The Dizzy Fatality Kombat modifier found in several mortal kombat games such as Mortal Kombat X (2015) and Mortal Kombat 1 (2023). It is a modifier that takes the series' most iconic ritual, the finishing move, and weaves it directly into the flow of a match instead of saving it strictly for the end. It does this through introducing a difficult skill based aspect to the fight that both characters have to navigate, further ensuring that the best and most deserving player earns the match win and the finishing fatality which sometimes isn't the case in standard matches or other modifiers which introduce gimmicks and luck based flukes.

Before getting into the modifier, it helps to remember how a standard match plays out. Every match is built around a set number of required round wins needed to win the overall match, and whoever wins the required number of rounds first wins the match. Once once character wins all the needed rounds, the losing character enters a defeated, "dizzy" state, the announcer shouts "Finish Him" or "Finish Her," and the winner is given the option to execute a fatality or other finishing move. It's entirely optional. The winner can just let the timer for a finishing move run out and their character will do a victory pose instead.

Fatalities only ever happen after the match is already decided, because both fighters need to be alive and functional to complete every round. You can't finish a round if you've already been decapitated, for instance. That kind of finality is reserved for after the last round is lost. Hence why it's called being finished off. Your character is done and you have lost.

The standard route to fatalities is added to with the Dizzy Fatality Kombat modifier. Instead of the dizzy, defeated animation only appearing after the match is over, this modifier can triggers it during the active match. While the modifier is active, every ten seconds in the match, one of the compatible characters will be randomly chosen to be put into a temporary dizzy state that mimics the end of match finish him and finish her dizzy state. During the dizzy state, the opponent can perform a fatality on the dizzy character to finish them off and win the match. A character is compatible to go dizzy as long as they are not blocking, or locked in the air (jumping) at the time the internal ten second timer triggers. Each dizzy state can be manually avoided by blocking or jumping at the exact time of the dizzy timer trigger. This requires you to keep track of the timer and properly guess when the dizzy state will trigger. If both characters are compatible and neither is blocking or jumping, the game will randomly select the character who goes dizzy. It can be either character regardless of the current round or health stats and regardless of which character is winning or losing the match. If one character is blocking or jumping and the other is not, then the character who isn't blocking or jumping will automatically be selected by the game to enter the dizzy state when the timer triggers it. If both characters are blocking or jumping, then neither character will go dizzy and that dizzy state will be skipped and timer will reset for the next dizzy state.

While in the dizzy state, two things can happen. The first is nothing. If the opponent doesn't input a finishing move in time, the dizzy state simply wears off after a while, and the match resumes as if nothing happened. Round progress, health, everything continues normally until either the next dizzy spell hits or someone wins the match the traditional way. The dizzy state will also end right away if the opponent uses a different attack rather than a fatality input as the game will assume they do not want to finish the opponent off and will therefore continue the match without delay. The second thing that can happen during a dizzy state is a successful finisher. If the opponent of the dizzy character successfully executes a fatality (or other finishing move) while the dizzy window is active, the match ends immediately and the fatality cinematic begins.

When a fatality connects through the dizzy modifier, the game has to retroactively completes the match. Whatever rounds the character performing the fatality still needed are automatically awarded to them.

So if you're playing a first to win three rounds wins match and the score is 1-1 when the fatality lands, the game awards the remaining two rounds needed, and the final recorded score reads 3-1, across four rounds "played." In match records, the modifier itself isn't recorded. It just looks like a clean, standard match victory on the final results and overview stats.

Although the character selected to go dizzy at each ten second point is random if both characters are compatible, it is not a chaotic or random modifier. It is skill based since the dizzy states can be manually avoided. You cannot stop the dizzy state timer, but if you are doing certain moves such as blocking or jumping while the dizzy state is set to trigger, then your character will not enter the dizzy state and instead either your opponent will go dizzy (if they fail to prevent it), or that dizzy state will be skipped entirely until the next one happens. This allows the character to control the dizzy states and ensure they don't get finished off. This is one of the main reasons the modifier is skill based rather than random and luck based. Although the chosen character is random, the dizzy states can be manually avoided and if you fail to avoid it, then that is your own mistake.

The second major part of this modifier that makes it skill based is that the fatality has to be manually input by the non dizzy character during the dizzy window. To win the match with the fatality, the player has to recognize the window, react, get the right spacing, then input the fatality in order to finish the opposing character off. They have to do this all within a short dizzy window, which is not an easy task to accomplish.

Overall, the modifier is a very good skill test that adds in a unique and difficult modification to the match that both players have to navigate. Winning this way is arguably more difficult and is a well earned and clean victory, regardless of who was ahead or losing beforehand. The modifier is fully skill based and it is dependent on your skill to avoid going vulnerable, and dependent on your skill to capitalize on an opponents vulnerability and land the fatality. If you are using this modifier and win the match then you were the better player in that match. No debates. If you lose, then you were unfortunately the worse player for that match.

Games: Mortal Kombat X (2015), Mortal Kombat 11 (2019), Mortal Kombat 1 (2023)