Mortal Kombat Celebrates 30th Anniversary with Retrospective Video
30 years of Kombat!

From its coin-op origins in the arcade to inspiring blockbuster big screen adaptations and a triple A video game reboot: Mortal Kombat is officially celebrating its 30th Anniversary! To mark the momentous occasion, NetherRealm Studios has squeezed three decades into a single pulse pounding, spine ripping retrospective. Watch:

Mortal Kombat has come a long way since seven fighters worked their way up the stone face of the first game's battleplan. The trailer captures not just the humble beginnings, but the massive sprawling franchise that has unfolded across eleven core fighting game installments, and several multimedia adaptations!

The voice (and face) of series co-creator Ed Boon brings us into the action, speaking from the past with prescience for the sustained pop culture success of the franchise, originally unleashed upon the world on October 8, 1992.

The entire video is a testament to the phenomenon sparked by that arcade release, beginning with archival footage of the original game, before taking us through multiple iterations from the Defenders of the Realm animated series, beloved live-action feature film, more recent 2021 reboot, and Mortal Kombat 11 in just the opening 11 seconds!

We're treated to nostalgic but forward thinking spotlights of klassic characters from the first game and beyond, paying homage to the legacy of the entire series with MKII, MK3, Mortal Kombat (2011), and Mortal Kombat X all well recognized.

The nature of the anniversary places emphasis on where we started and where we are now, leaving the middle years of the franchise a little under represented for die hard fans, but look hard enough and you might see them too.

Liu Kang's bicycle kick passes through Armageddon, his fly kick lands in Shaolin Monks, Johnny Cage nails a split punch in MK4, and Raiden even does a flying dive through black sheep entries Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe and Injustice 2!

[Related Article: Speculation: Ed Boon Addresses Multiple Projects in Fan AMA]

The action packed trip through memory lane is really just about celebrating the past thirty years, but the trailer does end with some of the products currently available, including Mortal%20Kombat%20Legacy webseries now streaming to HBO Max, Mortal Kombat: Battle of the Realms, the game that started it all, and the three most recent installments.

To play the arcade original you need only seek out the 30th Anniversary Arcade1Up Cabinet, while MK2011 was added to Xbox backwards compatibility in the last year. Ed Boon ruled out any game announcements with the anniversary focus.

What are your fondest memories from the first game and subsequent thirty years? Share your moments in the comments below and go deeper into nostalgia in the 2D Kombat Klassics forum! Live in the now by visiting the Mortal Kombat 11 forum, or look ahead to what's next in the Future MK Speculation forum!

Mortal Kombat 30th Anniversary
10/08/2022 12:00 AM EDT
Black Dragon Harass Sub-Zero in MK Legends Snow Blind Clip
What price a good meal?

The latest animated adventure in the Mortal Kombat Legends series sees a future Earthrealm terrorized by the Black Dragon clan. In a new clip they target old man Kuai Liang as he travels the barren wasteland. Watch:

CBR reveals the preview, which ratchets up the Mad Max vibes with a car and cart chase that ends with the Black Dragon cutting off a wizened and passive Kuai Liang (Ron Yuan). Kira, Kobra, and Kabal help themselves to the fresh produce he's transporting after dishing out a beating, but still the erstwhile Sub-Zero doesn't retaliate.

Snow Blind details the alternate reality of a post-apocalyptic future ruled by King Kano. Brash young warrior Kenshi rises to defend the people from the tyrants, coaxing Kuai Liang to teach him to master his powers once blinded.

This is the most deliberate departure from established storylines of the games, expanding the MK Legends oeuvre digitally October 9th and on blu-ray & 4K October 11th. Watch the official reveal trailer and find & discuss more MK movies in the Media & Merchandise forum!

Speculation: Ed Boon Addresses Multiple Projects in Fan AMA
Is NetherRealm cooking more than one game?

Rarely a moment goes by when Mortal Kombat fans aren't baying for fresh meat, and NetherRealm Studios Chief Creative Officer Ed Boon has thrown himself to the wolves for two intensive Q&A sessions with fans. Read on for details & the latest speculation:

The last half decade has seen a more reserved Ed Boon navigate fervent fandom eager to extrapolate every imagined possibility from his words. The micro-blogging maven cautiously sifted through an onslaught of hundreds of replies received in minutes, mostly side-stepping direct questions about a Mortal Kombat 11 sequel, and specific related details.

"We aren't ready to announce our next game" was the consistent mantra, reissued in different ways to answer questions about what the next game will be, what it will contain, when it will be released, and when we'll know more about it.

When asking broadly how development is coming along, one lucky fan managed to coax an intriguing answer from the creative lead: "Good, but we’ve got more than one pot on the stove." Exactly what that means is open to interpretation, with speculation heavily focused on the potential for multiple upcoming releases.

To date NetherRealm Studios has maintained a consistent cycle of development for both the Mortal Kombat and the DC Injustice franchises, with some overlap, and separate mobile game experiences for both. These remain prime suspects for many, with a mysterious PEGI rating for Mortal Kombat Kollection Online still unaccounted for.

A breach of the GeForce Now service revealed place holders for Injustice: Gods Will Fall and Mortal Kombat XII, with a photograph of a Senior Production Manager's desk further fuelling speculation of prospective dual sequels, at the start of the year. MK11 support officially ended July last year, six months after a return to motion capture with no significant subsequent releases.

Giant Bomb reported insider rumors that Mortal Kombat would take precedence amidst uncertainty fuelled by the corporate merging of WarnerDiscovery. In Las Vegas to accept his induction into the AIAS Hall of Fame, Ed Boon cryptically told GameInformer the next project would make sense.

[Related Article: AIAS Announces Ed Boon as Next Hall of Fame Inductee]

Boon recently polled fans on their interest in MK and Injustice sequels, as well as a much talked about Marvel/DC fantasy crossover game. A similar previous poll generated interest in a remake of the 2005 Shaolin Monks adventure game spin-off. Asked about this, and emulation for Mortal Kombat 4, he noted the difficulties of juggling a new major project with the MK and Injustice franchises, despite having discussed it.

Polite reprieve was offered to Smoke and Tremor as die hard fans probed for news about their favourite characters. On the subject of the much-discussed MK Special Forces character, who made his way into Mortal Kombat X DLC and will be seen in the animated MK Legends: Snow Blind, Boon noted, "I’d be surprised if you never saw Tremor appear in one of our future games. But I can’t promise he will be in our next game."

Also uncertain is the inclusion of cross-progression and crossplay for future games, although it's on the table according to the CCO: "We are definitely exploring all that. Can’t promise anything at this point, though." It remains to be seen if multiple games could lead to other compatibility innovations for the genre, as well.

[Related Article: Editorial: The MKvsDC Crossover Nobody Sees Coming]

Although celebrations of next month's 30th Anniversary of the series have largely been left to Boon (and Tobias), the series co-creator did assuage any conspiratory concerns about MK's future: "MK11 was our biggest MK ever. I’d be surprised if we NEVER did another one."

So what does it all mean? Share your theories and hopes for NetherRealm Studios' next game in the comments below. Go even deeper into ideas and speculation in the MK Future forum!

John Tobias Details Origin of Mortal Kombat Dragon Logo
The famous icon celebrates 30 years!

It has been a symbol and beacon of battle since the beginning, rendered in stone and steel, enduring fire and rifts in time itself. The Dragon Logo has been silent witness to it all, and with its thirtieth anniversary upon us, John Tobias has detailed the origins of the famous design that means Mortal Kombat to all who see it! Read on:

The logo designer & series co-creator went deep in a thread posted to Twitter where he shared a recently recovered drawing of the first finished Dragon Logo [pictured below] taken from footage filmed by artist John Vogel for the digitization process. Edited versions appeared in the 1992 classic everywhere from the character select screen, to Shang Tsung's Throne Room arena.


The Throne Room stage also holds in-game renderings of the golden dragon statue that inspired the design [pictured above]. As Tobias explains, "... John Vogel saw a golden dragon statue on the desk of Midway’s general manager, Ken Fedesna. John borrowed it to digitize for use in our game’s backgrounds."

The same statue inspired the design of the arcade cabinet side panel, which in turn informed the design of the dragon logo as Tobias deliberately searched for an iconic image to brand both the game, and the in-fiction tournament. He likens it to "Superman's "S" or Batman's bat...".

The dragon motif suited the Eastern martial arts concept, but as long time fans will know, Tobias had a more literal reason for starting there: "The inspiration to use a dragon as the fictional tournament’s symbol came from "Dragon Attack," which was in contention as our game’s title before [Ed Boon] and I changed it to "Mortal Kombat."" He notes that "Dragon Attack" was itself borrowed from the title of a song on the 1980 Queen album The Game -- one of many musical references to work their into the series.

This tangled web may make it seem as if the finished product were fated to occur, but Tobias reveals the logo almost didn't happen! It was almost "tossed" when his sister mistook the side profile dragon head for a seahorse. His earliest "doodle" [pictured below] shows a more complete dragon dividing the halves of a yin yang symbol in reference to the "balancing of the furies" included in early lore.

Since the home release of MKII it has officially faced right, but the logo was briefly redesigned in 2014 with new details, and adapted & reappropriated many times over as franchise branding, and design motif.

Still the original rendering stands the test of time -- most recently its becoming home decor as a high-price lambs wool rug! What are the strangest things you've found with the symbol on? Share your memories and thoughts in the comments below and go deeper into nostalgia in the 2D Kombat Klassics forum!

Mortal Kombat 30th Anniversary
10/08/2022 12:00 AM EDT
Fan Restores Lost Mortal Kombat Deception Katakombs Arena
Enter the lost Lin Kuei katakombs!

The march of time has seen Mortal Kombat: Deception emerge as a fondly remembered chapter in the series' recent history, noteable for some of the most expansive renderings of the many realms. The work of fan-modder has restored one piece that was seemingly lost until now. Take a closer look:

The Katakombs arena has been lying in game files all this time, but requires modification to be accessed. Industrious modder Ermaccer explained his process to MKO, "What I posted is 100% from default game files, only thing I had to do to restore it was to make a file table so that game/map knew what to load."

The results can be seen below, realising an icy chamber decorated with snow, backlit recessed dragon logos, and motionless Lin Kuei warriors -- some seated, with others seemingly arranged in death.


The design sensibility of the Katakombs has been echoed in subsequent appearances of the Lin Kuei Palace in Armageddon and Mortal Kombat X, all seemingly drawing inspiration from the open MK4 Ice Pit arena. The Katakombs can also literally be seen in the background of Sub-Zero's second MK Deception character bio [pictured below].

What do you think of this find? Would you like to see a similar arena return? Share your thoughts in the comments below and go deeper into the recently retro in the 3D Kombat Klassics forum!

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