According to Mortal Kombat (2011), the living forest eats unsuspecting travelers who go too near to the trees. This place may have existed after Shao Kahn supposedly merged one realm with Outworld. It's possible that he lost his troops sending them there though in the Story Mode, it's seen that some characters were able to venture there without getting eaten alive. Smoke and Jade were seen in Mortal Kombat II where they hide behind one of the trees. Later, a hidden fight with an unplayable version of Smoke was possible in Mortal Kombat (2011).
Back in Mortal Kombat II, it was a rumored fatality that never came to be. I remember playing this game and wondering IF it was possible to feed the trees. It turns out that it was JUST A RUMOR. However, that didn't stop the whole concept from becoming a reality. It was the rumor one could uppercut the opponent into one of the trees. However, it was an April Fool's Joke of sorts.
The stage evolved further in Mortal Kombat 4/Gold but a fatality was never added. Mortal Kombat Deception came up with the worst design for the living forest... EVER. There was even no death trap associated with it. It might be understood in Mortal Kombat 4/Gold. However, it's a shame that the game never added a death trap for it in Mortal Kombat Deception. The Konquest Mode showed a tree cut dow and it was BLEEDING.
The Living Forest was explored in the non-canon Malibu comics. It was said to be the Laughing Forest -- all before Shao Kahn absorbed Edenia into Outworld. The comics were the first to give Jerrod his visage and not the games. It was nice for a non-canon material to explore the possible origins of the Living Forest. Inspiration may have been from the Wizard of Oz for both the games and the non-canon comic book series.
Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks made it mandatory for players to feed the trees to pass. The trees would eat any enemies whole. In the case one got a game over in the Living Forest in this game, you can see the character you're using getting fed to the trees. This was just among the many rumors from Mortal Kombat II that were made true. Others involved were Goro's appearance in the game, Ermac in the hidden warrior shrine, the Dead Pool stage hooks, and the fact that you could release Kano and Sonya before the final battle.
In Mortal Kombat (2011) it was finally integrated in such a way. I didn't like the new Living Forest design but I was glad that the stage fatality finally made it. The opponent is thrown into the trees where they're devoured leaving only the legs behind. Depending on which side you're facing will determine which tree gets to eat the unfortunate opponent.
The stage returned in Mortal Kombat 1. Titan Liu Kang's New Era changed into a blissful place. That's all before MK1 Quan Chi changes the whole place into the Corrupted Forest. Sadly, Mortal Kombat 1 has NO stage fatalities.
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