Year of release: 1993
ESRB: M
Players: 1 or 2

Ah... The classic that started it all...Mortal Kombat. And when I say 'started it all', I mean more than just the MK games to follow, but the reason why we see reason why we see ratings on our games today. Unfortunatley, this game has a few flaws. Maybe, not only E.S.R.B., but a M.E.D.I.O.C.R.E. should have been created. Let's see how great "the ultimate fighting game game" really is, shall we?

-Gameplay- 6/10

Nobody really likes slow moving gameplay. And this is where the game suffers big. The characters move really slowly, there isn't any "run" button, and the moves and fatalites are hard to pull off. Even so, they aren't impressive, anyway. But we'll get to that later. If you are expecting a fast paced, brain bashing, skull cracking, game, which is what the Mortal Kombat series is aboot, you just aren't going to get it. Slow paced figters that are about strategy belong in Street Fighter, not Mortal Kombat, thank you. Nevertheless, it's a fighting game, and fighting sells.

-Graphics- 7/10

This really is the games greatest feature, sadly the best it has to offer. But still, the backgrounds, and sprites look entirely washed out, and it is not very nice to look at. Also, unfortunatley, VERY UNFORTUNATLEY, there is one little problem that will turn you off just hearing it from me. Due to the goody-goody attitude that Nintendo had back then, + the parents complaints, blood was censored out, and replaced with sweat. That means that everytime you or your opponent gets punched, you see some grey stuff fly out of the character's face. That also means no fatalities. That's right, so instead of seeing Kano ripping your heart out, you'll see him molest you. Not cool. The coolest thing about MK is gone. Sorry folks. Congrats, Mom.

-Sound- 5/10

Uggh...eh...Meh...This may be where the game suffers a painful death. The sound is not very pleasent at all. Do you know why? Because you can HARDLY HEAR IT!!! It is so faded, and washed out, that there really isn't a reason to have it there, especially the announcer.
-Music- 5/10

Ahh...Classic MK music, right? Nope. The music is not up beat or even morbid, but more on the dark side. I mean really dark, partly because the music ALSO sounds weak and washed out. Now how many times have I used that word? Exactly my point. Such an old feeling the music has. You'd know what I was talking about if you played it. The bottem line is that the music sucks, and really doesn't fit the enviroment it surrounds (same with MK2). You would rather die than hear it, trust me. '-'

-Replay value- 5/10

While there are only 6 characters, let's face it, every fighting game has some replay value. Even a fighter that sucks has some replay value. With a friend it is better, but you won't want to play this again, so what's the point?

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Overall = 5/10

I'd give it a 5.6/10, which is what it averages out to be, but just thinking of the blood brings it down to a 5. And we all, anything below a 5/10 = pretty bad. This is a border-line game. Is it worth the buy? Only if you are a collector. If you are a MK fan, go get a Genesis and buy Mortal Kombat for that. It has the blood in it. SNES MK is definatley not a MKT, or a MKII.

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