Apparently, there would be no stage fatalities in Mortal Kombat 1 -- presumably due to devotion towards the Kameo Fighters and the Animalities. I would like to do a rundown on the Stage Fatalities throughout the years. How did it evolve, get removed (or replaced) and it returned again but got overshadowed by other stuff. Now, let's begin with the Stage Fatalities.
The first Mortal Kombat game introduced it but it wasn't counted as a fatality yet. That's unless one did Liu Kang's Cartwheel over at The Pit! One could uppercut the opponent at The Pit and the opponent would fall into the razor sharp spikes. It was a simplistic stage. However, things got a little more complicated as the Stage Fatalities evolved.
Mortal Kombat II introduced three Stage Fatalities and a rumor. There was the rumored Living Forest Stage Fatality -- something that was realized in Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks and Mortal Kombat (2011). There was the rumor of the meathook fatality at the Dead Pool -- something that got realized in Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks and Mortal Kombat 11. These three stage fatalities were The Pit II (which had flat concrete floor and a pseudo-3D effect), the Dead Pool (where the opponent fell into the acid), and the Kombat Tomb (where the opponent got stuck to the ceiling). Mortal Kombat II added some features. Right now, I'm still baffled at how Mortal Kombat II still got better credits than Mortal Kombat 3 and its upgrades.
Mortal Kombat 3 and its upgrades added more stage fatalities. It was either because the developers were lazy OR there wasn't enough space. Stage Fatalities were pretty much uppercut the opponent and expect them to get mutiliated by the stage. Scorpion's Lair (later renamed Hell in the reboot) had the opponent burn in lava. The Subway had the opponent get hit by a train. The Bell Tower had a repetition of The Pit stage (which was why it was removed in Mortal Kombat (2011)). The Pit II Stage Fatality had the opponent fall to spinning blades -- something that was never added into the reboot for a reason. Mortal Kombat Trilogy brought most classic Stage Fatalities except the Pit II. It's because the Pit II would require unique sprites. However, I feel that even if Midway was able to edit the sprites -- there wouldn't be enough room for the PSX disk! Ah yes, those d*mn loading times of the fifth generation consoles!
Mortal Kombat 4 (and its upgrade Gold) would introduce only two Stage Fatalities. The fifth generation had little space plus it was 3D. The number of characters to select from understandably dropped. Mortal Kombat Gold is pretty much I'm not missing much. Goro's Lair was given a rehash of the Kombat Tomb stage fatality. However, Midway got creative with how The Prison Stage Fatality was done. The opponent was thrown by the player into the spinning fan. That was the beginning of creatively redoing Stage Fatalities.
However, Stage Fatalities made a retreat since Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. Mortal Kombat: Deception and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon would create the Death Traps. Think about having a bloodier version of Virtua Fighter's ring out mechanic. However, these would easily end hte match and never counted as fatalities. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon would make two Death Traps only doable at the end of the match by an uppercut. Those were at the Tenkukin Stage and the Bell Tower. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe didn't have them either presuambly due to the Teen rating.
Mortal Kombat (2011) had the most stage fatalities. Mortal Kombat Trilogy had seven. This time, Mortal Kombat (2011) never hesitated to innovate on the animations. The Hell stage would now have the defeated opponent's head dunked into the lava. The Living Forest Stage Fatality didn't use an uppercut but throw the defeated opponent into the Living Tree's mouth. That was done in response to rumor that came out decades ago. The Subway Stage Fatality had a brutal cinematic animation. The winner would cause the opponent's head to be hit by a passing then toss the latter to the other side, getting hit by another train. The PS3 version had Kratos' Chamber which had three choices -- the flames, the spears, or pound the opponent. The Street Stage Fatality is dark and hilarious at the same time. A speeding car would ram off the opponent's head. In terms of "back to basics" -- The Pit Stage Stage Fatality and the Dead Pool Stage Fatality were done via uppercut. However, I enjoy how the Dead Pool had the opponent try to swim off in acid -- only to dissolve anyway with a SCREAM OF PAIN.
Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat 11 introduced Stage Brutalities. That would explain why Stage Fatalites got reduced to only three per entry. Mortal Kombat X went back to uppercut animation at The Kove, The Pit X (which wasn't so impressive to me), and at The Military Camp (which was my personal favorite). However, I preferred to end the fight at The Kove with a Stage Brulality uppercut instead. Mortal Kombat 11 had them at the Dead Pool (which the meathooks played a part), the Shaolin Trap Dungeon, and at the Arcade. The arcade finisher had the opponent getting squashed by the Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance arcade. My hunch was that Netherrealm Studios either didn't like the game (which may not be the case) or to acknowledge that the game temporarily did away with Stage Fatalities. I felt using the non-existent Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance arcade was pretty much an apology letter of sorts.
Pretty much, they've taken a retreat again for some reason. Is it because of those expensive Holiday fatalities or what? Right now, I feel disappointed that there are no Stager Fatalities in the most recent game. Right now, I feel it's because Netherrealm has devoted itself to developing other stuff.
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