Mortal Kombat

The Good
Mortal Kombat is one of the all time classics, so nostalgia is heavily in this games favor. You can't help but enjoy the game simply cause it takes you back to the past.

The sprite animations are very impressive even today. The character movement is great and better then some other fighting titles. The backgrounds not only look cool but some of them have special environmental fatalities (fatalities are post fight beatings that you inflict on your opponent that usually involve dismemberment).

The soundtrack is another one of the better parts of the game. Even though its not quite as good as it once was, you tell why so many people have remixed it. The voice over guy sounds very cool and to hear your name after beating your opponent makes you feel like you accomplished something.

And unlike later Mortal Kombat games, this edition features a 2 player mode instead of a constant tournament. Now you and a friend can challenge each other without having to do the tournament, leading to some nice pick up and play action.

The Bad
Mortal Kombat on the SNES is heavily edited, most likely due to Nintendo's family demographic and how controversial the game was in its debut. Blood has been completely removed from the game, replaced instead by "sweat" (which looks more like dust-- and given how old the game is that would be a pretty accurate statement). The individual fatalities have also been removed from the game, although the bridge/pit level fatality is intact (minus blood and severed heads). While this complaint is merely a cosmetic change, Mortal Kombat has other problems.

Mortal Kombat's gameplay isn't quiet what it once was. Special moves aren't very easy to pull off without looking up how to perform them. There's no jump back button so its easy for people to start whaling on you with the punch button. And like other games of the day, Mortal Kombat treads a fine line between good fighting game and button masher. This version of Mortal Kombat also feels like a straight from the arcade port by not including a pause button, a feature that makes the game very inconvenient since you either have to die when you need to go to the bathroom or you have to hold it in (this can become a real problem when you are in the middle of a tough tournament).

The Bottom Line
While the SNES version of Mortal Kombat is missing blood and fatalities, its still a very solid fighter and well worth having. The game will keep you busy for hours on hours when played with friends and even if you don't have any friends its still pretty cool. After all, very few gaming experiences can compare to beating an opponent without losing a drop of health.