Mortal Kombat on Super NES: What Did the Critics Say in 1993?

GAMEPRO (September 1993)

"The graphics in the SNES Mortal Kombat are cleaner, better defined, and closer to the original arcade game's than those found in the other versions. The digitized fighters look better here because of the SNES's enormous color palette, an advantage it has over the Genesis. But without the blood, something is lacking. Despite some control glitches and altered Fatality Moves, Mortal Kombat for SNES is a great representation of an arcade classic that will more than satisfy most gamers." -Scary Larry (5 out of 5)

NINTENDO MAGAZINE SYSTEM #11

"Beat 'em up fans have never had it so good, and Acclaim's conversion of Mortal Kombat is another corker to add to the list. Although I could take or leave the coin-op, there's something strongly playable about this conversion. I must admit, though, that I am more than a little miffed that the "Death Moves" have been censored as these were an integral part of the coin-op's success." -Steve (92% out of 100%)

SNES FORCE #3

"Little of the arcade game's blood is here, and the death moves have been toned down. This aside, Mortal Kombat is an arcade-perfect conversion and awesome to look at. The digitisation of the fighters is brilliant, with some of the best animation I've seen on any home machine, ever; you could be forgiven for thinking you were playing the arcade. Mortal Kombat's only fault lies in the gameplay; if just does not have the depth of games like Street Fighter II." -Simon (91% out of 100%)

COMPUTER + VIDEO GAMES #142

"Impressed as I was with the Megadrive version's graphics, nothing prepared me for these! SNES Kombat's graphics are almost arcade perfect,. The characters are massive, superbly rendered and excellently animated. Omitting the blood, though, was a major mistake. For me, the gory violence was the main attraction of the coin-op, and this version just doesn't have the same feel without it." -Paul Anglin (86% out of 100%)

SNES FORCE #3

"Mortal Kombat never offered anything new as an arcade; the fantastic trimmings were what made it stand out. Without them, it's practically naked, having to rely on playability alone. It does play exceedingly well, but with the blood, guts and spines lost in conversion, disappointment is inevitable. A try-before-you-buy." -Chris H. (86% out of 100%)

SUPER PLAY #11

"Hmm. I'm really not too sure about Mortal Kombat. On the face of it it's an absolutely fabulous conversion of the coin-op. But it just isn't as exciting to play as I was expecting. Really smart looking, and as close to the arcade original as one could hope for (bar the loss of loss of [sic] blood). But was Mortal Kombat really that great a game in the first place?" -Jonathan Davies (81% out of 100%)

ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY #50

"Let's face it - the only this this game really had going for it was the blood and fatalities. It's no SF2, but it is an interesting variation on the fighting game scene. Acclaim deserves a lot of credit for producing an almost perfect translation of the arcade version, but failing to retain the key elements (blood) hurts the effect." -Steve Harris (7 out of 10)

DIE HARD GAME FAN (September 1993)

"Maybe this game should have just been named Moral Kombat because of all the controversy regarding the fatality moves. The SNES version is a good translation with great digitized graphics and almost all of the arcade voice, but the movement is kind of choppy and the primary reason you played the game in the arcade is gone." -The Enquirer (76% out of 100%)

NINTENDO POWER (October 1993)

"Plus: Excellent graphics, animation and sound. The special moves will take some practice and skill to master. The new options add a great balancing factor between Mortal Kombat experts and novices. Minus: Four of the finishing moves are not identical to the arcade game, but that can be a positive if you want a new challenge. The one-player game is pretty easy, unless you set the difficulty to Very Hard." (3.8 out of 5)

DIE HARD GAME FAN (September 1993)

"The SNES version of this game is a little closer to the arcade in terms of the digitized animation and voice (without death moves and gore) but the game is not as challenging as the Genesis version and, with unlimited continues, becomes a quick walk in one player mode. MK fans will not be disappointed, but play the game on "hard"." -K. Lee (75% out of 100%)

ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY #50

"What can you say when you're going up against SF2 TE? They did an excellent job of reproducing the digitized graphics and sample sounds. The main problem for fans is "Where's the blood?" They managed to get around it some but it weakened this version. Also, it doesn't have quite the same feel and technique." -Sushi X (7 out of 10)