Mortal Kombat : Special Forces

Mortal Kombat: Special Forces PS1 is a 2000 third-person action-adventure from Midway, built as a single-player detour from the series’ tournament fighting formula. Rather than selecting from a combat roster, players control Major Jackson “Jax” Briggs, the Special Forces operative whose pursuit of Kano helps establish an early chapter of the franchise’s story. Midway released the game for Sony’s original PlayStation on June 30, 2000, pairing familiar Mortal Kombat figures with exploration, weapons, and mission-based progression.

The campaign begins after Kano breaks Black Dragon members out of a high-security prison. Jax is sent after the gang and gradually learns that its escape is tied to the Eye of Chitian, an artifact with the power to open paths between realms. His chase moves from urban locations and the gang’s hideouts toward the otherworldly side of Mortal Kombat. Radio transmissions from Gemini, Jax’s contact at headquarters, provide objectives and narrative guidance as he works through the investigation.

Special Forces plays from behind Jax as he searches enclosed 3D areas for routes, keys, codes, and equipment. Locked doors and concealed wall openings make observation part of the job, while movable blocks and environmental puzzles can gate the way forward. The game’s five main stages end in confrontations with Black Dragon figures, giving the pursuit a series of milestones before the final showdown with Kano. It is an action-adventure structure rather than a succession of traditional one-on-one tournament matches.

Combat combines Jax’s punches, kicks, blocking, and learned combo attacks with firearms and explosives found during the mission. Defeating enemies earns experience that opens additional combination moves, while special techniques draw on an energy supply that can be restored through combat. First-aid items replenish health, and the inventory menu keeps track of collected tools and current goals. Guns broaden Jax’s options against armed opponents, but close-range fighting remains central to clearing the gang’s forces and taking on bosses.

Kano is the target throughout, but the Black Dragon roster supplies the immediate opposition. The game includes returning Mortal Kombat characters such as Jarek and Tremor, alongside Special Forces-specific adversaries including the sword-wielding Tasia and explosive specialist No Face. Their presence gives the story a criminal-gang focus before the Eye of Chitian expands the stakes beyond Earthrealm. Gemini is heard over communications rather than appearing as an on-screen combatant, reinforcing the sense of a field operation run from a remote base.

The PS1 release stands apart in Mortal Kombat history as the franchise’s first 3D action-adventure spin-off and one of its few games not designed primarily as a fighting game. Its production changed substantially during development: contemporaneous reporting documented the departure of co-creator John Tobias and other key staff, a major overhaul, and the cancellation of the planned Nintendo 64 version as Midway concentrated on PlayStation. An earlier plan to include Sonya Blade as a playable partner was also removed, leaving Jax as the sole playable lead in the finished game.

That troubled production context helps explain why Mortal Kombat: Special Forces is such a distinct snapshot of the series at the turn of the millennium. It links Jax, Kano, and the Black Dragon through a self-contained prequel-style mission while testing how Mortal Kombat characters could function in a 3D exploratory game. For players interested in PS1-era franchise experiments, it offers a focused Jax adventure built around investigation, combat upgrades, weapons, and a pursuit that crosses from criminal hideouts into the wider Mortal Kombat universe.