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My favorite video game of all time is Mortal Kombat. Something about the characters, violence, lore, and overall atmosphere that the game brings is just so satisfying to me. It was also the first video I ever played at 2 years old which was the original game on Sega Genesis back in 1993. From Fatalities to special moves, stages, and rocking industrial techno music, Mortal Kombat is one of the best, and longest-running, video game franchises of all time. That’s not to say the game went through some ups and downs. I have listed every main Mortal Kombat game from worst to best. I didn’t include various ports as they varied by quality, and discluded any handheld version as they were just dumbed down ports of larger games. I will also list the most superior port or version of that game as every port varied wildly due to various hardware limitations.

16. Mortal Kombat: Special Forces – 2000

Is this really a surprise? Only beating out Mythologies by a fraction, Special Forces was a 3D action game disaster created by co-creator John Tobias and putting a damper in any future Mortal Kombat spin-offs. The game was near unplayable with awful graphics, terrible controls, a lame story, and nothing to really do with Mortal Kombat itself. It’s worth a play just to see how far down Mortal Kombat got, but this is by far its lowest point, but not the lowest timeframe.

15. Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero – 1997

Not much better than Special Forces, but at least the game was somewhat playable and felt more like Mortal Kombat. a 2D side-scrolling platformer, you play as Sub-Zero and run into awful live-action cut-scenes (the N64 version was spared of those) terrible controls, and boring gameplay. This game is probably not even worth touching unless you’re just curious.

Best Version: PlayStation

14. Mortal Kombat Gold – 1999

A direct port of MK4 and Dreamcast exclusive, Gold was too little too late with Soul Calibur and various other fighters pushing the genre into the next generation. It was clunky, tiring, old, and just didn’t feel right on the system this late in the game. It’s very playable, and MK4 fans will enjoy newcomers like Cyrax and Mileena, but it’s probably the worst game in the main fighting series.

13. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon – 2006

While being the next-generation MK Trilogy of sorts, Armageddon was a lazy cop-out for keeping the series at its yearly releases and was the end of this generation of 3D MK games. It featured every single MK character ever made up to Deception and shoved them all in the two-style martial arts that this trilogy of MK titles gave us. By this point, MK was really going downhill and fatigue was setting in with a bloated disc full of weird mini-games and cheap generic Kreate-A-Fatality that was more complicated and irritating than ever. Press certain button combos to create the same gory move for every character and just string them together as quick as you can, yeah what a waste. A few years of development and this could have been a game to remember. The Kreate-A-Fighter mode was the only new and original part. Mortal Kombat Kart racing was awful with shallow race tracks and no thought put into it, the Konquest mode was much better than Deception’s but was still a weird thing to even exist. Overall, it’s very playable and fun, but it’s just the most generic MK game ever made.

Best Version: Xbox

12. Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance – 2002

Deadly Alliance shot the series into the next generation with brand new fighters and an all-new realistic martial arts approach to the game. With a story mode that’s really just a giant training mode, a fun Krypt area to unlock extras, and two awesome Fatalities per character, it only beats out Armageddon due to the originality within the game. The new characters are great and mostly untouched throughout the later games, however, the graphics were dated and everyone looked like plastic dolls with blood that looks like Jell-O. It was still gory and fun, but far from the greatness, the 2D games offered.

Best Version: Xbox

11. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe – 2008

This threw fans for a loop as MK mashed with DC to create a weird and forced fighting game no one asked for. The biggest hit was the Teen rating with the DC character performing “Heroic Brutalities” as they never kill and the MK character performing the most basic “Fatalities” that felt more like Wile E. Coyote ACME stunts. The fighting core was a slight departure from the previous games with a 2D plane and seemed pretty solid, but there was something off about the whole game. It’s decent, and quite playable, but very forgettable.

Best Version: PlayStation 3

10. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks – 2005

Shaolin Monks would be the last MK spin-off and actually did it right. Created by another development team, Monks lets you play as Liu-Kang and Kung-Lao with an over-the-top 3D brawler that is set in the MKII storyline. Using assets from that game such as stages and characters and even lore, the game recreated the MK experience with a fantastic fighting system that was fluid and even more fun with a second player. There were many secrets and the game is highly replayable. The only issue was the game was only 4 hours long, had awful voice acting, and a stupid story. Other than that, this is a must-play for MK fans.

Best Version: Xbox

9. Mortal Kombat 4 – 1997

This was the biggest turning point for the entire series. The game went forward into 3D forever and the result was some weird clunky stuff, but it was fast-paced and violent and somehow just worked. Not many games did 3D fighting very well at the time and the great roster and some of the best Fatalities in the series make for an awesome fighting game. The use of weapons was introduced for the first time as well.

Best Version: PlayStation

8. Mortal Kombat 3 – 1995

MK3 had a lot riding on it at this point in time as it had big shoes to fill after MKII. The game was darker, more realistic, and added some mechanics such as running, Brutalities, and a secret code menu. MK3 also had some of the most memorable characters the series will see such as Sheeva, Kabal, and Smoke. The problem was the combos were so difficult to pull off a lot of people were turned off that the game relied on this system, not to mention the cheap ass AI.

Best Version: PlayStation

7. Mortal Kombat – 1992

The original is far down the list due to the fact that so many games in the series improved upon it, but it’s higher than others due to the originality and the fact that it has a one-of-a-kind atmosphere that no other game in the series nailed. The original roster and Test-Your-Might combined with the Fatalities and simple moves make this one of the best video games ever created. There’s quite a story behind this game and the fact the ESRB was created because this game says a lot. It’s a very simple and basic game, but it holds a huge piece of gaming history.

Best Version: Sega CD

6. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 – 1995

An upgrade version of MK3, UMK3 is widely considered the best 2D MK game ever made as it perfected what they were trying to do with MK3. Adding new characters such as Rain, Noob Saibot, and Khameleon, and adding an Aggressor meter as well as making combos much easier, UMK3 was fast, looked good, and was dark with everything the series had to offer up until then.

Best Version: Nintendo DS

5. Mortal Kombat II – 1993

Most people will say MKII is the best game in the series due to the perfect balance and style between MK1 and MK3. It was a little darker, more sinister, and had an imaginative roster of new characters such as Baraka, Kitana, Mileena, and Jax. The stages were amazing and the introduction of Babalities and Friendships helped set the tone for the series from here on out. The controls were tight and the game looked amazing.

Best Version: Sega Saturn

4. Mortal Kombat Trilogy – 1996

MKT was a best-of compilation of the series up until that point. Taking every single character, stage, and mixing several -Alities together, the game was a massive success and was a blast to play. You could also play as the bosses which were completely unheard of back in the day and it was so much fun. Trilogy remains one of my favorite MK games of all time and I spent hundreds of hours perfecting this game.

Best Version: PlayStation

3. Mortal Kombat: Deception – 2004

Deception was the best 3D game up until this point and had a lot to offer. It improved immensely on Deadly Alliance’s realistic martial arts and added new game modes and some amazing characters and stages. The game was just dark, gritty, and hit that perfect style that people loved. While the three martial-arts styles were a bit clunky and memorizing long combos was silly, most people forgave it for the amount of content available. Chess Kombat is still one of my favorite MK game modes of all time. Play chess like normal and then duke it out to take over the square. Puzzle Kombat took the Street Fighter version and added Chibi MK characters duking it out on screen. However, Konquest mode was a nasty ugly chore to unlock stuff in the Krypt. It was also the first online fighting game ever made and was buttery smooth across the board with a lobby room, ranking system, and various other features. I played this game for so many hours I lost count. The Fatalities were amazing and the new Hara Kiris which were “reverse Fatalities” blew my mind away. It was as competitive as it got and holds a special place for me as it was the first game I had ever pre-ordered as well.

Best Version: Xbox

2. Mortal Kombat – 2011

With DC Universe disappointing fans so much we had all lost hope. Thankfully many consider this version to be the best 3D MK game to date and rightfully so. It builds off of MKII’s balancing and uses most characters up through MK3 so it keeps it old school. The X-Ray moves shook the industry and added a whole new meaning to gore and violence to video games. The new Challenge Tower was a blast and it featured the best story mode in any fighting game to date with halfway decent voice acting for once. Sadly, the game was quickly abandoned and only featured 4 DLC characters before being cut loose.

Best Version: PlayStation 3

1.Mortal Kombat X – 2015

MKX not only pushes the entire series in a new direction but shows fighting games a whole new level of production values and content. Taking the best from MK 2011 and the 2D games, MKX feels heavier, chunkier, and more violent than ever and that’s a good thing. Using Unreal Engine 4 and creating some of the sickest Fatalities to date, MKX also introduces some great new characters for the first time since Deception. The stages are awesome, the DLC characters rock, and the story mode is actually quite amazing and pushes the last game in the back corner. The new Krypt mode is more interactive and can almost be a game all on its own, and the new online towers make the game feel like it’s 1992 all over again.

Best Version: PC

Mortal Kombat Trilogy

–1996–

Released: PS1, N64, PC, Sega Saturn

Trilogy may be 16-bit but is released for the 64-bit era. It featured content from all three games including stages, characters, and all the “-alities” from said games. It featured characters from MK II and 3, but a code allowed you to play as Raiden, Kano, and Johnny Cage from MK1 along with their classic Fatalities. For the first time, you could play as all the bosses from past games such as Shao Kahn, Kintaro, Motaro, and Goro. This was an MK fans’ dream, but people would play as the bosses and spam powerful moves so it was unbalanced. Each version (PS1 and N64) had new hidden characters Chameleon and Khameleon (the latter being a female) respectively. These characters morphed into all the appropriate ninjas randomly. Trilogy also added a new meter called the Aggressor Meter which would double your speed and attack for a short period of time. This made the gameplay, even more, adrenaline-pumping which helped make the gameplay deeper.

The gameplay from UMK3 was kept so even if you played characters from older games they were up to speed with the new game. It was awesome to play as MK1 Raiden and do super-fast combos. Trilogy was like everything that was good from all the 16-bit games and put into one. I probably played MKT more than the other games combined because I could get some of all my favorite MKs in one single game. The N64 version was the superior one because of no loading times. However, six characters were removed (all the classic MK1 and 2 characters) as well as Shao Kahn and Goro. The Sega Saturn version was the worst of the four due to coding issues, but the PC version was a perfect copy of the PS1 version.

Overall MKT allowed fans of the 16-bit MK games to get one final dose before the huge release of MK4. It went down in history as an instant classic, and to this day can be enjoyed for hours and hours.

Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero

–1997–

Released: N64, PS1

Mythologies was the first departure of the series standard fighting into 2D platforming. This was released shortly before Mortal Kombat 4 for arcade and was produced by series co-creator John Tobias. The game focused on Sub-Zero and despite highly mixed reception, it sold millions of copies. The game consisted of live-action cut scenes from the series actors who were shot for the digitized animations. The PS1 version was superior to the N64 mainly due to the fact that it came out later. It also didn’t feature live-action cut scenes, but redone sprite stills. It was a rushed port and had downgraded quality, but other than this hardcore fans dug the new spin-off, but it wasn’t amazing.

Mortal Kombat 4

–1997–

Released: Arcade, PS1, N64, PC, GBC

Mortal Kombat 4 was the first-ever 3D Mortal Kombat game and was done well. It featured the classic fast-action gameplay but in a fully 3D environment. It featured all of MK’s classic gore and unique Fatalities, but a lot of stuff from MK3 was missing such as all the other “-alities”. MK4 also had a better time with ports because consoles were now out phasing arcades, so this was the last ever Mortal Kombat game to be released to the arcade. However, the console versions of the game weren’t released until 8 months later in 1998. This gave the MK team more time and money to concentrate on just a couple of platforms, and this eventually led to a permanent trend for the team. The Fatalities in MK4 were more brutal due to the fact that everything was in 3D and could be presented better. It was also the first MK game to use a save function to store system data, and your progress on unlocked endings, as well as leaderboard stats.

The game kept stage Fatalities such as Goro’s Lair, Wind World, and Ice Pit. MK4 ditched a lot of classics in the form of new characters that didn’t catch on very well. A lot of them didn’t have the charm or appeal as the classic characters. New characters were Fujin, Kai, Tanya, Quan Chi, Reiko, Shinnok, Meat (unlockable), and Jarek. A lot of them felt like rip-offs of the older characters such as Jarek being a rip-off of Kano with laser eye and all. Tanya felt like a tribal Sonya, and Fujin was the God of Wind. All the rest felt generic and didn’t really click with most people (including me) and weren’t added into any of the main installments ever again. However, Quan Chi became a classic favorite and was the only new MK4 character that stuck out for fans. The rest didn’t really have the MK style or feel to them.

While the new roster was a let down the fighting system wasn’t with the ability to move side to side instead of forward and back. The weapon system from UMK3 was implemented as pick-ups in some stages that could be used. Nothing else was really added to MK4 and it just stuck to what it knew best. I loved MK4 and remember my parents buying it at Wal-Mart for me for the full $50 price. The Nintendo 64 version was superior to the PS1 due to no load times, and full FMV sequences at the end while the GBC version suffered like past handheld ports, and MK4 was the last Mortal Kombat to be released on PC. MK4 was also the last 3D game to have the classic fighting style, and it was also the only 64 bit game in the primary numbered series.

Mortal Kombat Gold

–1999–

Released: Dreamcast

mortal-kombat-gold-characters-select-screen

Released 2 years after MK4 to help support the Dreamcast launch, but ultimately was one of the worst-rated games on the short-lived system. It was shunned for its old PS1 engine on the new system when the fighter Soul Calibur looked astounding on the system. It was mainly punished for its poor weapon system compared to Soul Calibur which was considered generic, slow, and cumbersome. New characters were introduced into 3D for the first time from older MK games such as Kitana, Mileena, Baraka, Noob Saibot, Sektor, Kung Lao, and Goro. The bigger roster was welcome, but the old gameplay compared to newer 3D fighters was just unacceptable at the time. This game is also one of the hardest to get since the system fizzled out quickly, and after so many bad reviews Midway halted production almost immediately. This was also the last MK game released for the 64-bit era, and a new MK wouldn’t be seen for almost 4 years.

Mortal Kombat: Special Forces

–2000–

Released: PS1

John Tobias tried to create another adventure game from the series, but this time in full 3D. With this being the first 3D MK adventure game there was a lot of skepticism from the last game. This time you played as the not-as-loved Jackson Briggs (Jax), but the game had characters that weren’t in the series, and it was panned as the worst Mortal Kombat game ever made. Due to John Tobias leaving the project early, the game even had financial issues. It was also released at the very end of the 64-bit cycle when the PS1 and N64 were almost dead and the PS2 was just coming along. The game was supposed to see an N64 release but due to the horrible reviews, it was canned.

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The 64-bit era was probably Mortal Kombat’s least successful era with only one game in the staple numbered series. With one not-so-good adventure game and one spin-off declared the worst in the series, this era made fans think the series was done, and 3D had doomed the beloved series. Hopefully, the 128-bit era would make for the comeback of Mortal Kombat.