Mortal Kombat Review (Sega CD, 1994)

Let me start this review by first stating that I’m not a fan of the original Mortal Kombat. When it was first release I was swept up in the hype surrounding the on-screen violence. What kid wasn’t? I was left underwhelmed when I actually played it though. Of course that was the Super Nintendo version. This release was marred with input delay and censorship. It might just be the worst version of the original title. Later I tried it on Sega Genesis. I was put off by the ugly graphics and significantly worse soundtrack. It seemed that no version was going to be perfect. Then I heard about the Sega CD release. It was uncensored, and featured improved graphics and the same tight controls of the Genesis version. Sounds like a winner, right? While it is one of the best Sega CD games that isn’t saying much.

The best thing about the original Mortal Kombat is its setting and atmosphere. The game takes place in the real world but incorporates a lot of dark fantasy elements. The setting is Earthrealm where a tournament has been organized by an elusive sorcerer named Shang Tsung. Taking place entirely on his island this is a fight to protect the realm from the invading forces of Outworld. Think of that as a plane of existence where demons and dark forces rule. Earth’s greatest warriors have been summoned to protect Earth from Outworld’s ruler Shao Kahn and his invading forces. Should they lose then Earthrealm will surely be doomed. Unfortunately the odds are stacked against them as Shang Tsung’s henchamn Goro is undefeated.

I absolutely love the old fashioned kung fu film motifs of this game. It’s clear straight away that the developers were influenced by films like Bloodsport (a movie I love). They really went over-the-top with the theme. What is unfortunate however is the roster of playable characters. The original Mortal Kombat features only seven fighters which is pretty poor even by the standards of the time. At least they’re all present and in this Sega CD iteration. You have Liu Kang which is kind of the generic kung fu film good guy. Think Jet Li or Jackie Chan. Then we have Johnny Cage (one of my all time favorites), a Hollywood action film star entering the tournament for fame. We also have two ninjas (which are palette swaps), the obligatory female, the oddball Kano, and thunder god Raiden. There are some cool characters here, but not nearly enough of them.

One of the game’s neatest gimmicks is the final boss Shang Tsung. He appears to be a frail old man, but using magic he can transform into any of the other characters. This means he can basically use any move in the game barring fatalities. With such a neat idea it’s a real shame that in this iteration he isn’t playable. The boss guarding him is one of my favorites in the series. Goro is a four armed behemoth and facing off against him is downright difficult. It’s a real shame that there weren’t cheat codes to unlock them as playable characters because Shang Tsung and Goro are by far the most interesting characters here. Aside from their special moves every other character has nearly identical punches and kicks to one another. It’s pretty much just the special moves that separate them.

This Sega CD port plays in an identical fashion to the Sega Genesis release. Mortal Kombat is a 2D one-on-one fighter where you trade blows in an effort to drain your opponents life bar. Each character has a high/low punch/kick, throw, block, and can jump. This is all pretty standard for the genre. As I mentioned earlier one of the biggest disappointments is the fact that there’s pretty much no difference in these strikes between each character. They all have the same general motion, speed, and reach. It feels like the developers were lazy in this regard. It’s the special moves that differentiate each of the fighters. This is one area they got right. Characters can throw projectiles, as well as various feats of athletic fancy. I especially love Sub-Zero’s ability to freeze opponents. Mortal Kombat may be grounded in realism, but the special moves are not.

Now it’s time to discuss the fatalities. These are finishing moves that can be performed by the victor after having won two rounds. While the enemy is dazed you can perform more complicated button inputs at which point the action freezes briefly, and you get to watch your character murder the other guy in some rather grisly ways. Each of the fighters has their own fatality move, but they only have one apiece. These include actions like ripping out the other opponents heart, removing their spine, setting them on fire, etc. In the 90s these were oh so cool. This was the reason people played Mortal Kombat. Now? Not so much. They’re a gimmick, and I found them cheesy. It’s still rewarding but fatalities have lost almost all of their appeal in modern times.

So how does this version play? Pretty well, actually. By Mortal Kombat standards that is. The developers based this port on the Sega Genesis release. This means the input lag isn’t as bad as in the SNES version. It’s actually playable, thankfully. The hit detection is still all over the place though. I found clear strikes would miss, and flying kicks go through significant portions of the foe’s body before they register. If at all. The CPU opponents are also super cheap. I only get mild enjoyment out of playing against another human player. Mortal Kombat on the Sega CD feels just as janky as the Genesis version did. There’s also a lack of buttons on the default pad. You had to have the six button controller to get the most out of this game. For those without it the missing input doesn’t completely ruin the game, but it’s noticeable.

Why bother with this more expensive Sega CD port instead of the plain jane Genesis version? Well there are some small additions that might make it worthwhile. For one thing each character has additional frames of animation. It’s not groundbreaking by any means but the action does look smoother. The soundtrack also uses the redbook audio feature of the add-on allowing for the original arcade music to be perfectly intact. This is a big upgrade from the off-putting alternate audio in the Genesis release, and it also sounds better than the SNES port. Besides that you’re treated to a full motion video sequence of the original commercial for the game. Hilariously enough this video features footage from the SNES release. The developers could have, and should have, done more. The fact that Reptile isn’t instantly unlocked is a real shame.

One aspect I found disappointing is that the graphics were barely upgraded. I mentioned earlier that the characters have more frames of animation, but that’s the biggest change. They look slightly less grainy than before but it’s still a far cry from the arcade release. Because the Sega Genesis was the basis for this port you still have some of the graphical problems from that version. Namely the odd turquois sky, and other color issues. The fact that it doesn’t even come close to matching how the SNES edition looked is a real shame. This is considering the hardware is supposed to be more powerful. As I mentioned earlier the music is a straight rip from the arcade cabinet. It sounds really good in terms of quality. I’m not a big fan of the soundtrack though. Remixes would have been welcome here.