Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance 20th Anniversary Analysis 

Liu Kang being killed still one of the most biggest moments in video game history showed Midway would cross the line in the MK stories.

This was the Mortal Kombat game that made me start seriously paying attention to the story. I loved this game back in the day.

Loved how DA nailed the dark and mystical feeling of MK. And the large amount of lore you could uncover was great.

Jax's alternative design actually makes sense in this cannon/timeline since he still has his natural arms underneath the metal ones. So he can remove them if he'd want to

My roommates and I still play this game and deception on weekends. Such a great game and one of my absolute favorites.

1. This mean we gotta wait 2 years for a Deception analysis? 2. I really don't see how people can look at the 3D era vs. Netherrealm and honestly think Netherrealm is better when it's obvious the devs cared WAY more in the 3D era

Cooking With Scorpion is one of the best things to unlock in the Krypt, not to mention the game having the Adema Music Video (Immortal is still a fucking bop!) Deadly Alliance is underrated as fuck. Hell the whole 3D era is underutilized nowadays.

It’s nice to hear you speak about the things you like about an MK game. I came in around the MKX critique and so I got all of that plus all of MK11. I’ve revisited this video a couple of times now. Hopefully we see something like this for Deception and/or Armageddon

I remember my brother and I playing MK1 and 2 on Sega Mega Drive, and we had a PC copy of Trilogy. I only rented MK4 and was quite disappointed with it at the time. But I distinctly remember my brother getting me Deadly Alliance for my birthday - and this is when I really fell in love with the series. I really dove deep into the lore and the characters. The 3D era is where MK peaked in terms of story. And the costumes were amazing, some of them still stand up at the the best in the franchise. Deadly Alliance not only cemented my love for the series, but also my love for Scorpion too. Prior to this; I'd play mostly as Johnny in Mk1-2, and Noob Saibot in Trilogy (he was so OP in that game). I love both of Scorpion's costumes in DA. His Hapkido style, and that swaying of his stance is forever burnt into my memory. Friends and family would rage-quit when I played as Scorpion because I would dominate. Even Moloch struggled. If I ever got stuck on Moloch with another character - I'd whip out Scorpion to kick his butt. Ironic considering Scorp's canon ending in this game. This has to be Raiden's besr costume too. To this day I still wish we got a proper conclusion to his Dark arc. I'd happily forget about all this timeline crap and just pick up from MK Armageddon or even Deception. I say Deception because I feel that Midway's need to include all the characters from the series hindered the story. While it was great to see some characters come back, some could've easily been forgotten or stayed dead. Still, I liked Taven and would love to see him return. Hsu Hao is no way near as bad as people say he is. I actually liked the dynamic between the two dragon clans and the OWIA. And the fact Hsu Hao destroyed the OWIA's means to travel between the realms put a massive delay on the heroes getting to Outworld, giving the Deadly Alliance enough time to amass their army. I mean, wasn't Li Mei the last soul to be (almost) put into the Dragon King army (with Bo Rai Cho saving her at the last second). Imagine the heroes got there a lot sooner: They could've regrouped with Cyrax and Kenshi; Sub Zero wouldn't be galavanting off with Frost elsewhere; Scorpion might not have needed to sneak in underground; Li Mei's souls wouldn't have been tainted by almost getting put into a skeleton body / forming a connection with Onaga; and Bo Rai Cho would've stuck around to help in the fight. Significantly strengthening the Forces of Light. I'm probably reaching a bit, but I still feel Hsu had a bigger effect on the story than people give credit for, and like other characters who got a second chance / expanded upon; there is potential there to make something better out of Hsu. Mavado can f off though! XD Never liked that guy!

Outside from Armaggedon, both Deadly Alliance and Deception are my favorite Mortal Kombat stories (they are for the franchise what IW and Endgame were for MCU). Not only they expand the mythology with new characters but the idea of killing Liu Kang was bold move and gave chance to other characters, specially Kitana and Sindel to develop, rather than just pulling a "Death/Return of Superman" and bringing Liu Kang back for the final fight because of "protagonist armor"

As someone who always played the 3d Era games as a kid but never understood the story, I'm glad your videos have made me appreciate this Era more than the netherrealm Era games

2:18 this right here is why you're the best channel ever XD

MKDA Reptile was my favorite design overall. Made him feel like he fit into Outworld rather than just being a green clad dude.

Deadly Alliance is Probably the Most Underrated Game in the Franchise,like the Sonic Franchise I Love when a Team of Game Producers Experiment New Things,I Love the Music and The Roster of Characters are Really Good with Interesting Designs and Characters,to this Day as A Artist that Drawn 300+ Characters,the 3D Era Characters can Work on Modern Times.

The 3d era was amazing. Shame that people will never see it for what it really was.

Honestly one of the biggest sins NRS committed was not bringing back any of the the songs from the 3D era or remixing them.

You talking positively about Quan Chi almost feels like character development. Interesting, Mr. 4th. Edit: Props for calling out the fan base for dunking on Hsu Hao. Really is refreshing seeing him be defended

Two things I never get tired of: 1. The4thSnake shitting on the NRS era of MK 2. The4thSnake propping up the 3D era of MK We absolutely need a Deception video.

Tekken has a similar problem with making nearly everyone connected to the Mishimas instead of doing their own thing and it frustrates me.

DA and deception were absolutely amazing the best stories in Mk as well.

A year past already, huh? Man time flies. really enjoyed your analysis of this game, can we expect a Deception 20th anniversary retrospective?

This video alone shows me all over again how much story, passion, and character in general went into this and Deception. I miss MK games like this.

Every time I see the Krypt in any MK game or the old adventure modes it always just kinda makes me wish we'd get a straight up RPG/Adventure game in the MK world even if it's just kind of a dark souls clone or batman arkham clone gameplay wise I Think it'd be great for exploring the world

Cooking with Scorpion is still the best part of MKDA

Appreciate you talking about DA. It's a nice change of pace from talking about games you dislike or outright hate. I'm hyped to hear your thoughts on Deception and Armageddon when those videos drop.

When 4thSnake does an anniversary better than the MK devs themselves lmao

I'm glad you mentioned how memorable the music was in Deadly Alliance. The Netherealm Studio MK games have not captured the musical prowess the earlier games achieved.

20 years ago today, the start of MK’s best trilogy was released!

The midway era was the golden age of MK. After Warner acquired the IP it just doesn’t feel the same, it feels like they don’t understand what made the games great.

No joke my favorite thing about DA are the extras like concept art and various other things you unlock in the Krypt. But I absolutely love the Making Of video which to this day I'll watch and never get tired of it. The cheese fries always make me hungry lol.

I’ve always imagined what a modern take on that opening would be like. Just thinking of Shang Tsung saying in Liu Kang’s ear before he snaps his neck “three times you’ve bested me in kombat and three times you failed to finish me. Now Liu Kang, your soul is mine”

I love MKDA so much I'd fuck it. It did so many things right and made me fall in love with the series all over again. Also, the Sarna Ruins kinda have story relevance, it's supposed to be the outside of the Lost Tomb where Quan finds Onaga's army.

Ok, so unpopular opinion here… Deadly Alliance is actually my favorite of the 3D era games. With it being the first true 3D MK game, and one of the first games I owned on the PS2, it was a breath of fresh air from the cheesiness of MK3 and 4. Sure, Deception was objectively a better game mechanics wise, but DA (at least in my honest opinion), looked better, and even sounded better.

I miss when games didn't need to be dumbed down to be simple for a wider audience, the lore prior to NRS's version was way more interesting to me and only made me want more.

A beautiful piece that excellently paints exactly why the 3D era was so good.

I gotta admit. The Deadly Alliance sounds more like a pro wrestling tag team.

Liu Kang’s death broke my fucking heart when I first saw that cutscene as a youngin’ and it also scared the shit out of me. Deadly Alliance is my favorite MK despite my favorite character being dead and unplayable.

I really wish NRS would give the 3D Era games one last chance and just remaster them already. Sadly after seeing how they clearly didn’t do shit for the 30th anniversary I’m doubting it at this point.

When deadly alliance came out my parents wouldn’t let me get it due to the violence but a kid in my neighborhood had it. I have such fond memories of going over to his place every weekend to play through it. This and deception holds very fond memories to me. I really hope you’ll do a video like this for deception and Armageddon in the future

It’s so refreshing hearing you talk about an MK game that you like 👍

Funny enough, my first Mortal Kombat game was Deadly Alliance, I remember playing that game, and the 3D era as a whole with my family all the time

This is the best (mostly) mk channel on RU-vid, every single video is a banger and I usually watch them all at least twice. Your videos helped reignite my love for the series and its lore, and for that I thank you. All the effort you put into these videos definitely shows and it is infinitely appreciated :)

The first Mortal Kombat game I ever played. Still holds a soft spot in my heart to this day. I don't care if people don't like the 3d era, I enjoyed it back then and still like it now.

Very wonderful video, hit my nostalgia extremely hard. Had only recently found your channel I think about 2-3 years ago, but been loving your takes on MK as a whole, and learning new things I have never known about. Was difficult to pause the video at times due to how engaged it had me! Outstanding work 4thSnake!

My first real foray into MK was this game, and looking back it was amazing. Armageddon was the one i played the most, but all the of the 3d era games are GOATed

I would honestly argue that this is some of the best stuff that the 4th snake has ever created and I want to see more content like this, so great job snake.

I remember that stupid yet hilarious fatality with Quan Chi where he stretches his opponent's neck up.

I used to play MKDA as a kid, probably either MKT or this is my first MK game; The Midway MK series will always be canon to my heart. I can't wait for MK Deception analysis.

it was nice to see a video were you talk about something you hold near and dear.

10:25 - 11:05 This is one of the reasons I enjoy SoulCalibur VI’s story. Every character has their own tale to tell, some not even related to the main plot at all such as Talim’s, and it really helps the world feel bigger and more alive. I wish modern MK had this approach tbh, even if I do enjoy watching the cinematic, if only for dumb fun to turn my brain off to.

Waiting for the MK:Deception 20th year anniversary

I was saddened after giving away my old Xbox years ago when my 360 couldn't run my copy of DA, until I decided to get another one for PS2. The intro, presentation, music, everything just bled that timeless MK atmosphere, and nostalgia smacked me hard in the gut. If I'm honest, the 3D era was never my favorite in terms of gameplay, but when everything else was so badass and memorable, I couldn't help but remember why I loved this game so much, and had a grand old time with this and Deception, just like the good old days. This game and Deception really are the Tekken 4 equivalent of the series, and looking back they all were such badass games. Great retrospective mate, and cheers to DA!

Deadly Alliance has always been my favorite of the mk games, sure its got some flaws but its always been my go to mk game in terms of both story and characters.

MKDA is where people put heart and creativuty into a game MK NR trilogy is when a soulles corporate entity takes over PLUS : LIKE/SHARE THIS VIDEO!! WE NEED MKD AND MKA REVIEWS

During the Liao dynasty(the Khitan Empire) there was a ruler named Shengzong 982 - 1031 and when I heard the lecturer pronounce his name, I thought he said Shang Tsung. And then I thought, the 4th Snake needs to know about this(cuz you use to do a history series). And while I'm certain it's just coincidence, I thought you might vaguely care

Excellent analysis! So refreshing to finally watch your video properly dedicated to one of 3D MK and take a ride through DA and this atmospheric Era. Eagerly waiting for next videos on the 3D era (even if means waiting for the 20th anniversary of each one LOL)

I love “Deadly Alliance” it was super fun to play, it also introduced me to the band Adema

I've always loved watching your MK content, but this has now become my favorite video of yours. The 3D era of MK will always hold a special place in my heart, much more so than the current games, and hearing you talk about all the positives that seem to be lost on the community the newer games built up is incredibly satisfying. I really hope we'll get to see you talk about Deception and Armageddon in the future

Lol I did the same thing with Raiden against Moloch when I was younger! Great video, I love how complex and cool Deadly Alliance's story is and how quickly you explained it, this video makes me feel really nostalgic

Cooking with Scorpion was my favorite bizarre thing in the game.

Thats an awesome plot this game has thanks for making me aware of this. This was an epic video to watch. Also the heart the devs put into this game.

Played DA myself earlier this month and had an absolute blast playing it, didn't give the game much appreciation in the past as for me it was just that MK game that Deception and Armageddon built up on but the revisit made me question my younger self why I didn't spend more time with it. Absolute banger of a video, Snake! 3D era needs the love, hope other games will get this kind of analysis too.

Absolutely epic video, and incredible work my friend! Thank you so much for an unexpected nostalgia trip, also Deception is hands down my favorite too. Also, I remember pre ordering this before it came out and receiving a special Scorpion Koin when I picked it up. Everything about MKDA was and still is epic!

This is honestly one my all time favorites of your videos, and this game is the start of the best Era of Mortal Kombat Story because outside of a few elements they really figured out the lore the best in this trilogy of games starting with this game and these games make the original 4 better by default.

Yes! Someone who likes Reptile's design in this, I always liked the idea of his devolution into his more primal state cool. I was familiar with the series back then but didn't follow the plot until I was gifted Deadly Alliance and was floored with how much content was jammed in.

Thank you for making this video 4thsnake. MK Deadly Alliance was actually my 1st fighting game, I was about 5 or 6 years old and my Dad bought it for himself and bought ATV Off Road Fury 2 for me. But after seeing him play he let me join in because he didn't know anyone else to play with, he definitely wasn't much of a gamer (lol MK never scared me as a kid and he noticed that, so it was cool kinda ) And ever since then, the 3D era of Mortal Kombat was a way for me, my Dad, and eventually my older sister to kinda bond with each other. While most families where playing Uno and Monopoly, we where playing whatever the newest MK on PS2 that was out during that era (our Mom was "Meh" about it because we would mostly play with Dad) I still remember passing the controller in Konquest mode for Deadly Alliance and Deception (P.S Deception was our favorite too, we loved all the different realms, we actually got stuck training with Sub-Zero then Kenshi later 😮‍💨) All this to say I definitely understand where you're coming from when you say " I don't know why people like to hate on the 3D era of Mortal Kombat" I thought that was the best/innovated time for MK too. It wasn't until I met gamers who played Tekken (like that series too) and Street Fighter (don't care for that series) that I realized the hate. I think it got all that hate for being different and not wildly fast or way simplified like the older MK. But either way I enjoyed the video, most of your other Kontent ( talkin about Tekken) and hope it "makes numbers" so you can make a Deception video too

Solid video, summed up everything I love about this era. Hope you do another, keep it up

I'd kill for "Ultimate Edition" remasters of the 3D games with all content from every edition.

31:35 THANK YOU. I’m still so pissed that Frost in mk11 has red blood and a human skeleton. THEY LITERALLY MADE AN ENTIRE ENDOSKELETON FOR TERMINATOR, but Jax and Frost who are long time important fighters in MK get no such treatment

I really love the 3d gameplay. It’s so unique

Hey, I had a really shit day at work and this cheered me up. Thanks man for saving my Friday :)

Just checked this out after sleeping on the initial upload and I gotta say, you did great with this one. I'm almost embarrassed to admit MK11 was my first dip into Mortal Kombat but it's the reason why I was interested to see what people had to say about it which is how I found your channel. And I love your big reviews on the mainline games! This one in particular made me feel oddly nostalgic despite never touching it and it only makes me more eager to try other games in the series outside of the modern NRS ones. Normally I don't comment but genuinely, amazing work. If you do make a Deception video, I promise I won't take 6 months to watch it. lmao

Amazing analysis! MK deadly alliance is my favorite MK game! Thank you so much for this!

You are top 2 mortal kombat related channels im glad i found this channel

These videos are so cool man. Keep making them and keep up the good work

So good, best thing I saw on RU-vid today. Thank you The4thSnake 😁

My most favorite game in the series, even ahead of MKX, and one of the best, IMO. Amazing art style, amazing soundtrack, good gameplay, superb bonus content. And, of course, one of the best, if not the best story in a fighting game, where every single substory is part of the whole narrative. Deception attempted to replicate this, but to no avail, I feel.

Got this game on a rainy black friday. My first black friday buy. I was fourteen at the time. Me and my brother would play this constantly coming off playing MK4 with many others in the past. Man what a game changer for sure. And never once did I know of all the extra content it still had after opening up some of the Krypts for characters and outfits. I just unlocked a bare minimum and just enjoyed playing with my Bro. He wasn't even mad about Liu Kang dying or Scorpion "dying" in his ending. We were more surprised and intrigued about it than disheartened. Favorite characters to play were Li Mei, Sub Zero, Kung Lao, Sonya Blade, and Kenshi.

2:18 THANK YOU I'M NOT ALONE

40 minute long video about one of the best MK games of all time? WE EATING TODAY

I have played all the games since the beginning and followed the story. It was the reveal that Noob was Sub-Zero from MK 1 in Deception that blew my mind and made me go back and really study the lore of the series and have become a fervent follower since then. Since it was Deception that mind fucked me it has become my favourite in the series but the story has fallen Since that game.which made DA fall to the way side for me. You have now reinvigorated my love for it and now I shall go back to it and unlock everything

Even knowing everything that it's inside the game, it's very cool to hear someone's saying it. MK Deception is also my favourite, but I have a lot of love to Deadly Alliance. The memories of playing it with my cousin will be forever buried inside me. Gread video, thank you.

Fantastic video! I've been playing this game since I was a kid and I still learnt so much about this game from this video! For example: I never knew Kenshi was immune to Sonya's kiss! Great job! I hope you do videos on the rest of the 3D era!

Great video snake, your content keeps me interested in MK

Bless you Snake, fans needed such a video. Not many Middle Era Games reviews to begin with, i love those so much myself... Will be pleased to see more about my beloved Deception and pretty fun with its roster and customization Armageddon c: Even though i started with classic games, i never liked them that much outside of violence and being one of my first fighting games. But hoo boi, when i got to play Middle Era games... I was in love, got really into the fandom too. My emotions are so mixed right now with Netherrealm Era. I don't _hate_ them, but they do so much wrong in my eyes. Pain.

Is great to see someone give one of the best MK games some love. Awesome video as always!

Really liked this game when it first came out. Kenshi was very popular in my friend group when we played. Love the deep lore dive as always, Snake.

The lore and design of characters and stages were incredible in the 3d era. It was the most fun mortal Kombat had ever been. Killing liu Kang in the intro was mind blasting. Also, the intro for deadly alliance, deception and Shaolin monks are 3 of the best intros to a game I've ever seen. I think the only intro that surpasses them is the intro to onimusha 3.

I know it's not his full rope dart, but Scorpion does use his kunai more like a knife, in one of his MK2 Fatalities to slit his opponents throat before cutting them in half across the abdomen. Shaolin Monks had a variation of this too.

1:28 i think only hsu hao's fatality did something like that where it wasnt achieved by just shrinking the model's head or appendages, so i'd like to think that wasnt as much of a factor to model detail. the universal bloody stumps wouldnt be introduced until deception so yes, hsu hao of all people has the most gory fatality in the game

There's just something about DA and deception that is so unique in terms of tone and lore. Liu kang getting killed and basically this game and the next being subsequent consequences of his death and the villian duos becoming threats was actually interesting. It's almost like thanos winning at the end of Infinity war and we get to see the aftermath of his victory. It was definitely a bold move to kill the hero of the series but overall it gave a darker tone that fitted so well for the ps2 era games. The newer games unfortunately don't have the same effect. Because we see characters can just die and somehow come back or are just undead. It just feels cheap and lazy to a degree. The other thing is having the two sorcerers team up was so unexpected and seeing what damaged they could really do made the main villian seem generic.

Great video, looking foward to the next games 20th anniversaries

Mortal kombat deadly alliance along with deception were the two 3D era games to me that started to go deeper with story and characters. It took the world more seriously compare mk games now it becomes more humor. Yes mk 1-3 were comedic at times but 3D era is what helped mk get more serious with the characters and lore. also I felt it was more open and creativity, I mean the the character select music were the BEST 🎉

I confess, even as an MK fan since 97ish, I played Deadly Alliance and Deception for the 1st time only in 2020. didn't have any consoles in 2000s, and my old PC couldn't run the emulator well. but when I finally played DA, especially after seeing (from afar, ain't touching it) what a disaster MK11 was, I was blown away. It was dark, cool, complex... I still go back to DA more than to Deception, there's something really tactical about its gameplay that's missing in Deception imo. I didn't really like how you had to complete all the conquest stuff for the story bits, as it could take quite a while (the game refused to register some tricky combos, like with Cyrax). but the story was so interesting, so intricate. it really showed the potential MK universe had. oh, and people who hate Hsu Hao can get f'ed, the guy hit like a truck and was one of the stronger characters in the game.

Thank you for acknowledging how hard that character select theme goes. Too good

The game is bittersweet for me. I had played MK 2 and later MK4 at friend's house and was familiar with the MK movie and bits of the cartoon. I wasn't a hardcore fan, just a gamer kid, but I knew the status quo of characters (with my favourite being Liu Kang). MK wasn't really an "adult" game to me back then because, despite the blood, it was just what I considered lighthearted fun with good guys and bad guys. That was until Deadly Alliance came around and changed the way I viewed the series. I remember my dad renting it for me and after watching the rather grim intro movie, I was shaken to my core and I wasn't at all prepared for such huge story changes, particularly the death of Liu Kang. I remember not even being motivated to play the ladder or story modes because I was left so gutted by the intro. My enthusiasm was just gone. Granted, I was still a bit too young to be MK's target audience so I should've known better, but for a while MKDA put me off MK games and left a sour taste in my mouth. I eventually came around once Deception was released and enjoyed that game far more than any MK game prior. Deadly Alliance however I still avoided due to the mostly bad memories and the bleaker tone but once I got to my late teens/early 20s I had a curious and nostalgic urge to revisit it (I was heavily into MK9 by then). I don't think the game holds up too well gameplay wise (none of the 3D era games truly do) but I can appreciate it's unique aspects more as an adult than I could growing up. The music is still fantasitc and I do agree that the extra features like the Krypt and fighting style system, environmental fatalities, they were all super memorable. I still maintain that some of the changes were a bit too extreme and some ideas were half baked but I can appreciate that it tried to be something different. Also, Allan Stagg (RIP) is possibly my favourite Raiden voice. It's just so iconic to me and it's a shame he never got to do any more.

Very nice. People needs videos like these so they won't just repeat what they've heard about it.

The 3D Era of MK was the peak of Fighting Game storytelling. Kai and Fujin should have been in the roster of Deadly Alliance instead of Raiden however.

Your fondness is admirable to me as this series was literally the first games I ever played. I played trilogy when I was 2 years old and have played ever since every release since deadly alliance on gba launch day but haven't played at all since 11 dropped. I think it's time I play this again!

Hey Snake, that was really cool of you to give Adema a shout out by saying they’re still around and to bring em back for the next game, even include new footage of their performance. Small thing, but they’re my favorite band and I discovered them through Deadly Alliance, so this game holds a very special place in my heart. Might even be my favorite MK. Wish it was available for virtual consoles