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Mortal Kombat: Difference between revisions
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In its prime, for about three games, ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'' was the very essence of cool. It had style, [[Rated "M" for Money|that passed for maturity at the time]], a certain ''[[Family-Unfriendly Violence|something]]'' that more family-friendly games couldn't replicate. Packed with secrets, [[Easter Egg|Easter Eggs]], and hidden characters (and largely predating the Internet), the first few games lent themselves well to an [[Urban Legend of Zelda]] or two and it seemed like just about anything was possible.
What started as a fairly typical ''[[Street Fighter II]]''/''[[Enter the Dragon]]'' [[Tournament Arc|global tournament]]
''[[Mortal Kombat]]''
The designers, encouraged by their success, racked up the body count in subsequent installments, devising entirely new methods of dismemberment and decapitation. Eventually, the violence grew cartoonish in its excess, and the gameplay engine was not enough to sustain its popularity once other companies caught on to the idea that violence was nothing to be scared of. And while other series have made a successful leap to 3-D, MK had [[Polygon Ceiling|"hit and miss"]] luck there. Add that to the fact that [[Death Is Cheap|virtually no one ever actually died in the story]] despite the ultraviolent nature of the games -- a move that virtually guarantees stagnation -- and you've got a series that has seen better days...
... Then Midway goes bankrupt and [[Warner Bros]] promptly picks up the studio that produces the series (now known as Netherrealm Studios). The end result: a complete [[Continuity Reboot]] (with an in-game explanation, no less!) in 2.5d with the [[Executive Meddling]] that caused the [[Sequelitis]] done away with
The series' main games are the following:
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** ''[[Mortal Kombat 3]]''
** ''[[Mortal Kombat 4]]''
** ''[[Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance]]''
** ''[[Mortal Kombat: Deception]]''
** ''[[Mortal Kombat Armageddon]]''
** ''[[Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe]]'' (considered noncanon to WB Games canon)
* WB Games Canon:
** ''[[Mortal Kombat 9|Mortal Kombat]]''
** ''[[Mortal Kombat X]]''
** ''[[Mortal Kombat 11]]''
There are also some spinoffs:
* ''[[Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero]]''
* ''[[Mortal Kombat: Special Forces|Mortal Kombat Special Forces]]''
* ''[[Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks]]''
As well as adaptations to other media:
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* ''[[Mortal Kombat: Conquest|Mortal Kombat Conquest]]''
* ''[[Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm|Mortal Kombat Defenders of the Realm]]''
* ''[[Mortal Kombat: Legacy]]'', a web series
** ''[[Mortal Kombat Rebirth]]'', the pitch video that inspired ''Legacy''
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The general story is about a universe with several different dimensions (called "Realms") and how one of these, called Outworld, is on a mission to take over all realms. They are bound by laws set up that they must challenge the greatest warriors of whatever realm they wish to invade to a tournament. If the Outworld warriors win, they have free rein, but if the realm's warriors win, Outworld cannot enter the realm. Outworld's next target is Earth, and it's up to a select few warriors to determine the fate of their realm.
Besides that, we have [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] and their special moves and backstories. Character sheets can be found [[Mortal Kombat/Characters|here]], and are currently
{{tropenamer}}
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** [[I Don't Know Mortal Kombat]]
** [[I Know Madden Kombat]] (Partial)
* [[Mirror Match]] - ''MK'' [[Older Than They Think|wasn't the first to do it]], but they were probably the first game to call it this
* [[Passive-Aggressive Kombat]]
* [[Your Soul Is Mine]] - Thanks to Shang Tsung in the first movie.
{{tropenamer|The ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise is also the former Trope Namer for:}}
* [[Perfect Play AI]]: Formerly named [[MK Walker]], both for this franchise being a famous source of examples and for those instances giving the impression of ''walking'' all over players.
{{franchisetropes}}
* [[All There in the Manual]]: If the info's not available in the game, it's mentioned in some hard to find strategy guide. For example, Kintaro's fate (death at Raiden's hands) was only known in the ''MK3'' strategy guide.
* [[Almost-Lethal Weapons]]: Getting shot in these games really doesn't hurt any more than getting punched.
* [[Animated Adaptation]]: Two
* [[Another Dimension]]: Outworld, Edenia, Netherealm, and many others.
* [[Anti-Hero]]: In [[Crapsack World|a universe]] like Mortal Kombat, sometimes it becomes necessary to kill. But the ridiculous gruesome and painful ways in which some characters do so does call their motives into question...
* [[Anyone Can Die]]: [[Kill'Em All|And
* [[Ascended Meme]]: Nearly anything that could be listed under [[Urban Legend of Zelda]] eventually made it into the series (Ermac, Animalities, Skarlet, etc.). It'd be shorter to name what ''averted'' this, such as characters like Hornbuckle.
* [[Attract Mode]]
* [[Awesomeness Meter]]: In the killings, at least.
* [[Badass Normal]]: Many of the good guys have no special upgrades to fight with. Sometimes overlaps with [[Badass Abnormal]].
* [[Beat'Em Up]]: The genre of quite a few [[Spin-Off]]s: First came '''[[Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero]]''', which fleshed out the origin story of the original Sub-Zero and introduced Sareena. Next came '''[[Mortal Kombat:
* [[Bladder of Steel]]: The earliest installments had ''no pause mechanism whatsoever''. The Start button was used for blocking.
* [[Bloodier and Gorier]]: Compared to other games in the genre, which was its selling point.
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* [[Gorn]]: Being a series flooded with over-the-top violence, this was expected.
* [[Gosh Dang It to Heck]]: Despite all the violence, ''MK'' has almost little to no swear words uttered at all. So far, Scorpion has indulged in it in ''Shaolin Monks'', which sometimes he'll alter his iconic "Get Over here!" into more profane versions. It's subverted because they (mostly) avoid the phrases where the swears would go, obviating the need for narmy substitute words. Sonya also swears a few times in ''9'', with most of her profanities [[Curse Cut Short|being somehow interrupted.]]
* [[Guest Fighter]]: Since ''9'', the games are notorious for having these characters. They mostly consist of horror film characters and '80s film characters.
* [[Guide Dang It]]: Every [[Secret Character]], and fatalities in the older games.
* [[Highly-Visible Ninja]]: In all the colors of the rainbow.
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* [[Moral Guardians]]: Hoo boy, did they go apewire over this one...
* [[Mordor]]: Outworld is often depicted like this under Shao Kahn's rule.
* [[Multiple Endings]]: For each character. Most of them contradicted each other, to the point where figuring out the official canon is a massive undertaking; to some fans, it's just easier to ignore the endings that contradict one another and see what's left. In the past, all you had to do was go by Liu Kang's ending. But well... he's kinda [[Killed Off for Real]]. {{spoiler|Well, he's TECHNICALLY [[Back
* [[Negative Continuity]]
* [[Nice Hat]]: Some of the ''MK'' cast have some funky headwear, with Raiden's [[All Asians Wear Conical Straw Hats|conical Chinese fisherman hat]] being most memorable. Kung Lao's is a special example as ''MK2'' proved that [[Improbable Weapon User|it was an outright lethal weapon]].
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* [[Off with His Head]]: A lot of fatalities involve this.
* [[Our Souls Are Different]]: If you lose your soul in ''Mortal Kombat'', you're usually dead. Unless you are a fully converted cyborg.
* [[Palette Swap]]: The [[Ninja|ninjas]]... at least initially. Something funny about this is when you use the term for the Mirror Matches: in ''[[Mortal Kombat (video game)|Mortal Kombat]]'', only Sonya had a completely different color set for her [[Mirror Match]] (red instead of the usual green). The other fighters were merely covered in a slightly darker shade, which sometimes makes the difference just that subtle (picture Liu Kang in a time he had neither the [[
* [[Personality Powers]]: Not everyone per se, but there are standout cases, such as [[Unstoppable Rage|Scorpion]] ([[Playing with Fire|fire]]), [[The Stoic|Sub-Zero]] ([[An Ice Person|ice]]), and [[Made of Evil|Noob Saibot]] ([[Casting a Shadow|shadow/darkness]]).
* [[Player Versus Player]]
* [[Polygon Ceiling]]: Subverted: the transition was made much more successfully than most other 2D fighting game series. Of course, the ''MK'' fanbase isn't as known for hardcore meta-gaming as some. The game's combo system has changed with just about every 3D incarnation released. They got the hint by ''[[Mortal Kombat 9]]'', which plays in 2D.
* [[Power Echoes]]
* [[Purely Aesthetic Gender]]: In the early games, while all of the normal attacks looked/were performed the same, moves tended to have slightly different effects for each character. Also, the hitboxes were determined by the poses and body size of the actors who were greenscreened.
* [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old]]: Nearly everyone who isn't from Earthrealm is several centuries old, even if they don't look it. An extreme case are Edenians: Kitana, for instance, is around '''10,000 years old'''. And there's her mother Sindel, too!
* [[Trope Codifier]]: While not the first Fighting Game where the idea was to kill the opponent, this was certainly the one that made the idea of a [[Fatality]] in games like this popular.
* [[World of Badass|Realms Of Badass]]
* [[World of Buxom|Realms Of Buxom]]: Apparently, [[Pettanko|Pettankos]] don't exist in the ''MK'' universe. This is ''especially'' true [[Hotter and Sexier|as]] [[Fan Service Pack|of]] ''Deadly Alliance''.
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''{{center|{{smallcaps|FLAWLESS VICTORY}}}}''
<big><big>'''{{center|{{color|red|
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Trope Overdosed]]
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