Mortal Kombat 3
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| Mortal Kombat 3 | |
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| Developer(s) | Midway |
| Publisher(s) | Midway |
| Release date(s) | 1995 |
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players simultaneously |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Super Nintendo, Mega Drive/Genesis, Game Boy, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, PlayStation, PC |
| Input | 8-way Joystick, Buttons: 6 (HP, LP, BLOCK, HK, LK, RUN) |
| Arcade cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system(s) | Midway Wolf Unit hardware Sound CPU: ADSP2150 Midway Digital Compression System (DCS) - Amplified Mono Latest Game Version : Revision 2.1 |
| Arcade display | Raster resolution 400 x 254 |
Mortal Kombat 3 is the third game in the Mortal Kombat series, released in arcades in 1995. It was updated into Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and later Mortal Kombat Trilogy.
Contents |
[edit] Characters and cast
[edit] Returning characters
- Maj. Jackson Briggs a.k.a. Jax: John Parrish
- Kano: Richard Divizio
- Kung Lao: Tony Marquez
- Liu Kang: Eddie Wong
- Shang Tsung: John Turk
- Smoke: Sal Divita (accessible only via secret code)
- Lt. Sonya Blade: Kerri Hoskins
- Sub-Zero: John Turk
[edit] New characters
- Cyrax: Sal Divita
- Kabal: Richard Divizio
- Nightwolf: Sal Divita
- Sektor: Sal Divita
- Sheeva: None (Stop motion)
- Sindel: Lia Montelongo
- Kurtis Stryker: Michael O'Brien
[edit] Non-playable characters
- Motaro: Stop-motion
- Shao Kahn: Brian Glynn
- Noob Saibot: Richard Divizio (accessible only via secret code)
- Raiden: Carlos Pesina (cameo: Nightwolf's Friendship)
[edit] New to the series
- MK3 introduced the "Run" button, accompanied by a "Run" meter, allowing the character to run. This was primarily to address concern from fans who thought that the previous games gave too much of an advantage to the defending player. The Run meter is drained by running (the character cannot run backwards, only forwards) and by performing combos.
- MK3 introduced "Kombat Kodes" which were 6 digit codes entered at the VS screen in a two player game to modify gameplay, fight hidden characters or display certain text messages.
- MK3 also introduced the "Ultimate Kombat Kode" which was a 10 digit code that could be entered after a game was over in single player mode. If the correct code was entered, Smoke would become a permanent playable character on the character select screen. The arcade owner, however, could reset this code by accessing the game's diagnostic menu by hitting a DIP switch within the MK3 cabinet.
- MK3 also introduced "chain combos", also known as pre-progammed combos (labelled "dial-a-combos"). These supplement the existing juggle combo system, but critics contend that dial-a-combos are redundant and needlessly add to the learning curve of the game. Chain combos are preprogrammed button presses that are unblockable once one hit connects (e.g., one of Sonya's chain combos is HK-HK-HP-HP-LP-b+HP). Some chain combos end with an uppercut or other move that knocks the opponent into the air, so that more punishment can be dealt via a traditional juggle combo.
- MK3 introduced the long-rumored Animality, where the character transforms into an animal in order to kill your opponent.
- MK3 also introduced "Mercy", where, if a player wins two rounds, he can perform a "Mercy" move instead of a Fatality. This allows a beaten foe to recover a sliver of life and continue fighting. This is necessary to perform an Animality.
- MK3 characters had more Fatalities and special moves, and there were now three stage Fatalities: the Subway, the Bell Tower and the Pit 3.
- The arcade version of MK3 also introduced the "Choose Your Destiny" screen. This new feature allowed player-selectable difficulty; previous games' difficulty settings were set by the machine operator.
- MK3 was the first game of the series to use distinct blood colors depending on the character; the human characters and Shao Kahn had traditional red blood, Sheeva and Motaro had green blood, while the three robotic ninjas had black blood (oil).
- MK3 was the first game of the series to have a playable Shokan character; Sheeva possessed unique corpse sprites (skeletons, etc.) that other player characters shared.
- Characters could be uppercutted through the ceiling of certain stages to continue the battle in a different stage. For example, if the round started in the Soul Chamber stage, if a character was uppercutted, both characters would fly up to the Balcony stage and continue the round there. This could alter the game's level cycle. Both normal uppercuts and uppercuts that are part of a ground combo would result in a level change. Kung Lao's "Whirl Wind Spin" move would also have the same effect. However, if the final hit of a round happens to be an uppercut (i.e., the character is defeated by an uppercut), there is no level change.
[edit] Art style
As opposed to the heavily Oriental themes of Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II, MK3's theme is much more Western contemporary. The game's stages are set in modern locations, three of the characters are robots, and traditional character designs (such as Sub-Zero's or Kano's) have been dropped or modified in favour of modern replacements. The overall game has a much darker tone then its predecessors, and uses a noticeable darker and less vibrant colour palette. Characters are now heavily digitised (as opposed to the hybrid digitised/hand-drawn style of Mortal Kombat II.) Many of the game's backgrounds are now, for the first time, created using pre-rendered 3D graphics. This change is also reflected in the sound track, in which all Oriental motifs have been dropped in favour of modern instrumentation.
The game has received criticism for an overall lack of attention given to its art direction [1], [2].
[edit] Storyline
Fed up with continuous losses in tournament battle, Shao Kahn who had lost to Liu Kang in the Outworld tournament, enacts a 10,000 year-old plan. He would have his Shadow Priests, led by Shang Tsung, revive his former Queen Sindel, who unexpectedly died at a young age. However, she wouldn't be revived in the Outworld. She would be resurrected in the Earth Realm. This would allow Shao Kahn to cross the boundary lines and reclaim his queen.
When Sindel is reincarnated in Earth Realm, Shao Kahn reaches across the dimensions to reclaim her. As a consequence of his action, the Earth Realm becomes a part of the Outworld, killing billions instantly. Only a few are spared, as Raiden protects their souls. He tells them that Shao Kahn must be stopped, but he cannot interfere; due to his status, he has no power in Outworld, and Earth Realm is partially merged with Outworld.
Shao Kahn has unleashed extermination squads to roam throughout the Earth Realm and kill any survivors. Also, Raiden's protection only extends to the soul, not to the body, so his chosen warriors have to fight the extermination squads and repel Shao Kahn. Eventually somehow every human on Earthrealm comes back.
Mortal Kombat 3 follows Mortal Kombat II and shares continuity with both Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Mortal Kombat Trilogy which were both updates of this game. The next game in the series was Mortal Kombat 4.
[edit] Ports
Though mainly released for the Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Nintendo,Sega Saturn and PlayStation upon home system release, a scaled-down version for the Game Boy was completed, only containing nine of the original fifteen fighters (Kano, Sonya, Sub-Zero, Cyrax, Sektor, Sheeva, Sindel, Kabal, and the robotic Smoke as both a hidden fighter and a playable character unlocked with a Kombat Kode), five stages, no button-link combos and no Motaro sub-boss, and Shao Kahn uses his moves from Mortal Kombat II. Though rated M for mature, this version does not include much of the overt gore and violence seen in its parent systems, despite keeping some of the "burning" fatalities (immolating a defeated opponent down to just a burnt skeleton). However, the graphics are superb for a Game Boy title, with smoother animation and greater attention to detail on the fighters than the older MK titles for Game Boy. There was also a scaled down Game Gear version of MK3, but it was never released in the US. Only Europe and Japan saw a release, and it is rare to find; a complete packaged version can be seen on Internet auctions for as much as $90. There was also a port for the Master System, which is similar to the Game Gear version.
There were 2 different versions of MK3 for the PC. The first was a DOS version. It is a unique version, not closely resembling any of the other ports of MK3. It features very good animation, sound, graphics, and it implements the gameplay of the arcade with a high level of precision. The second version was a Windows version. It is a direct port of the PlayStation version of the game, featuring the same menus, identical sprite sizes and qualities and the same gameplay as the PlayStation version.
MK3 for Windows and for PlayStation is also the base for Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for the Sega Saturn. These games feature the same sprite sizes and qualities and almost identical menu systems. But, the Sega Saturn version has the additional content from UMK3 roughly added in as well.
[edit] Criticisms
Although the third one did do well, many MK fans have criticized a few of the new main characters such as the removal of highly praised characters such as Raiden, Johnny Cage and Scorpion being replaced with Stryker and the Cyborg Ninjas whom some fans thought were unimpressive [3]. In fact, MK3 was the first mainstream Mortal Kombat game to lack the traditional palette-swapped masked ninjas (Sub-Zero is not counted due to his new appearance). This proved to be very unpopular with fans of the series, which lead to the ninja concept being reinstated in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.
Kombat Zones have been replaced with urban areas such as subways and city streets when the first two games contained Oriental and fantasy settings taking place in great palaces and creepy wastelands. Many fans thought these new locations were very uninteresting.
[edit] Trivia
- When the player picks the Master difficulty level, it is possible to fight Shang Tsung twice.
- In the arcade version, Kung Lao lacked a character bio during attract mode. Midway created one for the home versions of MK3.
- Noob Saibot is not a fully black 'ninja' palette swap, but is actually a completely black version of Kano, because there were no 'ninjas' in this game until Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. He also has no special moves but uses some of Kano's combos. It should be noted that when Noob wins a round, the announcer says, "Kano shows mercy!" This is most likely a programming glitch. In the Super NES version, upon defeat, the announcer says "You Suck".
- The reason Johnny Cage wasn't featured in MK3 was because the actor who portrayed him (Daniel Pesina) was fired in 1994 after dressing as Cage in an ad promoting the short lived fighting game BloodStorm. [4]
- The Graveyard stage contains gravestones with the last names of MK3's entire design team: Ed Boon, John Tobias, Dan Forden, John Vogel, Steve Beran, Tony Goskie, and Dave Michicich. For each round, four of these names will appear randomly on each of the four closest gravestones. Each gravestone also has each person's date of birth as well as the "alleged" date they died, which is April 1, 1995, the day the first version of MK3 was released in the arcades. A gravestone in the background can also be seen reading "Cage", making reference to Johnny Cage being deceased (at the time).
- The Subway stage has a sign in the background that reads: "BOON/TOBIAS". These are the last names of Mortal Kombat co-creators, Ed Boon and John Tobias.
- Many of the new characters weren't officially named till late in the production of the game. During production, Sektor and Cyrax's names were Ketchup and Mustard (respectively), due to their coloration, while Sindel bore the name "The Bride" as well as the odd moniker of "Muchacha." Kabal, meanwhile, was nicknamed "Sandman".
- The early names for the Graveyard and the Bell Tower stages were "The Boonyard" and "Tobias Tower," respectively, but criticism regarding the oversaturation of Boon's and Tobias' names in the game soon surfaced, resulting in both levels being quickly renamed with their generic descriptions.
- This was the first Mortal Kombat game to feature Sub-Zero unmasked. He was unmasked to not only give him a new look, but to also convince the fans that this was in fact the younger brother of the original Sub-Zero (who died in the first Mortal Kombat).
- When Smoke was unlocked via Ultimate Kombat Kode upon beating Shao Kahn he did not stay in the CPU's memory for the Arcade version.
- There are many similar voices for the characters in this game, but this varies in the different versions. Listed below are the various platforms, and the characters which share voices.
*Arcade: Shang Tsung, Jax, and Kano | Stryker and Kabal | Sub-Zero and Kung Lao | Sonya and Sindel | Cyrax, Sektor, and Smoke | Liu Kang, Nightwolf, and Sheeva all have their own unique voice.
*Super NES: Shang Tsung, Jax, Kano, Stryker, Sub-Zero, Kung Lao, and Kabal | Sonya, Sindel, and Sheeva | Cyrax, Sektor, and Smoke | Liu Kang and Nightwolf each have their own unique voices.
*Sega Genesis: Shang Tsung, Jax, Kano, Liu Kang, Stryker, Sub-Zero, Nightwolf, Kung Lao, and Kabal | Sonya and Sindel | Cyrax, Sektor, and Smoke | Sheeva has her own unique voice.
[edit] External links
Categories: Articles with large trivia sections | 1995 arcade games | 1995 computer and video games | Arcade games | Computer and video games with multiple endings | Computer and video games with digitized sprites | Game Boy games | Game Gear games | Mortal Kombat games | DOS games | PlayStation games | Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis games | Sega Master System games | Super NES games
