Mortal Kombat II

Mortal Kombat II is the sequel to the well-known arcade game Mortal Kombat. Essentially, Mortal Kombat II is an extension of the original's fighting system, adding new moves (such as a close high punch and a crouching low punch) as well as new special moves for returning characters. On top of this, multiple fatalities were given to characters, even brand new stage fatalities and amusing finishing moves such as babalities and friendships. Each character still shared generic attributes - speed, power, jump height and airtime - and all normal moves were similar between each character. Mortal Kombat II also dropped the original's system of points, adding a win tally meter instead.

The game features twelve playable characters, each of them with different special moves and fighting styles. Each fighter still shares a common pool of regular moves (e.g. down and high punch performs an uppercut for every character) as well as attributes. Once the player chooses a character, he or she must face twelve other combatants (including yourself) until they reach the two bosses (a sub-boss named Kintaro and the final boss: Shao Khan).

Mortal Kombat II universe
Following his defeat, Shang Tsung begs his master, Shao Kahn, to spare his life. He tells Shao Kahn that the invitation for Mortal Kombat cannot be turned down, and if they hold it in Outworld, the Earthrealm warriors must attend. Kahn agrees to this plan, and restores Tsung's youth. He extends the invitation to Raiden, who gathers his warriors and takes them into Outworld. The tournament is dangerous, as Shao Kahn has the home field advantage, and an Outworld victory will unbalance the furies and allow Outworld to subsume Earthrealm.

Playable characters

 * Liu Kang: After winning the Shaolin Tournament from Shang Tsung's clutches Kang returns to his temples. He discovers his sacred home in ruins and his Shaolin brothers killed in a vicious battle with a horde of Outworld warriors. Now he travels into the Dark Realm to seek revenge.
 * Kung Lao: A former Shaolin Monk and member of the White Lotus society, he is the last descendant of the Great Kung Lao who was defeated by Goro 500 years ago. Realizing the danger of the Outworld menace he joins Liu Kang in entering Shao Kahn's contest.
 * Johnny Cage: After Shang Tsung's tournament, the martial arts superstar disappeared. He follows Liu Kang into the Outworld, where he will compete in a twisted tournament which holds the balance of earth's existence- as well as a script for another blockbuster movie.
 * Reptile: As Shang Tsung's personal protector, the elusive Reptile lurks in the shadows stopping all those who would do his master harm. His human form is believed to disguise a horrid reptilian creature whose race was thought extinct millions of years ago.
 * Sub-Zero: Thought to have been killed in the Shaolin Tournament, Sub-Zero mysteriously returns. It is believed he travelled into the Outworld to again attempt to assassinate Shang Tsung. To do so he must fight his way through Shao Kahn's tournament.
 * Shang Tsung: After losing control of the Shaolin Tournament, Tsung promises his ruler Shao Kahn to shape events that will lure the earth warriors to compete in his own contest. Convinced of this plan, Shao Kahn restores Tsung's youth and allows him to live.
 * Kitana: Her beauty hides her true role as a personal assassin for Shao Kahn. Seen talking to an earth-realm warrior, her motives have come under suspicion by her twin sister Mileena. But only Kitana knows her own true intentions.
 * Jax: His real name is Major Jackson Briggs, leader of a top US special forces unit. After receiving a distress signal from Lt. Sonya Blade, Jax embarks on a rescue mission. One that leads him into a ghastly world where he believes Sonya is still alive.
 * Mileena: Serving as an assassin along with her twin sister Kitana, Mileena's dazzling appearances conceal her hideous intentions. At Shao Kahn's request she is asked to watch for her twin's suspected dissension. She must put a stop to it at any costs.
 * Baraka: He led the attack against Liu Kang's Shaolin temples. Baraka belongs to a nomadic race of mutants living in the wastelands of the Outworld. His fighting skills gained the attention of Shao Kahn who recruited him into his army.
 * Scorpion: The hell-spawned spectre rises from the pits. After learning of Sub-Zero's return, he again stalks the ninja assassin - following him into the dark realm of the Outworld where he continues his own unholy mission.
 * Raiden: Watching events unfold from high above, the thunder god realises the grim intentions of Shao Kahn. After warning the remaining members of the Shaolin Tournament, Raiden soon disappears. He is believed to have ventured into the Outworld alone.

Opposing characters

 * Kintaro: A large four-armed Shokan, who after hearing of Goro's defeat at the hands of Liu Kang vowed to avenge his comrade and crush Liu Kang in the Tournament. He serves as the supreme commander of Outworld's armed forces and is only second to Shao Kahn himself.
 * Shao Khan: Shortly after conquering the realm of Edenia he focused on Earthrealm through the Mortal Kombat Tournament. After Goro had defeated the Great Kung Lao, the ninth Mortal Kombat Tournament was held by Khan's sorcerer, Shang Tsung. Tsung had lost to Liu Kang, an earth warrior, but Khan gave him one more chance as Tsung came up with a plan to lure Earth's chosen warriors to Outworld for a second tournament. Shao Khan tricked Earth's warriors into coming and now prepares to fight them in Mortal Kombat so he can finally conquer Earthrealm.

Controls
One player may compete against the computer or two players may simultaneousy compete against each other. Each player has an eight-way joystick and five buttons.

Buttons
The buttons on the arcade panel are laid out in the following fashion: The L and H stand for Low and High while the middle icon stands for a Block. Low attacks are directed at the opponent's low to mid-section while high attacks are directed at the opponent's upper-section. Holding down the Block button allows you to block high or low enemy attacks.

Joystick
The joystick works intuitively in that pressnig left will generally move your character left and pressing right will generally move your character right. But it is more important to think in terms of relative direction. For this reason, all instructions are given with respect to forward and backward since the left and right directions change purpose when your character switches directions.
 * If your character is facing to the right, then pressing left on the joystick means backward, and pressing right on the joystick means forward.
 * If your character is facing to the left, then pressing left on the joystick means forward, and pressing right on the joystick means backward.

The following directions assume that your character is facing right, the starting direction of every fight for player one, who begins on the left side:

Rules
Each battle consists of best-of-three round match between you and your opponent. At the start of each round, both player's health bars are full. The first player to cause the other player's health bar go to zero wins the round. The first player to win two total rounds wins the match and moves on to the next opponent. If a single player loses to the computer, the game is over and the player must continue to rematch the recent opponent.

Attacking
To win a round, the player must use his or her character's attack moves to damage the opponent and block or dodge the opponent's attacks. Each player may attack from a standing or crouching position or they may jump in to the air and attack. To attack from a standing position, press any single attack button. To attack from a crouching position, pull the joystick in a downward direction (including both diagonals) and press any single attack button. To attack from the air, direct your character to jump straight up, or jump in a diagonal position, and press any single attack button in mid-air.

Blocking
To block an attack, a player must hold the block button when the opponent attacks. Blocking can be done while standing (which blocks middle and high attacks), as well as attacks in the air, but does not block attacks which are low to the ground. Blocking can also be done by holding down the joystick and then pressing the block button, which will deflect low attacks. High attacks (and some mid attacks) will usually break crouching blocks. A block can be interrupted at any time by throwing your opponent.

Special attacks
In addition to normal attacks there are attacks known as command moves and special moves. Command moves are special combinations of a joystick direction and a particular attack button that produces a different attack than when the button is pressed alone; these moves cannot be used by other characters as each one is unique in its own way. A special move is a move that requires different button and joystick combinations. For example, Liu Kang's high fireball needs an input of two forward joystick directions and then a high punch button press. This causes Liu Kang to shoot a fireball at the opponent. Special attacks can be blocked like any other attack, but they do what's known as "tick damage." That is, even when blocked, they remove a single hit point from your health bar. Most special moves have a pause associated with them that leave you vulnerable to attack if you miss the opponent, or "whiff".

Throwing
The last form of attack available in Mortal Kombat I is a throw. Throws are executed by standing immediately next to your opponent and pressing an attack button. If performed correctly, your character will grab the opponent and toss them to the ground in a manner specific to your character's fighting style; throws are unblockable.