Retro Lookback: Mortal Kombat II

Developers: Midway (Arcade) Probe Entertainment (MD/GEN, GG, GB, SMS, Amiga, 32X, PC, SS, PS1) Sculptured Software (SNES)
Publishers: Midway (Arcade) Acclaim (home versions)
Platforms and Release Dates (US): Arcade (1993), Mega Drive (1994), Sega Game Gear (1994), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (September, 1994), Game Boy (September, 1994), Sega 32X (1994), Amiga (1994), PC (1994), Sega Saturn (March 28, 1996), Playstation 2/Xbox/Gamecube (October 11, 2004, as part of Midway Arcade Treasures 2), PlayStation 3 (April 12, 2007)
Genre: Fighting

Mortal Kombat II is the gorey sequel to the ESRB inspiring, bane of parents of the 90s, Mortal Kombat. It takes what the first game did and steps it up in pretty much every way.

The story is a direct continuation from the first game, hence the II in the title. Shang Tsung has been defeated by the Earthrealm champion Liu Kang, so Shang Tsung begs for mercy from Shao Khan. Shang Tsung says that an invitation for Mortal Kombat may not be turned down, and if it is held in Outworld, the Earthrealm warriors must attend. Shao Khan agrees to this and even gives Shang Tsung his youth back. The invitation is then extended to Raiden, who gathers his warriors and takes them to Outworld. This tournament is much more dangerous, with Shao Khan having home field advantage, and an Outworld victory will allow him to subdue Earthrealm.

The gameplay has been expanded from the the first game. It is still a 1 on 1 fighting game, best of 3 rounds, with the point system from the first game being replaced with a consecutive win counter and the winner being able to "finish" the loser. More basic moves have been added, the roundhouse kick was made more powerful, and more finishing moves were added. The game also moves faster and smoother than the first game. More Fatalities have been added, plus other finishing moves. Stage Fatalities can be done on certain stages which makes the loser die as a result of a stage effect. Babalities turn the opponent into a crying baby. Friendships are non-malicious interactions that attempt to make friends with the loser. Because of the non-leathal finishing moves, the more serious tone of the first game has become less serious with the trivial and "joke" finishing moves. The returning characters (Sub-Zero, Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, Raiden, Scorpion) have new moves. Reptile has been made from a secret character to a playable character with his own moves instead of Scorpion's and Sub-Zero's. Shang Tsung is now playable and is able to morph into any character and use their moves. The new characters in this game are Baraka, Jax Briggs, Kitana, Kung Lao, and Mileena. Since Goro has been defeated in the first tournament, the new boss is Kintaro, who is from the same race from Goro. Shao Khan now becomes the final boss. The new hidden characters are Jade, Noob Saibot, and Smoke, who are basically pallet swaps in this game but then later become their own characters in later games. Sonya and Kano, who were playable in the first game, can be seen chained down on one of the stages since they have been captured.

The graphics and sound have also improved from the first game, and the blood is just as gorey as ever!

Bottom Line: Mortal Kombat II is a classic fighting game and is among the best, for the series and the genre as a whole. This game should definitely be Played.