Ultimate Mortal Kombat

Ultimate Mortal Kombat for Nintendo DS is a 2007 fighting-game compilation developed by Other Ocean Interactive and published by Midway. Released in North America on November 12, it brings the arcade-style Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 to Nintendo’s dual-screen handheld and pairs it with Puzzle Kombat, the Mortal Kombat-themed puzzle game first seen in Mortal Kombat: Deception. The package is built around brisk one-on-one bouts, an extensive cast, and the series’ familiar mix of special moves, combos, stage hazards, and finishing moves.

The main fighting game revisits the revised Mortal Kombat 3 roster and its Earthrealm-versus-Outworld conflict. Fighters including Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Jax, Kitana, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Reptile, Cyrax, Sektor, Kabal, and Shang Tsung enter tournament ladders that culminate in confrontations with Shao Kahn and Motaro. Returning ninjas such as Kitana, Jade, Reptile, and Scorpion distinguish Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 from the earlier Mortal Kombat 3 lineup, while additional fighters can be made available through the game’s unlock system.

Matches use the six-button Mortal Kombat control style, adapted to the Nintendo DS buttons and touch screen. Players combine punches, kicks, blocks, runs, throws, jumps, and directional inputs to perform character-specific techniques, chain attacks together, and force an opponent into danger. The handheld presentation keeps the original game’s layered arenas and stage-specific consequences in play: an uppercut can send a rival to a lower level on suitable stages, while certain locations allow a fighter to end a round with a stage fatality. Alongside standard single-player towers, the DS version includes two-on-two battles and an eight-player tournament format.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat also gives the Nintendo DS a second, very different competitive mode. Puzzle Kombat turns the series’ fighters into super-deformed combatants and frames their rivalry around falling-block puzzle boards. Clearing groups of matching blocks and managing attacks against the opposing board creates a separate head-to-head challenge from the reflex-driven fighting game. The two modes share the cartridge but offer distinct ways to play, making the release both a portable version of a 1995 arcade fighter and a compact Mortal Kombat compilation.

Multiplayer was a central feature of this Nintendo DS edition. Two players could battle locally, including through game sharing, and both Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Puzzle Kombat supported Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection play when the service was active. Player profiles recorded results and allowed unlocked characters to remain available, removing the need to re-enter unlock codes for every session. As a DS-specific follow-up to Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 rather than a new numbered sequel, Ultimate Mortal Kombat preserves the fast 2D combat and secret-filled structure associated with that era of the series while adding a puzzle companion and handheld multiplayer options.