Mortal Kombat II is a 1993 fighting video game developed by Midway, and published by Midway and Acclaim Entertainment. The game follows the events of the first game in which the next Mortal Kombat tournament is set in the realm of Outword as the fighters make their way to challenge the evil emperor Shao Kahn.

If the premise of the first game captured your attention then this game will definitely have you hooked. Not only does it go in depth more about the tournament and Outworld but also introduces new characters bringing the roster from seven characters to twelve. Each character has their own bio and motivations for joining the tournament which is revealed throughout the arcade mode.

New playable characters are Baraka, Jax, Kitana, Kung Lao, Mileena, Reptile, and Shang Tsung with three unlockable fighters who are Jade, Smoke, and Noob Saibot. Sonya and Kano are in the story but are not playable along with boss characters Kintaro and Shao Kahn. (4 out of 5)

Like its predecessor, the name of the game is beating your opponent until their health bar is full depleted. First player to win two rounds wins the match, giving the winner the opportunity to perform a finishing move to eliminate their opponent. New stage-specific Fatalities offer easier accessibility for players who can’t quite manage the button combos (one popular being uppercutting their opponent into a pool of acid in the background). There are also two non-lethal finishing moves Friendships (often a goofy gesture that doesn’t kill the opponent) and Babalities (which turns the opponent into a crying baby).

Gameplay has been vastly improved upon in nearly every aspect. For one thing, there are several changes to the character move sets with the new refined mechanics. The fights now are more fast paced, the standard moves have been expanded upon, and characters have more special move sets. It’s much more fluid and the controls are handled pretty well. This also goes out to the AI which is pretty freakin’ hard even on the lightest of difficulties. With the refined fighting mechanics feels more balanced towards the player. (4 out of 5)

The graphics are vastly improved upon as well. Character designs are more detailed and expressive. The level designs are have more detail, feel more active, and have more diversity of tone. There are several levels where we can see several of the characters in the background often engaged with another character or something in the environment, the Living Forest (with the trees with the faces), the Kombat Tomb (with the pterodactyls flying in the back), Kahn’s Aerna (crowd’s cheer after Shao Kahn hits players). There’s blood and every strike send a ton of it flying through the air. (3 out of 5)

The music is much, much better this time around and sounds less bland. The levels have their own distinct music that helps it. The announcer’s voice sounds more fine tuned. The characters still sounds pretty funny but it sounds better. The sound design is impactful though sometimes throughout the menu maneuvering the audio can sound muffled. (3 out of 5)

The game has some replay value and it mostly comes from the versus mode. If you’re generally a fan of fighting games with no problem just mindlessly beating the crap out of opponents this is the game for you. If you like picking characters and mastering their skill and abilities this is the game for you. The more recent ports of the game have included online competition and boy is it spiritually draining know there are a bunch of people mastering the game because they don’t work three jobs unlike yours truly. There is the arcade mode of course. Each character has their own ending and playing the arcade with each players get to see them. (3 out of 5)

The Verdict: In the end, Mortal Kombat II is one of the greatest fighting games of all time and it’s easy to see why. It’s fun and with the new ports feels up-to-date. Yeah, the graphics are a little dated, there isn’t enough exploration into the story, and it lacks the mini games of the previous entry. But the fighting mechanics are much better, the move sets are more diverse, the music is better, and it still remains highly competitive. Mortal Kombat II gets 3 out of 5.