SNES Game Review - Mortal Kombat II

In 1993 Midway released its sequel to the popular Mortal Kombat series: Mortal Kombat II.

As for its famous plot: After losing to Lui Kang in Mortal Kombat, Shang Tsung convinces his master that his life should be spared because he has a new plan to conquer the Earthrealm. Shang Tsung will hold Mortal Kombat this time in the Outworld where the invitation cannot be denied. Shang Tsung is given his youth and Rayden gathers his fighters for the newest "Mortal Kombat"Playable Characters include: Bakara, Jax Sonya, Kitana, Kung Lao, Mileena, Sub-Zero, Johnny Cage, Lui Kang, Raiden, Reptile, Scorpion and Shang Tsung himself as well as Jade, Noob Saibot and smoke as hidden characters.

Mortal Kombat II was quite an achievement, even compared to its arcade original the SNES port was breathtaking. Lush backgrounds complete with animations, bright special attacks and well drawn/animated sprites that closely mimic the live action sprites of the arcade original make the SNES port of of the finest of its time.

Mortal Kombat II is filled with impressive SFX and Music. Individual music tracks for each arena, as well as unique SFX for each character really bring the game to life. As in the first game, an announcer starts and finishes each match, and occasionally evil maniacal laughter can be heard. The game is quite an auditory experience.

Mortal Kombat II introduced several new characters as well as additional moves and as such, is a much more difficult game than its predecessor. Despite its increased complexity, Mortal Kombat II is still fairly simple to pick up and play. Very little has been added to this sequel HI KICK LO KICK, HI PUNCH LO PUNCH, and BLOCK are present with a few added combos to speed up and flesh out the fights. Additionally, alternate fatalities have been added to the game, Babalities (transformation of the loser into an infant) as well as Friendships (endings resulting not in death) can now be preformed post fight.

Mortal Kombat II is a difficult game to beat solo, a lot of work went into creating challenging opponents. In the Options menu, the difficulty can be scaled up or down according to the players preference. This game was intended for a more mature audience what with all the blood and violence.

Mortal Kombat II is a brilliant fighter for the SNES complete with bright graphics, a smooth framerate, impressive SFX and music, a slew of fighters, decent storyline, and even a few easter eggs to be found. Overall, Mortal Kombat II deserves a solid 4 Uppercuts out of 5.