| Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Midway |
| Publisher | Midway |
| Director | Ed Boon |
| Producers | John Podlasek Srini Chilukuri Paulo Garcia Brian LeBaron |
| Designer | Ed Boon |
| Programmers | Michael Boon Jon Greenberg Jay Biondo |
| Artists | Tony Goskie Steve Beran Herman Sanchez |
| Writers | John Vogel Alexander Barrentine |
| Composers | Dan Forden Rich Carle Vince Pontarelli Eric Huffman |
| Series | Mortal Kombat |
| Engine | RenderWare |
| Platforms | GameCube,PlayStation 2,Xbox,Game Boy Advance |
| Release | GameCube, PlayStation 2, XboxGame Boy AdvanceTournament Edition
|
| Genre | Fighting |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is a 2002fighting game developed and published byMidway for theXbox,PlayStation 2 (PS2),GameCube, andGame Boy Advance (GBA). It was the first all-newMortal Kombat fighting game produced exclusively for home consoles, with no preceding arcade release. It is the fifth main installment in theMortal Kombat franchise and a sequel to 1997'sMortal Kombat 4. Its story focuses on the eponymous alliance between sorcerersQuan Chi andShang Tsung and their schemes to revive an ancient army to conquer Outworld and Earthrealm. The game is the only main installment not to feature series protagonistLiu Kang as a playable character. It is also the first game in the canon series to not have the involvement of co-creatorJohn Tobias, who had left Midway in 1999 to pursue other interests.
In addition to the original GBA port ofDeadly Alliance, a second version for the same console, entitledMortal Kombat: Tournament Edition, was released on August 25, 2003.Tournament Edition featured characters omitted from the first port, along with characters not present in the other versions such as Sektor, Noob Saibot, and Sareena.Deadly Alliance received positive reviews from critics.Deadly Alliance was followed by a sequel in 2004, titledMortal Kombat: Deception.
Like all theMortal Kombat games,Deadly Alliance focuses heavily on its fighting modes. The gameplay is completely different from that of previous entries in the franchise. Each character now possesses three individual fighting styles,[4] generally two hand-to-hand styles and one weapon style (except for Blaze and Mokap, who received three hand-to-hand styles and no weapon style) which players can switch between with the push of a button. In previous games, aside from "dial-a-combos", all the characters fought virtually identically, with only special moves to differentiate them. The number of special moves per character (usable in any fighting style) has also been reduced, varying only from two to four for most, thus forcing the player to use the improved fighting system. The characters can no longer run, and there is no run meter. However, while still limited to only moving into the background and foreground, movement in the third dimension is much easier and can be used continuously (inMortal Kombat 4, sidestepping was mapped to two different buttons and could be performed at a rate of about one second). To prevent fighters from leaving the arena, invisible boundaries appear when a fighter is knocked against the edge.
Character models became more realistic. Flesh will move or jiggle on a character as he or she moves around. Environmental interaction is present, but infrequent. Several levels include obstacles—such as pillars or statues—that can be shattered to damage an opponent standing near one. There is just oneFatality per character, while the previous games included many ways to finish the opponent. LikeMortal Kombat X (until theXL patch added them toMortal Kombat X) andMortal Kombat 1, the game does not include Stage Fatalities. However, the Acid Bath level still possesses special acid-vomiting statues called Acid Buddhas that do damage directly to fighters that stray too close to them.
Deadly Alliance introduces the Konquest mode, which expands on the storyline and acts as atutorial for each character. The Konquest mode consists of a series of missions that are completed by each of the characters. In between each sequence, a video of a monk moving between various locations on the path of Konquest is shown, but this has no actual bearing on the gameplay itself other than to simulate the sense of a journey. After completing eight initial "kombat tasks" withSub-Zero, the player is instructed to complete a specific set of tasks with each character, which vary from performing difficult combos to defeating opponents. Each series comes with text instructions, including a basic storyline that delves further into each character's background and motives. Blaze and Mokap can only be unlocked by completing all stages of konquest. Upon completing each mission (of a starting difficulty for each character that increases per mission), the player is rewarded with many "koins" that act as the in-game currency to open koffins in the krypt and unlock secrets in the game.
The krypt is a feature in which the player can buy extras with koins earned in regular play and konquest mode. The krypt consists of 676 "koffins" arranged in a square format with each designated alphabetically by a two-letter designation (AA–ZZ). The koffins are filled with many secrets and unlockables. Each koffin has a different designated price, listed in a number (anywhere from 1 up to the thousands) and type (Gold, Ruby, Sapphire, Jade, Onyx, and Platinum) of koins that it would cost to open the koffin. The Krypt includes unlockable characters, arenas, and alternative costumes. Also included among the koffins are various videos, images, concept sketches, and the entireMortal Kombat Collector's Edition comic book. Some koffins contained koins that could be used towards other koffins, others contained hints as to where other items were located, and others were even empty.
Test Your Might, the originalminigame of theMortal Kombat series, returns for the first time since the original game; a variation, Test Your Sight, is also included. In Test Your Sight, the character stands in front of a set of cups, and the game shows the player which cup contains theMortal Kombat logo icon. The cups then move randomly; by the end, one must select the cup containing the icon. As the player progresses through the minigame, the number of cups increases, as does the speed at which the cups move. At higher levels, the camera would even move to make it more difficult for the player to keep track of the movement of the icon. Succeeding at both Test Your Might and Test Your Sight rewards the player with koins.
TheGBA-onlyMortal Kombat: Tournament Edition adds three modes: Survival, Tag Team and Practice, and weapon Fatalities. Although both of the GBA versions feature2Dsprites,Tournament Edition was the first portableMortal Kombat game to feature3D style gameplay.
At the end ofMortal Kombat 4 (which isScorpion's canon ending),Quan Chi revealed himself to be the murderer of Scorpion's family and clan, before attempting to send him back to the Netherrealm. Scorpion, fueled with homicidal rage, grabbed Quan Chi at the last minute, taking the sorcerer with him. In the opening intro toDeadly Alliance, it is revealed that Quan Chi was able to escape the Netherrealm, using the amulet he had stolen fromShinnok. He appears in a tomb containing several mummified remains and an ancient runestone, which reveals that the remains are the "undefeatable" army of the long-forgotten ruler of Outworld, known simply as the "Dragon King". Learning that it can be revived, Quan Chi allies withShang Tsung, offering him an endless supply of souls in return for his transplanting the souls of defeated warriors into the army. The two work together to defeat and killShao Kahn andLiu Kang, the two greatest threats to their plans. Unable to interfere as an Elder God,Raiden surrenders his status after realizing that, should the alliance be victorious, Earthrealm is doomed.
InDeadly Alliance, the player receives information concerning the characters' backstories and their relationships with one another, mainly during Konquest mode, but also by way of biographies that can be obtained in the Krypt. The game occurs in ascience fantasy setting, with most events occurring in the fictional realms of theMortal Kombat series. The story begins in the Netherealm (although this is not a playable level), and later switches to Outworld, Edenia, and eventually Earthrealm. To fully understand the plot ofDeadly Alliance, the player must complete the Konquest mode and the Arcade mode. Completing the Arcade mode unlocks endings for each character, but only a few endings or parts of them are considered part of the continuity of theMortal Kombat storyline. Some endings even contradict one another. What happened to the characters was only revealed in the sequelMortal Kombat: Deception, makingDeadly Alliance the first game in the series to have an in-continuity ending that involves the heroes losing and the villains emerging victorious.
The game features 21 playable characters, 2 additional secret characters, and 1 unplayable.
New characters:
Returning characters:
Deadly Alliance is notable for being the only game in the main series that does not featureLiu Kang as a playable character, as he andShao Kahn only appear in the introduction video. Also mentioned in Konquest are the deaths ofGoro,Kabal,Motaro, andSheeva, but they would later appear in sequels. The Dragon King mentioned in the game would later appear as Onaga in the sequelMortal Kombat: Deception.
Due to hardware limitations, the Game Boy Advance port ofDeadly Alliance features only 12 of the 21 playable characters: Frost, Jax, Kano, Kung Lao, Kenshi, Kitana, Li Mei, Quan Chi, Scorpion, Shang Tsung, Sonya Blade, and Sub-Zero. A second port, subtitledTournament Edition, retains only Quan Chi, Scorpion, and Shang Tsung, while adding Bo' Rai Cho, Cyrax, Drahmin, Hsu Hao, Johnny Cage, Mavado, Nitara, Raiden, and Reptile.Tournament Edition also adds three extra characters that were not present in the other versions:Sektor (a Cyrax palette swap),Noob Saibot (a Scorpion palette swap), and Sareena from the action-adventure spin-offMortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero. Both versions exclude Blaze, Mokap, and Moloch.Tournament Edition is the onlyMortal Kombat fighting game that does not feature Sub-Zero in any form. However, Noob Saibot would be revealed as the original Sub-Zero inMortal Kombat: Deception.
Midway announced in early 1998 that work had begun on a fifth mainlineMortal Kombat game, and that it was being developed for Midway's new Zeus II arcade hardware.[5]
Despite the success ofMortal Kombat 4, the series began to suffer from overexposure by the late 1990s, spawning mostly failed or mediocre projects. The 1996 animated seriesMortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm lasted only one season while receiving negative reception from critics, and in November 1997, the filmMortal Kombat Annihilation, the sequel tothe successful 1995 original, underperformed in theaters and was panned by critics. Despite strong ratings, the 1998 live-action seriesMortal Kombat: Conquest lasted only one season.[citation needed] On the game front, the side-scrollingMortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero was met with limited interest, as was the 1999Dreamcast port ofMK4 titledMortal Kombat Gold. Negative reception and terrible sales beset 2000'sMortal Kombat: Special Forces.
Deadly Alliance was the firstMortal Kombat mainline title to be developed directly for home consoles, as Midway had exited the waning arcade market after their 2000 releaseThe Grid. ProducerEd Boon said that without "designing the game so it would take a quarter from you every two and a half minutes", there could be a bigger focus on single-player play.[6]
To help promote the game, American rock bandAdema recorded a song for the game titled "Immortal" and made a music video for it that featuredScorpion. The song was used in many of the game's commercials. The music video is included in the game's extras and a short live video taken from Adema's performance at the 2002Electronic Entertainment Expo.[citation needed]Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance was released in the United Kingdom onValentine's Day 2003. One special ad had a girl hugging her boyfriend, and as she pulled away, there were bloody handprints where her hands had been on his back.[7][8]
Following the originalGame Boy Advance port ofMortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, a second version entitledMortal Kombat: Tournament Edition was released on August 25, 2003.[9] The game features the remaining playable characters omitted from the first version (with only Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, and Scorpion returning) plus three exclusive characters:Noob Saibot,Sareena, andSektor. Both Game Boy Advance versions were re-released as part of theMortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection compilation in 2025.[10]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | PS2: 81.90%[11] GCN: 81.82%[12] Xbox: 82.60%[13] GBA: 84.63%[14] |
| Metacritic | PS2: 79[15] GCN: 81[16] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame | GBA: 2.5/5[17] PS2/GCN/Xbox:3.5/5[18][19][20] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | (PS2) 6/10, 5/10, 8.5/10[21] |
| GameSpot | PS2/GCN/Xbox: 8.1/10[22] GBA: 7.9/10.0[23] |
| GameSpy | PS2/GCN/Xbox: 4/5[24] |
| IGN | PS2/GCN/Xbox: 8.6/10[25] GBA: 8.8/10[26] |
Reception forMortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance was generally favorable as it both resuscitated a series that had been waning since the late 1990s and brought many new innovations to it. Jeremy Dunham ofIGN praised the game for reinventing theMortal Kombat formula, pointing specifically toEd Boon's implementation of "true three-dimensional fighting, entirely different fighting styles, and a deeper, more intuitive combo system."[25]Jeff Gerstmann ofGameSpot commendedDeadly Alliance for its fluid animation and graphics, and stated that the roster was a "good mix of old and new faces."[22] Likewise, Benjamin Turner ofGameSpy welcomed the addition of new characters to the roster, and was complimentary of the new fighting system: "You can just sit back, turn your brain off, and beat people to bloody pulps."[24]IGN's Craig Harris lauded the Game Boy Advance version for its polish and content, stating that "a lot of attention was poured into this project, from the fighting and graphics engine, to establishing enough presentation and extras to make the game an excellent single-player title."[26]
GameSpot declaredDeadly Alliance the second-best GameCube release of November 2002,[27] and gave the game its annual "Best Fighting Game on Xbox" and "Best Fighting Game on GameCube" awards.[28][29] It also won the Best Brawl award atG-Phoria in 2003,[30] and later would also be included on the best-seller budget lines for all three consoles,PlayStation 2's Greatest Hits,GameCube's Player's Choice, andXbox's Platinum Hits.[31] During the6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, theAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominatedDeadly Alliance for "Console Fighting Game of the Year", which it ultimately lost toTekken 4.[32]
Upon release, the game sold more than 350,000 units in nine days,1 million in its first month, and more than1.3 million by January 2003. Adema's "Immortal" soundtrack disc also sold 24,000 units in the United States.[33]
By July 2003, according toIGN,Deadly Alliance had sold 2 million copies.[34] In April 2011, Ed Boon said the game had sold 3.5 million units.[35] According to a Dunham's retrospective inIGN,Deadly Alliance "instantly won over critics and fans alike, earning the best reviews of the series sinceMortal Kombat II, and moving a million copies within 6 weeks.Deadly Alliance would eventually go on to more than double that figure."[25]
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