The Evolution of Legendary Mortal Kombat

In the 90s, Mortal Kombat did more than offer bloody battles and a button smashing good time – it made a lasting impact on gaming. If you were around at the height of Mortal Kombat fever you remember just how hard its grasp was on the American public. With brutal combat, signature fatalities, and memorable characters, Mortal Kombat pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in video games while drawing in a generation of fans eager for something new.

When Mortal Kombat hit arcades in 1992, its over-the-top violence immediately grabbed the attention of young players. At the time, Street Fighter II was an immensely popular game but it felt cartoonish. Mortal Kombat introduced realistic visuals combined with on screen brutality that was all new to audiences. The game has “real” blood, and gruesome fatalities (when a character straight up murders another character at the end of their fight) that sparked controversy from the jump.

The uproar over the violence in Mortal Kombat is one of the many catalysts for the ESRB, the Entertainment Software Rating Board, which introduced age ratings that changed how video games were developed and marketed. Basically, ESRB used the fervor over Mortal Kombat to claim that violent video games made children into violent people, something that’s not true or we’d have millions of ninja assassins on our hands, but a prospect that frightened parents in the 90s nonetheless. Following a swift creation, the ESRB put together a system similar to that of the MPAA that allowed parents to see what kind of games their kids are playing based on ratings like T For Teen and M for Mature.

There was a massive fighting game boom in the early 90s. Games like Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter II, Tekken, and Killer Instinct were playable on incredible arcade machines, so suddenly kids were back to pumping quarters to face off with their friends. Mortal Kombat’s head-to head combat must-see “Finish Him!” moments made the game a must-play in front of a rabid, live audience.

Mortal Kombat was a flashpoint in the console wars between Sega and Nintendo thanks to the different versions of the game that each system offered. Sega’s version of the game included the blood and guts from the arcade game that cemented Sega’s status as the edgier of the two consoles, which drew in a new wave of fans. On the other hand, Nintendo played it safe by eliminating the blood altogether unless you had a handy cheat code.

Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Liu Kang – Mortal Kombat boasts a rich cast of characters who quickly became household names in the 90s. The game’s mix of martial arts, supernatural elements, and well written backstories for its characters created a universe that went well beyond those of a typical fighting game. Sure, MK pushed the bounds of what was acceptable for violence in video games, but it also paved the way for future games to develop rich storylines.

One of the coolest and most controversial additions to gaming that Mortal Kombat gifted us is the concept of the “fatality.” This brutal finishing move where characters rip their opponent apart in new and darkly humorous ways sets MK apart from other fighting games by allowing players to express themselves creatively while working the controls. As gross and possibly offensive as these fatalities are they undeniably add a layer of storytelling that you don’t get from Virtua Fighter.

Street Fighter II may have popularized combos and special moves, but Mortal Kombat added a cinematic flair to fighting games by introducing digitized graphics and unique mechanics that allow users to literally juggle their opponents. By mixing realistic graphics and arcade-style gameplay, the folks behind Mortal Kombat set the standard for fighting games going forward.

More than an arcade hit, Mortal Kombat jumped out of malls into the broader pop culture landscape of the 90s. Action figures, comic books, and even a movie (more on that later), this super violent video game held sway over audiences for years after its release. If you need proof of Mortal Kombat’s hold over pop culture just think back to the amount of kids shouting catch phrases like “Get over here!” on the schoolyard.

Released in 1995, the first Mortal Kombat film is one of the few early video game adaptations that resonates with fans. How did Paul W.S. Anderson and the fine folks over at New Line accomplish this goal when movies like Super Mario Bros. and Street Fighter were hot garbage? They stayed loyal to the source material. By simply not being embarrassed of making a Mortal Kombat movie it wasn’t hard to make a hit. Add a catchy techno soundtrack and some awesome fight scenes and you’ve got a really fun movie on your hands.

When it comes to gaming there’s life before and life after Mortal Kombat. From the moment this super violent game became a hit, creators started looking for ways to one up this arcade staple. Over the course of the 90s, fighting games all started to feel like Mortal Kombat, but this is one franchise that can’t be replicated. As of 2023, we’re up to 12 installments of Mortal Kombat with multiple storylines. It’s obvious that while Mortal Kombat changed gaming forever, there’s no changing the popularity of Mortal Kombat.