If you had an arcade nearby in the ’90s, you would probably remember the first time that Mortal Kombat hit your world. It might have been the digitized characters that made you take a second look, maybe you couldn’t resist following the blood splatters with your eyes, or it might be the very first time you heard the voice “Finish Him!” while seeing a spine being ripped. Mortal Kombat was certainly not just another one of those fighting games that were coming out—you had to deal with a cultural shockwave, a flame of controversies, and still, a franchise with more than 30 years of history that is still alive today.
The Arcade Origins: Blood, Controversy, and Fatalities
Back in 1992, Mortal Kombat shook up the arcades with a quick twist: what if Street Fighter, but with blood and many more attitude? The follow-up, Mortal Kombat II, not only ramped up the blood but also had a playful kind of humor with “babalities” and “friendships.” The developers pretty much understood how crazy it was—and decided to do it anyway. However, the game’s notoriety was not just about the comedy. The controversy about its violence was so vehement that it was one of the main reasons the ESRB ratings system came into being. If your parents didn’t like it, that was the reason you loved it even more.
The Art of the Port: Console Wars and Home Versions
For the rest of us who didn’t have unlimited quarters to waste, the real fight was which console offered the superior version at home. The SNES had better-looking and sounding graphics, but the Genesis offered smoother gameplay—and most importantly, it preserved the blood. For many fans, your initial Mortal Kombat was just whichever version your parents (or your spending money) could afford.
Storytelling and Lore: From Simple Fights to Epic Sagas
What began as a small-scale tournament with seven fighters quickly evolved into a sprawling saga filled with gods, realms, and messy family feuds. The roster exploded, the lore deepened, and suddenly, Mortal Kombat wasn’t just about uppercuts and fatalities anymore.
By the time the PlayStation 2 era rolled around, the series was dabbling in story modes, side material, and even a weird tangent into kart racing. It wasn’t exactly a work of genius, but it showed that Mortal Kombat wasn’t afraid to innovate and continue to surprise fans.
The Modern Era: Reboots, Reimaginings, and Mortal Kombat 1
Flash forward to the present, and Mortal Kombat continues to find new ways to reinvent itself. The newest iteration, Mortal Kombat 1, is a reboot, sequel, and prequel simultaneously. It tones down the military-focused tone of recent titles and becomes a full martial arts movie with outrageous cutscenes and a story mode that mixes melodrama and sheer pandemonium.
The introduction of the new Kameo system introduces classic characters as tag-in assists, with new depth added to combat. Invasion mode, which is a combination of brawler and board game, is another innovation. Not all of it works—some fans lament the content-heavy Mortal Kombat 11, and the Switch port is famously clunky—but the fundamental fighting still packs a more potent punch than ever.
Mortal Kombat on the Big Screen: Hits, Misses, and Fan Service
Mortal Kombat’s cinematic aspirations date back nearly as long as the games. The 1995 movie is a cult favorite, half campy and half endearing. Its sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, is better left unremembered.
The 2021 retooling sought to marry old fans and new. Though its narrative, for the most part, lays groundwork for sequels, it serves up brutal fight choreography and spectacular deaths. Joe Taslim’s Sub-Zero stands out, Kano steals every scene he’s in, and the movie isn’t afraid to get silly when it needs to. It glosses over the actual tournament, but promises more fights to follow.
The Secret Sauce: Why Mortal Kombat Endures
So what’s prevented Mortal Kombat from dying off when so many other fighting games have? It’s the combination of iconic characters, the balance between camp and seriousness, and a fanbase that loves both the lore and the extreme violence.
Mortal Kombat has fallen a lot—through awkward spin-offs, uneven sequels, cringeworthy movies—but it never stopped being unapologetically itself. And that’s why we keep coming back. Whether you’re a casual button-masher, a lore diehard, or just here to watch someone get ripped in half, there’s always another round waiting.