Mortal Kombat II (rev L3.1)

Mortal Kombat II is Midway’s 1993 arcade fighting-game sequel, set during a new tournament in Outworld. After Liu Kang defeats Shang Tsung in the first game, the sorcerer persuades Shao Kahn to bring Earthrealm’s defenders into Kahn’s own domain. Players select a fighter and battle through one-on-one matches on the way to the tournament’s rulers.

The arcade game keeps the series’ five-button control layout and best-of-three-round structure, but makes the action faster and expands the standard move set. Crouching punches, more distinct high and low kicks, stronger roundhouse kicks, reduced recovery times, and new special moves give players more opportunities to string attacks together. Victories are tracked as a consecutive-win streak instead of the first game’s points system.

The playable roster grows from seven fighters to twelve. Returning combatants including Liu Kang, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Raiden, Johnny Cage, Reptile, and Shang Tsung are joined by Baraka, Jax, Kitana, Kung Lao, and Mileena. Shang Tsung serves as a sub-boss before Kintaro, while Shao Kahn is the final opponent; Jade, Noob Saibot, and Smoke can also appear as hidden challengers.

Finishing moves remain a central part of play after an opponent is defeated. Alongside character-specific Fatalities, Mortal Kombat II introduced multiple Fatalities for many fighters as well as Babalities and Friendships. Certain arenas add stage Fatalities, allowing the victor to send an opponent into hazards such as an acid pool, overhead spikes, or a bottomless pit.

This rev L3.1 arcade version is the final revision of Mortal Kombat II, following earlier releases that were still being updated. It preserves the digitized live-action fighter sprites, stop-motion animation for Kintaro, parallax-scrolling stages, and Dan Forden’s DCS sound work that defined the original arcade presentation. Home conversions arrived later for a wide range of consoles and computers, but this entry represents the arcade version of the game.