The main reason how the MK3 port ended up the way it did was because Probe Software, the developers of the first two GB MK ports, did not develop the third one. Probe Software was acquired by Acclaim Studios shortly after the release of the MK2 port, so were unable to come back for the MK3 port. Instead, Software Creations were the developers of the third game, but since they lacked the experience of making the first two, it was essentially back to square one similar to how Probe Software developed the MK1 port.

@llSuperSnivyll

8 ай бұрын

Ah, so that's the reason the Genesis port was given to a developer that had a better idea of what a Genesis MK game should be like?

@the757general2

8 ай бұрын

@@llSuperSnivyll the Genesis port of MK3 was developed by Sculptured Software who developed the SNES ports of the first two games.

Imagine an Mk meta on the handheld games 😂

5:54 Seeing Raiden spelled as "Rayden" in MK1 is hilarious

Game Boy _Mortal Kombat_ won my young heart with "first playable Goro", for all its faults

Raging Fighter was not a game I ever expected to see referenced on KZread. Top tier soundtrack.

@PNDKM

8 ай бұрын

We grew up with raging fighter. Somehow it ended up being one of the only gameboy games we owned that wasnt pokemon. Glad we had it though!

MK II on the GameBoy was my first MK game, and it prompted me to try it on the more powerful systems, as a kid. Had MK I or MK III been my first, I'm sure that wouldn't have happened and I would have missed out on one of my favorite gaming franchises.

I had & ADORED MK2 on the Game Boy. GREAT MEMORIES!!!!!

I think new generations will never get the appeal of these modest ports; back in the day they were all the rage, considering the gameboy had the power of a potato. Kudos to the mk2 team, that game was a blast!

@THENAMEISQUICKMAN

8 ай бұрын

Nah even at the time MK1 and MK3 were considered awful games. Game Boy owners knew they could get decent games. Thankfully MK2 ended up being a standout.

@ehrenloudermilk1053

8 ай бұрын

Admittedly, they have far better versions these days. I don't think that diminishes the absolute hype of being that kid at the playground with MK in his pocket.

@LtheOriginal

8 ай бұрын

I dunno about the new generations not getting the appeal of these modest ports.... MK1 on Switch is a "modest port" afterall. It's like nothing's changed.

@garrettchandler1948

8 ай бұрын

I don't know, killer instinct on game boy is so good it makes all the other fighting games look really bad in comparison

@fhagane6821

8 ай бұрын

@THENAMEISQUICKMAN at the time the gamegear port of mk3 was literally destroyed by everyone, it's way worse than the gb port but you never hear people making videos about that one for some reason 🤷🏻‍♂️

I am so glad you love the OST of KI GB as much as I do! I don't really see it talked about as often considering the other versions, but it's really fantastic!

The developers are really out here disrespecting Johnny Cage by not adding him into either MK1 or MK2 on Gameboy

@danbauer3669

8 ай бұрын

He's in Mortal Kombat on Game Gear

I remember sinking a lot of time into MK2 on Gameboy back in the day. Damn, I'm old.

UMK3 for DS FTW! My fav handheld MK by far but the classic GB ones were fun in their own way. MK4 on GB and Tournament Edition on GBA go for money online new!

this video is the first time I've ever heard someone mention Raging Fighter.

I was incredibly lucky to be born in 1997, by the time I got my first handheld MK game, it was Ultimate on the DS. That game was pretty much the perfect UMK3 port, complete with cheap Jade AI.

There was a kid at daycare when I was a child who had MKII on his Gameboy. He was a couple years younger than me but I would still stay the night at his house constantly just to play that game all night.

I didn't get many gameboy games as a child and only one of them was a fighting game. I got really lucky that I chose Killer Instinct out of all of them 😂

@danbauer3669

8 ай бұрын

Killer Instinct is actually 2 player on a Super GameBoy! Killer!

@bamboebahr2470

8 ай бұрын

@danbauer3669 it is ^^ I had both back in the day and even though it was more limited than the snes version it played so well ^^

@danbauer3669

8 ай бұрын

@@bamboebahr2470 I also have Street Fighter II on GameBoy that is 2 player on Super GameBoy. I'm sure there are others, but what a cool feature!

I remember exactly where I was when Chris showed me MK3 on Gameboy. I have Ultimate on DS. Keeping it as still as I can while rattling out a combo. Trying not to get cramp is another game.

Hmm, I guess Goro's first appearance and playable appearance is just OG Mk1.

The killer instinct GB port was the first version I ever played, god that MUSICCCCC

Oh man, MK1 on Gameboy must be TREMENDOUS! lmao

Great memories

The MK2 GB port is genuinely good, provided me tons of entertainment way back in the day and was a major step up from the MK1 before it. MK3/4 though? Well... yeah.

I had MK3 on the gameboy - and god did I forget the tune of that game. It will come back to haunt my dreams!!

The handheld port I'd actually really like you to revisit is UMK3 on Mobile Java, it's not the iOS version, but rather a much older, more rare version that was sprite based, it was surprisingly decent from what I remember.

The female ninja walk cycle in gameboy MKII I’m dead

Had these growing up in the day. Tournament Edition on GBA was my early childhood, and later on, MK9 on Vita was a great time!

I remember having plenty of fun with Game Boy MK2 back when.

Speaking of MK2, can you please do an MK Meta video of MK2? It's my favorite of the Arcade era games. I know I've asked this before but I really wanna know.

I had the Game Gear version of MKII. It was pretty solid! Better sound, color, and more detailed sprites. Same smaller roster but it felt like an upgraded version to the Gameboy version. Definitely my Go-to road trip game as a kid. That is until my brother got the Sega Nomad!

I love the music on mk2 gameboy version

At the credits on mk1 gameboy you can hold certain buttons and it makes you play as Goro

LMAO this video showed up on my feed but I thought I already saw it a while ago from y'all, I think I was remembering the other MK port video you guys made. Then I checked and it said this vid came out 26 MINS AGO

@595no

8 ай бұрын

Or maybe even Pikasprey.

MKII Game Boy all day every day! The thing that strike me the most with this port was the sound FX. I know GB sounds are pretty limited, but they managed to make them really pop, each hit is clean and uppercuts are super loud, which is pretty satisfying. I managed to interview Cameron Sheppard a few years ago, who happens to be MKII GB programer. He is a really nice fellow and even though he knew nothing about the MK franchise back then and only had four months to develop the game, I think he really nailed it (he had a MKII arcade cabinet for reference, though). As a MK expert, you probably already know about the upcoming UMK3 GB/GBC homebrew developed by Z80artist. As a portable fighting game enthousiast, I'm really looking forward to it! Check it out!

I totally get where you're coming from! Even though the Mortal Kombat portable games might not have met everyone's expectations, I felt a unique charm to being able to play MK on the go. As a kid, I was obsessed with them too. Sure, they were glitchy, but that just added another layer of fun for me - discovering exploits and winning as fast as possible became a game in itself. Nostalgia has a powerful way of shaping our appreciation for things, and these portable MK games definitely hold a special place in my gaming memories. They may not be the best technically, but they have some historical value at the very least

@MegaZeta

8 ай бұрын

_Mortal Kombat_ on Game Boy provided value largely because of the context of 1993, there's one example. Everyone wanted to play as Goro, and every fifth person had an urban legend to peddle about an unlikely way of making it happen on other versions. When a friend said, "You can play as Goro after you beat it," I scoffed. But it was true, and I have no doubt in hindsight it was marketing's answer to the question, _Why play_ Mortal Kombat _on Game Boy?_

@joeysorenson5122

Ай бұрын

That’s how I felt about Mortal Kombat on game gear

Shout out to Ketchup and Mustard. Love you guys. Do another crossover with JWong.

There were also few bootleg MK games for the NES and at least two of them (MK1 and MK2) were surprisingly decent if you consider the system limitations and the fact that they were made by some unknown chinese company lol.

Now we have the switch, so we've come full circle

I literally just read the title and I thought "...oh no"

Pleaseeee more competitive history

The Game Gear ports of OG MK is similar but much better with better visuals, better framerate, more responsive controls , uncensored violence (with blood code like the Genesis port), and had Johnny Cage instead of Kano. Even the much improved Game Boy MK2 was still worse than Game Gear MK2 which looked better, ran a bit better, and actually had Kintaro. Game Gear was a stronger handheld so I'm not surprised.

Umk3 is the best handheld mk of course but that was for ds

I had the MK1/MK2 duo pack back in the day. Both games on one cartridge. Needless to say I never really used the MK1 half.

If this helps, I grew with that MK3 port, and the move list works... funny. So for example, for a move you have to press (forward... forward... then punch), like, slowly, Fatalities as well feel like that. Of course I could do it as a kid, but now as a grown up adult, these 2 ports are very bad lol, MK2 is absolutely the best out of the 3, I think it even had link cable support? Which if true, very cool. Killer Instinct on the Game Boy is bar none, the best fighter in the system, I will agree on that.

Imagine on that time you can do fatality you feel the greatest among the others and can brag

I had a Sega Game Gear and played the heck out of MK1 (my first game for it, my dad and I were blown away by it) and 2. I remember getting 2 and playing it for the first time in a hotel overseas, picking my fave Reptile! But 3… ugh… terrible, terrible! The music is nonexistent in matches and so sounds are just awful garbled messes. Projectile sprites are tiny and it just controls badly. Like you said, 2 is the best all-round. Great video!

Didn't play handheld ports but I did play a port of MK1 on the SEGA Master System, it was missing a character (can't remember who), censored the violence (obviously) and I think it only had Goro's Lair as a stage. Played as slow and clunky as you describe the Game Boy port too.

@the757general2

8 ай бұрын

MK1 on the SMS had a hidden blood code like the Genesis version, had only two stages (Pit and Goro's Lair), no secret Goro code, and was missing Kano

have you ever played the java version of ultimate MK3? published by EA and Warner Brothers the game is really really fun even for today! if haven't play it before you should play it seriously!

6:53 The version of the game I have also has "Premium Shop" below options and it also has a Kombat Pack DLC which adds Baraka, Cage, Kung Lao, and Raiden. Did I download the wrong version of the game? 😂

can you make a video (meta if possible) about war gods? that was a nice game to play as a child

Well here's hoping for a Game Gear video too.

I remember up to MK2 for the Gameboy but I had to ask myself these questions about the past: 1.) Which senior designer gave the "ok" for these games? They were AWFUL! Yes the system was limited but it seems like they were rushed just to meet deadlines and for a quick cash grab! 2.) People actually paid something along the lines of $29.99- $39.99 back in the day for these cartridges? Translate it the dollars of today and you're looking at $60-$80! 3.) If you had "rich" friends, you could fight each other with the connecting cord. GAWD, that's nothing but smashing 3 buttons! The directional button and the A and B button. AND, AND! Even more money for Nintendo! I also coulda sworn that there was an MK3 cartridge for the "R-zone" system (manufactured by Tiger electronics = 100% junk) with the head band and small screen?

I think the reason it was johnny cage that was excluded from mk1 was because of nut punch. You would need an extra unique sprite for each character

@the757general2

8 ай бұрын

Considering that Cage was in both the Game Gear and Master System port that's simply not true. The devs just wanted both ports to be different.

@Bikee-uh6of

8 ай бұрын

@@the757general2 Well the game gear was a stronger console so I don't think memory was as much of an issue there

I'm in College and I've recently jumped through a bunch of hoops to form my own club at the University. It's gonna be about game hacking, specifically for ROMs. One of my goals is to get a team of students involved in ROM hacking and play them on actual cartridges. I was super excited to hear about how crappy UMK 3 (MKA) was for the GBA because it's an opportunity to do a bunch of ROM hacking to make the game playable and worth being portable. I have a bunch of other ideas for the club, but since it is centered around GBA ROM hacking I'm working on mostly retro games.

Now do a Game Gear versions next lol

I know that it’s practically the same as normal UMK3 but I wish he had talked about UMK3 on the DS

But will you talk about 3 and Deadly Alliance on Game Boy Advance, 4 on Game Boy Color, and Trilogy on GameCom later though?

Oh boy, MK4 on GBC

Oh man I remember buying one of those GBA cartridge with 100+ games and MK for gameboy was one of them. It was my first MK game experience (I only mostly knew about it due to the movies) and it sucked!

Tier list for GB MK when?

What about the combo cart that has both MK and MK2 on one cartridge? How'd they even pull that off?

Man I know it was bad but the Game Boy MK1 port got so much play in my little kid hands

I had these games as a kid and even I thought they sucked compared to the home console versions I also had lol

classic Nintendo with the next generation technology

MK3 came out on PS1 and GameBoy on the same day. Wrap your brain around that.

Have you taken a look at the Game Gear for MK games? I don't remember if it only got MK '92.

@THENAMEISQUICKMAN

8 ай бұрын

It got all three and they were generally better than the Game Boy versions, except for MK2 which was still good but since Game Boy MK2 was also good that one's generally considered on par.

Oh trust me, the jump kick spam is very much workable in the Game Gear and Master System versions of MK3 that Software Creations always developed. Which is good as they play no better. Very sloppy efforts with that game all around the 8-bit systems.

Believe it or not the Sega Game Gear versions of The Original 3 Mortal Kombat were WAY BETTER in my personal opinion! Especially the Sega Gear version of Mortal Kombat II!! I played that game like crazy when I was on the road with my family as a kid! I would even sneak my Sega Game Gear in my backpack to school with me! Lol I even played it on the bus!! To me personally growing up playing the Game Gear was better than playing the Game Boy! Because in my personal opinion the Sega Game Gear was WAY ahead of it's time! It had better graphics, a built in light, and it was a in color! And just like the first MK was on the Sega Genesis version compared to The Super Nintendo version of MK I, The Sega Game Gear version had blood!!

Ah, nostalgia at GB MKII... No GBC MK4? Also, the GBA MK games.😅

I love an ambitious port. It’s a hard thing to replicate since the series left arcades, but I’ve found a lot of that same feel in the Switch ports of the last two MKs. Nowhere near as compromised, but interesting nonetheless.

I remenber playing a lot the MK2 game boy it was really fun and just want to say that the video was really good but why you dont talk about the MK4 gameboy? I know dont gonna be much difference because that version is horrible but it would have been interesting and funny to hear what they would say about that one

Back in the day the first Mortal Kombat was one of the first Game Boy games i bought. And it was horrible. It was so slow and ugly to look at. So I accepted that MK games on the system didn't worth the money. But then I saw a kid playing MK2 at a local park and it looked WAY better. The video here doesn't make it apparent but compared to the first one, MK2 felt like you were playing SF2 Turbo by comparison. So I thought if MK2 was such a huge improvement, then the 3rd one would've been amazing. Unfortunately, 3 was as bad if not worse than the first one. So basically I managed to avoid the one good MK game on the handheld. At least Killer Instinct and Raging Fighter were better all things considered.

hold on hold on.... what about Mortal Kombat 4 on GAME BOY??????? or Mortal Kombat Advance GBA ?????????????????????

@MegaZeta

8 ай бұрын

It feels safe to assume a video whose title is "Exploring Three Mortal Kombat GAME BOY Games" will feature three (3) Mortal Kombat Game Boy games

@TurboLazer007

8 ай бұрын

@@MegaZeta sure but why not mk4?? Get it??????

@PNDKM

8 ай бұрын

@@TurboLazer007 I made a whole video on both those games.

Disappointed that you didn't cover MK4 on GBC.

@PNDKM

8 ай бұрын

I made a whole video on MK4 for the GBC.

I have all three GB games and I don't know why, I don't even like the ports 😂 (MK2 is aight)

Mortal kombat advance for Evo 2024

Own all 3. 2 was great, Think your a little hard on 1, and 3 was trash lol.

Not gonna lie, as bad as MK1 is on the gameboy, the few music tracks included are pretty great. They're some of the catchier melodies in the series history to me, anyway

Why didn’t you include mk4 😂

Even at the time MK1 and MK3 on Game Boy were HATED. Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat 2 and the plethora of solid SNK games on the original Game Boy proved that it wasn't like the Game Boy couldn't handle a decent MK1 or MK3.

@llSuperSnivyll

8 ай бұрын

Killer Instinct, too.

@the757general2

8 ай бұрын

The GBC even had a decent port of Street Fighter Alpha. No excuse for MK3 to be so bad.

We survived 8-bit GameBoy , , , ,the kid gamers of today with their Switch and their Steamdecks have zero clue how spoiled they truly are , , , ,even SEGA GameGear was a royal pain , , portable Samurai Shodown , , ,🤔🤔

I had Mortal Kombat 1 on Game Boy. It's pretty rough. I loved it far, far too much. Don't play it.

You wanna know something these Game Boy Games DON'T have , but MK1 does have? Micro Transactions! MK1 has disgusting Micro Transactions that rip off the MK Kommunity. WB games really do hate gamers just look at Suicide Squad Kills The Justice League! They made it into a garbage looter shooter.

All is bad...