Mortal Kombat 3. 25 years later

[schizo]

The hype for MK11 is making the MK fan in me really psyched and I've been thinking about MK3. The original MK3 and the huge mixed opinion that game had throughout the years. Some called it the best in the series while others thought it was the worst and about the point the series started to loose its luster. It seems nowandays fans seem to speak highly of MK3 more than when it first came out. Just curious what other fans thought of the game when it first came out. Was it worth the hype? Did you love it? Hate it? Disapointed? What did you think of it at the time and what do you think of it now?

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

Not a bad game, but it's a step down from MK II.

[Juice]

Loved it. But I was like 6 or 7 when it came out.

[The Legendary Ring Troll {BLM}]

I’m floored to learn MK3’s reaction is split. Are we talking original release MK3 only, or Ultimate MK3? Cuz Ultimate MK3 and then MK Trilogy were my two favorite fighting games ever.

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

Mar 2, 2019 0:42:53 GMT -5 The Legendary Ring Troll {BLM} said:

I’m floored to learn MK3’s reaction is split. Are we talking original release MK3 only, or Ultimate MK3? Cuz Ultimate MK3 and then MK Trilogy were my two favorite fighting games ever.

The run mechanic effectively ruined the game for me, especially in single-player mode when combined with the mercilessly cheap AI.

[Hobby Drifter]

I enjoyed the game (well, Ultimate MK3; the original was as "meh" as could be), but I hated the run mechanic, the combo system, and could never get the Brutalities to work.

I always thought that Striker looked Al Bundy on the 16-bit home versions.

[sfvega]

I played MK2 at a friend's house and loved it. My parents wouldn't let me get MK3, but my grandparents vetoed them. I was so disappointed that Raiden and Scorpion, two of the 3 most popular characters of the series, were flatly left out of the game altogether. And no Goro, which I thought was also lame. I played the hell out of that game, but I don't think I'd ever play it again. Game sucked, objectively.

[Spider2024]

Mar 2, 2019 0:42:53 GMT -5 The Legendary Ring Troll {BLM} said:

I’m floored to learn MK3’s reaction is split. Are we talking original release MK3 only, or Ultimate MK3? Cuz Ultimate MK3 and then MK Trilogy were my two favorite fighting games ever.

Mortal Kombat Trilogy is basically the #1 reason I wanted a PlayStation 1. All 32 fighters in 1 game, plus 5 extra kombatants!

[dav]

Mar 2, 2019 4:08:30 GMT -5 Hobby Drifter said:

I enjoyed the game (well, Ultimate MK3; the original was as "meh" as could be), but I hated the run mechanic, the combo system, and could never get the Brutalities to work.

I always thought that Striker looked Al Bundy on the 16-bit home versions.

In all honesty, I think Stryker would have been much better received if his character design hadn't been so terrible.

[Hobby Drifter]

I think it was right after I graduated from college and was looking for a full-time gig. I was sitting on the couch watching daytime TV when I saw a commercial for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. I had no idea there even was a new MK game under development. The dude looked up at the sky and shouted MORTAL KOMBAT! and I swear to you, I was in my car, peeling out of the driveway towards the nearest game store before the ad finished.

It was the first time since MK3 that I felt like that.

[clodhopper]

Was always much more of a Street Fighter fan than MK but MK3 was the one entry in the series I really got into. Whether that was to do with the quality of the game or just my age and situation when it came out, I'm not sure.

[Citizen Snips]

Mar 2, 2019 5:45:01 GMT -5 Spider2024 said:

Mar 2, 2019 0:42:53 GMT -5 The Legendary Ring Troll {BLM} said:

I’m floored to learn MK3’s reaction is split. Are we talking original release MK3 only, or Ultimate MK3? Cuz Ultimate MK3 and then MK Trilogy were my two favorite fighting games ever.

Mortal Kombat Trilogy is basically the #1 reason I wanted a PlayStation 1. All 32 fighters in 1 game, plus 5 extra kombatants!

I was so hyped for that game but quickly lost interest due to the insane loading times.

I got MK3 for the Genesis but played it a fraction of the time I spent with the first 2.

[Deleted]

Going back to it now you realize how f*** busted and unbalanced the game is....and somehow they hilariously break it even more by MK Trilogy.

[Dr. T is an alien]

I remember the game being pretty popular at the arcade when it first came out, so the notion that the game was split is news to me. It was not as good as MK2, but it still had some interesting things to it.

In all honesty, the run mechanic was probably needed in order to distinguish the gameplay from its predecessors. Some people might have hated it, but it was something different.

Sadly, the combo system was not nearly as fluid as the Killer Instincts series, which was probably to top competitor at the time as Street Fighter simply kept updating SF2 at the time (though Street X-men vs. Street Fighter was fantastic when it did come out). As a result, I was nowhere near as capable in competing with those who really knew what they were doing in the PvP at the arcade.

Keeping it 100: I was into the look of Shiva and really wanted to know who the model that they filmed to capture her was. I never learned that little detail and wondered if she was created in the exact same way as the other Shokans were.

[Bang Bang Bart]

Mar 2, 2019 6:33:18 GMT -5 dav said:

Mar 2, 2019 4:08:30 GMT -5 Hobby Drifter said:

I enjoyed the game (well, Ultimate MK3; the original was as "meh" as could be), but I hated the run mechanic, the combo system, and could never get the Brutalities to work.

I always thought that Striker looked Al Bundy on the 16-bit home versions.

In all honesty, I think Stryker would have been much better received if his character design hadn't been so terrible.

A bland-looking schlub just looks pretty dull in the game that has ninjas, four-armed monsters, a centaur, a guy who shoots fireballs, and a big bad dude with a skull mask.

[Jumpin' Jesse Walsh]

Such a nostalgic favorite of mine. Pretty much my introduction to the series.

The soundtrack is so damn lit, too.

[DiBiase is Good]

The fatalities in it are some of the worst ever (giant Jax, scary-face Kabal) and they’re designed poorly with things like hands hanging in the air after the top half of a body has been removed. The Animalities are painful and not worth the effort you have to put in to get to them. They just tried to pack too much into it, and quality is always better than quantity.
There’s also the roster. I like Cyrax and Kabal but the rest of the new fighters are forgettable. Raiden, Scorpion and Cage needed to be there. Even if the various upgrades included them, the damage had been done.
It’s still playable though but it’s just not as fun as MK2.
The less said about Mortal Kombat Trilogy the better. Censored fatalities? f*** right off.

[chronocross]

I was not into the game as much as I was into MK1 and MK2. I liked UMK3 quite a lot with the addition of old school Sub-Zero and Scorpion returning.

[A Platypus Rave]

Mar 2, 2019 14:25:01 GMT -5 DiBiase is Good said:

The fatalities in it are some of the worst ever (giant Jax, scary-face Kabal) and they’re designed poorly with things like hands hanging in the air after the top half of a body has been removed. The Animalities are painful and not worth the effort you have to put in to get to them. They just tried to pack too much into it, and quality is always better than quantity.
There’s also the roster. I like Cyrax and Kabal but the rest of the new fighters are forgettable. Raiden, Scorpion and Cage needed to be there. Even if the various upgrades included them, the damage had been done.
It’s still playable though but it’s just not as fun as MK2.
The less said about Mortal Kombat Trilogy the better. Censored fatalities? f*** right off.

I had a theory Animalities being based on someone making a Beastiality joke... and then being told they couldn't use that word by Standards and Practices...

not to mention being rather unimpressive... and having some really damned strange choices for some characters.

[Deleted]

Never forget the glory that is Reptile's animality



Or of course