Mortal Kombat (1992 video game)

"Test Your Might" redirects here. For the song with this lyric, see Mortal Kombat: The Album.
For the 2023 game, see Mortal Kombat 1.
Mortal Kombat
Cover artwork for the home versions
Developer(s)Midway
Probe Software (MD/GEN, GG, GB, SMS, Amiga, DOS)
Sculptured Software (SNES)
Publisher(s)
Midway
  • Consoles
    DOS PC
    Amiga
    • EU: Virgin Interactive Entertainment
  • Plug-and-play TV game
Designer(s)Ed Boon
John Tobias
Programmer(s)Ed Boon
Artist(s)John Tobias
John Vogel
Composer(s)Dan Forden
SeriesMortal Kombat
Platform(s)
Release
August 1992
  • Arcade
  • August 1992[1]
  • Genesis/Mega Drive
    • WW: September 13, 1993[2]
  • Super NES
    • WW: September 13, 1993[3]
  • Game Gear
    • WW: September 13, 1993[4]
  • Game Boy
    • WW: September 13, 1993[5]
  • Master System
  • Tiger Electronics
  • MS-DOS
    • NA: May 25, 1994
    [citation needed]
  • Sega CD/Mega-CD
  • Amiga
  • Plug-and-play TV game
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemMidway Y Unit (Revision Prototype 4.0–Revision 4.0)
Midway T Unit (Revision 4.0T–Revision 5.0T)

Mortal Kombat is a 1992 fighting game developed and published by Midway. It is the first entry in the Mortal Kombat series and was subsequently released by Acclaim Entertainment for nearly every home platform at that time. The game focuses on several characters of various intentions who enter a martial arts tournament with worldly consequences. It introduced many key aspects of the Mortal Kombat series, including the unique five-button control scheme and gory finishing moves called Fatalities.

Mortal Kombat is considered by critics to be one of the greatest video games ever made. It spawned numerous sequels and spin-offs, beginning with Mortal Kombat II in 1993. Both games were the subject of a film adaptation in 1995. However, it also sparked much controversy for its depiction of extreme violence and gore using realistic digitized graphics and, along with the home releases of Night Trap and Lethal Enforcers, prompted the formation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), a U.S. government-backed organization that set descriptor ratings for video games.

  1. ^ Griest, Stephanie (August 28, 1995). "Mortal Kombat's' Bloodless Coup". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  2. ^ "Dixons Get Ready for Mortal Monday". Daily Mirror. September 10, 1993. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  3. ^ "Dixons Get Ready for Mortal Monday". Daily Mirror. September 10, 1993. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  4. ^ "Dixons Get Ready for Mortal Monday". Daily Mirror. September 10, 1993. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  5. ^ "Dixons Get Ready for Mortal Monday". Daily Mirror. September 10, 1993. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  6. ^ "Dixons Get Ready for Mortal Monday". Daily Mirror. September 10, 1993. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  7. ^ "Mega-CD Review: Mortal Kombat". Mean Machines Sega. No. 20. EMAP. June 1994. pp. 74–75.
  8. ^ "Fact File". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 58. Sendai Publications. May 1994. p. 177.


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