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FATALITY!
the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games, a Fatality is a special finishing move that can be used against your opponent at the end of the final match. Because
the announcer screams "Finish Him" (or "Finish Her" if your opponent is a female), the player can choose to either let the
opponent live or brutally murder him/her through a fatality move.
Unlike special moves, a fatality requires certain distances and usually fast and correct button sequences in order to acheieve
the desired result. For example, in Mortal Kombat 3, one of Sub-Zero's fatalities required that he stands close to his opponent and the player would have to press (in this sequence) Block, Block,
Run, Block, Run at a fast rate. Every character has their own special fatality that has to be performed at certain distances.
 
In general, the characters of Mortal Kombat have two special fatalities and each one is supposedly unique and different
from the previous fatality. There have been exceptions to this pattern as Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance have given each character only one fatality each. While it is said that Mortal Kombat only featured one fatality
per character to test how popular the fatality move was going to be, it is unknown why Deadly Alliance featured one
fatality per character.
       
       
       
       
       
       
Fatality-style finishing moves have also appeared in other fighting games such as Killer Instinct, though they are not named as such.
The Beginning
With Street Fighter II dominating arcades, Mortal Kombat co-creators Ed Boon and John Tobias wanted to create a fighting game that retained Street Fighter's gameplay without being a complete copy. Originally, the project revolved around actor Jean Claude Van Damme, but for many reasons, this idea was dropped and Mortal Kombat was born.
Tobias and Boon, wanting to produce the best game they could, spent a great deal of time brainstorming and evaluating ideas.
They started with Street Fighter II and retained many of its conventions (fireball-style projectile attacks, one on
one matches, minigames, etc), but simultaneously tweaked others (the Block Button, special endurance matches, juggling, etc).
The most fateful additions, however, were the graphic blood and Fatality finishers that have become Mortal Kombat's
controversial trademarks. In many fighting games, the match ends with the loser dramatically knocked unconscious and the victor posing for the players; the fighting was for prestige and honor, not the characters' lives. The idea proved
very popular with fans, however, and Mortal Kombat catapaulted to unexpected success.
Reaction
It is unknown what the first fatality was that was displayed in public, but before the fatality was discovered by arcade
gamers, Mortal Kombat was simply another fighting game that had only seven characters. Some gamers say that it was
Johnny Cage's decapitation fatality that was shown first in public and from there the craze began. Many gamers left Street Fighter II
and other games for Mortal Kombat, for it featured blood and the ability to murder your opponent. A concept that was
never seen or done in video gaming before, it was to help make Mortal Kombat a great successful game that not only
proved to be popular with the people, but also surpassed the supremacy of Street Fighter II, in which Capcom would be Midway's newest rival in the battle to win over the audience.
The fatality concept was met with great controversy also many parents disapproved of the violence and the brutal finishings
of the game, deeming it distrubing. Many kids would go to the arcades after school and play this one violent game that allowed
players to rip their opponent's head off, torch someone alight etc. Some politics were voting against the banning of the game,
but the majority of them failed to win, esspecially when the promising ESRB was born at around this time. The ESRB was to rate Mortal Kombat MA 15+, which meant that only persons over 15 can
purchase the game (in other countries, the rating system was different, with the necessary age varying from 17 years to 18
years). Arcade owners were asked to montior the ages of players also, yet very few arcade owners did so. When Mortal Kombat
was released to home systems, because of the brutal content, it was either slightly modified or rated for higher ages. However,
the ESRB didn't stop the continuation of the fatality. When Mortal Kombat II was released, the situation worsened, with more bloodshed and more brutal fatalities. The characters were given two fatalities
each this time, and the fatalities were more brutal and graphically distrubing. Many angry parents and protestors wrote letters
and complained about the content of the game and the brutal fatalities that were shown to their kids, but, because the ESRB
took care of the situation, nothing much was done. The 5-year hiatus that the controversial series took after Mortal Kombat 4 (which was released in 1997) was enough to give the parents breathing room, but the controversial series had not died forever.
Many parents feared that the introduction of fatalities would influence kids to murder and teach kids that it was perfectly
fine to kill their enemies at school if they were threatened. Although most of the fatalities were based on fantasy and therefore
weren't exactly posible to do (like Kitana's Kiss of Death), that fact didn't prevent kids to try the moves for themselves. Even moves used in battle such as Baraka's blade slasher move were believed to be performed amongst kids, especially with the ready availability of knives around the
household. With such brutal acts of violence occuring (especially around the playground, where the kids were acting out what
they had seen on the screen), parents begged for the game to be banned. Although the strict rules still existed, Mortal
Kombat had managed to find its way to children.
Because Mortal Kombat no longer appears in the arcades and is now offically a direct-to-home title (unless Midway
decides to put it back in the arcades), the series has managed to be taken more lightly now, especially when Mortal Kombat
games these days are somewhat expensive and not salable to children. Promotions for the game only exist in specialized video game magazines, the Internet and catalogues. Unlike in the past, when Mortal Kombat used to have special days to promote the game ("Mortal Monday",
for example, the day when Mortal Kombat games were released to home systems), the promotions are no longer held. Despite
all the changes, parents are still cautious about the controversial series, and many think that, to this day, the changes
are "not enough for safety."
Variations
- Animality - This finisher allowed the player to morph into an animal and maul or eat their opponent alive. This style
of fatality debuted in Mortal Kombat 3. Some say the precursor to the Animality was Liu Kang's "Dragon" Fatality from Mortal Kombat II, in which he turned into a dragon and ate the upper half of his opponent.
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- Brutality - Introduced in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, this finisher allowed players to pull of a continious combo (that was rather long and frustrating to perform, as a wrong
move could ruin it) in which the opponent would, if performed right, explode. Brutalities were not very popular, as they were
extremely difficult to accomplish and had a pay-off that many felt was lacking (the only result of a fiery explosion is that
the victim disappears and a couple pieces of bone and flesh are sent flying offscreen). Probably because of this, the Brutality
was never seen outside of the Mortal Kombat 3 updates. It was, however, brought back for Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks and upgraded to the 3D world.
- Multality - Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks also features for the first time Multalities, which are basic fatalities
that are performed on multiple enemies at one time.
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- Fergality- Rayden's third ality, exclusively for the Genesis MK II. Transforms them into som kind of guy.
- Babality - An explosion occurs beneath the defeated opponent's feet, and when the smoke clears it becomes apparent
that they have been turned into a baby, sitting on the floor and wearing a miniature version of their adult clothing and accessories
and/or a diaper. In some versions, the sound affect of a baby crying plays, along with a lullaby, and the word "Babality"
is spelt out by coloured building blocks that fall from the top of the screen.
- Toasty- Scorpion's famous burning fatality, in which Dan Forden then sings, "Toasty"!
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- Friendship - The fighter will do a move that is meant as a peace offering, such as Sub-Zero using his powers to
make a Snowman, or Johnny Cage offering a signed photo of himself.
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- Hara-Kiri - Rather than be murdered by his opponent, the loser takes his own life by murdering himself. The Hara Kiri usually
has the player stab himself or herself with a weapon, cut off his or her own head, or do something similar. The Hara Kiri
made its debut in Deception and seems to be a popular feature with the fans)
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- Stage Fatality-A certain button combo ona certain stage sends the opponent toa grizzly death into lava, acid spikes,or
something similar.
- Nudeality-A real, 4D finishing move in MK Trilogy Nitro Edition(note that this is a joke game, though still
real.)that nudes the opponent
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- Death Trap-A stage fatality able to be done in-play which instantly kills the opponent, and wins the round.
Stage Fatalities
If the introduction of fatalities were bad enough, the introduction of stage fatalites made the situation no better. Stage
Fatalities were to bring a new level of environment interaction within the series, only in a brutal manner. Stage Fatalities
allowed players to uppercut their opponents into the background and face a grisly and inevitably brutal death. Some examples
of Stage Fatalities are having the victim fall into a pool of acid or a pit of razor-sharp spikes, or be run over by a train.
Stage Fatalities were present in the series from Mortal Kombat through Mortal Kombat: Deception, the only exception
being Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.
here are some downloodble stage fates.
Stage Fatality
Goro's Lair Stage FatalityFilesize: 1.649 MB and 1.901 MB
Note: The body of the opponent falls to the floor after the fatality is performed.
Prison of SoulsFilesize: 3.255 MB
The Pit
The Pit Stage FatalityDown + High Punch in The PitFilesize: 1.756 MB
DeadpoolFilesize: 2.454 MB
Kombat TombFilesize: 2.263 MB
The enemy's body falls to the ground after pressing Down in both controllers after doing the Stage FatalityFilesize:
2.424 MB
The Pit IIFilesize: 3.506 MB
Mortal Kombat: Deception is probably the most controversial Mortal Kombat game to feature Stage Fatalities.
Now christened "Death Traps", there are more stages that allow death by stage interaction than there are stages that don't
provide this feature. The brutality of stage fatalities in Deception have been taken to a whole new level - almost
every Death Trap is brutal and bloody. The only stage that doesn't show much brutality in a stage fatality is the Nexus arena.
 
Hara Kiri
Another interesting yet brutal feature added to the legacy of "fatalities" is the Hara Kiri. The Hara Kiri (which is Japanese for a certain type of suicide) is a special move in which the player can perform upon defeat at the end of the last match. Rather than be murdered by his
opponent, the loser takes his own life by murdering himself. The Hara Kiri usually has the player stab himself or herself
with a weapon, cut off his or her own head, or do something similar. The Hara Kiri made its debut in Deception and
seems to be a popular feature with the fans. It is unknown whether or not the Hara Kiri will remain in future Mortal Kombat
games.
Although it was called a Fatality in-game, the first example of a Hara-Kiri in Mortal Kombat was Cyrax's "self-destruct" move from Mortal Kombat 3; Cyrax, an cyborg, enters a code on his arm and moments later explodes along with his opponent. The major difference between this move and
the Hara-Kiris from Deception is that Cyrax's suicide is done with the purpose of also killing his opponent, whereas
Hara-Kiris are done to avoid being killed by your opponent.
Fatalities
Here is a short list of character fatalities found in the Mortal Kombat series.
- Sub-Zero
- Head Rip fatality
- Ice Shatter fatality
- Ice Grenade Fatality
- Freeze And Break Fatality
- Ice Breath Fatality
- Skeleton Rip Fatality
- Scorpion
- Toasty! Fatality
- Ninja Slice Fatality
- Hand From Hell Fatality
- "Scorpion" Sting Fatality
- Spear Head Fatality
- Shang Tsung
- Soul Consume fatality
- Implode Fatality
- Bed Of Spikes Fatality
- Kintaro Fatality
- Kitana
- Kiss Of Death Fatality
- Fan Decapitation Fatality
- Mileena
- Sai Stab Fatality
- Human Eater Fatality
- Liu Kang
- Cartwheel Of Death Fatality
- The Dragon Fatality
- Arcade Crush Fatality
- Liu Kang Fire Fatality
- Toss And Burn Fatality
- Raiden
- Electric Head Fatality
- Electric Shock Fatality
- Mighty Uppercut Fatality
- Punishment By Electrocution Fatality
- Electric Death Fatality
- Electroduction Fatality
- Cyrax
- Cyrax Chopper Fatality
- Double Death Fatality
- Human Grinder Fatality
- Reptile
- Head Chomp Fatality
- Upset Stomatch Fatality
- Acid Bubbles Fatality
- Face Chew Fatality
- Sonya Blade
- Kiss Of Death Fatality
- Kiss Of Death II Fatality
- Decapitating Kiss Of Death
- Kiss Of Doom
- Johnny Cage
- Head Decapitaion Fatality
- 3 Heads Decapitation Fatality
- Torso Rip Fatality
- Brain Ripper Fatality
- Jax
- Arm Rip Fatality
- Head Clap Fatality
- Jax Slicer Fatality
- Big Foot Fatality
- Head Stomp Fatality
- Quan Chi
- Leg Beat Fatality
- Mimic Fatality
- Neck Stretch Fatality
Trivia
- Sub-Zero's head rip fatality has been transferred to many characters including Scorpion.
- Johnny Cage's head decapitation fatality is the most altered fatality of the series, changing it to having a opponent's
head punched off, uppercuted off etc.
- Quan Chi has one of the worst Fatalities in the series (that being his Neck Stretch fatality). Others include Noob Saibot, Kurtis Stryker, and Rain.
- Smoke has an interesting fatality in which he releases bombs from his stomach, which cause the destruction of Earth.
- Scorpion's toasty fatality is one of the most recognized fatalities in Mortal Kombat history.
- The Fatalities for Scorpion, Sonya and Shang Tsung were used as special moves that could be used during battle in previous Mortal Kombat games. They were the Flame Breath
(which burns the opponent during battle), Kiss of Death (which is a stun move) and the Soul Steal (in which increased the
player's diminshed health and decreased his opponent's heath).
- Liu Kang's "Cartwheel of Death" fatality was the only fatality where an opponent was not killed. His fatality would be
murderous if performed in The Pit in which the opponent fell to the pit of spikes once uppercuted.
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