Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Platform: Nintendo 64
Media: Cartridge
Genre: VS Fighter
Release Year: 1997
Developer: Williams Entertainment
Publisher: Williams Entertainment
Players: Single-player, multiplayer
_________________________

Cast and characters

Along with the UMK3 roster, MKT adds Baraka, and Raiden as they appeared in MKII. In addition to both characters gaining one new special move each, both characters have brand new sprites for running and standing falls (these animation types weren't introduced until ''Mortal Kombat 3). A new version of Johnny Cage played by a new actor was also introduced as well. He retains all of his regular moves from MKII except for the Split Punch, which had to be excluded since none of the characters from MK3/UMK3 had "reaction" sprites for this particular move. Bosses Goro, Kintaro, Motaro and Shao Kahn, are also now playable.

The PlayStation (PSX), Sega Saturn, and PC versions also contain alternate versions of Jax, Kung Lao, Kano and Raiden as they appeared in the first or second game, as they were the only actors who returned as special characters in the game; Ho Sung Pak (Liu Kang), Philip Ahn (Shang Tsung), Elizabeth Malecki (Sonya Blade), Katalin Zamiar (Kitana/Mileena/Jade) and Dan Pesina (Johnny Cage and Scorpion/Sub-Zero/Reptile/Smoke) left Midway prior to the production of MK3 due to royalty disputes. Johnny Cage is the only character to have all new sprites for this game; his new sprites are that of Chris Alexander. Pesina is the actor for the sprites used during Raiden's gameplay, but Sal Divita is used for the versus screen picture. In addition, new sprites were created to show MKII Raiden and Baraka running and falling from a standing position. New frames were also created for the original Kano to replace the old frames used for his victory stance and heart rip Fatality by modifying Kano's MK3 sprites.

A new secret character appears, as well. This character, known as Chameleon, rapidly switches between all the male ninjas (Classic Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Noob Saibot, Human Smoke, Rain, Reptile, and Ermac) during combat. He is similar to the original Mortal Kombat version of Reptile, but Chameleon changes his color, not just his stance. This character is playable by performing a special button combination. The spine rip Fatality performed by Classic Sub-Zero is a censored version of that featured in the original Mortal Kombat game (when he reaches for the opponent's head, the screen goes black).

Gameplay

Mortal Kombat Trilogy introduces the Aggressor bar, which fills as the combatants fight (twice as much if the opponent is blocking). When the bar fills, the character becomes much faster and stronger for a short period of time.

A finishing move known as a Brutality is featured in this game: it requires the player to perform an 11-button combo which causes their opponent to explode. (Brutalities were also added to the Mega Drive/Genesis and SNES ports of UMK3.) All of the levels that featured a Stage Fatality made it into this game except the pit II as no MK3 characters had the sprites for falling off the bridge.

Many of the characters have brand new special moves and finishing moves. Several have unused special moves never implemented in previous games which made their first official appearance in Mortal Kombat Trilogy. These special moves include MK1 Kano's Spinning Blade move, MKII Kung Lao's Air Torpedo, Goro's Spinning Punch move, Raiden's Lightning that shoots from behind the opponent, and Baraka's Blade Spin move. In addition, Shao Kahn has a throw move and a grab and punch move that is exclusive to this game, and Motaro has added an overhead toss to his arsenal.

Almost every battle arena that has been featured in MKII, MK3, and UMK3 makes an appearance in MKT, however only a handful of backgrounds from the first Mortal Kombat make it into this game (Courtyard, Goro's Lair, The Pit, and The Pit Bottom). The PC, PSX, and Saturn versions only lack The Hidden Portal and Noob Saibot's Dorfen from MK3, while the Nintendo 64 version lacks Kahn's Arena and The Bank from MK2 and MK3, respectively. In some of the Kombat Zones a character can be uppercutted into different backgrounds: The Subway ? The Street, The Bank ? The Rooftop (only in the PC, PS and Saturn versions), The Soul Chamber ? The Balcony, Scorpion's Lair ? Kahn's Kave, Goro's Lair ? The Armory ? Kombat Tomb (N64 exclusive).

Nintendo 64

The Nintendo 64 port exclusively features 3-on-3 simultaneous battles. In the N64 version, like in the arcade, the player has four credits from the start. However, after playing a 2-player match, the player gets an extra credit, while in the CD-ROM versions, anyone can play for free. Free Play needs to be unlocked on the N64 version. The N64 port also has a more cohesive "Supreme Demonstration" feature (which shows every Fatality, Babality, Friendship, Animality, and Brutality for every character) than the PS or Saturn versions (as the latter versions needed to load the Fatalities and thus cannot show every one in the allotted time). This version only uses music from MK3 and it is played through the system's internal synth, resulting in considerably lower quality than the CD versions. However, all ending tunes and music loops used during the "Finish Him/Her" screen are intact unlike the CD-ROM versions.

Due to limitations of cartridge space there are only 31 total characters on N64, instead of 36 in the PSX, Sega Saturn, and PC versions of the game. The N64 version lacks Goro and Kintaro, and the classic versions of Jax, Kung Lao, Kano, and Raiden. The other versions of the game have both masked and unmasked Sub-Zero whereas the N64 version only has masked Sub-Zero (however, in addition to his own moves, he is able to perform unmasked Sub-Zero's moves as well). Chameleon is replaced with the secret character Khameleon, a grey female ninja, and is present as both a secret opponent and a playable character. While she, too, switches her move sets (making her considerably weaker), she has a cohesive backstory, unlike her male counterpart. The N64 version of the game, like MK3 and UMK3, provides the player with an "Ultimate Kombat Kode" screen after a single player game is over where a 6-digit code can be entered to unlock Human Smoke and Khameleon for normal play.

The N64 game also includes a new level: the Star Bridge, which is The Pit II background with a star-filled sky. Some older backgrounds are also "enhanced" with extra graphics and added animation. Some examples of this are The Portal, which now includes a temple-like building on each side of the stage, and the Kahn's Kave, which has animated clouds and a glowing floor added to it. The sky of The Pit I stage has been redone in all versions: the PlayStation, PC, and Saturn versions feature a sky almost identical to that of The Pit II, while the N64 version features a pitch-black, star-filled sky. Kahn's Arena no longer has the sprites of Kano and Sonya in the background (most likely due to storyline reasons). Living Forest also no longer has sprites of Smoke and Jade emerging in the background as they are playable characters of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. The N64's Lost Bridge also has Hornbuckle and Blaze appear at random in its background. The N64's Graveyard stage has more names on the gravestones near the front: as well as the original Midway design team of MK3, names of the team at Williams Entertainment were added (the date of death on the stones was changed, from April 1, 1995 to September 30, 1996 to the creators' birthdates).

In this version there are two secret menus (blue question mark and red question mark) because not all the playable characters are unlocked from the start. Motaro and Shao Kahn are given Fatalities to perform, either as computer-controlled or regularly controlled characters. Johnny Cage has two Fatalities that he had in MKII (though one is performed differently; instead of ripping an opponent in half at his/her waist, he performs a powerful Shadow Kick move that knocks out the middle section of this opponent's torso). He also has new/different animations whenever a Fatality has been performed on him are different (an example is Kabal's Head Inflation, where in the other versions his shades are placed on the top of his head while in the N64 version his glasses are enlarged with his head). Nightwolf has a very different Friendship move exclusive to this version, which he pulls out 3 hatchets and begins to juggle as opposed to turning into Raiden since this character returned as a playable character to this game (although in the other versions, Nightwolf has his original MK3 Friendship move). In addition, many frames of animation had to be cut from each character in the game and Rain's stance is the same as Reptile's.