Mortal Kombat II

aka: MK 2, Mortal Kombat II: Kanzenban, Mortal Kombat II: Kyūkyoku Shinken
Moby ID: 600
Arcade Specs
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Description official descriptions

The Mortal Kombat fighters, plus several new ones, return for a tournament held by the evil Shang Tsung of the Outworld. The action is one-on-one as before, and famed for its high level of violence and blood (other than the sanitised Nintendo version). There are 5 difficulty levels and optional credits, as well as the usual two player mode including same character duels.

To win the main tournament, the player must beat each of the other human players, before taking on Shang Tsung, Kintaro and finally Shao Kahn. Players have a range of punches and kicks available, as well as flying kicks, uppercuts, roundhouses, and the special moves, which vary for each player. These include throws, uppercuts, long-distance bullets, bicycle kicks and a teleport feature.

Spellings

  • モータルコンバットII ~完全版~ - Saturn Japanese spelling
  • モータルコンバットII ~究極神拳~ - Japanese spelling
  • 真人快打2 - Chinese spelling (simplified)

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Arcade version)

49 People (30 developers, 19 thanks) · View all

Mortal Kombat II Cast of Characters
Design
Software
Graphics
Sounds
Music
Background Graphics
Additional Graphics
Executive Producers
Senior Hardware Technician
Hardware Design
DCS Sound System
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 85% (based on 56 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 292 ratings with 12 reviews)

Great port of what's probably the pinnacle of the original MK series

The Good
More, more MORE! MK2 set out to topple the original arcade hit by adding as much features and secret thingies as they could think of at the time. It may not be revolutionary, but it certainly wins by it's use of sheer brute force and it is one of the best sequels to any arcade game ever.

For starters you have new moves, new characters (12, which seem like a frigging thousand when compared to MK1's measly lineup) which include the remarkably smart addition of Shang Tsung (and yes, you can morph into any other character mid-game) and the only thing better than ninja warriors: Ninja warrior BABES!! You also have 2 standard fatalities for each character (though more for some), a new "friendship" and "babality" feature which are amusing though remarkably gay, 3 secret characters and additional stage-specific fatalities as well as plenty of glitches and funny things to mess around with (like Johnny Cage's Triple decapitation).

Technically speaking the game didn't make so much of a quantum leap, with only slightly sharper graphics but with way more colorful and interesting backgrounds and better character designs. All of which have perfectly been translated to the pc (though aurealy speaking the port seems to have taken a hit and the sounds don't feel the same as in the arcade, particularly the music).

Finally the general storyline has managed to expand on the original mythos and not become boring or lame, and the whole game still has that interesting dark edge that no other fighting game had in it's time.

The Bad
Gameplay wise things are still the same, only to spice things up they resorted to adding cheap moves to some characters to make more of a difference, thus you have Kitana with that super-cheap fan stun move, Milenna's teleport kick or Baraka's overpowered blade slice, etc... nothing nowhere near MK3 but still.... Oh, and Shao Kahn may not qualify as an SNK-sanctioned "King of Cheapness" boss, but he sure is an overpowered sob! He's beatable, but I sure enjoyed more fighting Shang Tsung than this doofus. And Kintaro doesn't have a fraction of the charisma good ol' Goro had! All you could think while you fought him was that Goro sure was a kickass boss...

The Bottom Line
Bitching aside, after Kombat-mania setted in, this game had a really tough act to follow. It had to live up to incredible hype with and cope with those kickass commercials and that freaky kid yelling "Mooooooortaaaaaaaal Koooooooombaaaaaaaaat!!" and heck, any sequel that survives that is a winner in my book, especially if it also manages to be a fantastic action game. Bigger and better than 1, I played the hell out of this one and had a blast doing so, no one who considers himself an arcade gamer or fighting aficionado can let this one pass up.

DOS · by Zovni (10504) · 2003

Worse sequel? Pixelated Graphics? Definetely not!

The Good
Although Mr. Gabel said he found the graphics more pixelated in comparison to the first Mortal Kombat, it is definetely the opposite -- in the the first game there were a lot of sharp non anti-aliased edges whereas the sequel features smooth fighter-background interaction. In fact, the strongest aspect of MK2 is its eyecandy graphics. I even thought the graphics were displayed in a square-pixel hi-res tweaked VGA mode when I first saw the game.

Another aspect where MK2 is better than the first is the speed of the game. You can really move very fast. Also the variety and the graphic detail of the finishing moves are totally astounding (especially in the case of Liu Kang).

The Bad
It's really hard even in medium difficulty settings.

The Bottom Line
A worthy sequel to the first Mortal Kombat game.

DOS · by IJan (1971) · 1999

Good for a 16 Bit Translation

The Good
I would have to say Mortal Kombat 2 is probably the second best fighting game of all time! The first MK was good, but it was raw and needed improvements; MK2 is much improved from the first! This game went through a cosmetic overhaul. The graphics are sharper, the backgrounds are way more interesting, and the fighters are far better outfitted in this version. The sound effects and background music also contribute to the games dark, deadly feel.

The Bad
I don't like arcade to 16 bit translations! In terms of gameplay the SNES version is perfect, no problems there. The problems start with the graphics and sound, which are good for a 16 bit console, but not even close to the arcade. This may seem minor, but it does take away from the overall feel of the game.

The Bottom Line
MK2 is the best of the MK genre (that goes for MK 1, 3, 4, Trilogy, and Annihilation) and this is a good SNES translation of the arcade.

SNES · by Tyrone Eugene (6) · 2003

[ View all 12 player reviews ]

Trivia

Animalities

There were strong rumours of animal fatalities called animalities. This was untrue but as a result they were included in Mortal Kombat 3.

Baraka

Baraka was at one point going to have a blade spin move, but this was removed to balance him out more. However, this move did eventually get restored for Mortal Kombat Trilogy.

Development

In the original Mortal Kombat, a glitch would allow Johnny Cage to knock off a phantom head off an enemy if the uppercut move had been executed quickly enough, though this only worked on Kano, Scorpion and Sub-Zero. In Mortal Kombat 2 this became an actual fatality, but Cage knocks off 3 heads now instead of one.

ERMAC

In some versions of the game ERMAC flashes onscreen. This is an error message (ERror MACro) that was not removed but many people believed it was a secret character. He was later added as an actual character in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.

Fighters

Kano and Sonya are the only 2 characters not to return from Mortal Kombat, although they can be seen chained in the background of Shao Kahn's stage.

Game Boy version

Missing characters from the Game Boy version: Baraka, Johnny Cage, Kung Lao, Rayden, Kintaro, and Noob Saibot.

General gameplay trivia

  • In every version of the game (apart from the Amiga) in order to perform Babalities and Friendships it is required to meet special demands. For Babalities the player is not allowed to use High Punch in the second or third round. The same goes for Friendship but also Low Punch is not allowed. The Amiga version does not have these requirements.
  • The Super Uppercut move (different move combination for each character) can be used either in the Kombat Tomb or The Pit sceneries. In the former it can be additionally extended by holding the "Down" button making the opponent fall from the spikes. The Super Uppercut move in the Dead Pool scenery was based on the same combination for each character.
  • In order to fight Jade, the player has to win the first round in the last match before the question mark. In this round the player should use only Low Kick moves and directional movements (in the Amiga, GameBoy, Game Gear and Master System versions only kicks should be performed).
  • In order to fight Smoke, the player has to be on the Portal scenery. As the fight goes, sometimes Dan Forden's head appears in the bottom right corner of the screen. In the time when his head is on the screen, the player has to hold "Down" and press F1 (DOS version) or Start (consoles) or Fire (Amiga version).
  • In order to fight Noob Saibot, the player has to win 50 matches in a row in two-player mode. The Amiga, DOS and Sega Genesis versions require only 25 matches.
  • After winning 250 matches in a row the player can play a "Pong" game (confirmed in DOS and Arcade versions).

German index

On September 30, 1994, Mortal Kombat II, with the exception of the Game Boy version, was put on the infamous German index by the BPjS. For more information about what this means and to see a list of games sharing the same fate, take a look here: BPjS/BPjM indexed games.

In addition to the indexing, on February 8, 1995, all versions except Game Boy were also confiscated for violating §131 of Germany's penal code (for showing gruel violence against humans etc.). But due to the 10 year limitation for confiscations, all versions are no longer confiscated since February 8, 2005.

Jax

Jax was originally going to be named Stryker, a name that would later be used for a whole other character in Mortal Kombat 3.

Johnny Cage

In the early arcade test versions of the game, the word "Otomix" appeared on Johnny Cage's pants (worn by actor Daniel Pesina during the filming), but the sign was removed in subsequent upgrades. Otomix is an established supplier of athletic and martial arts wear.

Lawsuit

Three of the cast members for Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat 2 filed a lawsuit against Midway shortly after the game was released. The claim? The physical instructors/martial artists Elizabeth Malecki (Sonya Blade), Catalin Zamiar (Kitana/Milenna) and Philip Ahn were under the impression that they were hired under typical acting contracts and were entitled to a small modicum of benefits including royalties of title sales, etc. The plaintiffs banded together against Midway, who took the case to court.

Eventually the judge failed on Midway's behalf, citing that the work done by the plaintiffs for Midway was done strictly as a "work-for-hire" and Midway owned all the property and benefits on the characters/titles/etc.

As a side note, it has always been rumored that this lawsuit was what prompted Midway to take Kitana and it's variations from Mortal Kombat 3.

References

  • Noob Saibot, a secret character, spelled backwards is Tobias Boon, the last names of the two game creators.
  • The "Toasty!" face is sound designer Dan Forden.

SNES version

Unlike the predecessor, the SNES version kept the blood and fatalities. However, in Japan all blood was coloured green and the screen goes black and white during a fatality.

Sub-Zero

Sub-Zero's ending in this game reveals him to be the younger brother of the original Sub-Zero from the original Mortal Kombat. It was five years later that this plot point was adapted into the 1997 film Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.

Awards

  • EGM
    • 1995 Buyer's Guide - Bloodiest Game
    • 1995 Buyer's Guide - Most Anticipated Release
  • Game Informer
    • August 2001 (Issue #100) - #97 in the "Top 100 Games of All Time" poll
  • Game Players
    • January 1995 - Best SNES Game in 1994
    • January 1995 - Best SNES Fighting Game in 1994
    • January 1995 - Best Genesis Fighting Game in 1994
  • VideoGames
    • March 1995 - Best Fighting Game

Information also contributed by Big John WV, MegaMegaMan, NightKid32, PCGamer77, quizzley7, Xoleras and Zovni

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by IJan.

PlayStation 3 added by Corn Popper. SEGA Saturn added by Exodia85. SEGA 32X added by Kartanym. Game Gear added by Supaiku. Amiga added by Martin Smith. SEGA Master System, PlayStation added by Freeman. Genesis added by Satoshi Kunsai. Arcade added by The cranky hermit. Game Boy added by quizzley7. SNES added by phlux.

Additional contributors: Matthew Bailey, Daniel J McKinnon, Unicorn Lynx, chirinea, Alaka, ~~, Martin Smith, LepricahnsGold, DreinIX, Medicine Man, Patrick Bregger, mailmanppa, Bart Smith, Kayburt, Ognimod Zeta.

Game added December 19, 1999. Last modified February 23, 2024.