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Mortal Kombat: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Mortal Kombat
The first Mortal Kombat arcade cabinet, released in August 1992, did not merely introduce a new fighting game; it ignited a cultural firestorm that would fundamentally alter the video game industry. Before this machine appeared, the concept of a video game character ripping out an opponent's spine was science fiction, yet the digitized sprites of the game made it terrifyingly real. The game was developed by a small team at Midway Games, including Ed Boon, John Tobias, John Vogel, and Dan Forden, who had originally pitched a project based on the film Universal Soldier before pivoting to their own original concept. They chose to use digitized sprites filmed from real actors rather than hand-drawn animation, a decision that gave the game a gritty, photorealistic quality that no other title possessed. This technical choice allowed for the inclusion of graphic violence that had never been seen in an arcade before, including the infamous finishing moves known as Fatalities, which allowed the victor to murder their defeated opponent in gruesome detail.
The impact of this decision was immediate and explosive. Mortal Kombat II, released in 1993, shattered sales records, outperforming major summer blockbusters in its opening week and proving that video games could be a dominant force in entertainment. The game's success was not just financial; it was a societal shock. The graphic nature of the game, particularly the blood and dismemberment, triggered a moral panic among parents and politicians who were unprepared for the visceral reality of the digital world. The controversy surrounding the game was so intense that it directly led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) in 1994, a self-regulatory body established to classify video games based on their content. Without the public outcry generated by Mortal Kombat, the modern system of video game ratings might never have existed, leaving the industry without a standardized way to protect children from adult content.
The developers, led by John Tobias and Ed Boon, had intentionally set out to create a game that was harder, more serious, and more violent than the cartoonish fighters of the time, such as Capcom's Street Fighter II. They drew inspiration from martial arts films like Big Trouble in Little China and Tsui Hark's Zu Warriors, aiming to capture the supernatural kung fu aesthetic of Chinese mythology. The result was a game that felt like a live-action movie, complete with digitized actors and a dark, brooding atmosphere. The game's success spawned a franchise that would eventually include films, comics, animated series, and a live-action tour, making it one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. The original Mortal Kombat was not just a game; it was a catalyst for change, forcing the world to confront the power and potential dangers of interactive media.
When was the first Mortal Kombat arcade cabinet released?
The first Mortal Kombat arcade cabinet was released in August 1992. This release date marks the beginning of a cultural firestorm that fundamentally altered the video game industry.
Who developed the original Mortal Kombat game?
The original Mortal Kombat game was developed by a small team at Midway Games including Ed Boon, John Tobias, John Vogel, and Dan Forden. They chose to use digitized sprites filmed from real actors rather than hand-drawn animation.
What year was the Entertainment Software Rating Board created?
The Entertainment Software Rating Board was created in 1994. This self-regulatory body was established to classify video games based on their content following the intense public outcry generated by Mortal Kombat.
How many copies of the Mortal Kombat franchise have been sold by 2025?
By 2025, the Mortal Kombat franchise has surpassed over 100 million copies sold. This figure represents the series becoming the best-selling fighting game franchise worldwide.
In which year was Mortal Kombat banned in Germany?
Every Mortal Kombat game was banned in Germany for ten years from its release until 2015. This ban was part of a series of restrictions placed on the franchise due to its extremely violent content.
The core gameplay of Mortal Kombat evolved from a simple 2D plane into a complex system of three-dimensional combat, yet the heart of the series remained the brutal finishing moves that defined its identity. The original three games and their updates, Mortal Kombat (1992), Mortal Kombat II (1993), and Mortal Kombat 3 (1995), utilized 2D fighting mechanics where characters played virtually identically, with differences limited to their special moves. The arcade cabinets featured a joystick and five buttons for high punch, low punch, high kick, low kick, and block, creating a straightforward but deep combat system. Mortal Kombat 3 and its updates added a sixth run button, allowing for more dynamic movement, but the fundamental structure remained the same until the series transitioned to 3D graphics with Mortal Kombat 4 in 1997.
The defining feature of the series, however, was the Fatality, a finishing move that allowed the victor to murder their defeated opponent in a variety of gruesome ways. These moves were exclusive to each character, with the exception of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, which introduced Kreate-A-Fatality, allowing players to construct their own finishing moves from a pool of violent options. Other finishing moves included Animalities, where the victor transformed into an animal to kill their opponent, and Brutality, which involved bashing the opponent into pieces with a long combo of hits. Stage Fatalities, introduced in the original game's Pit Stage, allowed players to uppercut their opponent into a bed of spikes below, while later games added Death Traps that required specific button sequences to activate.
The series also introduced non-violent finishing moves as a satire of the controversies surrounding the game, such as Friendship moves, which resulted in a display of friendship towards the enemy, and Babalities, which turned the opponent into a baby. These moves were a clever way to acknowledge the public outcry while still maintaining the game's core identity. The evolution of the game's mechanics continued with Mortal Kombat 4, which marked the jump to 3D rendered graphics, replacing the digitized fighters of previous games with polygon models animated using motion capture technology. This transition allowed for more fluid movement and a wider variety of fighting styles, with characters having three fighting styles per character: two unarmed styles and one weapon style.
The series also featured hidden content and Easter eggs, such as the hidden fighter Reptile, who could be fought by players if they fulfilled an exact set of requirements, and the character Ermac, whose existence was initially denied by Midway before being added to Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 in response to player rumors. These hidden elements added a layer of depth and replayability to the game, encouraging players to explore every corner of the game to uncover its secrets. The game's success and the controversy surrounding it led to the creation of the ESRB, which in turn allowed the game to be released in more markets and on more platforms, ensuring its longevity and influence on the industry.
The War of Realms
The narrative of Mortal Kombat unfolds across a fictional universe consisting of numerous realms created by the Elder Gods, an ancient, ethereal pantheon of almighty, eternal preternatural beings. The series takes place in a world where the denizens of one realm can only conquer another realm by defeating the defending realm's greatest warriors in ten consecutive martial arts tournaments, called Mortal Kombat. The first game takes place in Earthrealm, home to legendary heroes such as Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage, and Jax, and under the protection of the Thunder God Raiden. The Earthrealm warriors join the tournament with the prize being the continued freedom of their realm under threat of a takeover by Outworld, a realm of constant strife which Emperor Shao Kahn claims as his own.
In the original game, the Earthrealm warriors are victorious, and Liu Kang becomes the new champion of Mortal Kombat. However, the story continues to evolve with each installment, with Shao Kahn luring the Earthrealm warriors to Outworld for a do-over tournament in Mortal Kombat II, where Liu Kang eventually defeats Shao Kahn. By the time of Mortal Kombat 3, Shao Kahn merges Edenia with his empire and revives its former queen Sindel in Earthrealm, combining it with Outworld as well. He attempts to invade Earthrealm, but is ultimately defeated by Liu Kang once more. The following game, Mortal Kombat 4, features the fallen elder god Shinnok attempting to conquer the realms and kill Raiden, but he is defeated by Liu Kang.
The story takes a darker turn in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, where the evil sorcerers Quan Chi and Shang Tsung join forces to conquer the realms, killing series protagonist Liu Kang in the process. By Mortal Kombat: Deception, the sorcerers emerge victorious, having killed most of Earthrealm's warriors until Raiden steps forth to oppose them. The Dragon King Onaga, former ruler of Outworld, returns to merge all realms back together, but is eventually defeated by the game's protagonist, Shujinko. In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, the titular catastrophe begins, with Shao Kahn defeating Blaze and winning the war, causing Armageddon.
The series has undergone multiple reboots and timeline alterations, with the 2011 Mortal Kombat soft reboot changing the outcome of the original game, leading to a new timeline where Raiden sends visions to his past self to prevent Armageddon. The story continues to evolve with Mortal Kombat X, where Shinnok and Quan Chi enact their plan, leading an army of undead revenants of those that were killed in Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm. A team of warriors led by Raiden, Johnny Cage, Kenshi Takahashi, and Sonya Blade oppose them, and in the ensuing battle, Shinnok is imprisoned within his amulet and various warriors are resurrected and freed from his control. The story continues to evolve with Mortal Kombat 11 and its expansion, Aftermath, where the architect of time and Shinnok's mother, Kronika, works to alter the timeline following her son's defeat and Raiden's tampering with her work.
The Legacy of Blood and Glory
Mortal Kombat has become the best-selling fighting game franchise worldwide, with over 100 million copies sold and one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. The series has generated more than $4 billion by the late 1990s and $5 billion in total revenue by 2000, with Mortal Kombat II achieving unprecedented opening week sales figures that beat the box office numbers of summer hit films. The franchise has sold more than 6 million units by 1994 and 26 million by 2007, and the figure has exceeded 30 million by 2012. As of 2022, the franchise had sold about 79 million units, and by 2025, it has surpassed over 100 million copies.
The series has been the subject of major video game controversies and several court cases, largely related to its extremely violent content, especially in relation to the original game which paved a way for the introduction of the ESRB game rating system in 1994. Various games in the series, as well as advertisements for them, have been censored or banned in a number of countries. In Germany, every Mortal Kombat game was banned for ten years from its release until 2015. Mortal Kombat (2011) is also banned in South Korea, and was banned in Australia until February 2013. Mortal Kombat 11 is banned in Indonesia, Japan, China and Ukraine.
The series has also had a significant cultural impact, with waves of imitators flooding the market, filling arcades with a sea of blood from games like Time Killers, Survival Arts, and Guardians of the Hood. The series and its characters are referenced in various other works of popular culture, such as in the title of Powerglove's debut album Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man and the Workaholics episode Model Kombat. The name Mortal Kombat was even given to a dangerous illegal recreational drug that was introduced and caused multiple fatalities in early 2014. The series has been featured in the film The Doom Generation, and its name has become recognizable enough to be name-dropped on sitcoms like Malcolm in the Middle and Married... with Children.
The franchise has also been the subject of numerous awards and records, with the 2008 edition of Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition awarding the Mortal Kombat series with seven world records, including most successful fighting game series. The franchise holds ten world records in the 2011 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition, including the largest promotional campaign for a fighting video game, highest grossing film based on a beat 'em up video game, and most successful video game spin-off soundtrack album. The series has been ranked as one of the most important and also most violent series in the history of video games, with its place in fighting game history being undeniable. The series has also been featured in the online battle royale game Fortnite Battle Royale, with cosmetics based on the character Sub-Zero available to unlock on the highest levels of the season's battle pass and his abilities obtainable as floor loot during a match.