Fighting game pioneer Mortal Kombat is celebrating its 30th anniversary ‒ with 11 mainline games, three action-adventure spinoffs, plus several updated and port versions, the series has become an industry mainstay and one of the most popular games ever released. To mark the series’ auspicious anniversary, here’s our ranking of all 14 Mortal Kombat games.
14. Mortal Kombat: Special Forces (2000)
Not only is Mortal Kombat: Special Forces consistently regarded as the worst game to emerge from the MK series, it is widely considered to be one of the worst video games ever made. Plagued by developmental difficulties, the action-adventure spin-off was panned by critics upon release for its tedious gameplay, tiresome plot, and poor-level design.
13. Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero (1997)
Mortal Kombat’s first venture into the action-adventure genre, Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero whilst subjectively better than its successor Special Forces was slated for many of the same issues ‒ stiff animation, terrible platforming, and poor level design. Despite this, some praised it as an impressive combination of the fighting and platforming genres.
12. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (2008)
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is a crossover fighting game featuring a roster composed of MK combatants and DC Superheroes and villains. It is a bit of an anomaly in the series, owing to the drastically reduced levels of graphic violence and gore ‒ a disappointment to many long-time fans of the notoriously bloody series.
11. Mortal Kombat 4 (1997)
The first mainline game to feature 3D fighters, Mortal Kombat 4 despite innovation was unable to replicate the immense success of its predecessors. The fourth instalment introduced many new characters and was the first to feature a weapon system, however, this did not make up for unoriginal gameplay, bugs, boring fatalities, and frequent camera problems.
10. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (2006)
Featuring a drastically improved Konquest mode as well as Kreate-A-Fighter and Kreate-A-Fatality, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon’s biggest selling point is its roster of 62 characters, the most of any MK game yet. This abundance of combatants whilst an enormous achievement is, in reality, one of the biggest issues with Armageddon as the majority of characters play like clones of each other.
9. Mortal Kombat 3 (1995)
Like its precursors, Mortal Kombat 3 was originally released in arcades. Ultimately despite graphical improvements over its predecessors, MK 3 is looked back on less fondly than previous instalments, particularly for the removal of fan-favourite characters and a new chain combo system. The updated versions, MK 3 Ultimate and MK Trilogy would significantly improve on the third instalment, even bringing back the omitted classic fighters.
8. Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002)
Praised for its 3D fighting, numerous unique combat styles, the introduction of the Krypt mode, and intuitive combo system, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance was received by critics as a return to form for the series after several lacklustre mainline and spin-off instalments. Despite this, however, Deadly Alliance’s roster whilst partially made up of returning fan favourites introduced some of the worst new characters in MK history.
7. Mortal Kombat (1992)
initially released in the arcade before being ported to home consoles, Mortal Kombat revolutionised the fighting game genre, and whilst it is rather rudimentary by today’s metrics, it is still a wonderfully entertaining arcade-style fighting game. Featuring seven characters depicted by digitized sprites, Mortal Kombat unlike many of its contemporary animated video games retains its charm thirty years after its release.
6. Mortal Kombat: Deception (2004)
Mortal Kombat: Deception built upon everything great from Deadly Alliance and is widely regarded as the best mainline entry from the 3D era. Classic characters returned, the additional strategy was added to combat, and critics praised the removal of special move buttons. Despite this, however, some poorly reviewed Konquest Mode, for its voice acting and graphics.
5. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (2005)
Despite the previous action-adventure MK games failing to impress critics or consumers, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks was released to near-unanimous praise. It avoids all of the pitfalls of its series spin-off predecessors and was praised for its story, AI, level design, combo system, multiplayer, and handling which has been compared favourably with God of War.
4. Mortal Kombat X (2015)
Mortal Kombat X upon release became the fastest-selling game in the Mortal Kombat series history. It was universally praised for its excellent story mode, revolutionary fighting mechanics, and inclusion of a new generation of unique fighters. MK X was criticised for its over-inclusion of monetization practices, however, the DLC content purchasable was worth it for many.
3. Mortal Kombat 11 (2019)
The highlight of the latest instalment in the MK series, Mortal Kombat 11 is undoubtedly its cinematic story mode which follows on from the story of MK X. MK 11 whilst similar graphically and gameplay-wise to MK X, was praised for its slower combat as well as its online multiplayer mode and gear customization options. The eleventh instalment in the mainline series was, however, criticised for its repetitive Krypt mode and its monetization practices.
2. Mortal Kombat (2011)
Mortal Kombat rebooted the series after the events of Armageddon, it also returned the series to the classic 2D template and drastically improved gameplay, graphics, and storytelling. Mortal Kombat beyond an excellent story mode features the incredibly entertaining 300-mission-long Challenge Tower. Notably, the 2011 instalment was also the first to feature X-Ray moves.
1. Mortal Kombat II (1993)
Like the original, Mortal Kombat II was released in arcade before being ported to home consoles. MK II debuted to overwhelming acclaim from critics and consumers; it built upon the original MK, improving character resolution and overall graphics, including multiple fatalities per combatant, and adding five characters – all of whom would become franchise mainstays.
Words by Luke Horwitz
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