M O R T A L   K O M B A T

The Genesis/MegaDrive FAQ

Version 1.1k - 12th May 1994

By Antony Espindola.

Contributions from :

Mike Dodds 		(mgdodds@eos.ncsu.edu),
Rodney Walker 		(rwalke1@umbc2.umbc.edu),
KUDZU 			(christ@cie-2.uoregon.edu),
Michael Hall 		(mhall@EDU.CNU.PCS),
David M Richey 		(??),
Brian Foerster 		(Bfoerster@rockford.edu).
---------------------------

This version of the FAQ is dedicated to Ed Boon, who has recently
worked 48 hours non-stop to get MK2 up and running for demonstration
to the distributors.
Ed, we love ya ;-} And now I've got my T-Shirt ! :-)

Thanks also go to David M. Richey for spotting a mistake that has
been in here from the start but that nobody has noticed!

Ok so here it is - I'm sick of seeing posts for 'what is XXXX's
fatality, when do I do a fatality, what's that green man' and
stuff like that. This is a guide for the newbie, expert and the
squids too. Like or hate it, it's here.

MORTAL KOMBAT DOES WORK WITH THE SIX BUTTON CONTROLLER
THE LAYOUT IS SIMILAR TO THE ARCADE CONFIGURATION

YOU DO NOT NEED THE SIX BUTTONS TO PLAY MORTAL KOMBAT
YOU CAN USE THE 3 BUTTON CONTROLLER
HIGH PUNCH AND LOW PUNCH ARE COMBINED INTO ONE

(repeat until you understand ;-} )

Rumours.
=========

This is the bit where we get to speculate about all sorts of
wonderfull things that we all think should be in MK.

Firstly, the blood code.
Yes it is in there and you should know it by now.

"Can I play Shang Tsung or Goro ?"
Well, I haven't seen anything to confirm or deny so I don't want to
say. This article was posted by KUDZU (christ@cie-2.uoregon.edu):

> I know this is like interpreting the Dead Sea Scrolls, but here goes:
>

[From the 'Code of Honour' screen : ]

> The word 'code' has many different definitions.  The Shaolin martial arts 
> tournament is governed by a system of rules of conduct...AN ETHICAL CODE.
>
>  Blood code: ABACABB at CODE screen.
>
> The combatants respect each other as warriors, no matter what degree of 
> hatred they had for one another...A CODE OF HONOR
>
>  Cheater's code: DULLARD at mugshot screen
>
> Another type of code could be defined as an arbitraty system of symbols
> or letters for transmitting messages...A SECRET CODE
>
>  Goro/Tsung code: ??????? at Goro (?) screen

So does this mean that there IS a third code ?
I'm keeping an open mind, but more fuel came in the form of this :

> I haven't seen the issue of Game Fan that has a screen shot of Goro
> vs Shang Tsung, but I hear there is one.
> And while I already know that something like a screenshot
> can be fiddled with, wouldn't it be possible for the programmers to at least
> implement Goro as a character?  There are more than enough "leads" to make 
> someone (especially with an overactive imagination) believe there's either a
> third code or some code within the Cheater's menu...a SECRET CODE

Again, more food for thought.


Neat Tricks.
=============

This is just really for tricks that you can do in the arcade version
that can also be done in the Genesis/MD version.
This is what I have been able to do so far :

Scorpion's throw then fatality.
	Works as in the arcade version.

Sub-Zero's freeze fatality.
	This is VERY hard. You can freeze the opponent and do the
	fatality if the killing move is a throw (due to the time it takes
	for a throw to register). Unfortunately, the sprites for a frozen
	fatality aren't in there so you only get to see a normal fatality.

Cage's miss fatality.
	If you throw the opponent against the wall as the killing moves,
	you can do the fatality and the opponent will be on the ground.
	This however does not give an 'appearing heads' or even mysterious
	floating gushes of blood. Cage just uppercuts thin air and does
	his victory pose. Points are awarded but the opponent stays (with
	head) on the ground.

Kang's miss fatality.
	Hmm. I have been able to do this but it seems that you don't have
	as much time as in the arcade version to beat the shit out of your
	opponent. Mike Dodds has found out abit about his...
	Liu seems only capable of doing _two_ specials after defeating
	someone.  You can do one FB, then the spin, or two FB, but not spin.
	The same applies to the Fly Kick counting as a special.  You can still
	do a spin, then elbow the hell out of them, then another spin. The
	reason that this happens is because the game appears to "lock out" 
	other moves after a fatality is thrown, eg. Cage can't take multiple 
	heads but Liu Kang could conceivably "miss" the fatality if allowed 
	only one spin, so they ludged it so that he can do _two_.  
	Since the FB or Jump Kick counts as a "special" move, they can be
	exchanged with one or more of the two spins.  

Cage's Double/Triple head fatality.
	I don't think this can be done (I can't do this in the arcade).
	See above for explanation.

Repeatedly Block.
	Keep hold of block whilst doing any special move. The move will
	be executed and then go back into block meaning that you can
	do perfectly timed blocks! [Brian]

In the Round stuff.
	Sonya's jump-kick then leg-grab combo works
	Scorpion's four hit combo against Kano's ball works (punch, punch,
	spear, uppercut.)
	Sub-Zero's jump-kick then slide works.
	Kang's jump-kick then flying kick
	Stuff I don't know/can't do yet :
		> Any more (must be a few ?)

Bugs.
------
	I've bundled this section in here because I've come across some
really weird things that can happen.

Raiden's Backwards Dive.
	This one looks so funny. I was playing Raiden when I jumped over
	Sonya and had already done the dive move. As I touched the ground,
	Raiden started the dive move, but because he had jumped over
	Sonya, was still facing the wrong way. Raiden pushed Sonya (with
	his feet) along and then spun backwards as per normal. This has
	also happened when the other player has jumped over Raiden as he
	was doing the dive, and Raiden had "pulled" the other player across
	the screen! [Ant]
	This can also turn into another bug where if the other player
	teleports (ie Scorpion or Raiden), Raiden will keep pulling
	or pushing the other player against a wall until they die. [Brian]

Confused Cage.
	This one took me by surprise. I had Kang in the corner and Finish
	Him had just popped up when I did a throw. Kang bounced back off
	the wall, underneath Cage which caused him to turn round. Kang
	must have landed in the hotspot that turns Cage around because all
	Cage did was kept turning back and forth and was completely stuck.
	[Ant]

Confused Kang.
	This is roughly the same as above. As the "Finish Him/Her" sounds
	for Kang to do his stuff, throw the opponent and then immediately
	do the fatality. You will cartwheel, but as you land, Kang gets
	stuck into the 'don't know which way to face' procedure as above.
	[Ant]

Reptile Endurance.
	If you get to Reptile in the normal way, the Pit Scene will show 
	up on your first endurance match.  If you get to him again in the 
	endurance, you will get to fight two Reptiles.  This is a bug 
	because the first Reptile looks normal, but the second one will 
	look like the second person who you fought on the bridge 
	(who you did the fatality on).  This is very interesting because 
	the person will look like they're doing their moves while 
	actually doing Reptile's. [Rodney]


Different Ending Bug.  
	It doesn't really do anything, it just causes something interesting
	to happen after you finish the game.  Basically, the only thing that
	you have to do to get this new ending is beat Shang Tsung the second
	time by running out of time and having more health than he does (I
	find this to be relatively easy to do with Sub-Zero, just freeze, 
	freeze, freeze after hitting him).  What happens after this is there
	is no background movement happening during the running of the credits.
	ie. none of the characters jump out when their names come up (the 7 
	kombatants and Goro and Shang Tsung).
	This also means that the eyes don't blink in the background of Goro's
	lair during the credits and that the clouds don't move in the Pit 
	Scene of the credits.
	I thought this was pretty interesting when I firt saw it, but it 
	didn't appear to do anything to the game play or cause any new code
	to happen. [Rodney]

Reptile Graphics Bug:
        If player one is engaged in a one player game and has gotten to
        Reptile, and player two enters the tournament during player one's
        match with Reptile before the match ends and the screen switches
        to the "battle plan" or the "game over" screen, then when player
        two chooses a fighter at the warrior select screen, Sub-Zero and
        Scorpion will have GREEN uniforms, and all other fighters will seem
        to have an unearthly web of green over them which severely distorts
        their graphic at the select screen. Unfortunately, this bug does not
        persist into the next or any other match, it only happens temporarily
        at the warrior select screen.
	[mhall@EDU.CNU.PCS (Michael Hall)]

Scorpion vs Scorpion (or Shang Tsung):
	You can quite easily hang the game by standing on opposite sides of
	the screen.  One guy throws a harpoon, the other teleports away.
	With the correct timing, the game will hang if the Scorp leaving the
	screen away from the harpoon _almost_ gets hit by it. The game will
	freeze (reset no good?) with no energy bars to be seen and the
	teleporting Scorp suspended over the harpoon. [Mike]

Blocked Fatality.
	A human opponent can make it look like they are trying to block
	your fatality by holding down block and not moving. Their character's
	block pose will be done as if trying to repel the fatality!

The Codes.
===========

Let me start with the 'gore' code.
This is typed in, on joypad one, when you see the screen that starts
'The word 'code'....'.
This must be one of the worst kept secrets in history and everyone
should know it by now!
Type in the following sequence.....

	A B A C A B B

The screen text should now change colour slightly and you will hear
Scorpion's cry of 'Get over here!'. This confirms that the 'blood
code' has been entered. Another way of checking is that the text of
Mortal Kombat changes from Green to Red on the start/options screen
(it's green with no blood, red with the blood code.)

And now for the little gem that I 'happened' to find.
Get to the start/options screen and type in the following sequence....

	Down, Up, Left, Left, A, Right, Down

Yes, yes, I know it spells DULLARD !
Another option will now appear called 'Cheat Enabled'
Go to this option and press start.
There is now another set of options to fiddle with.
Using a button (A/B/C) will select/change and using start will
take you back to the Start/Options screen.

This is what Rodney Walker (rwalke1@umbc2.umbc.edu) found out :

>From the top of the screen, the Player-One and Player-Two are used 
to change the characters in the sidebars of the screen; this is also
used for the demo and 'Test Your Might' features.
Use the left/right direction keys to scroll through the characters.

The plan base part is used so that you can see the four possible 
orders in which your character can fight the other "kombatants" and 
complete the game.  You can either pick one and see in which order it 
goes by using the demo part, or you can set it to random and it will 
pick one of these orders for you. Change this with the left/right
directions and press A,B or C to see the plan screen.
The plan refers to the character selected in Player-One.

The next section allows you to select the material the 'Test Your
Might' stage starts at. Change this by using the left/right
directions.
The next part decides how many rounds before you enter
the 'Test Your Might' stage; there are options for one player games,
as well as two player games.
The materials are: Wood, Stone, Steel, Ruby and Diamond,
increasing in their strength as you advance in the list.  

The demo can be used to see the different parts of the program.
This relates to the character selected in Player-One, also shown at
the left hand side of the screen :

Cameo gives the character's background - this is the single screen of
text with a picture (short bit of animation on the arcade machine)
which is shown when the game is in demo mode.

Medal shows the screen with the 'Current Champion' medal and how many
rounds you have won - this is only in two player mode. Again, the two
characters are selected in the Player-One and Player-Two selection at
the top. 

The 'chop-chop' puts the character selected into a simultaneous
'Test Your Might' stage. Highlight this option and press either
A,B or C to changes to it.

The flags were very interesting and it took us a long time to figure 
out what each one did, but we managed it :  

Flag 0 takes player 2 down to the "danger" level immediately after
the round starts - ie. it only takes one hit to kill them.

Flag 1 does this same thing but to player 1.

Flag 2 this puts the shadows across the moon at every pit stage - this
is needed to get to the Reptile (see below). Thanks go to Mike Dodds
(mgdodds@eos.ncsu.edu) for that info.

Flag 3 this changes the shadows across the moon.
The shadows alternate between a face (most probably the programmer)
and some initials (BYC), which are also probably the programmer's.
These same initials were at the top place in the high score list.

Flag 4 makes Reptile drop down before the start of each stage and give
clues as to how to get to him.

Flag 5 gives infinite continues, rather than the amount set
in the options screen.

Flag 6 allows the computer players to do Fatalities when they kill
you which we thought was really cool and gives you a big incentive not
to die.

Flag 7 appears to lock the background to the 'Palace Gates' scene, up
until the Third endurance which obviously has to be in Goro's Lair.
We couldn't figure out why they would do this.  Any ideas anyone ?

The 'blood code' is just like the ABACABB code at the code screen, so 
you no longer have to do that.  The codes thing allows to take off the 
codes enacted menu option on the start game/option screen.  If you 
take it off, it turns all of the flags to off, and then if you leave 
this screen, you will notice that the menu option is gone.  We were 
also able to do this by turning codes off and going into the options 
menu and leaving and then doing the thing for the code select screen 
again.  And the first background thing is pretty self-explanatory.

When using the Cheat Code, the computer opponents play at the hardest
level (and I think it's harder than "Very Hard" - Ant) regardless
of what the options are set to.

[Thanks go to Rodney for that bit]

I've seen a few reports on the new CD version of MK, should it ever
come out, and apparently both codes will be the same but there will
also be a "Turbo Mode" in the Cheat Menu. Hmmm...


The Reptile.
=============

So now onto the Reptile.....

This is a hidden character which was added in by Ed Boon, programmer
of the arcade game, because he liked the idea of the rumours of Sheng 
Long in SF2 which had been circulating on rec.games.video.arcade.
The Reptile was present on version 3.0 of the arcade and the code was
changed for version 4.0 so that Reptile jumps down from the top of the
screen every so often and gives clues on how to get to him. If you
read all the clues, you should be able to find him.  Reptile is the 
same as Sub-Zero and Scorpion but is Green.  Battle takes place in the 
bottom of the pit, amongst the spikes.  He is VERY fast (jump 
backwards and he'll be there when you land) and  can do ALL of 
Sub-Zero's AND Scorpions special moves.  To get to Reptile, you must 
do the following:

1 > You must be at the pit stage. You cannot get him at any other
	stage, even though he does appear at random.

2 > There must be shadows across the moon. These appear every sixth
	game on the arcade machines - with the cheat on the Sega, it is EVERY
	pit stage.(see above)

3 > You must win a double flawless. You DO NOT have to win every match
	up to the pit stage as a double flawless.

4 > You must not touch block AT ALL during the pit stage.  This means 
	certain character's moves can't be done.

5 > You must do the fatality. Block is only permitted on Sonya's
	fatality - this is the only fatality where BLOCK is needed.

Using the DULLARD cheat above will allow you to set the shadows across
the moon, put the oponent's strength to DANGER etc, and make it easier
to get to the Reptile.

You will recieve 10,000,000 points for defeating Reptile.
NOTE : these points _DON'T_ get added on if you use the cheat mode
above. Bad programming or just to stop cheats ?!??

These are some observations from Gregory Recine (recing@aix02.ecs.rpi.edu):
  Two things I noticed when I cheated my way to Reptile:
    1) His 'Sub-Zero' freeze throw blob is green... Does this mean
       he 'slimes' you and it's not a freeze? :)
    2) His skeleton was GREEN!  I fatalitied him with Scorpian and
       the remains were bright green...  That was cool!

These are in fact different from the arcade version, but the only
differences that I have spotted between them.


The Moves List.
================

I received a wall chart of moves list with the Kombat Kit which was
only given if you ordered BEFORE Mortal Monday. Some moves have been
changed between versions for ease of execution and this list works
ONLY for the Genesis/MegaDrive versions - the SNES IS DIFFERENT !!!

NOTE: I have noticed that when using the six-button controller, some
moves where it SHOULD be LOW-PUNCH, you can do with HIGH-PUNCH; the
same goes for HIGH and LOW-KICK !!!

(adapted from my arcade moves list ;-})

	[BACK]           = moves AWAY from opponent
	[FORW]           = moves TOWARDS the opponent
	[UP]             = does a straight jump upwards
	[DOWN]           = character crouches
This saves fiddly direction swapping diagrams !!

Moves are decribed as combinations.
If they are separated by commas (,) they are to be done in succestion.
(ie. one after the other)
If they are separated by plus signs (+) they are to be done
simultaneously (ie. together)
eg: [BACK], [UP] means backwards THEN upwards
	[BACK]+ [LOW-KICK] means backwards AND low-kick.


GENERAL MOVES :
================

FOR THE SIX BUTTON CONTROLLER :
---------------------------------
[BLOCK]              = Y or B
[LOW-KICK]           = C = chest kick (knee when close)
[HIGH-KICK]          = Z = face kick 
[LOW-PUNCH]          = A = jab punches 
[HIGH-PUNCH]         = X = jab punches (character specific when close)

FOR THE THREE BUTTON CONTROLLER :
-----------------------------------
[BLOCK]              = START
[LOW-KICK]           = B = as above
[HIGH KICK]          = C = " - " - "
[LOW-PUNCH]          = A
[HIGH-PUNCH]         = A     (read [HIGH or LOW-PUNCH] as [PUNCH]

Common Moves :
----------------

[BACK] + [LOW-KICK]  = foot sweep
[BACK] + [HIGH-KICK] = roundhouse
[DOWN] + [HIGH-KICK] = upward kick (goes through jabs)
[DOWN] + [ANY PUNCH] = uppercut
[FORW] + [LOW-KICK] or [HIGH-KICK]  = throw when close *


SPECIAL MOVES:
===============
* shows moves that have changed from the arcade version
and may be different for other console versions.


Johnny Cage :
--------------

Green Firebolt = [BACK], [FORW], [HIGH-PUNCH] *
Sliding Kick   = [BACK], [FORW], [LOW-KICK] * 
Groin Punch    = [DOWN] + [HIGH KICK] * 

fatality:
uppercuts your head clean off your body
3 x [FORW], [HIGH-PUNCH]


Kano :
-------

spin       = [BLOCK] + 360 degree spin:
             [FORW] > [DOWN] > [BACK] > [UP]
             block will hold in place - release to move
             you don't need the block, but it stops Kano from jumping.
knife      = hold [BLOCK] while doing [BACK], [FORW]

fatality :
pulls out your still beating heart
[BACK], [BACK], [LOW-PUNCH] *


Raiden :
---------

lightning     = [DOWN] > [FORW], [LOW-PUNCH]
flying attack = [BACK], [BACK], [FORW]
teleport      = [DOWN], [DOWN], [UP] *

fatality : 
lightning at close range blows your head off
[FORW], 3x [BACK], [HIGH-PUNCH]


Liu Kang :
-----------

fireball      = [FORW], [FORW], [HIGH-PUNCH]
flying kick   = [FORW], [FORW], [HIGH-KICK]

fatality :
cartwheel kick and uppercut
can be done from any distance
360 degree spin (can use [BLOCK] to stop jumping):
[FORW] > [DOWN] > [BACK] > [UP]


Scorpion :
-----------

harpoon               = [BACK], [BACK], [LOW-PUNCH]
teleport punch        = [DOWN] > [BACK], [HIGH-PUNCH]

fatality :
takes off mask to reveal a skull then toasts the opponent
with his dragon breath.
Standing about 1 character width away:
hold [BLOCK] with [UP],[UP]
using [BLOCK] stops Scorpion from jumping but is not needed.
To do the fatality WITHOUT the block, stand the correct distance
then keep pressing [UP] - Scorpion will jump, the will do the fatality
when he lands.

Sub-Zero :
-----------

freezeray     = [DOWN] > [FORW], [LOW-PUNCH]
slide         = [BACK] + [LOW-KICK] + [HIGH KICK] *

fatality :
pulls out your head and spine 
[FORW], [DOWN], [FORW], [HIGH-P]


Sonya :
--------

leg throw     = [DOWN] + [LOW-P] + [LOW-K] *  
sonic rings   = [HIGH-PUNCH], [BACK], [HIGH-PUNCH] * 
flying punch  = [FORW], [BACK], [HIGH-PUNCH]

fatality :
kiss of death.  blows fireball off her palm
that crisps you down to a skeleton
2x [FORW], 2x [BACK], [BLOCK] * 

-------------------------------------------------------

ObLegalBit:

This document is Copyright (c) 1993,94 Antony Espindola.  Permission is
hereby granted to redistribute this guide provided it remains unaltered
in any way and no charge is made for it.  Use of this guide in any other
way without first getting my permission is strictly prohibited.

[Especially in compiling articles for magazines!]

-------------------------------------------------------

This FAQ is also available by FTP, courtesy of GamePro magazine's Andy
Eddy. Just FTP to ftp.netcom.com and cd /pub/vi/vidgames/faqs.

-------------------------------------------------------

And that's about it really - comments to me and errors and stuff.
NOW NO MORE POSTS ABOUT IT PLEEEEEEEEEEASE !!!

Mail me with any errors or corrections or additions.....

A.Espindola@cs.ucl.ac.uk

Thanks for reading!

Antony.                                          DoD#1832,
                                                 Ogri too.
----------------------------------------------------------
I'd rather die peacefully in my sleep like my Grandfather,
than screaming in terror like his passengers.- Jim Harkins
----------------------------------------------------------
Computer Science UnderGrad, UCL, London, Great Britain.
