It’s April (already), and for the ones who had a gleeful smile on their faces when Ed Boon appeared at The Game Awards last year to surprise reveal his next game, you know this was the month you have been waiting for. Mortal Kombat 11 is finally upon us and as we count down the days to its release, I feel that this would be a great time to look at some of its most memorable fatalities. Fatalities have been a staple in the Mortal Kombat series right from its SNES days to the current gen. Gathering memories from the make-shift arcades in Delhi from back in the day, let’s look at some of fatalities all the way from MK1 until MK Armageddon. It was since the 2011 reboot that the fatalities took a whole new path. So, that’s a list for another day. Without further ado and in no particular order, here are ten most memorable Fatalities.
No.1 – Subzero’s Spine Rip
What better way to start the list than the move that was responsible for setting up the ESRB. This classic fatality has been a staple for the series since the very first Mortal Kombat. While there have been many variations by other characters since, this classic fatality performed by Subzero back in the day was simple, shocking and effective, all at the same time.
No. 2 – Reptile’s Acid Rain
One of the more interesting characters in the MK universe also has one of the most gross looking fatalities in the classic line up of the series. And while removing his mask to rip the opponents head with his sticky tongue was effective and funny, it is the Acid Puke that was more memorable. Especially the one in MK4 which was executed in all it’s 3D glory.
No.3 – Liu Kang’s Dragon!!!
A martial artist turning into a dragon to finish his opponents off. As cliché as this may sound, and that’s exactly what it is, this was executed perfectly back in MK 2. One of the harder fatalities to pull off, this was the one which made you look cool when you did it to your opponent. Since MK2, there have been several versions of this classic fatality and it just got better each time. Heck, there are hints of this one even returning to MK11.
No.4 – Liu Kang Dropping an arcade cabinet
One of the more playful Fatalities in MK3, this one has the series protagonist literally crush his opponents by dropping an arcade cabinet on them. A Mortal Kombat arcade cabinet nonetheless. None of this made any sense. Is there a Mortal Kombat game within the Mortal Kombat universe? If so, who are the players? It was this lack of context that made this Fatality all the more charming. Also goes to show how creative developers can get when they want to have some fun with their work.
Also Read : The 10 Most Memorable E3 Moments in the Past 10 Years
No.5 – Smoke – Boom Goes the Earth
Talk about overkill. This Fatality from Mortal Kombat 2 was a rare one as not many kids back in the day knew how to pull it off. There was no internet to help us back then. But in the rare instance where you did get to see this one executed, it was indeed a special occasion. The move sees one of the game’s cyborgs – Smoke, deploy a dump load of grenades next to his groggy opponent. The scene then cuts to space where, from a distance, we get to watch Mother Earth blown into smithereens. Overkill? Yes. Cool? Oh Yes!!!
No. 6 – Scorpion’s Fire Breeding Skull
You cannot visualize Mortal Kombat without the image of Scorpion. A series staple from MK1, scorpion’s “Get Over Here” quote is just as popular as that electric track from the first Mortal Kombat movie which came out in the 90’s. As interesting as his character and fighting style is, there is no doubt that his fatality was also one of the best. Standing toe to toe with Subzero’s Spine rip, Scorpion’s fatality has him removing his mask to reveal a skull and then torch his opponents through the fire from his skull. And just like Liu Kang’s Dragon there have been many variations since, and each of them look better than the other.
No.7 – Quanchi – Rip your limb and beat you to death
Mortal Kombat 4 was the series’ first foray into 3D visuals and the developers wanted to make the most of it at the time. With cameras panning from multiple angles, every fatality in the game was given a lot of care and attention. One of the funniest and my personal favourite is Quanchi’s fatality number 1. Once executed, you witness Quanchi pull a leg out of his opponent and then beat him to death with it. The sheer spectacle of blood splattering everywhere during the move and the varied camera angles make this fatality all the more glorious. This was one move which put a smile on your face every time it was pulled off.
No. 8 Quanchi – All of his second fatalities
Sticking with MK4 and Quanchi, the next one on this list is a series of fatalities that the sorcerer Quanchi can pull against his opponents. This was special for a few reasons. For one, it only needed one type of command to pull different fatalities. And the best part was the fatality executed will be that of the opponents. Quanchi was able to pull of every character’s second fatality, right back on them. This was a beautiful way to rub it on your opponent’s face, especially when you were playing against one another in the same couch. Those were the days (Sigh)!!!
No. 9 – Bo’ Rai Cho’s ‘Fart’ality
Perhaps the funniest and the most outrageous fatality of them all comes from the ever-drunk belly flaunting Bo’ Rai Cho in Mortal Kombat Deception. Executing this gross fatality fullfils the fantasy of being able to torch items with the power of your fart. Except this time, it will be your opponent who gets torched. The very sight of these events unfolding on the screen followed by Bo’ Rai Cho blabbering after the deed is done, is a unique mixture of a gruesome fatality and toilet humour executed masterfully for the most comedic effect.
No. 10 – Stage fatalities
We cannot talk fatalities without mentioning the Stage fatalities in the series. From Scorpion’s lair to the subways, every stage is a playground for fatalities and each of them play out in interesting ways. Perhaps the best one, in my opinion, is the one in MK4. This stage is setup in a giant room with a giant fan/turbine spinning on its side. Once executed the opponent is thrown in to the fan to be shred to bits. But it is in the way this is executed is where it shines. As mentioned earlier, every fatality in MK4 was made to make the best use of it’s 3D visuals. And true to the formula we see multiple angles of the unfolding event before the opponent is thrown. All of this makes for one of the best stage fatalities in the series.
Those were some of the fatalities from the classic series. With literally hundreds of them out there, was any of your favourite one missed? Come back to check round 2 of this list, where we look at the fatalities from the PS3 and PS4 era.
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