Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

Here it is - "Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3", a game that can rightfully be called the peak of the old-school era of the series. A lot of time had passed since the first "MK", and in that span, the developers managed to polish just about everything. The number of fighters here is so vast it makes your head spin - and right away, you're torn: go with Sub-Zero like always, or surprise yourself and pick Cyrax to bring some brutal chaos?

Gameplay-wise, it's the same battle-tested "MK3" we know and love, just with more bells and whistles. Special moves, savage combos, fatalities - it's all here, and it looks great, especially when you land that final blow and the screen flashes with "Finish Him!" That moment when you pull off what you had in mind? Nothing like it. And then there's *Brutality*, the new finishing move that blew everyone away. Instead of one flashy finisher - it's a whole cascade of punches and kicks that shatter your opponent into pieces (bones, metal bits - depending on who's on the receiving end). It's both brutal and hilarious, especially if you manage to memorize the right combo. Though honestly - I often just peeked into the old-school cheat book to look up each fighter's Brutality. Good times.

The graphics? Just right. Sure, by today's standards it's pixelated nostalgia, but back then, it looked great. And the music - pure old-school atmosphere. Those iconic tunes perfectly sync with the button-mashing and screen action.

The stages are just as stylish: from urban streets to eerie otherworldly chambers. Every arena adds its own vibe, and knocking someone into the next level mid-fight? Pure timeless magic.

And yes - difficulty levels are what you'd expect. Want a chill session? Pick a small tower and go nuts. Want a test of your willpower? Climb the biggest one and brace yourself to be pounded into oblivion.

Another cool touch was the character bios - with bits about their missions, enemies, and backgrounds... but honestly, who read those? The joystick's in hand, your eyes are glowing, Sub-Zero's waiting to enter the arena - who has time for reading?

For me, this is the favorite game in the series. No joke. Nothing before or after hooked me quite like this. "Ultimate MK3" is the kind of fighting game you come back to even years later. Got a few spare minutes? Why not? Pick your favorite fighter, hit "Start," and the classic digital magic kicks in. Solid, fast-paced, and insanely fun - this is the kind of fighter that never gets old.

10 out of 10.

You could, I guess, call this game Mortal Kombat 3.5. Still Mortal Kombat 3. Same graphics. Same characters. Minor tweaks. Toned-down overkill that ruined both Sub-Zero and Kabal. And a few new additions.

Most prominent: the return of Kitana, Reptile, and Scorpion. Also, MK2's hidden female, Jade, now playable. Midway demoted Smoke from unlockable character to standard character, and introduced three brand new Ultimate Kombat Kodes that will unleash Mileena, Ermac, and Classic Sub-Zero. And lastly, Human Smoke playable via button input.

With the new characters come new Fatalities, Friendships, Animalities -- fatalities that mark a slight improvement over the existing MK3 Fatalities. Kitana's kiss of death now stretches her victims out before they explode (bleh), Reptile eats more than his prey's head (eh), Mileena spits nails (riiiiiight), and (my favorite) Scorpion summons his defeated opponent to the netherrealm where his clan goes to town as the screen fades to black.

The new characters sport far superior animalities to the rest of the cast. No longer tinted bright inappropriate colors, they take on a more a distinct (and desperately needed) comedic edge. Kitana transforms into a bunny and goes Monty Python on 'em. Scorpion changes to a penguin and drops an explosive egg. Reptile? Changes into a chimp. Jade? A cat that kills in an appropriate cartoony fashion. Unfortunately, all the previous animalities remain unchanged.

Kitana, Scorpion, Reptile, Mileena, and Classic Sub-Zero unfortunately do not gain much (if anything) in the way of additional moves. Unlike Kung Lao and Liu Kang, however, at least their old moves have not deteriorated. Scorpion's spear, Classic Sub-Zero's ground ice, and Kitana's fanwave have not lost their edge.

New to the series, the red ninja Ermac (rumored to be running around inside MK1) makes his debut appearance with an interesting telekinetic slam move that leads into juggles (and also one of his Fatalities.) From there, the originality and inspiration ends, as the rest of his arsenal is either typical, ripped from Scorpion, or non-existent (more on that later.) Ultimate MK3 adds a few additional venues that dramatically expands the MK3 world -- a netherrealm stage, a desert stage, a throne room for Kahn. Midway axed the bank stage, and the game didn't lose anything with its departure.

Endurance matches make their return, which I would welcome except UMK3 has juiced up the AI in perhaps the most irritating way known to man. It's like fighting an IF/THEN statement. Midway has programmed all of the counter-attacks into the game, and the CPU just waits for the moment the player pushes the button before unleashing the appropriate counter attack (God help you if you fight Jade before an Endurance match on Master.) The AI actually ruins the entire one player gaming experience as it makes the game impossible to beat with someone other than Smoke.

Push forward on the joystick – the CPU automatically moves away. Push back, the CPU follows you. Try a jump kick, and the CPU likes to jump straight up and make a perfectly timed attack to take you out of the air. Jump back and get a taste of a projectile. Run in and get thrown. Try a combo as they stand up? Get thrown.

I repeat, the AI ruins this game's one player experience.

Aside from the AI, Ultimate MK3 suffers from some other serious flaws including: the fact that the game is incomplete. Ermac, Classic Sub-Zero, and Human Smoke all lack the full assortment of finishing moves. And while Ermac and Classic Sub-Zero at least have one special move to set them apart from existing characters, Human Smoke plays virtually identical to Scorpion. In a game with so much emphasis on special moves and finishing moves, for these reasons, Ermac, Classic Sub-Zero, and Human Smoke do not feel like full fledged characters, nor do they feel like they belong (I mean, two Sub-Zeros in one game?)

Other negative points of lesser concern: the bios for the original MK3 cast has vanished, and now only the 4 standard UMK3 additions remain (Kitana, Jade, Scorpion, Reptile). Midway also scrapped the endings that featured unique images in favor of text beside the Versus screen image. The "words of Raiden" attract screen has curiously disappeared as well as the storyline explaining Kahn's invasion. These are not game play related, but they're nice extras to have.

In terms of gameplay, Ultimate MK3 more or less is the game MK3 should have been. But, Midway, did you have to cannibalize MK3's extras to get there?

UMK3 isnt as good as it looks,the series started to die down for some people when MK3 hit the shelves.Right now,I'm reviewing the Super Nintendo version.Now,the SNES version isnt all that great,the graphics are great,and the controls are good,but ever since they started to put the new combo system,Mortal Kombat lost its edge.Lets keep the main flaw in clear prespective,Midway packed to much stuff in the SNES,the system could barely handle it.The game constantly suffers from slowdown,and the controls are sometimes unresponsive.In the SNES version,they took out animalitys.If I was gonna buy UMK3,I would buy the sega saturn version.Constant slowdown,unresponsive controls,and the new combo system kind of killed my interest in Mortal Kombat 3 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.Mortal Kombat 3 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 are the only MK games that I dont like all that much.If I were you,I'd buy the Sega Saturn version.6 out of 10.

ULTIMATE MORTAL KOMBAT 3, in my opinion, is one of the best arcade games I have ever played. Even though I haven't owned a Nintendo Wii for very long, I enjoy it very much. In addition, even though I've never made it to the last level, I enjoy the game very much as well, even though I've never owned the game. However, when this game is available to download on the Nintendo Wii, this is one game that is definitely going to be on my list of downloads. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that the people at Sega Genesis know how to keep video game fanatics entertained. Now, in conclusion, if you're a video game fanatic, this is definitely one you'll want to play and own.

Even after thirteen years UMK3 (Arcade) is still the best beat'm'up title i can think of. It would have been a near perfect game if not for some conceptual flaws and plain bugs/glitches. I've listed some of the most obvious below. The great intro from MK3 is missing completely - character portraits have been replaced by VS screen pictures, most of them are missing. Classic Sub-Zero, Human Smoke and Ermac are missing finishers - absolutely unacceptable. Some unimaginative fatalities; nudalities are still missing, which I consider a major drawback, considering the exceptionally hot female cast :-) Messed up animalities: Sheeva turns into a scorpion and Styker into a T.rex? Those are clearly reserved for Scorpion and Reptile. Cheap AI: the CPU counterattacks at leisure since it doesn't have to actually push the button combinations, in essence cheating. Smoke's and Reptile's invisibility is totally useless, you can't even see your own player while the CPU knows exactly where you are. Jade's Projectile Invincibility is totally ludicrous and so is her 34% combo. And she uses both in concert to pound you into the floor. In some instances the CPU's combo does more damage than yours - what's up with that? Some characters like the cybers or the female ninjas should have been combined into one, while others like Jax and Stryker should have been left out entirely. It's not against Michael O'Brian, but Stryker has to be the lamest fighter ever. Throwing grenades and firing a gun - my grandma can do that, too. Both Sub-Zeros should have been combined into one that's masked. Human Smoke has the same moves as Scorpion and even better combos. Still, just another palette-swap ninja, unnecessary. Motaro should have been replaced by Goro or Kintaro. A horsey simply doesn't belong in a fighting game; the characters have at least to be humanoid. You're supposed to fight with your fists, not hoofs and tails. And what faggot decided that Lia Montelongo should wear that god awful wig? She was totally hot in MK Mythologies. Here, she looks like a scarecrow, definitely a case of pearls before swine. Then there's some moron who came up with the idea for those Kombat Kodes that consist of stupid changes in game-play: Dark Fighting - what the f***? and idiotic messages like "Hold Flippers during casino run". Spending time and ROM space on such trivialities while fighters were left unfinished is nothing short of retarded. Overall, the game feels like a beta version, but it sure beats all the crap that came after it, including Mortal Kombat Trilogy.