Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Critic Reviews 81% add missing review
PGNx Media (9.2 out of 10)
Midway has made a very good handheld fighter. It's good enough to make you forget about Mortal Kombat: Advance. The game fits the Mortal Kombat universe very well. It also features recognizable characters and just 'feeling.' The game looks good and sounds great. The fighting as good as you're going to get on the GBA. You can get playing easily. The Krypt's unlockables are cool and no doubt the coolest reward system on the GBA. Your gut will tell you not to buy this, but if you're in the middle of MK: DA and have to go somewhere, this handheld version will satisfy your cravings. One of the best handheld fighters made.
Dec 10th, 2002 · Game Boy Advance · read reviewIGN (8.8 out of 10)
As solid as the console games are, the Game Boy Advance version is equally so...maybe even more so. A lot of attention was poured into this project, from the fighting and graphics engine, to establishing enough presentation and extras to make the game an excellent single-player title. Little sprite quirks during the game keep the game from being absolutely fantastic, but any 2D fighting fan shouldn't miss what Midway's GBA team pulled off for the handheld.
Nov 20th, 2002 · Game Boy Advance · read reviewGaming Target (8.6 out of 10)
One last surprise comes as part of the single player mode with the return of Test Your Might and Test Your Sight. Each acts as a break from battling it out with challenges that requiring players to either mash buttons representing their strength or focus on the shell game for mastering their vision. With this keeping some occupied and a vast amount of extras to unlock, itâs going to take even the most hasty gamer a long time to completely finish this Mortal Kombat game.
Dec 16th, 2002 · Game Boy Advance · read reviewGameSpy (85 out of 100)
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance does a lot of things right. It's a solid fighter with interesting characters and smooth play. There are some inconsistencies with different characters' strengths and no real story to play through, but all in all, if you're looking for a fast and easy way to rip the heart out of a guy's chest, you really can't do much better. I'm sure that's just the kind of recommendation the folks at MediaWise just love to hear.
Dec 27th, 2002 · Game Boy Advance · read reviewGameZone (8.4 out of 10)
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is one handheld fighter you wonât want to miss this holiday season, an excellent stocking-stuffer. Unlocking all the extras will take quite some time and mastering every fighter in the game will also prove a daunting task.
Dec 13th, 2002 · Game Boy Advance · read reviewDigital Press - Classic Video Games (8 out of 10)
Overall, if you can get past the completely new combo system, you'll find a surprisingly deep fighter that rivals the best on the console. It's gory, the fatalities are the stuff classics are made of, and the combo system is manageable. It's a great game that can be played in short bursts making it perfect for car rides when a serious game won't do.
Sep 25th, 2005 · Game Boy Advance · read reviewAdvance (Germany) (80 out of 100)
Nach dem ziemlich missratenen Mortal Kombat Advance (Test in Ausgabe 2) vollzieht das neue Mortal Kombat einen gewaltigen QualitĂ€tssprung nach oben. Die Figuren sind hervorragend animiert und die 3D-HintergrĂŒnde sehen wirklich klasse aus. Das Gameplay wurde deutlich verbessert, so dass die Moves nun viel leichter von der Hand gehen. Die Gegner-KI ist zwar immer noch nicht allzu prall, aber ertrĂ€glich. PrĂŒgelspiele spielt man ohnehin zu zweit. Wer von Blut und Splatter nicht genug kriegen kann. liegt mit Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance genau richtig.
Dec 2002 · Game Boy AdvanceGameSpot (7.9 out of 10)
The Mortal Kombat series doesn't exactly have the smoothest track record when it comes to quality, especially on portable systems. The old Game Boy and Game Boy Color games were difficult to play, and Mortal Kombat Advance, which was released in late 2001, is one of the worst games available for the Game Boy Advance. Thankfully, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance breaks this cycle of abuse. It's a very good one-on-one fighting game with plenty of strategy, and it doesn't stray too far from the classic formula of simple fighting moves and extreme gore.
Jan 7th, 2003 · Game Boy Advance · read reviewOfficiel Nintendo Magazine (7.5 out of 10)
Ce Mortal Kombat se présente comme une alternative intéressante à d'autres jeux de baston plus classiques comme Street Fighter.
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Jeuxvideo.com (15 out of 20)
Peut-ĂȘtre pas le meilleur jeu de baston sur GBA, mais tout de mĂȘme l'un des meilleurs. Mortal Kombat parvient Ă allier sa violence Ă une once de finesse et ça nous change. Une bonne alternative aux tĂ©nors du genre.
Feb 3rd, 2003 · Game Boy Advance · read reviewGamePro (US) (3.5 out of 5)
The most unfortunate thing about the GBA Deadly Alliance is the decision to ape the console versions 3D gameplay when it really wasnât necessary the arenas are blocky Mode 7 messes that do impossible Escher things wherever the floor meets the background, the characters have been pixelated to make them scale, and your characters blood stains look more like stylish mosaic tile than bodily fluid. You canât help but wonder if the game could have been even better if they had decided to slightly re-design the gameplay for 2D. 5.0 for ambition, at any rate.
Dec 16th, 2002 · Game Boy Advance · read reviewPlayer Reviews
An insanely excellent translation.
by ThE oNe (183)
The Good
Mortal Kombat. A word probably heard by every single person on this planet, and probably somewhere on mars too. That's right, it's just that popular. It all started with one title made to fight the insanely popular Street Fighter 2. Well, Mortal Kombat did more than that. It offered a nice looking, bloody masterpiece called Mortal Kombat. Then came Mortal Kombat 2, thought of as the best MK game ever. MK3 failed for some, but it was still good. Next came UMK3 and MKT which were basically the same thing in everything but characters. Next were the spin offs which both sucked. MK4 didn't really bring MK into it's full 3D potential.
MKGOLD was basically the exact same thing with new characters. Now, a couple of years later, MK:DA is out.
First of all, let me clear something. I like Mortal Kombat, despite my reviews of past MK games. Mortal Kombat a very good series, its just that MK has made a lot of problems with their games. MK:DA is a relief.
The GBA translation of this game was perfect. Not near perfect, just perfect. When you start the game, you witness a nice little story thing, then are prompted to create a profile. This was annoying, since I'm the only one who actually plays MK:DA and I don't need separate profiles. Then I head off to the title screen.
There were two modes available, Arcade and Survival. Arcade is the main focus, and Survival, I thought, was just a cheap version of Arcade Ok, so I go to Arcade. Then comes the character select screen. Surprisingly, there were only a few characters! I was disappointed. I picked Scorpion and went on. Then came a series of fights, and then Scorp's ending. Right at the and, it said, UNLOCKED KITANA. Ohhh, I thought, you have to unlock all the other characters. So there was a total, I think, of about 12 characters to play with. Not breakthrough revolution, but good nevertheless.
Survival consists of basically fighting people. Fight 1 guy, then someone else, then someone else(sounds like arcade, doesn;t it), and then get koins in return. This was a good way to get koins without doing all the cheap minigames and waiting for stuff in Arcade.
One thing that was impressive was the massive Krypt. I mean, I knew that the console MK:DA's had krypts, but I didn't think they could fit so much koffins into a huge krypt on a small, puny Game Boy Advance. It was impressive and will keep me playing until I unlock everything.
The basic gameplay of MK:DA is simple, yet complex. All I know is, it's the most fun thing I've ever seen. The game is smooth, not choppy, and the fighting is very dramatic and expertly created. There are different styles, like in the console versions, although only two here. (oh well). Still, the game is very fun to play, Fighting is basically pressing buttons, (one kick, one punch), but the followup combo-like maneuvers are very interesting. Another impressive feature is the balance between styles. One style may be quick but not very damage-doing, while the other may be slow, but packs a lot of damage. Very impressive.
The sound, audio, whatever you call it, is AMAZING. Wow! I mean, the music was so excellently created, it goes beyond anything ever released for the Game Boy Advance. No cheap, midi, dumb sounds anymore. All the music and sound effects are awesome.
The Bad
There is very little to dislike about this game, and whatever puny little thing that needs to be corrected is, it won't make much difference. One bug/difficulty I found was that sometimes when I jumped over someone they wouldn't turn, they just stayed facing the other direction, open to my easily hit attack. A minor setback that made no difference.
The Bottom Line
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance takes the best, of the best, of the BEST of pocket gaming and produces one small cartridge with the BEST. MK:DA is probably the best game you will ever find in a small pocket game. If you're in need of a refresh from trash GBA titles like Top Gear GT Championship and Super Robot Wars Advance, this is for you. If I could, I would give this game a 10/5, but since that is not possible, I have no choice but a perfect, extremely well earned, solid, did I say perfect? Yes? Okay, than a greatly produced 5 out of 5
Oct 3rd, 2014 · Game Boy Advance
Contributors to this Entry
Critic reviews added by nyccrg, Wizo, Patrick Bregger, Evil Ryu, Alsy, Jeanne.