Since the original Mortal Kombat launched in 1992, the developers at Midway and later NetherRealm have continuously pushed the bar for fighting games. The series might lack some of the tactical depth of Street Fighter, but it makes up for that with over-the-top violence, a ton of content, and one of the wildest story modes in the genre. Plus, the Mortal Kombat team hasn’t been afraid of innovating, consistently trying out new ideas to varying degrees of success. There have been dozens of Mortal Kombat games over the years, but in the list below, I’ve mixed games that received multiple entries. For example, you won’t see Mortal Kombat 3 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 as separate entries, but I am considering them both when ranking them.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Here is every Mortal Kombat game ranked from worst to best.
16) Mortal Kombat: Special Forces
Special Forces is the worst Mortal Kombat game, and it’s not really close. In fact, it’s one of the worst games ever made, consistently showing up on those lists. To be fair, series co-creator Ed Boon said Special Forces had a “bumpy” development, which happened because one of the other co-creators, John Tobias, left the company midway through development.
Even with the troubled development cycle and the loss of one of the series’ guiding hands, it’s impossible to rank Special Forces any higher than last. Playing through an action-adventure game as Jax sounds fun in theory, but the awful level design and tedious gameplay combined to make it a game most players tossed aside.
15) Mortal Kombat: Onslaught
If not for Special Forces, Onslaught would comfortably sit at the bottom of this list. The mobile game tried to give players a mobile beat ’em up RPG, but never bothered to find a fun game. Instead, the gacha mechanics felt like Warner Bros. trying to make a cash grab (more on that below).
Onslaught did so poorly that it was shut down after a year on the market. Say what you will about some of the failures the Mortal Kombat team released over the years, but none of them (outside of Special Forces) were as dead on arrival as Onslaught.
14) Mortal Kombat 4
MK4 brought the series into the 3D world, giving players their first look at 3D graphics in their favorite series. We also got a look at the future of the series, as MK4 introduced weapons into the mix, something the developers would greatly expand on in future entries.
Unfortunately, Mortal Kombat 4 fails to live up to the highs of the first three games, particularly in the story department. MK4 has become well-known for some of its ridiculous endings, especially Jax’s, which features voice acting that wouldn’t be out of place in the original English version of Resident Evil.
13) Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero
It’s a bit perplexing that Mythologies: Sub-Zero came out before Special Forces. Granted, it’s not a great game, but the mix of action-adventure gameplay and live-action cutscenes was at least novel.
The platforming sections are brutally unpredictable, and the combat can get a bit tiresome, but it was a neat experiment from the developers. For all the flak Sub-Zero gets, we probably wouldn’t have things like Konquest Mode without it. Plus, games like this pushed the series beyond the confines of the tournament, letting the team stretch its wings with new storytelling possibilities.
12) Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is a fine game that makes decent use of its license. Adding DC superheroes to the mix was fun, but it quickly became clear that building an entire game around them was probably a mistake.
Don’t get me wrong, the combat was solid at times. Klose Kombat and Free-Fall Kombat slowed things down a bit too much for my taste, but the real issue was the lack of the series’ trademark gore. It makes sense that DC didn’t want Sub-Zero ripping out Batman’s spine, but why bother making the game if you aren’t willing to go all the way?
11) Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Many players might have Armageddon higher on this list. It’s the final entry in the original series and brings back nearly every important character. That doesn’t leave much room for new characters, though; if Taven and Daegon are any indication, maybe Midway needed a break.
My issues start with Konquest mode. It’s a controversial opinion, but I liked Deception‘s RPG focus much more than the action game-like mode we got in Armageddon. And while Kreate-A-Fatality was a neat novelty, the hand-crafted animations Midway developed are so far beyond the limited things you can do there that I didn’t bother using it too much.
10) Mortal Kombat
It feels weird to have the original Mortal Kombat this low. It is a legendary game that changed the medium when it launched. However, I’m ranking quality, not importance. With that in mind, the first MK is a good game that’s a bit simplistic.
You could easily argue the first Mortal Kombat up a few slots, but the truth is that the next two games in the series took everything good about MK and made it much better. Because of that, I’m keeping it relatively low on the list, while noting how significant it was in 1992.
9) Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Deadly Alliance is the Mortal Kombat game I’ve put the most time into. It was one of the first games I got on my GameCube, and I was mesmerized by the full 3D fighting and the ability to swap styles. I’m saying this because I know there are fans out there who don’t appreciate new characters like Bo’Rai Cho, Li Mei, and Kenshi, but they’re some of my favorites.
The refreshed combat turned off some players, but the added depth is something the series has continued to expand in future entries. Deadly Alliance also introduced Konquest mode, though it wasn’t nearly as fleshed-out as it became in Deception. It was a solid first effort to take the series in a new direction, but it butted up against a few technical issues. The lack of Liu Kang was also a choice.
8) Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
Speaking of Liu Kang, the series’s protagonist finally got his own spin-off in 2005. Midway had been trying to make a good side game for years, and finally succeeded with this action-adventure game starring Liu Kang and Kung Lao as they fought through the Mortal Kombat 2 story.
It was a nifty mix between traditional Mortal Kombat movement and a combo system you’d see in action games like God of War. You can also play in co-op, giving you an excellent way to play with your buddy. Given the history of MK spin-offs, it’s no surprise that fans overlooked it, but it was good enough that a sequel was put into production, which only failed due to financial constraints.
7) Mortal Kombat 1
The most recent mainline game on this list, Mortal Kombat 1 is an excellent fighter. Some players don’t love the Kameo system, but I think it helps keep things fresh, providing new ways for players to build strategy into their combos.
My biggest problem with MK1 is that NetherRealm went back to the multiverse once again. It really seems like the developers thought of the final scene where you’re fighting off bizarro versions of your favorite characters and decided to make a game around that.
It also doesn’t help that this might be the most heavily monetized game in the series, which means you’ll have to grind for dozens of hours to earn content if you don’t want to open your wallet for microtransactions. MK1 should be higher on this list, but Warner Bros. meddling forces it to drop.
6) Mortal Kombat: Deception
Deception took Deadly Alliance‘s expanded combat and blew it out of the water. Now, you can break combos, pick up weapons from around the arena, and use each stage’s death traps to unleash a surprise kill.
As mentioned, Deception brings back Konquest and expands it into a massive, RPG-like experience. Granted, the voice acting is terrible and the story is middling, but running through the entire mode was a blast. Add in Chess Kombat and Puzzle Kombat, and you have maybe the best suite of mini-games in any MK game.
5) Mortal Kombat 11
Similar to Mortal Kombat 1, MK11 would likely be higher on this list if it weren’t were the over-reliance on microtransactions and a ridiculous grind to earn everything. Putting those things aside, MK11 is a phenomenal game that does so much to bring new players up to speed.
The expanded tutorial system is a big boost for new players, and the improved netcode made it easier than ever to jump into online games. I found the combat a little slow for my liking, but many players dug the more methodical gameplay. On top of all that is one of NetherRealm’s best story modes that ends with a world-shattering DLC. If only NetherRealm hadn’t just decided to go back to the multiverse well in MK1.
4) Mortal Kombat (2011)
The big reboot of Mortal Kombat brought combat back to the 2D plane. With that, we had over-the-top, fast-paced action that was full of the series’ trademark gore. And with everything running at a buttery-smooth 60 frames per second, it was fair to say that Mortal Kombat was officially back.
NetherRealm also outdid itself in the story department, giving fans a full re-telling of the first three Mortal Kombat games after the events of Armageddon. Via time shenanigans, Raiden helps change the course of history. NetherRealm has gone back to this well in later entries with less success, but it felt novel in 2011.
3) Mortal Kombat II
Take everything you loved about the original Mortal Kombat and make it better. More Fatalities, new types of finishers, fan-favorite new characters, and a special hidden character; Mortal Kombat 2 basically had everything.
Reviewers at the time were amazed by the jump MK2 took over the original. Similar to the leap Capcom made from Street Fighter to Street Fighter 2, MK2 is so much better, it almost makes the first game look bad by comparison. It picked up nearly every award for fighting games in 1994 and has stood the test of time.
2) Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat 3 is where things get weird. The original 1995 release was a solid enough game, introducing combos and a new dash button. However, Midway made the strange decision to cut a few fan favorite characters, most notably Scorpion, which annoyed fans.
Thankfully, Midway soon released Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, which added Scorpion and most of the rest of the cast back into the mix. It also added 2-on-2 mode and a new eight-player tournament. Simply put, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is the best version of the game and serves as one of the series’ high points.
1) Mortal Kombat X
Mortal Kombat X is the MK2 and 3 to Mortal Kombat (2011). It’s bigger. It’s better. It’s not quite as overstuffed with microtransactions. Don’t get me wrong, X absolutely has them, but this might be the best version of MK fans will get for a while when it comes to monetization.
There is so much to love here. Combat is fast-paced and as gory as ever. The story continues what was started in Mortal Kombat (2011) by giving players a time skip and introducing the Kombat Kids. Speaking of them, the new characters are incredibly fun to master, with D’Vorah being one of my personal favorites.
And say what you will about the over-reliance on microtransactions (it’s definitely a problem), but the DLC characters are the best we’ve ever seen. Bringing in classic horror villains was a perfect decision by NetherRealm. Does it get much better than seeing Liu Kang go up against Jason Voorhees or Leatherface? I don’t think so.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
