Mortal Kombat II

"King of Kombats"

Mortal Kombat II is indefinitely the best Mortal Kombat to date. This time, Nintendo allowed full blood and gore, and although blood and gore do not make the game, it helped maintain the arcade feel of the game along with graphics that were very close to the original. Simply put, Mortal Kombat II is a near perfect port of the arcade version.

Story: n/a

Again, there is really no story to speak of. You play through arcade mode and then you see your character´s specific ending, I will not describe them as that would defeat the purpose of you playing the game for yourself. Then again, what fighting game from the 90´s had a great storyline?

Graphics: 9/10

This is one of the game´s many strong points. The graphics are extremely close to arcade quality, much better than those of any other of the systems that Mortal Kombat II was released on. There is a lot of blood, but in my opinion it is too red, like fruit punch almost, but as I have said, neither blood nor gore make a game better.

Sound: 8/10

Considering the capabilities of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the sounds are great. All of the sounds are clear, the punches sound as brutal as they did in the arcade version. My only complaint are the voices. For example, Jax, the tough military hero sounds very high pitched, and many characters share the same voices, for example the 3 palette swap ninjas, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Reptile. I have also noticed that Scorpion´s trademark Spear Attack, which normally ends in Scorpion shouting "GET OVER HERE!" has been replaced by "COME HERE!", I was slightly disappointed by that.

Gameplay: 9/10

This is the game´s greatest point, and the reason that I gave it a 9 out of 10. They have added 5 new characters, Baraka, the Tarkatan Warlord, Jax Briggs, a military comrade of Sonya, Kitana, Shao Kahn´s personal assassin, Kung Lao, a Shaolin Monk who is also Liu Kang´s best friend, and Mileena, Kitana´s evil clone. Reptile is also playable. Now each character has 2 fatalities, a Babality, in which you turn your opponent into a baby, and a Friendship, in which you befriend your opponent and spare his/her life. The characters have very original movesets, and while there are not as many combos as in Street Fighter, there are a lot of moves to pull off. It is worth noting that Kano, Sonya, and Goro are not in this game. Goro has been replaced by Kintaro, a Goro-like sub boss with tiger stripes. There are also 3 hidden opponents, Jade, Noob Saibot, and Smoke.

Replay Value: 9/10

12 playable characters means a lot of depth to the game. While it is difficult to master all of them, you will easily be able to master a few. This game is incredibly fun to play if you have a group of friends with you. If you are to own any Mortal Kombat game, this is the definitive title to have in your collection.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/18/08

Game Release: Mortal Kombat II (US, 1994)