Mortal Kombat II

"More blood, more gore, more level of kombat"

There had always being controversies that surrounds Mortal Kombat back in the early 90s simply because of the high level of violence and sheer number of blood and gore features in the game and because of that when the game hits console territories not everything from its arcade original make the cut. That's what happen to the first MK when it hits the Super NES, blood were turn to sweat and all the blood dripping fatalities are tone down to a minimum, despite the arcade comparable graphics and superior music and sound, the port wasn't a smash hit like many MK fans want it to be. Then a few years later, Mortal Kombat II hits arcade and like the prequel, it too also earn its place in history as the best of the franchise and the main reason for the existence of the ESRB. Unlike the first entry; however, Mortal Kombat II for the Super NES had a totally different impact on many loyal MK fans mind.

Graphics:

Like the first MK game on the SNES, the visual spectacles in this port are very close to arcade perfect, all nine back to back arenas are here just like they were in the arcade. Though some had visual addition like the Mode-7 scale of the overhead Pit II fatality or the added outdoor color seen in the Dead Pool, almost every stages and animations from the arcade are brought to home almost perfectly. While I do say that the SNES can't simply handle minor things like the floating shadow priest animation in the background of the Tower and the Portal arenas or having only one dragonfly animation in the Kombat Tomb, compare to the arcade game, it handle its job almost perfectly. Also besides the visual backgrounds, all characters from the arcade had all their arcade animations fully intact, that means that if you see Kung Lao's bloody hat slice or Jax's gruesome head smash in the arcade, you'll see those spectacle here as well.

Music/Sound:

There's nothing to really argue here, though not all the musical scores from the arcade make the cut for this game, those haunting arcade tunes such as the dark theme of the Living Forest and the disastrous tune of the Wasteland are fully intact and bring the action of the arcade home. Also every screams and voiceovers down from Liu Kang's annoying Bruce Lee turkey voice to Shao Kahn's in-game encouragements to Dan Forden's shout of Toasty! all make the addition for this home port.

Control:

Like the first game, the control is very simple to use here since the SNES controller is perfect for this kind of fighting game. You still use the d-pad for movements and the four action buttons for high and low attacks for both punches and kicks and the two trigger buttons for blocks. It's as simple as the first one and if you could master the control at the arcade, then you could very well master it here as well with ease.

Gameplay:

If you play this game at the arcade, you will know what to expect here. As always, the game allows you the choosing of one favorite fighter and build your way through the tournament tower duking every competitors that comes your way through a two wins out of three rounds match each one allowing you a chance to deliver a gruesome defeat to your dying opponent for your entertainment until you reach the Outworld elites in Shang Tsung, Kintaro and the grandmaster emperor, Shao Kahn. Like the arcade game the A.I. here are the same and very well balanced, some are simple to beat such as Jax and Baraka, others about average and requires strategies like Mileena and Rayden but not all are cheap outside the bosses. Unlike other MK games that came after this, the bosses here in this game though powerful and cheap at times are indeed beatable, you just had to use strategies and it doesn't took forever to reach the end. Of course beside the single player, you and a friend could go one-on-one just like you would at the arcade and bring the competition of the arcade to your living room.

Replayability:

If you are those MK players who once pump tons of quarters at the arcade game will find a ton of madness to love in this game. All of twelve available fighters from the arcade are here each having his or her own story within the game and a ton of special finishers and moves to discover. There's also three new secret characters to find, one new exclusive Endurance Mode to compete in, and a tons of mysteries behind your favorite combatant to flesh out it'll hype you to keep coming back for more.

Is it worth buying?

You bet, for the time of this game's release was the only home console port to ever brought the action of the arcade hits to your living room. Of course, later versions for the Sega 32X, Sega Saturn, PlayStation and so on had build on superior features and format to outnumber this awesome port but all got hamper by one problem after the next. This Super NES version is still the best because it was the first MKII ports to delivers the arcade action home and did it accurately without relying on such powerful hardware and format like the many that came after. If you are a MK fan, collectors, or an arcade MK veterans who wants a classic MK brawler for competition at home, you had found your game.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/14/08

Game Release: Mortal Kombat II (US, 1994)