Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero

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Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero
Developer(s) Midway Games
Publisher(s) Midway
Series Mortal Kombat
Platform(s) Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis(Unlicensed port)
Release date August 31, 1997 (NA)
December 2, 1998 (EU)
Genre(s) Adventure
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) ESRB: M

Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero is a 1997 role-playing spinoff of the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. It was the first MK game to feature side-scrolling gameplay, and was released exclusively for the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64. The storyline centered around the original Sub-Zero in an adventure to defeat Quan Chi from retrieving an amulet that would free the fallen Elder God Shinnok.

The events in MKM:SZ dated chronologically before the first MK game, in order to further expand on elements of the existing series canon, particularly in regards to Quan Chi, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Shinnok, and the Lin Kuei.

Contents

[edit] Storyline

Thousands of years ago, Shinnok existed as an Elder God. The Elder Gods are the true rulers of all realms. They watch as worlds are created and destroyed and govern the realms with untold eons of wisdom. Shinnok, however, gave in to greed and illusions of false power through the new realm of Earth. If he could have that realm to himself, he would have power unmatched. To accomplish his goal, he first would have to face the thunder god, Raiden, who was appointed as Earth's guardian by the Elder Gods themselves. Their battle for the realm of Earth was fierce, causing the planet's near destruction and plunging it into centuries of darkness.

Raiden soon discovered that Shinnok had gained access to the realm through the powers of a mystical amulet, which permitted the user to enter without challenge and keep the other Elder Gods from intervening. The amulet could only be created once, and Raiden relieved it from the fallen deity's possession. With the aid of the Elder Gods, he banished Shinnok into a place known as the Netherealm, then buried the amulet deep within the mountains of Siberia, and created a massive temple within the mountain to house it, appointing four guardians as its protectors. Each guardian represented one of the four elements that made up the realm: wind, earth, water, and fire. As long as the amulet remained on Earth, Shinnok would be trapped and remain dormant for eternity.

Sub-Zero fighting his way through the Shaolin Temple
Sub-Zero fighting his way through the Shaolin Temple

Over the millennia, the Netherealm had many rulers. Most of them were forged within its fiery pits, eventually ripping their masters mercilessly from their thrones. One, however, came not from the bowels of the Netherealm, but from the heavens of reality. He was the fallen Elder God known as Shinnok. Upon entering the realm, Shinnok found himself immediately under attack by its inhabitants. He would exist tortured and tormented for thousands of years, until he met Quan Chi.

Quan Chi is a free roaming sorcerer, having the ability to travel the various planes of reality without detection from their gods. It also meant that over the years, he had obtained great power. Aware of Shinnok's dilemma, Quan Chi traveled to the Netherealm and made the fallen god an offer. He would free him from his confines and assist him in defeating Lucifer and his minions, in exchange for power and the ability to rule at his side if and when he escaped the Netherealm entirely. Shinnok agreed, and the two waged a war in the Netherealm that lasted for centuries, but the ex-Elder God eventually won as he viciously slew his tormentor. Then he took his seat as the new ruler with supreme control of the dead realm. Shinnok, however, found he had nothing to rule. The realm was a desolate wasteland of fire and brimstone inhabited by grotesque demons. So, he decided to create a physical world, trying his best to emulate the realm he wanted so badly, Earth. He took the demons of his realm and transformed them into as human a form as possible. But unlike the Outworld, which became a wasteland after Shao Kahn sapped its energies, the Netherealm never was a living planet. It always had existed as a dead realm, infinite in size. Its true form would now be hidden by its ruler.

It was through the Mortal Kombat tournament that the Outworld's soul-stealing sorcerer Shang Tsung discovered the location of the sacred Map of Elements, which could bring him to the sacred amulet. Four hundred years ago, he stole the first Kung Lao's soul after Goro defeated him in Mortal Kombat. Shang Tsung retained his thoughts and memories, thus discovering the secrets of the sacred map, which has been hidden within the Shaolin Temple for centuries. These events enabled Shang Tsung to strike a bargain with Quan Chi.

In exchange for Shinnok's assistance in a plot to reincarnate Outworld emperor Shao Kahn's dead queen, Sindel, Shang Tsung would divulge to Quan Chi the location of the map that would lead to the amulet. However, Shang Tsung failed to inform Quan Chi of the elemental guards that protect the amulet. Their mere existence made it impossible for Quan Chi to enter the temple where the amulet rested, but if he could recruit a human who stood a chance against the elements, then he could achieve his goal.

[edit] Search for Shinnok's amulet

One of the longest-tenured rivalries in the MK series has existed between Sub-Zero and Scorpion, and MKM:SZ further explains the animosity between these two characters.

Sub-Zero fighting his way through the Netherealm
Sub-Zero fighting his way through the Netherealm

The human Quan Chi would use to find the amulet was Lin Kuei warrior Sub-Zero, the eldest of two brothers. Quan Chi hires Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei, and Sub-Zero is sent to find the map leading to its location. He did not know that Quan Chi had hired a Japanese ninja from the rival Shirai Ryu clan, Hanzo Hasashi, codenamed Scorpion, for the same task in case Sub-Zero failed. Hasashi and Sub-Zero encounter each other, and Sub-Zero kills him in cold blood. After Sub-Zero delivers the map, Quan Chi makes good on a promise to the Lin Kuei; the rival clan, the Shirai Ryu, was wiped out by Quan Chi himself; every remnant of the clan destroyed. This results in Scorpion's everlasting hatred of Sub-Zero, as later on, he would come to believe that Sub-Zero is directly responsible for the destruction of the Shirai Ryu, as well as his family.

After Sub-Zero retrieves the map, he is requested to find a hidden Temple of the Elements, wherein an amulet is kept. Defeating the four elemental god-guardians in the temple, Sub-Zero finds the amulet, but Quan Chi claims it, revealing that it actually belonged to Shinnok. Raiden, who had originally hid the amulet, tells Sub-Zero to rectify his mistake, and retrieve the amulet. Sub-Zero reluctantly agrees, and is transported to the Netherealm, where he is captured by the Brothers of the Shadow and locked in the Prison of Souls, where he realizes that he's not alone in his cell. He sees his rival Scorpion once more, who confronts him about destroying his clan and killing his family, and attempts to have his revenge, though his attempt to kill Sub-Zero is unsuccessful.

Sub-Zero escapes from the Prison of Souls, and crosses the Bridge of Immortality to reach Quan Chi's fortress, where he fights against Quan Chi's personal guards, Kia, Jataaka, and Sareena. Once he defeats them all, he tracks down Quan Chi, and defeats him with unexpected assistance from Sareena. She reveals that she wants to go to Earthrealm with him, but she is suddenly blasted by Shinnok himself, and her essence is sent back to the fifth plane of the Netherealm. Sub-Zero steals back the amulet and escapes to Earth via Raiden's portal.

Sub-Zero asks Raiden to thank him for retrieving the amulet, but Raiden tells him that he simply undid the evil he caused. At the very end, Sub-Zero appears before the Lin Kuei grandmaster asking about his next mission. He meets Shang Tsung, who invites him to "a small tournament." However, It is later revealed that Quan Chi had passed off a facsimile of the amulet to Shinnok and kept the original for himself.

Quan Chi informs Sub-Zero that only evil beings can enter the Netherealm, meaning Sub-Zero must be evil to even be there; Raiden confirms this, and says that only Sub-Zero himself can change this. This leads up to Sub-Zero's rebirth as Noob Saibot in the Netherealm upon his death at the hands of Scorpion in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

[edit] Reception

Despite substantial hype, MKM: SZ was not well-received by either critics or gamers. The graphics, although fluid on their own right, were considered outdated; it was released only a few months before the polygon-filled Mortal Kombat 4 hit arcades. The controls had also been virtually unchanged from the fighting games and this would not be a problem if the character would automatically turn to face the opponent. However, this platform game would not always have one opponent on screen, so this necessitated an awkward extra button for the sole purpose of turning around to change the player's facing direction. The awkwardness was even stronger in the N64 version as the turn button was assigned to a face button by default; the Playstation version had it assigned to a quickly accessible button on top of the controller. Despite its less-than-favorable reception, MKM: SZ nonetheless was a million-seller worldwide, with 850,000 sales alone in the United States.

GameSpot gave the Playstation version a 7.5/10, saying, "MKM is a pretty amazing meld of fighting and platform jumping and is sure to please fans of MK and platform games alike." However, the N64 version received a 4.9/10 rating: "This one is only for the hardcore MK fans who don't already own PlayStations."


[edit] Cast

[edit] External links

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