting games had characters with considerable differences in speed, height, attacks, strength, and such, the fighters in Mortal Kombat are virtually identical to one another with only minimal differences in their moves' range and speed. All player characters have a shared set of attacks performed by holding the d-pad 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. Attacks can vary depending on the player's distance from the opponent.

Mortal Kombat also featured unique ways in which special moves were performed. It was the first game to introduce special moves performed exclusively using the directional input. Most special moves were performed by tapping directional inputs, sometimes ending with a button press. Unlike previous one-on-one fighting games, few moves required circular directional input. Another of the game's innovations was the Fatality, a finishing move executed against a defeated opponent to kill them in a gruesome fashion.

The game's blocking system also distinguished itself from other fighting games. Unlike Street Fighter, 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 blocking. Mortal Kombat also 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.

Single-player

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 the player's 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 later entries including Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.

Cast

Playable

• Johnny Cage
• Liu Kang
• Sub-Zero
• Scorpion
• Raiden
• Sonya Blade
• Kano
• Goro (Game Boy only)

Non-Playable

• Shang Tsung
• Reptile

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, was able to seize control of the Mortal Kombat tournament in an attempt to doom the realm. 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. Additional information about the characters and their motivations for entering the tournament is received upon completion of the game with each character.