BloodStorm is a 1994 arcade fighting game published by Strata and developed by Incredible Technologies . It is considered a spiritual sequel to Time Killers .
102-464: BloodStorm was dubbed as a possible " Mortal Kombat -killer" in an attempt to surpass rival Midway Games 's success with Mortal Kombat , though it did not prevail. It was the last game Strata produced before the company went out of business. Home ports for the Saturn and PlayStation were announced in early 1995, but were later cancelled. BloodStorm is set in a distant, post-apocalyptic future where
204-506: A film , a work of literature , a television program , or a video game . Bob Iger , chief executive of the Walt Disney Company , defined the word franchise as "something that creates value across multiple businesses and across multiple territories over a long period of time.” A media franchise often consists of cross-marketing across more than one medium. For the owners, the goal of increasing profit through diversity can extend
306-430: A free-roaming action-adventure mode. Both games include distinct minigame modes such as "Chess Kombat", an action- strategy game . Two other bonus minigames, "Puzzle Kombat" inspired by Puzzle Fighter and "Motor Kombat" inspired by Mario Kart , feature super deformed versions of Mortal Kombat characters. The games contain various unlockable content and hidden cheats . I think [ Mortal Kombat ] represents
408-497: A budget of well under $ 100 million (projected at between $ 40–50 million ) and a release date of 2013, but was ultimately delayed due to budget constraints. Tancharoen quit the production in October 2013. A reboot , Mortal Kombat (2021), was released on April 23, 2021, to mixed reviews, grossing over $ 84 million worldwide from theaters while also releasing simultaneously on the streaming service HBO Max . Production restarted on
510-622: A co-production between Warner Bros. Animation and either Studio Mir or Digital eMation . The first, Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge , was released in April 2020, as the first R-rated Mortal Kombat film. The second film, Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms , was released in August 2021. The third film, Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind , was released on October 11, 2022. A fourth film, Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match ,
612-525: A different array of punches, kicks and blocks. Mortal Kombat 4 was the first Mortal Kombat game in which the characters could move in three dimensions and the first to use 3D computer graphics . From Deadly Alliance to Mortal Kombat: Deception , characters had three fighting styles per character: two unarmed styles, and one weapon style. While most of the styles used in the series are based on real martial arts , some are fictitious. Goro's fighting styles, for example, are designed to take advantage of
714-456: A display of friendship towards the enemy instead of slaughter, and Babalities, which turn the opponent into a baby. The series takes place in a fictional universe consisting of numerous realms which, according to in-game backstories, were created by the Elder Gods, an ancient, ethereal pantheon of almightest, eternal preternatural beings. The Mortal Kombat: Deception manual described six of
816-550: A feature that allows players to perform their own Fatalities by conducting a series of violent moves chosen from a pool that is common to all characters. Other finishing moves in the various Mortal Kombat games include Animalities (introduced in Mortal Kombat 3 ), in which the victor turns into an animal to violently finish off the opponent; Brutality (introduced in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 ) which consists of bashing
918-556: A fighting game featuring a digitized version of Van Damme. Intending to make a game "a lot more hard edge, a little bit more serious, a little bit more like Enter the Dragon or Bloodsport " than contemporary cartoonish fighting games, Tobias and Boon decided to continue their project even after the deal to use the Bloodsport license fell through. The first of Mortal Kombat characters, Johnny Cage (Daniel Pesina), became "a spoof on
1020-485: A franchise can even be created, which ultimately leads to the creation of brand worlds. Since the creation of Disneyland in 1955, bringing fictional media franchises to life through the theme parks slowly became increasingly popular as the way to perfectly blend tourism and real-life involvement with media itself. Similar to transmedia, the concept of bringing fictional media into a non-fictional space where fans can immerse themselves in real-life versions of elements from
1122-499: A little with the leg buttons. Even after a successful Sunder attack, the fight can still go on, if the character's life bar is not totally drained yet. However, if both limbs are lost afterwards (if they were not already torn off prior to the Sunder attack) then they are almost completely helpless. There are a few special moves that do not require arms or legs, and those can still be performed. Characters are restored back to normal form after
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#17328921398841224-417: A live-action tour. Mortal Kombat has become the best-selling fighting game franchise worldwide and one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time . The series has a reputation for high levels of graphic violence, including, most notably, its fatalities , which are finishing moves that kill defeated opponents instead of knocking them out. Controversies surrounding Mortal Kombat , in part, led to
1326-424: A modeling agency, several television shows ( Playboy's Penthouse , in 1959), and even its own television channel . Twenty-five years later, Playboy released private clubs and restaurants, movie theaters, a radio show , direct to video films, music and book publishing (including original works in addition to its anthologies of cartoons, photographs, recipes, advice, articles or fiction that had originally appeared in
1428-961: A player-decided champion defeat him and erase his timeline from existence. Through its iterations, the series has featured scores of player characters , some of them becoming mainstays, such as Baraka , Cassie Cage , Cyrax , Ermac , Fujin , Goro , Jade , Jax , Johnny Cage , Kabal , Kano , Kenshi , Kintaro , Kitana , Kung Lao , Li Mei, Liu Kang , Mileena , Motaro , Nightwolf , Noob Saibot , Quan Chi , Raiden , Rain , Reptile , Scorpion , Sektor , Shang Tsung , Shao Kahn , Sheeva , Shinnok , Sindel , Skarlet , Smoke , Sonya Blade , Stryker , Sub-Zero and Tanya . Among them are Earth's humans and cyborgs, good and evil deities, and denizens of Outworld and other realms. Starting with Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe , which featured several DC Universe heroes and villains, all subsequent games have included guest characters such as Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, Kratos from
1530-583: A pool of acid). Mortal Kombat: Deception added the Hara-Kiri , a move that allows the loser to perform a suicidal finishing move, giving way to a potential race between both players to see if the winner can finish off their opponent before they can kill themselves. There are two non-violent finishing moves in the series, which were introduced in Mortal Kombat II as a satire to controversies surrounding Mortal Kombat : Friendship moves, which result in
1632-404: A reboot in 2015 when James Wan joined to produce and director Simon McQuoid joined the following year. The script was written by Greg Russo and David Callaham with Lewis Tan , Jessica McNamee , Josh Lawson , Tadanobu Asano , and Hiroyuki Sanada starring. A sequel is in development with McQuoid returning as director and with a screenplay written by Jeremy Slater . * Cole Young
1734-410: A round is over much like Time Killers as well. A notable feature in the game is that when an opponent is defeated, the player gains a passable power. These powers or weapons can be used at any time to give the player a further advantage. Players can save their progress in a game with a password feature by pressing buttons during the player select screen. However, since the data was saved only until
1836-487: A single 2D fighting plane, although characters are rendered in 3D ; unlike previous Mortal Kombat games, each of the controller's four attack buttons corresponds to one of the character's limbs, the buttons thus becoming front punch, back punch, front kick and back kick ("front" indicates the limb that is closer to the opponent, and "back" indicates the limb that is farther away from the opponent). Mortal Kombat: Deception and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon feature "Konquest",
1938-430: A special ending after defeating the final boss. Home ports for the Saturn and PlayStation were announced in early 1995, but were later cancelled. In North America, RePlay reported BloodStorm to be the eight most-popular arcade game at the time. Play Meter listed the game to be the seventeenth most-popular arcade game at the time. According to Electronic Gaming Monthly , " BloodStorm enjoyed some success in
2040-523: A team composed of the next generation of Earthrealm's heroes in defeating him. With Shinnok and Quan Chi defeated, Liu Kang and Kitana's revenants assume control of the Netherrealm while Raiden taps into Shinnok's amulet. Mortal Kombat 11 and its expansion, Aftermath, sees the architect of time and Shinnok's mother, Kronika, working to alter the timeline following her son's defeat and Raiden's tampering with her work. In doing so, she brings past versions of
2142-483: Is a film-exclusive character who has not appeared in any of the games. Midway published official one-shot issues based on Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II , which were written and illustrated by Tobias and set prior to the storylines of both games. From 1994 to 1995, Malibu Comics published a licensed series consisting of two six-issue miniseries in addition to one-shot specials and miniseries dedicated to specific characters. Special tie-in issues were packaged with
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#17328921398842244-449: Is a weapons-based fighting game, though it differs from Time Killers in that the characters use weapons called "Gauntlets" that allow them to use particular powers and attacks with them. Other than being able to bash off an opponent's arms, a technique called a Sunder is in the game. If executed when an opponent is stunned, it will destroy their lower body. The character will not be able to jump or use kicks, but can still move back and forth
2346-631: Is focused on the first incarnation character of Sub-Zero and is focused in the timeline before the first Mortal Kombat game. The next action game was Mortal Kombat: Special Forces , released in 2000 for the PlayStation, starring Major Jackson Briggs in his mission to destroy the Black Dragon. Both games were critically panned (although the reception of Mythologies was more mediocre). Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks , developed by Midway Studios Los Angeles ,
2448-479: Is the Japanese term for a transmedia franchise. The term media mix gained its circulation in late 1980s and is first used to describe adaptations of Sakyo Komatsu 's Japan Sinks , but the origins of the strategy can be traced back to the 1960s with the proliferation of anime , with its interconnection of media and commodity goods. Some of the earlier popular Japanese franchises such as Vampire Hunter D in
2550-486: Is the result. — Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono One of the most notable features of the Mortal Kombat series is its brutal and gruesome finishing moves, known as " Fatalities ". The basic Fatalities are finishing moves that allow the victorious characters to end a match by murdering their defeated, defenseless opponent. Usually Fatalities are exclusive to each character, the exception being Mortal Kombat: Armageddon , which instead features Kreate-A-Fatality,
2652-474: Is ultimately defeated by Liu Kang once more. After the Kahn's defeat, Edenia was freed from his grasp and returned to a peaceful realm, ruled by Princess Kitana. The following game, Mortal Kombat 4 , features the fallen elder god Shinnok attempting to conquer the realms and kill Raiden. He is defeated by Liu Kang. In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance , the evil sorcerers Quan Chi and Shang Tsung join forces to conquer
2754-731: The God of War franchise (exclusively for PlayStation 3), Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th franchise, the Xenomorph from Alien , Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, the titular character of Predator , the titular character of the Terminator franchise, the titular character of RoboCop , Spawn of Image Comics, Omni-Man from Image Comics 's Invincible , John Rambo , Homelander from The Boys , and
2856-647: The Joker , who was previously in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe , Peacemaker (more specifically: the character from the DC Extended Universe and DC Universe ), both from DC Comics , and Ghostface from the Scream franchise. Mortal Kombat started development in 1991 with four people: Ed Boon (programming), John Tobias (art and story), John Vogel (graphics), and Dan Forden (sound design). According to Mortal Kombat actors Richard Divizio and Daniel Pesina ,
2958-415: The Mortal Kombat and DC Universes begin to merge. This brings the warriors and heroes into conflicts after suffering bouts of uncontrollable rage. The heroes and villains of both universes repeatedly battle each other, believing each other to be responsible for the catastrophe, until only Raiden and Superman remain. The two confront Dark Kahn and team up to defeat their common foe. After Dark Kahn's defeat,
3060-474: The Mortal Kombat commercial for home systems, was released in 1993 as a single and was used as a theme music for the Mortal Kombat film series. Each film had their own soundtracks (including the hit and award-winning compilation album Mortal Kombat: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ), as had the second video game ( Mortal Kombat II: Music from the Arcade Game Soundtrack ). The 2011 video game saw
3162-551: The Rebirth short, titled Mortal Kombat: Legacy and also directed by Kevin Tancharoen. The series' first season was released for free on YouTube starting in April 2011, promoted by Machinima.com , and the second season arrived in 2013. In 2014, Blue Ribbon Content had been developing a live-action series that was to tie in with Mortal Kombat X for a planned 2016 release, titled Mortal Kombat: Generations . The series, however,
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3264-518: The Wii . Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe , a non-canonical crossover fighting game between the Mortal Kombat franchise and DC Comics , was released in 2008 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. A ninth game in the series, a reboot titled Mortal Kombat , was developed by the former Midway Games, now known as NetherRealm Studios . It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2011, and
3366-483: The fantasy and science fiction genres. Similarly, fantasy, science fiction films and television shows are frequently adapted into animated television series , video games, or both. A media franchise does not have to include the same characters or theme, as the brand identity can be the franchise, like Square Enix 's Final Fantasy or the National Lampoon series , and can suffer from critical failures even if
3468-423: The 1980s and Pokémon in the late 1990s, acted as benchmarks in the country's transmedia dominance. The latter in particular began as a video game available on Nintendo 's Game Boy , and crossed through the media of television, film, news, and other non-media related realms, such trading cards, merchandise, and more. A number of Japanese media franchises have gained considerable global popularity, and are among
3570-485: The Aftermath expansion, it is revealed that Liu Kang inadvertently destroyed Kronika's crown, the item needed to restart the timeline. Her defeat also revives Shang Tsung, who was absent in the base game due to his imprisonment by Kronika. To recover the crown, Liu Kang sends Shang Tsung and other Earthrealm heroes back in time to obtain it before Kronika, though Shang Tsung manipulates events so that he comes into possession of
3672-465: The PC release of Mortal Kombat 4 and for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe , respectively. A Mortal Kombat X series by DC Comics , set before the game's events, ran from January to September 2015 with three miniseries of twelve issues that were released weekly in 36 chapter installments. A novel titled Mortal Kombat was written by Jeff Rovin and published in 1995, and featured an original plot that preceded
3774-461: The Realm of Order, whose inhabitants prize structure and order above all else; the Realm of Chaos, whose inhabitants do not abide by any rules whatsoever, and where constant turmoil and change are worshiped; and Edenia, which is known for its beauty, artistic expression, and the longevity of its inhabitants." The Elder Gods decreed that the denizens of one realm could only conquer another realm by defeating
3876-513: The U.S. and over $ 122 million worldwide; the film gained a cult following amongst fans of the video game series with Robin Shou , Linden Ashby , Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa , Bridgette Wilson , Talisa Soto and Christopher Lambert starring, and its success launched the Hollywood career of its director, Paul W. S. Anderson . Mortal Kombat Annihilation was directed by John R. Leonetti with Shou and Soto as
3978-457: The arcades, but it had very tough competition (MKII [ Mortal Kombat II ])." Entertainment Weekly gave the game a D and wrote that "If The Simpsons ever did a parody of Mortal Kombat , the result might be BloodStorm , a brutal fighting game in which players cut each other's arms off, launch cruise missiles at one another, and get impaled. But BloodStorm isn't funny, except in a snickering, Beavis and Butt-Head sort of way — like when
4080-401: The aspects carried down from it, such as the removal of an opponent's arms and an instant kill attack, as well as a Special Death Move. The button layout is similar. They are labeled as "back leg", "front leg", "back arm" and "front arm" respectively. A button in the center is used to make the character block. If a limb is lost in combat, its corresponding button is rendered useless. BloodStorm
4182-419: The commercial profitability of the franchise and create strong feelings of identity and ownership in its consumers. Those large groups of dedicated consumers create the franchise's fandom , which is the community of fans that indulge in many of its media and are committed to interacting with and keeping up with other consumers. Large franchise-based fandoms have grown to be even more popular in recent years with
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4284-436: The costume, and while doing that we create the storyline and how s/he fits into the universe. Then we'll find an actor that kinda resembles our character." Tobias' writing and artistic input on the series ended around 2000 following the release of Mortal Kombat 4 . In 2012, he said: "I knew exactly what I was going to do with a future story. A few years ago, I [wrote] a sort of sequel to the first MK film and an advancement to
4386-737: The creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) video game rating system. Early games in the series were noted for their realistic digitized sprites and an extensive use of palette swapping to create new characters. Following Midway's bankruptcy, the Mortal Kombat development team was acquired by Warner Bros. Entertainment and re-established as NetherRealm Studios . The original three games and their updates, Mortal Kombat (1992), Mortal Kombat II (1993), Mortal Kombat 3 (1995), Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1995), and Mortal Kombat Trilogy (1996), are 2D fighting games . The arcade cabinet versions of
4488-638: The crown. At the end, either Liu Kang or Shang Tsung becomes the Keeper of Time, depending on the player's choice (who they want to fight with in the final battle) and the outcome of the battle. Mortal Kombat 1 , the second reboot on the series' timeline, sees Lord Liu Kang has created his New Era and strives to maintain peace between all the realms. However, his plans begin to unravel when Shang Tsung and Quan Chi , despite his attempts to have them de-powered and unable to cause trouble, ally with General Shao in order to conquer Earthrealm and Outworld. Investigating
4590-489: The defending realm's greatest warriors in ten consecutive martial arts tournaments, called Mortal Kombat. The first Mortal Kombat game takes place in Earthrealm (Earth) where seven different warriors with their own reasons for entering the tournament with the prize being the continued freedom of their realm under threat of a takeover by Outworld. Among the established warriors were Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade. With
4692-555: The difference in philosophy. [....] So in Street Fighter when you're playing it's the moment to moment gameplay that should be the best, whether you win or lose doesn't really matter. Whereas in Mortal Kombat the fighting and playing is just a pathway to get to the result – it's the Fatality you want to see and you almost want to skip the fighting bit and get to the Fatality because that
4794-417: The ensuing battle, Shinnok is imprisoned within his amulet and various warriors are resurrected and freed from his control, though Quan Chi escapes. Twenty-five years later, the sorcerer resurfaces alongside the insectoid D'Vorah to facilitate Shinnok's return. A vengeful Scorpion kills Quan Chi, but fails to stop him from freeing Shinnok. To combat him, Cassie Cage, daughter of Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade, leads
4896-530: The events of the first game. Novelizations of both Mortal Kombat feature films were written by Martin Delrio and Jerome Preisler, respectively. Mortal Kombat: The Album , a techno album based on the first game, was created for Virgin America by Lords of Acid members Praga Khan and Oliver Adams as The Immortals in 1994. Its iconic theme "Techno Syndrome", incorporating the "Mortal Kombat!" yell first shown in
4998-417: The fact that he has four arms. For Armageddon , fighting styles were reduced to a maximum of two per character (generally one hand-to-hand combat style and one weapon style) due to the sheer number of playable characters. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe dropped multiple fighting styles for most characters in favor of giving each character a wider variety of special moves 2011's Mortal Kombat returned to
5100-725: The fictional worlds they love, adds to the overall narrative the franchise creates through its other media. Marvel's Avenger's Campus park is one of the many franchise-based theme parks created in recent times, following the creation of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure and Star Wars' Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland and Disney World . Media franchises tend to cross over from their original media to other forms. Literary franchises are often transported to film, such as Nancy Drew , Miss Marple , and other popular detectives , as well as popular comic book superheroes . Television and film franchises are often expanded upon in novels , particularly those in
5202-466: The film The Matrix Reloaded and the video game Enter the Matrix were produced at the same time, using the same actors on the same sets, and released on the same day. Transmedia franchises occasionally release content through certain media that is not canon to the main or greater story that the franchise is built around, meaning that the elements of said content do not truly exist in the main timeline of
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#17328921398845304-467: The financial logic of cost-recovery for expensive productions by identifying that a single medium launch is a lost opportunity, the timeliness of the production and release is more important than its integrity, the releases should raise brand awareness and the cross-ability of the work is critical for its success. American Idol was a transmedia franchise from its beginnings, with the first season winner Kelly Clarkson signing with RCA Records and having
5406-401: The first game began as a ninja-themed project by John Tobias (a young new employee of Midway Games at the time) and them as well as Carlos Pesina, however their pitch to Tobias' boss Ed Boon was rejected by the management of Midway. Midway was approached to create a video game adaptation of the then-upcoming 1992 film Universal Soldier , starring Jean-Claude Van Damme , and Tobias imagined
5508-411: The first game, the male ninja fighters were essentially the same character; only the colors of their attire, fighting stance, and special techniques mark a difference. Later games added further ninjas based on the same model, as well as several female ninja color swap characters initially also using just one base model. All of them gradually became very different characters in the following installments of
5610-447: The first two used a joystick and five buttons: high punch, low punch, high kick, low kick, and block; Mortal Kombat 3 and its updates added a sixth "run" button. Characters in the early Mortal Kombat games play virtually identically to one another, with the only major differences being their special moves. Through the 1990s, the developer and publisher Midway Games kept their single-styled fighting moves with four attack buttons for
5712-603: The focus on the content of the commodity to "overlapping the commodity image with the character image". The book Anime's Media Mix: Franchising Toys and Characters in Japan, by Marc Steinberg, details the evolution of the media mix in Japan. Long-running franchises were common in the early studio era, when Hollywood studios had actors and directors under long-term contract. In such cases, even lead actors are often replaced as they age, lose interest, or their characters are killed. Spin-offs and adaptations of popular pieces of media within
5814-414: The following year. The following game, Mortal Kombat 4 , was released in 1997, and marked the jump of the series to 3D rendered graphics instead of the digitized 2D graphics used in previous games. Mortal Kombat 4 was ported to the PlayStation , Nintendo 64 and Microsoft Windows . Mortal Kombat 4 was the last Mortal Kombat game released for arcades. Its updated version titled Mortal Kombat Gold
5916-565: The form of an image of sound designer Dan Forden that randomly appeared in a lower corner of the screen after a player landed an uppercut . Hidden games of Pong and Galaga were included in Mortal Kombat II and Mortal Kombat 3 , respectively. The original Mortal Kombat game was released by Midway in arcades during October 1992, and has been ported to several console and home computer systems, with early ports released by Acclaim Entertainment . The sequel, Mortal Kombat II ,
6018-433: The franchise's characters and settings. As one author explains, "For the studios, a home-run is a film from which a multimedia 'franchise' can be generated; the colossally expensive creation of cross-media conglomerates predicated on synergistic rewards provides an obvious imperative to develop such products." The trend later developed wherein franchises would be launched in multiple forms of media simultaneously; for instance,
6120-415: The franchise. Canon content often times breaks continuity, leading fans to speculate or seek to confirm which media are canon and which are not, which can get confusing if the franchise does not provide an answer themselves since entire media can be non-canon to the greater story, with a popular example occurring. On the other hand, specific episodes, volumes or parts of a series can be canon while others in
6222-416: The game's audits screen was additionally interpreted by players as referring to a second hidden character named Ermac . Midway denied the character's existence in the series before adding him to Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 in response to the player rumors and feedback. Some Easter eggs originated from in-jokes among the series developers. One example is "Toasty", which was included in Mortal Kombat II in
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#17328921398846324-436: The game's mythological roots." The title Mortal Kombat was the idea of pinball designer Steve Ritchie , following difficulties trademarking the original title of Mortal Combat . Since then, the series often intentionally misspells various words with the letter "K" in place of "C" for the hard C sound. According to Boon, during the Mortal Kombat games' development they usually spell such words correctly, only making
6426-464: The gameplay had stayed in a 2D plane; this trend would continue for the following two games. The next sequel was 2004's Mortal Kombat: Deception , released for the PlayStation 2 , Xbox , and GameCube . Its port for the PlayStation Portable , Mortal Kombat: Unchained , was released in 2006. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon was published in 2006 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and in 2007 for
6528-569: The help of the thunder god Raiden, the Earthrealm warriors were victorious, and Liu Kang became the new champion of Mortal Kombat. In Mortal Kombat II , unable to deal with his minion Shang Tsung's failure, Outworld Emperor Shao Kahn lures the Earthrealm warriors to Outworld for a do-over, winner-take-all tournament, where Liu Kang eventually defeats Shao Kahn. By the time of Mortal Kombat 3 , Shao Kahn merged Edenia with his empire and revived its former queen Sindel in Earthrealm, combining it with Outworld as well. He attempts to invade Earthrealm, but
6630-572: The interviewer preferred the "precision and depth" of Street Fighter or the "gore and comedy" of Mortal Kombat and also stated that the Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat rivalry was considered similar to the Coke and Pepsi rivalry in the 1990s. Mortal Kombat didn't rely on just good looks and gore for its success. Although the intense gore was a great way to attract attention, Mortal Kombat offered another side – an often-overlooked side – that kept people coming back for more: its storyline, including
6732-512: The machine was turned off, it was not beneficial unless used to pick the game back up where it ended. The game features 7 secret characters who can be found based on how a player defeated an enemy, interactions with certain environments, or codes entered after a match. These 7 characters, plus one additional character (faced after defeating the 8 main characters), were collectively known as the Agents of Nekron. Defeating all 8 of these characters unlocked
6834-473: The magazine), footwear, clothing of every kind, jewelry, housewares (lamps, clocks, bedding, glassware), guitars and gambling, playing cards, pinball machines and pet accessories, billiard balls, bedroom appurtenances, enhancements, plus countless other items of merchandise. Non-fiction media franchises also exist in the television and film media, with reality TV being one of the most well-known examples; ranging from competition shows like The Amazing Race to
6936-641: The matter, Liu Kang discovers that the Shang Tsung from MK11: Aftermath is responsible, as Liu Kang's attempts to access the Hourglass' power resulted in a break where every character in Mortal Kombat ' s universe defeated Kronika and gained control of the Hourglass . In an attempt to stop the sorcerer from taking control of all of the multiple timelines, Liu Kang leads an army of good variations in an assault on Titan Shang Tsung's dimension, where, after an intense battle with all their evil counterparts, Liu Kang and
7038-400: The media fictional material is unrelated. Non-fiction literary franchises include the ...For Dummies and The Complete Idiot's Guide to... reference books . An enduring and comprehensive example of a media franchise is Playboy Enterprises , which began expanding well beyond its successful magazine, Playboy , within a few years after its first publication, into such enterprises as
7140-400: The only two returning from the first film. The film received a poor reception by critics, grossing $ 36 million in the U.S. and $ 51 million worldwide. In 2010, director Kevin Tancharoen released an eight-minute short film titled Mortal Kombat: Rebirth , made as a proof of concept for Tancharoen's pitch of a reboot film franchise to Warner Bros. Pictures . Tancharoen later confirmed that
7242-410: The opponent into pieces with a long combo of hits; and Stage Fatalities/Death Traps (introduced in the original Mortal Kombat Pit Stage where the victor can uppercut their opponent off of the platform into a bed of spikes below, later made more difficult in Mortal Kombat II by requiring a character-specific button sequence) utilizing parts of certain stages to execute a lethal finishing move (such as
7344-433: The overarching story and narrative of the franchise itself. A connection between the characters, settings, and other elements of the media franchise do still exist within the different media, regardless of the fact that they are being presented in sometimes completely different ways, such as the shared, interweaving storylines and elements of Spider-Man films, television shows, comics and video games. Espen Aarseth describes
7446-798: The past Raiden attempts to alter the timeline to avert Armageddon amidst the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament, during the original game. His attempts to alter history mean that events play out differently to the original series. While he succeeds in preventing Shao Kahn's victory with help from the Elder Gods, he accidentally kills Liu Kang in self-defense and loses most of his allies to Queen Sindel, leaving Earthrealm vulnerable to Shinnok and Quan Chi's machinations. Mortal Kombat X sees Shinnok and Quan Chi enacting their plan, leading an army of undead revenants of those that were killed in Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm. A team of warriors led by Raiden, Johnny Cage, Kenshi Takahashi, and Sonya Blade oppose them, and in
7548-484: The popular Twilight book series that was adapted into the five films of The Twilight Saga . Other neologisms exist to describe various franchise types including metaseries , which can be used to describe works such as Isaac Asimov 's Foundation series . Multimedia franchises usually develop through a character or fictional world becoming popular in one medium, and then expanding to others through licensing agreements , with respect to intellectual property in
7650-420: The realm's heroes to the present, aligning herself with some while the rest work to defeat her. After nearly killing Liu Kang a second time, Raiden discovers Kronika has manipulated them into fighting across multiple timelines as she fears their combined power. Despite her interference and attacks by her minions, Raiden gives Liu Kang his power, turning him into a god of fire and thunder so he can defeat Kronika. In
7752-495: The realms as: "Earthrealm, home to such legendary heroes as Liu Kang , Kung Lao , Sonya Blade , Johnny Cage , and Jax Briggs , and under the protection of the Thunder God Raiden ; Netherrealm, the fiery depths of which are inhospitable to all but the most vile, a realm of demons and shadowy warriors such as Quan Chi and Noob Saibot ; Outworld, a realm of constant strife which Emperor Shao Kahn claims as his own; Seido,
7854-476: The realms from Armageddon by defeating a firespawn known as Blaze . In the end, Shao Kahn is the one who defeats Blaze and wins the war, causing Armageddon. The crossover Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe does not share continuity with the other games. After the simultaneous defeats of both Shao Kahn and the alien warlord Darkseid in the DC Universe causes both villains to fuse into the entity "Dark Kahn", both
7956-431: The realms, killing series protagonist Liu Kang in the process. By Mortal Kombat: Deception , after several fights, the sorcerers emerge victorious, having killed most of Earthrealm's warriors until Raiden steps forth to oppose them. The Dragon King Onaga, former ruler of Outworld, returned to merge all realms back together, but was eventually defeated by the game's protagonist, Shujinko. In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon ,
8058-415: The release of A Moment Like This becoming a #1 hit on Billboard Hot 100. The success resulted in a nationwide concert tour, an American Idol book that made the bestseller list and the film From Justin to Kelly . A transmedia franchise however is often referred to by the simpler term "media franchise". The term media franchise is often used to describe the popular adaptation of a work into films, like
8160-467: The release of Mortal Kombat: Songs Inspired by the Warriors , a new soundtrack album featuring electronic music by various artists. An animated series titled Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm was released in 1996. It ran for one season and received negative reviews. In 1998, Mortal Kombat: Conquest was released. It lasted one season. In 2010, Warner Premiere ordered a web series inspired by
8262-409: The rise of social media platforms, as many fans seek to interact with one another for discussion, debate and even to create their own fan-made pieces of media revolving around the franchise, on websites like tumblr , Reddit and Fandom . In the case of successful transmedia franchises, each different medium should expand the target demographic and fandom, build the interest of the consumers and add to
8364-516: The same medium are not, such as the fact that only some of the Battlestar Galactica comics are canon, with a large amount of them breaking the continuity of the main story. In Japanese culture and entertainment, media mix ( wasei-eigo : メディアミックス , mediamikkusu ) is a strategy to disperse content across multiple representations: different broadcast media , gaming technologies, cell phones, toys, amusement parks , and other methods. It
8466-434: The screen flashes 'Cat Fight!' before two female combatants step into the ring." Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat is an American media franchise centered on a series of fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The original Mortal Kombat arcade game spawned a franchise consisting of action-adventure games , a comic book series, a card game, films, an animated TV series, and
8568-473: The series. Eventually, Mortal Kombat 4 brought the series into 3D, replacing the digitized fighters of previous games with polygon models animated using motion capture technology. Most series releases included secret characters , secret games, and other Easter eggs . The original game contained the hidden fighter Reptile , who could be fought by players if they fulfilled an exact set of requirements. A counter for ERMACS (short for er ror mac ros) on
8670-431: The substitution when one of the developers suggests it. The characters of the original Mortal Kombat and its initial sequels were created using digitized sprites mostly based on filmed actors, as opposed to hand-drawn graphics. Mortal Kombat games were known for their extensive use of palette swapping , which was used for the ninja characters; many of the most popular characters have originated as palette swaps. In
8772-401: The titular catastrophe begins. Centuries before the first Mortal Kombat , Queen Delia foretold the realms would be destroyed because the power of all of the realms' warriors would rise to such greatness that it would overwhelm and destabilize the realms, triggering a destructive chain of events. King Argus had his sons, Taven and Daegon, put into incubation so one day they can be awakened to save
8874-404: The two realms defuse, with Shao Kahn and Darkseid trapped in each other's universes to face eternal imprisonment. In the 2011 Mortal Kombat soft reboot, the battle of Armageddon culminated in only two survivors: Shao Kahn and Raiden. On the verge of death by the former's hand, the latter sent visions to his past self in a last-ditch attempt to prevent this outcome. Upon receiving the visions,
8976-556: The uniquely different kind of gameplay as far as the fighting system within itself. — GameSpot John Tobias said that his inspirations for the game's story and characters came from Chinese mythology and some of the stories and rumored events about the Shaolin monks . Regarding the film Big Trouble in Little China , Tobias wrote that although the film "kind of Americanized my obsession for supernatural kung fu films from China, it
9078-455: The unofficial short featured the writing of Oren Uziel , who at the time was rumored to be writing the screenplay for a third Mortal Kombat film. In September 2011, New Line and Warner Bros. announced that Tancharoen had signed on to direct a new feature-length film from a screenplay written by Uziel, with the intention of aiming for an R rating . Shooting was expected to begin in March 2012 with
9180-399: The whole Van Damme situation." Divizio credits himself with convincing Tobias to go back to the original idea and trying again. It was the success of Capcom 's Street Fighter II: The World Warrior that convinced Midway Games to let the team produce their own arcade fighting game, the genre chosen by Tobias for his game as to let him use as large digitized sprites as possible, but there
9282-472: The world's highest-grossing media franchises . For example, Pokémon 's penetration into the American market of the franchise along with others of Japanese origin, such as Yu-Gi-Oh! , gave rise to the recognition of what is variously called transmedia storytelling , crossmedia, transmediation , media synergy, etc. Researchers argue that the 1963 Tetsuwan Atomu marked a shift in Japanese marketing from
9384-721: The world, ravaged by war and famine, has divided into eight provinces ruled by the High Emperor. At the start of the game, the Emperor is assassinated by an unknown assailant, bringing the Empire to the brink of a global war. In accordance with ancient laws the ruling kings and queens of the provinces agree to gather and have a tournament, dubbed the BloodStorm, to determine the next High Emperor, in hopes of preventing further conflict. As with its predecessor Time Killers , BloodStorm features many of
9486-448: Was announced; it is a role-playing game released in 2023 for Android and iOS. NetherRealm said it would be a cinematic experience and also it will be loyal to its core visceral nature. An animated prequel to 1995's Mortal Kombat film, titled Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins , was released direct-to-video in the same year as the live-action film. A series of direct-to-video films titled Mortal Kombat Legends began in 2020 as
9588-504: Was not much influence by Street Fighter II on the project. According to Tobias, who cited 1984's Karate Champ as an inspiration, they intentionally worked on making a game different from Capcom's title in every way. Besides the digitized characters that differentiated it from its contemporaries' hand-drawn ones, one stark difference was in the very high amount of blood and violence. Capcom's senior director of communications later compared Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat by asking if
9690-484: Was not my biggest influence. My biggest influences came from Tsui Hark films -- Zu Warriors & The Swordsman . We had to get them from bootleggers in Chicago's Chinatown ." In 1995, he said about their general process of designing characters for the series: "First we figure out the type, like she or he and will she/he be big or small. Then we'll get the theme of the characters, like ninja or robot. Then we'll design
9792-422: Was not released. A stage show titled Mortal Kombat: Live Tour was launched at the end of 1995, expanded to 1996, and featured Mortal Kombat characters in a theatrical display on stage. Media franchise A media franchise , also known as a multimedia franchise , is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as
9894-511: Was ported to the PlayStation Vita in 2012 and Microsoft Windows in 2013. Downloadable content became a feature of games in the series at this time. Its first sequel, Mortal Kombat X , was released in 2015 on PlayStation 4 , Xbox One , and Microsoft Windows , and marked a return to numbered sequels. This was paired with the first Mortal Kombat game for tablet and smartphones, Mortal Kombat Mobile . A follow-up, Mortal Kombat 11 ,
9996-492: Was released for arcades in 1993, featuring an increased roster and improved graphics and gameplay, then ported to the numerous home systems in 1993–1995, released again by Acclaim. Mortal Kombat 3 followed in 1995 in both arcade and home versions. Mortal Kombat 3 received two updates which expanded the number of characters and other features from the game: Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 , released that same year in arcades, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy , released for home consoles
10098-584: Was released for the Dreamcast in 1999. At this point that the series started being targeted at consoles only. Also the series' naming scheme changed to favor the use of sub-titles instead of numbered installments, beginning with Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance in 2002. Deadly Alliance was released initially for the Xbox , PlayStation 2 and GameCube . Deadly Alliance was also the first Mortal Kombat game to feature fully 3D gameplay, where up to Mortal Kombat 4
10200-532: Was released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox, starring Liu Kang and Kung Lao and telling an alternate version of the events between the first and second Mortal Kombat games. A similar game entitled Mortal Kombat: Fire & Ice , which was to star Scorpion and again Sub-Zero, was canceled when the developers of Shaolin Monks "couldn't do it in time and under budget". On October 18, 2022, Mortal Kombat: Onslaught
10302-470: Was released in 2019 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch , and Microsoft Windows. A sequel to Mortal Kombat 11 , Mortal Kombat 1 , released in September 2023. Besides the fighting games, there are three action-adventure titles that work as spin-offs from the Mortal Kombat storyline. Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero was released in 1997 for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64; its story
10404-410: Was released on October 17, 2023. Mortal Kombat was adapted into two major motion pictures, Mortal Kombat (1995) and Mortal Kombat Annihilation (1997), both released by New Line Cinema . The first film was released on August 18, 1995, grossing $ 23 million on its first weekend. Despite mixed reviews from critics, Mortal Kombat became a financial success, grossing approximately $ 70 million in
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