Street Fighter II’s popularity made the
one-on-one fighting game one of
the hottest genres of the ‘90s, and it
spawned a raft of copycat contenders
(including Sega’s own effort, Eternal
Champions). Yet none would pose as
much as a threat to Street Fighter’s
dominance as Mortal Kombat, despite
the fact that Midway’s game was, on
a strategic level, one of the more basic
fighting games going.
But what it lacked in finesse, it made
up for in showmanship. Mortal Kombat’s
most eye-catching feature was its use
of digitised sprites based on real actors.
This made the game look more ‘adult’
than the cartoony sprites favoured
by other fighting games, and the
coolness factor was multiplied by Mortal
Kombat’s trademark gimmick – the
excessive blood and gore.
If the sprites caught the eye, then
the gruesome fatalities made them
pop out – the sight of Sub-Zero ripping
off his beaten opponent’s head and
holding it aloft as a trophy, spinal cord
and all, is one of the most iconic in all
of gaming. To most players, the gore
was Mortal Kombat, and it helped the
technically-inferior Mega Drive version
nudge ahead of the SNES port. While
Nintendo’s family-friendly policies
outlawed blood, Mega Drive owners
could spill claret to their heart’s content.MORTAL KOMBAT 1993