| Mortal Kombat Trilogy |
|
| Developer(s) |
Point of View, Inc. (Saturn)
Avalanche Software (PlayStation)
Williams Entertainment (N64) |
| Publisher(s) |
Midway
Williams Entertainment |
| Series |
Mortal Kombat |
| Engine |
Updated Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Engine |
| Platform(s) |
PlayStation, Nintendo 64, PC, Sega Saturn, Game.com, R-Zone |
| Release date(s) |
PS
NA September 1, 1996
EU December 6, 1996
AUS December 6, 1996
JP April 2, 1998
N64
NA October 31, 1996
|
| Genre(s) |
Fighting |
| Mode(s) |
Up to 2 players simultaneously |
| Rating(s) |
BBFC: 15
ESRB: M (Mature) (Realistic Violence, Realistic Blood and Gore)
OFLC: MA
CERO: D |
| Media |
CD-ROM, Cartridge |
Johnny Cage performing his shadow kick while Raiden sends a lighting bolt
Mortal Kombat Trilogy is a fighting game developed and published by Midway. It is a compilation of content from the previous titles based primarily upon the gameplay mechanics of Mortal Kombat 3 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. It follows the same story of Mortal Kombat 3 but contains all characters and most of the stages from Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat 3, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.
New to the series
- Mortal Kombat Trilogy introduces the Aggressor bar, which fills as the combatants fight. When the bar fills, the character becomes much faster and stronger for a short period of time.
- A finishing move known as a Brutality is featured in this game. This finishing move requires the player to perform an 11 button combo which causes their opponent to explode. Brutalities were also added to the Genesis and SNES ports of UMK3.
- Many of Mortal Kombat Trilogy characters have brand new special moves and finishing moves. Several have unused special moves never implemented in previous games. They make their first official appearance in Mortal Kombat Trilogy. These special moves include MK1 Kano's Spinning Blade move, MK2 Kung Lao's Air Torpedo, Goro's Spinning Punch move, Raiden's lightning that shoots from behind the opponent, and Baraka's Blade Spin move. In addition, Shao Kahn has a throw move and a grab and punch move that is exclusive to this game, and Motaro has added an overhead toss to his arsenal.
- The spelling mistake in Jade's ending ("Komabt", seen in the arcade version) is corrected.
- In the PlayStation version, there's an option that lets the system load two additional characters into memory when playing as Shang Tsung, eliminating the long loading delays of MK3 and UMK3 when morphing.
- Shang Tsung never appears anywhere within the "Choose Your Destiny" towers, probably because of the loading delays when morphing in the PlayStation version. The only time the CPU ever controls Tsung is during the attract mode.
Nintendo 64 differences
- 3-on-3 simultaneous battles.
- Motaro and Shao Kahn are given Fatalities to perform in the Nintendo 64 version, either as computer-controlled or regularly controlled characters.
- The female character Khameleon (a transparent grey female ninja who has the moves of Kitana, Mileena, and Jade replaces Chameleon (a transparent male ninja who randomly changes between all the male ninjas.)
- Johnny Cage has two fatalities that he had in MKII
- Classic costumes for Raiden, Kano, Jax, and Kung Lao are not available, i.e. pressing the select button on Jax on the select screen does not give you the MK2 version of Jax, etc.
- Goro and Kintaro are not playable at all, unlike the PSX, Saturn, and PC version where all characters are playable from the the past 4 MK games (MK, MKII, MK3, UMK3).
- In the N64 version there are two secret menus (blue question mark and red question mark) because not all the playable characters are unlocked from the start.
- 30 (excluding Khameleon) total characters on N64 vs 36 (excluding Chameleon) on the PSX, Sega Saturn, and PC versions of the game.
Game.com port
The game was also a launch release for the Game.com handheld console. Only thirteen characters and ten kombat zones remain in this version. In addition, each character has only two special moves and four finishing moves. The finishing moves that were kept for the game were one Fatality, Babality, Friendship, and Brutality. Every character except the bosses have finishers, although Noob Saibot does not have a Fatality. The game includes multiplayer mode, accessible only with the compete.com game link cable. In this version, each finishing move has the same command for every character. These are the characters that appear in the game:
Screenshots of early releases included Smoke, Scorpion, Classic Sub-Zero, Human Smoke, Goro, and Kintaro as characters, while Nightwolf and Raiden were not present. These two were probably added to include characters that were not palette swaps.
Characters
Character select screen from the PlayStation/Saturn/PC version of the game.
Every character that has ever appeared in a Mortal Kombat game prior to Mortal Kombat Trilogy appears in this game. Along with the Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 roster, Mortal Kombat Trilogy adds Baraka, and Raiden as they appeared in Mortal Kombat II. In addition to both characters gaining one new special move each, both characters have brand new sprites for running and standing falls (these animation types weren't introduced until Mortal Kombat 3). A new version of Johnny Cage played by a new actor was also introduced as well. He retains all of his regular moves from MKII except for the Split Punch, which had to be excluded since none of the characters from MK3/UMK3 had "reaction" sprites for this particular move. Bosses Goro, Kintaro, Motaro and Shao Kahn, are also now playable.
The PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and PC versions also contain alternate versions of Jax, Kung Lao, Kano and Raiden as they appeared in the first or second game (being the only characters not to change actors between games)[1] New frames were also created for MK1 Kano to replace the old frames used for his victory stance and heart rip fatality by modifying Kano's Mortal Kombat 3 sprites. A new secret character appears, as well. This character, known as Chameleon, rapidly switches between all the male ninjas (Classic Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Noob Saibot, Human Smoke, Rain, Reptile, and Ermac) during combat. He is similar to the original Mortal Kombat's version of Reptile, but Chameleon changes his color, not just his stance. This character is playable by performing a special button combination. The spine rip fatality performed by Classic Sub-Zero is a censored version of that featured in the original Mortal Kombat game.
The Nintendo 64 version, due to limitations of cartridge space, lacks the classic versions of Jax, Kung Lao, Kano, and Raiden, as well as Goro and Kintaro. In addition, many frames of animation had to be cut from each character in the game. Chameleon is replaced with the secret character Khameleon, a grey female ninja, and is present as both a secret opponent and a playable character. While she, too, switches her move sets (making her considerably weaker), she has a cohesive backstory, unlike her male counterpart.
The N64 version of the game, like MK3 and UMK3, provides the player with an "Ultimate Kombat Kode" screen after a single player game is over where a 6 digit code can be entered to unlock Human Smoke and Khameleon for normal play. The code (113-840) remained undocumented until April 26, 2007 when it was posted by a user named "Proto K" on a ROM hacking forum board (Acmlm's board II).[2] When used "FROM THIS POINT ON.... SMOKE AND KHAMELEON ARE AT YOUR CONTROL" appears and they both become selectable at the character select screen. Both characters, however, could be unlocked through other cheat codes as well. Despite the other means of unlocking the two characters, this "UKK" is currently one of the most elusive cheats ever in Mortal Kombat history.
New actors
- Johnny Cage: (Chris Alexander) : Johnny Cage is the only character to have all new sprites for this game. This is a result of Johnny Cage's original actor, Daniel Pesina, being fired by Midway sometime after the release of Mortal Kombat II. His new sprites are that of Chris Alexander. In addition, new sprites were created to show MK2 Raiden and Baraka running and falling from a standing position.
- Raiden: Carlos Pesina is the actor for the sprites used during gameplay. Sal Divita is used for the Versus screen picture.
Kombat Zones
Almost every battle arena that has been featured in Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat 3, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 makes an appearance in this game. The PC, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn versions only lack the Hidden Portal and Noob Saibot's Dorfen from MK3, while the N64 version lacks Kahn's Arena and The Bank from MK2 and MK3, respectively. Only a handful of backgrounds from the first Mortal Kombat make it into this game such as the Courtyard, Goro's Lair, the Pit, and the Pit Bottom. Palace Gates, Warrior Shrine and Throne Room were not used.
The N64 game also includes a new level: the Star Bridge, which is the Pit II background with a star-filled sky. Some older backgrounds are also "enhanced" with extra graphics and added animation. Some examples of this are The Portal, which now includes a temple-like building on each side of the stage, and the N64's Kahn's Kave, which has animated clouds and a glowing floor added to it. The sky of the Pit I stage has been redone in all versions: the PlayStation, PC, and Saturn versions feature a sky almost identical to that of the Pit II, while the N64 version features a pitch-black, star-filled sky. Kahn's Arena no longer has the sprites of Kano and Sonya in the background (most likely due to storyline reasons). Living Forest also no longer has sprites of Smoke and Jade emerging in the background as they are playable characters of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. The N64's Lost Bridge also has Hornbuckle and Blaze appear at random in its background. The PC, PlayStation, and Saturn versions feature a new red carpet on the floor of the Bank stage. The N64's Graveyard stage has more random names on the gravestones near the front. As well as the original Midway design team of MK3, names of the team at Williams Entertainment were added. The date of death on the stones was changed, from April 1, 1995 to September 30, 1996 to the creators birthdates. The PlayStation, PC, and Saturn versions of the Dead Pool is that of the arcade MK2. In the PC arenas of Mortal Kombat II, The Dead Pool, Wasteland, The Armory and The Portal have no animations.
All of the levels that featured a stage fatality made it into this game except for the stage fatality featured in The Pit II. Because of the practical impossibility of filming new, extra animations with actors for the non-Mortal Kombat II character sprites for the Pit II's overhead fall, they simply left the fatality out entirely.
Layers
The following displays the Kombat Zones where a character can be uppercutted into different backgrounds.
- The Subway → The Street
- The Bank → The Rooftop (PC, PlayStation, and Saturn versions only)
- The Soul Chamber → The Balcony
- Scorpion's Lair → Kahn's Kave
- Goro's Lair → The Armory → Kombat Tomb (N64 version only)
Bosses and Sub-bosses
Audio
Most of the background music tracks remain intact from MKII and MK3, especially for the CD-ROM versions of the game, but in all versions of the game, many of the tunes are not played with their correct levels. In all versions of MKT, none of the music appears from the original Mortal Kombat game. All of the CD-ROM games read the background music directly from CD disk providing high quality CD sound. Unfortunately, they lack all song endings as well as all of the music loops used during the "Finish Him/Her" screen. All of the music taken from MK3 on the CD-ROM MKT games is noticeably slowed down in both speed and pitch. When these particular songs were converted to MKT's redbook CD quality, they downsampled the songs from 48 kHz to 44.1 kHz without resampling them to maintain the original tempo. This is noticeable in the PlayStation version; The Sega Saturn has the original tempo.
The N64 version only uses music from MK3 and it is played through the system's internal synth, resulting in considerably lower quality than the CD versions. However, all ending tunes and music loops used during the "Finish Him/Her" screen are intact unlike the CD-ROM versions.
Storyline
Mortal Kombat Trilogy is the same storyline as Mortal Kombat 3 (and by proxy Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3). The introduction to Mortal Kombat Trilogy is stated as follows:
| “ |
Thousands of years ago an order of the wisest men from the far east received visions of the dark realm known as the Outworld. It was a world ruled by a vicious emperor known as Shao Kahn.
They learned that travel between Earth and the new found realm would someday be possible if the conditions were right, the conditions being the unbalancing of the furies. Negative and positive forces which keep our unstable universe from collapsing onto itself.
Knowing that an Outworld invasion was imminent, the wise men appealed to the Elder Gods. It was for this reason the Elder Gods created the tournament called Mortal Kombat.
For nine generations Mortal Kombat was ruled by Outworld's finest warrior-prince Goro. The Earth was on the brink of its destruction when a new generation of warriors were victorious in defending its realm.
The warrior monk, Liu Kang, would become the new Champion. But his victory was short lived as he and his comrades find themselves lured into the Outworld to compete in a second tournament.
Little did they know that the tournament was merely a diversion. A scheme devised by the dark emperor to break the rules set forth by the Elder Gods and witness the reincarnation of his former Queen Sindel on the Earthrealm itself.
The unholy act gives Shao Kahn the power to step through the dimensional gates and reclaim his queen, thus enabling him to finally seize the Earth.
These are the trilogy of events which comprise Shao Kahn's final attempt at taking the Earth.
|
” |
Versions and revisions
- There were at least three public revisions of this game for the PlayStation. With each revision, aspects of the gameplay were refined, producing gameplay closer to Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for the Arcade. The final version was the Greatest Hits edition. Many of the infinites and bugs found in the game only existed in earlier revisions.
- There were at least two public revisions of this game for the Nintendo 64. There was little difference between them.
An early beta version of
MKT
- There were at least two public revisions of this game for the PC. The PC version is a direct port of the PlayStation version, only lacking the extra load times. The Final version (indicated by the word 'final' next to the version number in the about dialog box) has gameplay identical to the Greatest Hits PlayStation version. The game is not officially supported by Windows 2000 and subsequent variants (the game would crash frequently). An unofficial patch called mktv2.sdb makes the game fully playable in Windows Vista. The CD or ISO image has to be mounted to the first drive letter in order for CDDA music to play.
- A beta version was revealed on a trailer. The beta uses UMK3 menus as the structure of the game. This would later change in version 1.0, and 1.1.
- A hack of the Sega Genesis version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is available titled as Ultimate Mortal Kombat Trilogy. The hack includes all the variations of characters appeared in the previous games (with Johnny Cage, Chameleon and Khameleon from the genuine Mortal Kombat Trilogy) except Noob Saibot's MK3 version. It is the only unofficial game to past through the capabilities of the Genesis.
Trivia
- This was the first (and only, until Mortal Kombat: Armageddon) game to feature all the "ninjas" in one game.
- After beating the PlayStation version of the game, the final message in the credits says "MK4 coming in 1997". The PC version's final message (only with the unofficial 1.1 patch) is "MK6 is out now".
- In the attract mode on the Highscore listings it says MK4 on the 5th column.
- The PlayStation, Saturn, and PC versions of the game only have twelve boxes for the Kahn's Treasure Cave screen at the end of the tournament, whereas the N64 version has twenty-four to pick from. The N64 version also has a more cohesive "Supreme Demonstration" feature (which shows every Fatality, Babality, Friendship, Animality, and Brutality for every character) than the PS1 or Saturn versions as the latter versions needed to load the fatalities and cannot show every one in the allotted time.
- In the PlayStation version, Rain's fighting stance is the same as most ninjas (except Reptile), while in the Nintendo 64 version his stance is the same as Reptile's.
- In the N64 version, like in the arcade, the player has four credits from the start. However, after playing a 2-player match, the player gets an extra credit, while in the CD-ROM versions, anyone can play for free. Free Play needs to be unlocked on the N64 version.
- Though not appearing in the N64 version, the MK3 version of Sub-Zero (in which he appears unmasked and wearing a uniform different from his Lin Kuei garb) can be seen as one of the warrior souls which fall out of Shao Kahn's body when he is defeated.
- When the player beats arcade mode or 8 player kombat on the PlayStation version using the PlayStation 2 or the PlayStation 3, the player is supposed to be taken to Kahn's Lost Treasures. Instead the screen turns black and the music continues to play unless the system is turned off or the game is reset.
References
External links
