Mortal Kombat II

"A definate step up from the first on this platform"

Ahhh, then came a time when caution was thrown to the wind, and Nintendo made a true conversion game of Mortal Kombat. This one was the best in the series, on the platforms at the time, Playstation was just starting to come up, and this game held SNES players at bay for a while.

-Graphics 9/10-

True to the MK world, all the characters, and all the moves came away crisp and clean. The backgrounds where done in with great care, and detail, adding more depth to the surroundings that were fought in. Each character was also very well drawn, and then programmed, each with their own attributes and special moves, no copies to be found, save for the palette swapping on the ninja's, but the moves were unique.

The fatalities were back, this time in full force, adding in the blood and gore that made the MK series such a hit. Blood splattering on the ground, to the realistic style fatalies made this game one of the best sellers of the MK series, being able to look and see the blood, see the fatalities for a change, instead of a censored version.

Moves came off crisp, from Baraka's blade spark to Sub Zero's freeze, no slow down, and no break down of animation, it made a new plateau for graphic capablities for the SNES.

-Sound 8/10-

Back with the music, different this time around, errie..dark, and full of action. Each new stage was re-worked with new music, to break away from the corny b-type ninja movie music of MK one.

Sound effects varied and ranged differently, each having it's own littel unique quality, from Sub-Zero's ice throw, to Reptile's acid spit, right down to Rayden's flying superman move. Everything was well thought out, and well recorded for this platform.

-Gameplay 9/10-

Better, much better. A higher selection of characters to choose from, taking out Sonya and Kano, and adding in Kitana, Millena, Baraka, Jax, and various other characters to give a more rounded out feel.

Each new character came in with an interior storyline that ties them together, making for another MK where depending on who you fought, could give a self-finishing ending to a story. Adding in new finishing moves, such as Babalities, and Friendships, it gives a new way to end a match, needed in some ways instead of outright killing off your opponent.

The Test-your-might option was taken out this time around, perhaps to try something different, or maybe not, as were the endurance rounds, but no great loss if you just want to smash your way through the game.

-Control 9/10-

Much better. Much, much better this time around. Pulling off the special moves, and the fatalites doesn't take alot of effort, which is a giant improvement over MK 1 for the SNES. Everything flows off your pad, and onto the screen as you play, setting up multi-hit moves that are easy to complete.

-Overall 9/10-

I have to say, that this is the shining star of the SNES MK games, it kept the clearest graphics, the best sound, a multitude of moves and characters, and didn't variate from the arcade version in any way shape or form. The visuals are clean and precise, the sound is an dream to listen to, and the control makes it a great game to play. All in all, this one is a keeper if you purchase it, it'll keep you fighting with friends who come over, and will keep you using your SNES.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/15/00, Updated 02/15/00