Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Reviewed by Devin Horn
My brother and I have been wanting this game for a while now and
when we finally got it, it wasn't exactly like I thought it would be, but
then again I wasn't disappointed either. It's actually a pretty good
game. Now, let's get down to the categories...
Graphics
The graphics in this game are pretty much arcade quality, except a tad
more, I don't want to say blocky, but yes, blocky. This is because the
graphics look to be low-res. The stages from the original MK (like the
first pit) look fixed up a lot so you can't tell the difference between
them and the new ones. The fluidity of character movements are smooth
except when it comes to certain situations. When I say this, I mainly mean
finishing moves.
Most of us that were actually anticipating its release had read somewhere
or another about missing frames of animation due to lack of cart space.
The places that animation is missing from is pretty noticeable. For
example, after pulling off Baraka's 'blade hang' fatality, the character
being killed is missing a lot of animation in the twitching phase, which
creates a super fast twitch look. It looks painful, but it also looks
pretty corny. I've noticed these problems in other areas, but not too bad.
Only one other really bad area was after Sub-Zero turned into a polar bear
for his Animality and clawed his victim up, he suddenly turned back into
Sub-Zero instead of morphine back. The colors in this game were used very
well in my opinion and not too bright or flashy. One other really great
thing was the size of characters. They are very big and detailed.
Sound
After first turning on the game I noticed the music quality was that of
my MK3 cart for SNES. My brother and I then looked at each other and said:
"Something's got to be wrong with the speakers."
The music tracks are pretty much the same as the tracks in UMK3 and its
predecessors except for a couple of remixed ones and maybe one or two new
ones. They are fast paced and fit with the stages most of the time (There
is this one song that plays in the tomb stage that sounds more like it
belongs in a street stage, though). Some of the songs (like the options
screen music) are very annoying. Enough about the music, though. Let's
talk about a more important factor; sound effects. The SFX in this game
are pretty good, but not quite arcade quality. Some main talking sounds in
it are too deep and have too much bass. There doesn't seem to be any areas
that have space-wasting sounds, and a lot of the new sounds are nice
additions. Some of the new sounds are for Rayden, Brutalities, Motaro,
Baraka, and many other places you will probably remember not hearing if
you've played UMK3. I think that the sound overall is very good, but Super
Mario 64 could beat it in a vote.
Control
The control in MKT is a perfect arcade translation. Everything is easy
to pull off and combos are especially easy. The controller configuration
can be changed, but I'm comfortable with the default settings. When you
play, I would suggest using the D-Pad for movement. The Analog is
functional, but it really sucks because trying to pull of moves using
forward or back is a strain on your thumb and hard to pull off quickly
enough. If you do decide to use the analog you should hold it like an
arcade joystick (with more than your thumb) because forward and back moves
are easier. This though, is still kind of hard because the Analog is much
smaller than an arcade stick. Because 'run' is used so much by me, it's
pretty easy to have access to it. But for me, the block button is not used
because I can't find it that easily. I don't use the 'R' and 'L' buttons,
so that may be my problem (I depend on my block being one of the 'C'
buttons).
Gameplay
This game is not that much fun when you don't have a second controller
and you just sit there and watch someone else play. So, if you do buy it,
make sure you have a second controller and a sibling or parent that likes
to play it also. When you play a one player game you may notice that the
'Novice Tower' is still pretty hard to beat. This is because (at least on
my machine) Jade is usually the first character to fight, and in my opinion
she's one of the hardest characters to beat in the game. Even if the
difficulty in options is set to 'Very Easy', it's still hard. Speaking of
options, there are some very useful ones in MKT. There is a violence
censored, automatic combos, a screen centered, and a few other useful or
interesting options. It may not look like a must-play game at first, but
the first time you sit down top play it with a new character, you'll probably
be playing for awhile. The new moves, characters, and finishers are pretty
impressive. My favorite new character is Noob Saibot. His moves are new
and original, and are very effective. Now let's see how fun it is. If
you've already bought the entire MK series for your SNES or 'other system'
and you've played the arcades a lot (that means you're an MK fanatic like
my brother) then this definitely won't be as fun as it would be for a
person who's only played the MK series a little. It's not really too
original, except for the 'Agressor Mode' (which I think is useless; It's
only cool because of the great shadow effect and because of the fact that
you can't do Brutalities with out it (I think)) and the new characters +
moves. If you're an MK fan then you'll still probably like it.
Lastability
This game will only stay fun as long as some of the following are true
for you.
1) You have a second controller and are able to play others in VS. mode.
2) You are a fighting game fan.
3) You haven't already had your full dose of MK.
4) You are trying to find all the secrets on your own without the help of
cheat sheets.
5) You have eight player tournaments with friends & family.
These five should keep you busy for a while. Now, about the other
parts. If you play the computer a lot and you like it, then the challenge
should be great for you because of the four towers. The game does not have
any save features as far as I know, but it's not that hard to change your
button configuration every time. Just remember, if you can play the VS.
mode with others, the fun won't leave you for awhile.
Overall: 4.0
Graphics: 3.9
+ Arcade quality
+ Large characters
+ Fixed up MK1 backgrounds
+ Great fluidity on combos, special moves, and character movement.
- Missing frames of animation on finishers
- Low-res graphics with some blockiness
Sound: 3.2
+ Lots of great new sounds
+ Realistic human voices
+ Fast paced music
- Music placed in strange places sometimes
- Super NES quality MIDI
- Some songs seem annoying when played for too long
Control: 4.5
+ Prefect arcade translation
+ Easy to pull off everything
+/- Analog joystick is hard to get used to, but D-Pad is easy to use.
- block button in awkward position when used with 'C' buttons
Gameplay: 3.4
+ Very useful options
+ Lots of new moves, characters, and finishers
+ Lots of characters
+ Brings the arcade quality home + more!
+/- Plenty of challenge
- Too hard on novice
- Not too original -- Not lots of brand new fun
Lastability: 2.8
+ Plenty of challenge
+ Very fun Vs. mode
+ Lots of new secrets to find
- Not too fun if you have had your full dose of MK already
- Not too much fun without a friend
- No save features