"The best 2D kombat EVER"

When the original Mortal Kombat hit the arcades back in the early 90s, it enjoyed a success that was rare for video games of that time; it spawned soundtracks, comics, television series, movies and extremely successful home conversions on the then top of the line 16 bit systems of the time. Game play-wise the original game was more flash than substance however, with a roster of only seven characters, unbalanced special moves, a weak combo system and mind numbingly cheap bosses; Mortal Kombat I didn't offer much in terms of replay-ability or pose as a threat to Street Fighter 2's dominance. The innovation of super violent game play and nifty fatalities brought MK (Mortal Kombat) to the front of mainstream media eliciting a load of controversy from right wing goofs in office and parents who had nothing better to do with their time. Then came the much anticipated sequel MKII. Without question, MKII was the best game in the series until the recent Annihilation and Deception editions. The sequel improved the original 100% and proved that MK wasn't a one trick pony; here there is flash AND substance, a game that is in every way as deep as Capcom's 2D efforts and one of the top games in this dying genre.

MKII continues the story line from the original game introducing a new menace to the Earth, Shao Khan who had previously resided in the Nether World and has his eyes set on the destruction of humanity. To the game's credit, the developers have equipped this game with a plot as deep as its game play. Every character has their own background story to which I'm sure MK fanatics have memorized by now. I was never to into any of the MKs' fantastical story telling so I won't waste space trying to explain it. MKII is one of the few fighting games in existence that has a developed, fully functioning story line that will be of interest to the few of you out there who have never played MKII.

Graphics-
Even today, MKII's large, digitized character sprites are stunningly impressive. Every warrior has a ton of animations (their walking animations alone feature no less than six frames). There is also large amounts of blood that fly across the screen when a player is hit, practically every attack will cause blood to splash. Fatalities are much more impressive this time around, as new animations like characters getting fat and blowing up and bubbles of blood slowing hitting the ground will surely illicit a sense of "ewww" and "f--king awesome!". Though tame in comparison to the newer Kombats, MKII has aged very well.

Sound-
MKII's sound accompanies the action and graphics perfectly. Each of the game's levels features a creepy track that is quite unique compared to the more Japanese inspired fighting games and their generic techno bop soundtracks. There are also an extensive amount of effects like characters screaming and special move effects that make for some unforgettable moments; I still can't get that bone cracking sample out of my head. Shao Khan's voice is absolutely frightening as well. For all the products this franchise has spawned, it's surprising that a game soundtrack was never released.

Game-
A big improvement over the original game. The control layout is the same: high and low punches and kicks and a block button. I'm not usually a fan of block buttons, but for MK's slower paced game play it works pretty well. The game has been sped up to make for some faster action and the developers had seen fit to create an excellent two in one combo system. The twelve characters to select from are all perfectly balanced to eachother with the exception of maybe one or two more advantageous special moves thrown in (Kitana's fan lift and Baraka's spinning blade are a nightmare for jumpers). My only gripe is that for some reason the developers seemed to have found it necessary to incorporate two insanely cheap bosses (Kintaro and Shao Khan) that totally break up the strategic intensity of an otherwise fantastic one player game. There are no bonus rounds or endurance challenges, but because of the larger roster these aren't necessary this time around to extend the one player game. Each characters are equipped with two fatalities, a friendship and a babality; once again the finishing moves do nothing to add to the game play but rather are just an impressive gimmick. There are three hidden bosses to find who are extremely challenging to beat but are cool none the less. Two player match ups are, of course, a blast to play through and because of the excellent game play MKII makes for an excellent tournament fighter.

Overall-
MKII is the best 2D game in the series. The game has loads of replayability for an arcade game and one could spend a lot of quarters mastering the game and seeing all twelve of the characters' endings. Definitely a classic and if you can find a vendor with this machine by all means play it. Before the Midway's Arcades Hits II, the best home version of this game was on the old SNES, but luckily, you can experience this game in its arcade perfect form on the Xbox and PS2. Everybody should play MKII once.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/21/04