Mortal Kombat 4/YMMV


 * Anticlimax Boss: Shinnok. He just didn't have the fear factor of guys like Shao Kahn or Shang Tsung, and on lower difficulty levels, he doesn't even use his special moveset changes. Especially jarring since he, as a fallen Elder God, he is supposed to be leagues above them both yet comes across as a 2nd-rate Shang Tsung. Even Ed Boon admits that Shinnok probably shouldn't have been the Final Boss of 4.
 * Ensemble Darkhorse:
 * Tanya, the only Mortal Kombat 4 character that appeared in a sequel that wasn't Armageddon, is very popular; popular enough that she was requested many times as DLC for Mortal Kombat 9. She didn't make the cut, but she does make sporadic cameo appearances in Kahn's Coliseum as one of the chained female prisoners (along with Kitana, Kira and Skarlet). Discounting Shinnok and Quan Chi, who first appeared in Mythologies, Tanya is the fourth game's sole representative in Mortal Kombat X.
 * Reiko. The speculation his ending caused has a lot to do with it. The creators seem to have caught on to his popularity, as he makes an appearance as one of Shao Kahn's most trusted generals in Armageddon, has cameos in Mortal Kombat: Conquest and 9, and is depicted as a possible suitor to Mileena in the Mortal Kombat X prequel comics.
 * It's the Same, Now It Sucks: One of the biggest complaints about the game is that despite the jump to 3D, it doesn't do much different from Mortal Kombat 3, which fans had plenty of time to get sick of by that point.
 * Porting Disaster:
 * When ported to home consoles, the graphics were greatly reduced, and suffered from Loads and Loads of Loading, which then lead to the Updated Rerelease. Unfortunately, it was only for the Sega Dreamcast, which was so buggy that it crashed often.
 * The Game Boy Color version was a cheap and unplayable bastardization because of technical and graphical limitations. With "music" that's complete ear rape and makes music in pirated bootlegs look good by comparison. Prepare yourself.
 * Replacement Scrappy: Jarek was hated by fans who felt that he was nothing but a re-hash of Kano's moves. This is because he was originally supposed to be Kano, but the developers wanted more "new" characters, so they reskinned him.
 * Self-Plagiarism: War Gods, another bloody fighting game by Midway which was pretty much a beta-test for Mortal Kombat 4.
 * So Bad It's Good: Jax's ending. There are no words for it.
 * They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Kai. Another member of the White Lotus and a Shaolin warrior in training, he has interesting gameplay quirks (his handstand stance and vertical projectiles) and is even given Raiden's blessing and Lightning Staff in his ending, all of which could have potentially led to future appearances starting in Deadly Alliance. He's instead Put on a Bus until Armageddon as he walks the earth in search of enlightenment.
 * Tier-Induced Scrappy: Shinnok.
 * Tough Act to Follow: Coming up after Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. This game was supposed to return to the series' dark atmosphere, having exclusively two Fatalities per character as well as two Stage Fatalities. Sadly, this game lacked the charm of the first three games.