Since 1992 Mortal Kombat‘s’ ever-expanding cast of ninja, cyborgs, special forces agents, and extradimensional monsters have been gorily tearing strips off one another to the delight of gamers around the world. Though predominantly a video game franchise, Mortal Kombat has expanded to include live-action and animated movies, TV shows, comics, card games, stage shows, and even an excellent mid-90s techno album.
But the core will always be the games. As of 2022 the series is up to its eleventh core entry, though there are numerous spinoffs in other genres – none of which are worth your time. So, if you want to dip your toe into the bloody waters of Mortal Kombat, which games should you play?
5. Mortal Kombat (1992)
This is the foundational pillar of the franchise and worth dabbling in if only to see where it all started. This 2D fighting game wowed early 90s audiences with its digitized graphics, assembling its sprites from photos of actual martial artists. Every character featured here would go on to become a firm fixture in the Mortal Kombat story and though the game can’t hold a candle to Street Fighter II in terms of gameplay complexity, it remains a very satisfying fighter.
But the original Mortal Kombat isn’t simply important for its gameplay: the violent fatalities and spurts of blood were so scandalous that they resulted in lengthy Congressional hearings about whether Mortal Kombat should be allowed to exist at all. Looking back on it now it’s ridiculous that Mortal Kombat‘s Itchy & Scratchy-esque violence could ever cause such a fuss, but we still live with the effects as the game ratings board ESRB was established in response to it.
A real slice of gaming history.
4. Mortal Kombat (2011)
The somewhat confusing named Mortal Kombat is actually the ninth official entry and marks a renaissance for the franchise. By the time of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Mortal Kombat Trilogy the once-flashy digitized 2D graphics were looking dated, so the series jumped to 3D polygons. The first effort was the dreadful Mortal Kombat 4, but though things improved with Deadly Alliance, Deception, and Armageddon on PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube, it was considered a series in decline.
But with Mortal Kombat the franchise was back on top. This soft reboot retells the stories of the first three games through well-directed cutscenes, introduces the bone-cracking ‘X-Ray’ moves, a vast array of classic characters, and added just enough depth to the kombat to make it a great online multiplayer experience.
Include some very fun DLC and a lot of bonus features and Mortal Kombat adds up to a hell of a package.
3. Mortal Kombat X (2015)
After 2011’s Mortal Kombat revived the franchise, Mortal Kombat X firmly put it back on the map as one of the biggest franchises in gaming. The first entry on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One showed the best graphics the franchise had ever seen, the most sadistic fatalities, a genuinely fun story mode, instant fan-favorite new characters (Cassie Cage 4eva), and — perhaps most importantly — refined the fighting gameplay to such a degree that it became a full-on eSport.
It became a critical smash and a firm favorite with audiences, with most notably the substantial improvement in the fighting mechanics and enormous variety in characters. Mortal Kombat X continued to improve after release, with DLC packs adding classic characters from the franchise’s history, as well as horror icons Jason Voorhees, the Predator, Leatherface, and the Xenomorph. All this was collected in Mortal Kombat XL, which can be picked up for a couple of bucks anytime there’s a sale on.
2. Mortal Kombat II (1993)
Nobody expected Mortal Kombat to be such a hit, but its world-conquering success cranked up expectations for Mortal Kombat II. Boon and Tobias promptly set to work on a game that “had everything we wanted to put into MK but did not have time for.” The character roster was bumped up from 7 to 12, each fighter now had multiple fatalities — as well as Babalities and Friendships — the graphical style was overhauled and improved, and the game was absolutely jam-packed with secrets.
The release was nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. It was a smash-hit in arcades — shifting more than 25,000 units — the home ports on Super Nintendo and Genesis broke records for first-week video game sales and, in a hint at gaming’s future cultural dominance, eclipsed the box office revenue of blockbusters like Forrest Gump and The Mask.
Nearly 30 years later Mortal Kombat II is still a blast and any barcade worth its salt should have it installed.
1. Mortal Kombat 11 (2019)
Yup, the most recent entry is also the best. Mortal Kombat 11 builds upon the foundations of Mortal Kombat X and continues to improve just about every facet of the game. Graphics, character selection, combat depth, and quality-of-life improvements add up to make this the current pinnacle of Mortal Kombat. As with Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat X, there’s a cinematic single-player story mode that spins a compelling and well-written story, with a substantial expansion coming in the Aftermath DLC pack.
The extras are better than ever, boasting a Keith David-voiced Spawn, a T-800 captured from Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Joker, Peter Weller as RoboCop, and Stallone as John Rambo. Perhaps the only fly in the ointment is that NetherRealm didn’t bow to fan demands to include Shaggy from Scooby Doo.
The complete Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate is one of the best purchases in the history of fighting games and is available on practically every modern platform under the sun. If you’re not convinced by now, pick it up, get some friends together, and rip their spines out. You won’t be disappointed.
And what of the inevitable Mortal Kombat 12? NetherRealm is widely rumored to be working on the next installment of the DC superhero Injustice series, but we wouldn’t be surprised if features for 12 are being prototyped as we speak. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait too long to get our hands on it.