TPWW Forums - View Single Post - 30 Years of Mortal Kombat: A Retrospective Thread

**M-A-G** · 10-26-2022, 09:50 PM

Mortal Kombat 3/Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3/Mortal Kombat Trilogy Thoughts and Review

I decided to just lump these all together as they follow the same story and, aside from a few tweaks here and there, are essentially the same game throughout.

To say I was pumped for this game is an understatement. The second game was such a hit that the thought of the third game being even better was too much to bear. I had issue after issue of GamePro previewing it, each article doing its part to get me excited for the eventual release. The few screenshots and details put out at the time were very intriguing. Unlike a lot of people, the exclusion of characters like Raiden and Scorpion didn't really bother me. There was a lot of new stuff being announced that allowed me to forget about their omission. The dial-a-combo system. Sub-Zero was going to be unmasked! Who is that dude with the weird gas mask thing? Robot ninjas? Jax has metal arms now? A run button? Sonya is back?!? OK, that last one wasn't really new but it got me excited...in more ways than one.

1995 had A LOT of things for gamers to get pumped about and Mortal Kombat 3 was probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest. Surely it was going to live up to expectations, no?

Well, kind of. Sure, the story took an interesting turn and the gameplay was solid with excellent control, but it wasn't much of an improvement over the second game as that game was over the first. Other than the environments, the game didn't really look that much graphically impressive and some of the character designs weren't particularly interesting. Like, why does Sonya STILL not look like a military officer? Plus, the A.I. seemed ludicrously unfair, especially in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Don't get me wrong, I still had some fun with it, as some of the new characters were good enough. Kabal was the first character I ever played as when the game hit the arcade at the mall.

Of course, things didn't stop there as later in the year we got the "Ultimate" edition and then later got Mortal Kombat Trilogy on the home consoles. People rejoiced at the return of favorites like Kitana, Scorpion, and Reptile. Jade was made a playable character and was given an actual identity. Trilogy took up A LOT of my time in high school as the novelty of having so many God damn characters to pick from was great. Characters that were shrouded in mystery got brought into the light as Noob Saibot and Rain and Ermac were thrown into the mix. Of course, this is probably where everyone started poking fun at the ninja rainbow spectrum, and let's be honest, it was kind of getting out of hand. I actually had the strategy guide for Trilogy but I lost it somewhere along the way. Neither of the two upgrades did much to really push the whole Mortal Kombat 3 package into the same realm as Mortal Kombat 2, in my opinion, as the gameplay was mostly the same and even though we were getting more characters, we still didn't know enough about them. Also, a lot of the fatalities were kind of lame, even more so with the introduction of the whole Animality concept. Why did anyone think this was appealing in any sort of way?

Now, do I hate this collection? No, not in the slightest. It's still Mortal Kombat and it serves as a snapshot of a moment of time in my life that I'll always look back on fondly. It checked off some boxes, just not a significant majority of them. With the way the story was presented and with new technology and more in-depth fighting games in the arena, the speculation was on as to whether or not Midway was going to end the series here. Well, it certainly ended as we knew it but that's another story for another time.

My main character: I loved unmasked Sub-Zero but Kabal takes the prize here.

Best Fatality: Oof, this is a tough one. The animations on a lot of them are pretty bad and don't make a lot of sense. If I had to think of one that would be incredibly gruesome in real life, I'd go with Sheeva's Skin Rip.

Best Friendship: Johnny Cage's Autograph. Yes, it was in Mortal Kombat 2 also but it got overshadowed by Kung Lao's. That it made its way into the first movie was a fucking bonus.

Worst Fatality: Oh, sweet Lzzy, where to start? There is a lot to pick from. Liu Kang's Arcade Drop, Jax's Giant Stomp, Kabal's Face Scare, Smoke's Teleport Decapitation, Rain's Disassembling Uppercut. After thinking about it long and hard, though, they all get trumped by the whole Animality aspect. It's just really dumb and unnecessary and not really worth the effort.

10-26-2022, 09:50 PM	#45
M-A-G Higher. Further. Faster. Posts: 21,188	This post is sponsored by the Fortress of Solitude Mortal Kombat 3/Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3/Mortal Kombat Trilogy Thoughts and Review I decided to just lump these all together as they follow the same story and, aside from a few tweaks here and there, are essentially the same game throughout. To say I was pumped for this game is an understatement. The second game was such a hit that the thought of the third game being even better was too much to bear. I had issue after issue of GamePro previewing it, each article doing its part to get me excited for the eventual release. The few screenshots and details put out at the time were very intriguing. Unlike a lot of people, the exclusion of characters like Raiden and Scorpion didn't really bother me. There was a lot of new stuff being announced that allowed me to forget about their omission. The dial-a-combo system. Sub-Zero was going to be unmasked! Who is that dude with the weird gas mask thing? Robot ninjas? Jax has metal arms now? A run button? Sonya is back?!? OK, that last one wasn't really new but it got me excited...in more ways than one. 1995 had A LOT of things for gamers to get pumped about and Mortal Kombat 3 was probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest. Surely it was going to live up to expectations, no? Well, kind of. Sure, the story took an interesting turn and the gameplay was solid with excellent control, but it wasn't much of an improvement over the second game as that game was over the first. Other than the environments, the game didn't really look that much graphically impressive and some of the character designs weren't particularly interesting. Like, why does Sonya STILL not look like a military officer? Plus, the A.I. seemed ludicrously unfair, especially in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Don't get me wrong, I still had some fun with it, as some of the new characters were good enough. Kabal was the first character I ever played as when the game hit the arcade at the mall. Of course, things didn't stop there as later in the year we got the "Ultimate" edition and then later got Mortal Kombat Trilogy on the home consoles. People rejoiced at the return of favorites like Kitana, Scorpion, and Reptile. Jade was made a playable character and was given an actual identity. Trilogy took up A LOT of my time in high school as the novelty of having so many God damn characters to pick from was great. Characters that were shrouded in mystery got brought into the light as Noob Saibot and Rain and Ermac were thrown into the mix. Of course, this is probably where everyone started poking fun at the ninja rainbow spectrum, and let's be honest, it was kind of getting out of hand. I actually had the strategy guide for Trilogy but I lost it somewhere along the way. Neither of the two upgrades did much to really push the whole Mortal Kombat 3 package into the same realm as Mortal Kombat 2, in my opinion, as the gameplay was mostly the same and even though we were getting more characters, we still didn't know enough about them. Also, a lot of the fatalities were kind of lame, even more so with the introduction of the whole Animality concept. Why did anyone think this was appealing in any sort of way? Now, do I hate this collection? No, not in the slightest. It's still Mortal Kombat and it serves as a snapshot of a moment of time in my life that I'll always look back on fondly. It checked off some boxes, just not a significant majority of them. With the way the story was presented and with new technology and more in-depth fighting games in the arena, the speculation was on as to whether or not Midway was going to end the series here. Well, it certainly ended as we knew it but that's another story for another time. My main character: I loved unmasked Sub-Zero but Kabal takes the prize here. Best Fatality: Oof, this is a tough one. The animations on a lot of them are pretty bad and don't make a lot of sense. If I had to think of one that would be incredibly gruesome in real life, I'd go with Sheeva's Skin Rip. Best Friendship: Johnny Cage's Autograph. Yes, it was in Mortal Kombat 2 also but it got overshadowed by Kung Lao's. That it made its way into the first movie was a fucking bonus. Worst Fatality: Oh, sweet Lzzy, where to start? There is a lot to pick from. Liu Kang's Arcade Drop, Jax's Giant Stomp, Kabal's Face Scare, Smoke's Teleport Decapitation, Rain's Disassembling Uppercut. After thinking about it long and hard, though, they all get trumped by the whole Animality aspect. It's just really dumb and unnecessary and not really worth the effort.