1994, I remember it like it was yesterday!!! Store near my house had it and it damn near had a line to play it like it was at the arcade!! I was blown away by how great it was!
I have this game for both arcade and the SNES and I'll tell you to win the fatalities in the other moves and stuff is a lot harder to do on the arcade than it is on the SNES controller in my opinion LOL just saying
MK11 is MKII improved visual wise. If only they had kept the theme of outworld on the newest edition & added Ritchie’s voice as a download would of been a dream come true
I remember back in the 90's this one older guy was like kid if you give me 50 cents I'll beat this game for you & show you the final two bosses. Of course I gave him the 50 cents & he lost his first match & walked out of the arcade, lol.
Ur2ez4me81 the shit they always did to take advantage of us 80s kids.............. i always hated people in the arcades offering stuff or advantages for our money........ i lost probably 15 dollars from the same guy probably with Turtles in time....... and if i could find this jerk in the box id punch him right in his throat then spit in his face and walk out the arcade
I remember back in the day I was playing Mortal Kombat 1 and this kid that wanted to play took out a knife. I assume though serious he was more playing than not, but I kind of lost on purpose after that.
In terms of sound design, music and atmosphere/graphical design they nailed it with MK2. One of my favorite examples of how to make a memorable arcade game.
Thank You = We from Chicago appreciate your kind words How can I say "we" ? The company moved from the burbs to the city. Me and Pops worked for the WMS/Williams side. You can google what's on California/Roscoe right now :)
The arcade version was always so much better. I owned the PC version but would still go to the arcade to play. The bass, graphics, controls. I was in Jr. High, I would act like a noob and then destroy the other player. There was always a line to play. We would gather around to watch this guy from Babbage's (Game store in the mall) destroy anyone who played him and the computer.
It’s amazing how well MK2 has aged. One of the best-looking and sounding 2D games ever, the arcade version does not seem anywhere near 30 years old. I don’t think any game from the early 90s can match its sound design- those sound effects, hilarious voices and music are all memorable and ridiculously high quality given the ancient hardware.
I remember when this arcade came out; the ability to play as Shang Tsung & Reptile with no codes, this game truly felt like something new and so impressive. At the time it seemed like only gods could touch this machine
Lmao right, being able to play as Reptile!? That was soo amazing. And then when you get told that your gonna fight a secret character!? We didn't know who or how many they were! And we couldn't play as them either!??
9 runs it over in everyway. 2 was the best then, not saying much for classic no was trash and why it was not popular by 2000s even by late 90s it was forgotten
for me this is the best MK, big nostalgia. i remember dominating ppl at the local arcade when i was about 14 (1996). i was unbeatable playing as Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Raiden, or Scorpion. i love the sound effects and Shao Khan' commentary throughout the game.. so legit.
Man the memories...I almost dropped out of school because of this game..was mind blowing in the 90's. Still surprised to realise that I've memorised every sound and move.
This game amazed everybody in the arcades. The crowds that would gatger around those tgat played and how everyone was in awe of the moves. I dont think we'll see times like that again.
I used to have crowds around me when I played games like this. Felt like a rock star. Even got laid for it once. Damn, I miss the 90's, when life still ment something.
Lol do u remember when the crowds would pop when the text would come on-screen to say you were about to fight a secret character!? Then afterwards the inability to play as the secret characters would have cause so much legends and rumors!
Back in the late 90’s when I was a kid and used to stay up late playing MK2, Super Mario World, F-Zero and Contra the Alien Wars on the SNES. Goodtimes!
I remember as a kid putting the boom box by the window playing these. Yeah I was pretty cool. Actually still play em sometimes, along with Ken Griffey Jr baseball, super punch out, gradius 3, nba jam, sunset riders, street fighter 2, final fight, tecmo super bowl and a lot more. Good times
I will always remember the first time knowing this masterpiece... I was totally amazed. I started as a child playing MK1 on the arcade rooms, then having its home version on SNES, but when I saw this game, hearing that tremendous sound rumbling in the arcade room, seeing that incredible intro, the new characters, the history, the changes where huuughe since MK1, I was mesmerized. I love the new versions, been collecting every MK port and sequel till MK 11 (Switch and PC) but MKII will always be the game of the series for me.
This was the game of the 90s! as a 80’s kid, I grew up around arcades. Early teens, On Saturdays, we would jump on a 20 min train ride, go to the city’s Amusements arcades. Spend all day there. 1st time I seen this game was blown away with the Graphics. 🤩
I remember when this came out and me and my school mates got excited sbout going to arcade to play it. One of the last big games of the arcades golden days.
I would argue that Tekken 3 was the last "big" arcade game that people cared about...but even back then we were more excited about the upcoming console port than playing the game at the arcade.
@@user-dv2hc8zt3o When PS1 hit that was the death knell for arcades. Getting ports of MK3 and Tekken 3 that were as good as they were made everyone question why they should go to an arcade again. Sad because we lost that arcade experience as a trade off for convenience.
This guy is TALENTED! For those who don’t know, the AI could simply throw you from sweeping distance. It simply cheated and you needed to exclude half your move set to defeat it. Congrats
Yeah shit starts getting wonky around barraca in this particular run. He goes for a leg.sweep from waaaay out and gets hip tossed. These effing hit boxes used to drive me insane. Game literally cheats
@@canceracar I owned the game on mega Drive and remember it well and then downloaded a PS version. That version was an arcade port and I played at myself and can vouch that it is stupid that they can throw you from almost an entire foot sweep away this was designed to take your money period!
you had the cheese the AI since it read inputs. thats why he does the jump kick soon as he's airborne, especially while jumping away, it locks the AI in place because as far as the AI is concerned you are in an attack window that cant be countered yet.
First time ever playing this as a kid was on Sega Genesis. Everyone in the family, including my dad when he came from work 9 at night would just play this game every night for hours. Finding out cheats and fatalities, Liu Kang being the easiest. It was just that good of a game.
@Googleame Esta Yeah I have this game (DOS version) from GOG Galaxy. On Very Easy, all battles except the final bosses are pretty much a cake walk, but on anything higher it's damn near impossible to beat the ladder, at least with the 5 credits you get. Still, I prefer playing on medium for the challenge, even if I know in all likeliness I'll never win. It's fun to see how high I can get before a Game Over and try to beat that record.
A man let me holla at u real quick like (cuz you gone respect this) when you see grown folks talkin lil boy u keep yo damn mouth shut unless you being spoken to...less u wanna get bopped in it! Understand what I'm saying here?!!! Fuck outta here with that lame shit bruh!
@@evillution1209 if you would have paid attention, you would have seen that Cole is Johnny Cage. Cole goes to Hollywood at the end of the movie and Johnny Cage is his screen name
I remember when I went to my friend´s house countless times to play MK 1&2 (DOOM as well) and listen to Iron Maiden. Our parents never got to know...lovely memories! Now, 20 years later I bought MK X and remembered most fighters at first sight.
Me too, I was watching thinking, "I know what he's trying to do here and I want it to happen so bad." Can't say it was for a lack of trying, he even threw a round just to get more uppercuts in.
Remember back in the 90s when you could go into a grocery store and there was a section where you could rent vhs movies and Super Nintendo games? Shit was epic as a kid! I still remember the day I brought home battletoads the game and loved it!
@@marcusgilmore5211 haha, nice! For me it was an Albertsons grocery store in Twin Falls, Idaho. My family moved there from central California back in 1996 and at the time I think that was the only store in the entire town that had a rental section for my Super Nintendo or VHS movies. I would go with my mom to the grocery store and I would browse all the video games while she did her shopping and then she would let me pick a couple games to rent and she would usually grab a vhs movie for her and my dad to watch when he got off work in the evening. I just remember being a kid and looking at all those video game selections and just being overwhelmed with excitement. You couldn’t wait to get home and play them!
Mk 1 was a small project they didn't even try or expect that great of an impact but what do you know street fighter had competition lol of course they tried to beef up mk2 it was the successor to their untimely success with mk1 haha
This is still the best Mortal Kombat. They did everything right. The music, the dark and eerie atmosphere of 'hey, you've got to win this fucking tournament even if it kills you'. It's what the modern MK games lack.
Only problem with it is there are no combos. That didn't come around until Killer Instinct, I think. MK X is pretty good. Too bad I have a ban on Xbox for abusive behaviour.
Well, not everything. The ai was complete bullshit. MK1 did everything right. It may seem very simple in retrospect, but I still hold MK1 had the most immersive and satisfying fighting mechanics. MK2 was still very good because they hadn't yet introduced dial-up combos, and it basically expanded upon and improved the first game in nearly every way (again except for BS ai).
I played this as a kid and always love the levels you would play on and the secret fatalities and just the heir of mystery around it. Every level seemed to have an entire unknown world around it. Always amazed me.
The forrest and the pit 2 were my favorite as far as looks and music goes. Masterpiece of a game…nothing like playing this in the arcades when it came out new. I still play it every so often on the PS2…never gets old.
Funnily enough that's how I'd beat goro in mk1 I'd bate him into the corner and spam the low punch till he was history 😂 Kintaro though... NOPE This game was a fkin nightmare when I was a wee lad, only ever beat it around 4 or 5 times the a.i is impossible
I remember when I was a kid, whenever I fought Mileena, I always lost the first fight on purpose because it made me feel funny. But then when I tried to fight her seriously the second go-around, she'd still beat me and then I'd be like, "Oh shit, I forgot that she's actually good!" lmao
Mileena is the hardest AI in the game that's not Jade, Smoke or Noob Saibot. Her ground roll she does can catch you off guard if you're not careful. And she can throw you from further away than the other characters it seems. I always have to up my concentration when it gets to her lol.
There will never be another fighting game that had the hype and popularity that this had in the 90s. I can remember going to the arcade and there would be like 30 kids standing around playing MK2.
A valiant attempt to fight Smoke. What a rip. It amazes me how much better the graphics and gameplay was in MKII vs MK3. They added a lot of cool features to MK3, but the basic play itself suffered.
The sound design in this game holds up so well even after all these years it is amazing, still unmatched even in newer mk games, the sound effects are just not the same. The atmosphere in mk2 was perfect I really wish a proper sequel was made to mk2. Umk3 was good but what I mean is a game that feels like mk2 but with a few more characters, enhanced combo system etc. I remember in the arcades, the bass was awesome & I also love the little fatality theme sound that starts, its really great eerie sounding. Im not sure why the sound design sucks so much in modern games?
Different sound engine. MK2 and 3 used the DCS system. It could sampled high rate of real life sound effects. They don't do that anymore because most of the memory goes into graphics.
I didn't know the guy who placed Shang Tsung is a doctor. I just now learned that. it's ironic that in real life, he saves lives while in the game, he steals them.
This game released a few months before I was born. My older brother was in middle school by that point and was playing this game regularly. Where we grew up (Fairfield County CT) it's common place for some of the most reputable pizza spots in the entire State of Connecticut. Where there was a pizza shop or a laundromat, there were arcade cabinets.
I totally enjoy every part of MK back when I was coming up. Personally I've enjoyed the older versions better than the newer versions. Because, in today's gaming, there's not a lot of stuff they have today. But MK rocks!!!!!
Many comments praise the game for the atmosphere, sound and graphics for the time which is great But you can really appreciate that the player has to lure the CPU in order to be able to attack them. You can begin to notice it in the battle against Baraka and moving on the CPU gets an insane reaction time (Notice the battle with Kintaro getting stuck in a 3 grab cycle), there are some videos already explaining how cheap was the CPU in order to get them Koins from the players. But no doubt, the game is great.
Yes they did a heck of a job programming the AI in this game. Also I’m pretty sure there’s still some hidden stuff in this game that no one knows about…
I remember getting this for Christmas on sega genesis the year it came out! When my parents went to bed i kept untaping the paper and playing it! I even got the strategy guide for it too! Always loved this game!!! I always loved Jade and Smoke too! Freaking awesome!
You need to make a video for every character in this MK2. Loved this when I was a kid, from the characters, fatalities and the music. I think it’s the overall music that made this game SO GOOD! The main theme is such a pump it up Dong!
everyone is just talking about how much they like your game but no one gives you any credit for your skill, you fucking killed it in this run through 💯
In Sub-Zero's case, it more taking advantage of the fact that he has a two-step fatality to use other ones when the game doesn't expect. Notice how the coloring of the opponent glitches out whenever he does a fatality he's not supposed to.
Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter and Tekken absolutely nailed their sequels. Mortal Kombat 2 being the the best of them all. Very dark, eerie music, great backdrops, speed, characters, finishing moves and a brilliant evil voice too. Sensational
I was watching this again recently and just now realized that after fighting for a bit, reptile and scorpion's idle stance changes to Sub Zero's. How have I never noticed this before?
MK 1 was the illest, then this shit came out and took it to a whole other level, faster gameplay better graphics and moves and more characters, I loved it
Probably the greatest arcade game ver made. The legitimate hype on this game, along with the story, characters, moves, boards, voice acting, secrets, EVERYTHING, was incredible. You had to be there to understand it.
I was absolutely obsessed with this back in the day! I'll always remember playing it in Hastings amusement arcade and a group of foreign tourists gathering round watching me play. I was rather good haha. They brought their book with all the special moves written down. 🤣
Man, I see this and it still gives me the chills. I remember the huge success of the game. I went undefeated for like 500 fights against any challenger. It was worth wasting my time like that :)
David Beacham, I actually had a harder time beating the computer, but the people I won against were better at that. I liked playing in SNES 4 against 4 and I would use Sub Zero and Raiden
MK2 the best. It was such an upgrade without losing anything special but adding to something special. Even if that “anything lost” was just Kano and Sonya, it was only because they were the least favorite characters and they opted to remove them for more new characters. At least they paid homage to them and gave back to the fans by having them appear in the game even if it’s just them held hostage lol. I remember seeing them as a kid in the arena stage and thinking that was so baddass! The game had story and oomph and was just ominous! the colors, gameplay, graphics, music, announcer, sound effects, and even grunts and yells was the best in MK2. I can’t help but notice the opponents desperate cry of agony sounds effect when subzero does his snowball fatality was not used in the home console ports. Also the second grunt cry from the arcade when they are uppercutted is not used in the home ports. I played the arcade so much I knew my snes grunts and yells sounded off 😂. I had to go back to see the arcade version here to see what was missing that I used to recall.
The difficultly in the older Mortal Kombat video games is ridiculous, I can get through the earlier stages fine. It's only in the last levels where the A.I just kicks the shit out of you. For example if you try an uppercut or do a sweep, the cpu will just counter with its own uppercut, toss projectiles at you, or throw you in the middle of an attack multiple times in a row or they just keep punching you. Which is bullshit !!
***** its mostly due to the AI being speed up, (walking, recovering from hits,and performing moves) sometimes it just breaks the rules. theres been a few times ive done raidens flying tackle and the AI doesnt even block... it literally just does a throw as my hands are in the chest
@@DrewMIATL Yeah Shang Tsung either blocks it and counters it with a fireball, or throws you right in the middle of the attack and don't even bother jump kicking Shang at the wrong time, because he'll kick you right out of the air. It's so annoying.
@@pwnageshow2549 It was also way too limited. The older MKs got by with their violence and their, at the time, cutting edge visuals, but their gameplay was kinda bleh. A new MK with digitised actors would never be able to compete now.
TheDragonEpyon I disagree but it would be cool to see a slightly reimagined trilogy done in like 4K with real actors. With the release of MK 11 they could some loop in time thing with the story around to the first three and remake them. Don’t get me wrong I like the new game just would like to see it go back to its roots.
Oh. Those were the days at 90's, every day after the school we went in to this one penny arcade and spend hours playing this and Alien 3 The Gun Arcade.
YOU STAY ON THAT FLYING KICK!! i used to get punches in my arm from my older brother mid battle cuz id always fuck him up with that flying kick... do combos with it mix it up with pretty much every other move lol. good shit sub zero the best.