Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 emerged as Midway's quick response to criticism that the third game alone had stripped players of a number of fan-favorite fighters. Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Reptile, Kitana, Mileena, and Jax returned to the roster, the mysterious Ermac became playable for the first time, and Jade was added as well, growing the final roster to more than twenty characters; on the character select screen, the silhouette of another mysterious fighter named Rain also flickered briefly, but he remained only a teasing hint and did not become playable until a later installment. The resulting game thus offered the most comprehensive fighter lineup of any entry in the series so far and became the version fans still consider the definitive form of Mortal Kombat 3 – so much so that its content later became the basis for later home compilations of the series.

At the same time, Midway rebalanced the individual fighters, added new arenas, and expanded the range of fatalities, brutalities, and animalities so the whole expanded roster had access to them. Many combos that worked as infinites in the original third game and broke the game were reworked or limited, making the fights feel more balanced. The Kombat Kodes and interactive backgrounds remained unchanged, but thanks to tuned hit timing and a new set of combos, the game felt smoother than the original version. Midway also distributed it as an upgrade kit of boards for owners of existing Mortal Kombat 3 cabinets, so arcade operators could convert their machine to the Ultimate version without having to buy an entirely new cabinet, and that is exactly why it quickly became the standard that arcade cabinets in game halls returned to most often.

Why play it: Anyone who wants to experience Mortal Kombat 3 in its most complete form should reach for the Ultimate version – it offers the largest fighter roster from the series' entire nineties era, more balanced fights without game-breaking combos, and more content than the original release, so today it has effectively replaced the base third game as the reference version of the game.