Mortal Kombat FAQ/Strategy Guide

MORTAL KOMBAT - GENISIS

Table of Contents:

• I) Overview
• II) Cheat Codes
• III) Character Bios
• IV) Controls
• V) Move List
• VI) Character Pros and Cons
• VII) Frequently Asked Questions
• VIII) Copyright and Legal info

I. Introduction

What is Mortal Kombat? Mortal Kombat is an arcade fighting game that was created to capitalize on the fighting game genre that Capcom has run away with with the Street Fighter series. Midway wanted to cash in on the genre with Ed Boon and John Tobias' brain child, Mortal Kombat.

It was similar to other fighting games at the time but added a feature yet unseen and would shock, digust, and enrage parents as well as various political figures. The Fatality allowed the player to execute certain button combinations at the end of a battle to dispatch of their opponent in a gruesome and gory fashion, and was the key factor for the creation of the ESRB.

This FAQ gives the bios for each character, has a move list, a FAQ section, a cheat section, as well as the various pros and cons associated with each character that can help you optomize your strategies.

II. Cheat Codes

Enter this cheat at the gray screen that talks about codes.

You'll have quite a few seconds to put it in and when entered correctly, the letters will have a red outline and you'll hear the phrase "GET OVER HERE!": A, B, A, C, A, B, B

At the title screen, put in this code to activate a cheat menu. It will allow you to turn the blood on and off as well as allow you the activation of "flags" that will have various effects on gameplay such as one hit kills: Down, Up, Left, Left, A, Right, Down

III. Character Bios

Liu Kang

Once a member of the Super Secret White Lotus Society, Liu Kang left the organization to represent Shaolin temples in the tournament. Kang is strong in his beliefs and despises Shang Tsung.

Goro

A 2,000 year old half human, half dragon, Goro remains undefeated for the past 500 years. He won the title of Grand Champion by defeating Kung Lao, a Shaolin fighting monk. It was during this period that the tournament fell into Shang Tsung's hands and was corrupted.

Rayden

The name Rayden is actually that of a deity known as The Thunder God. It is rumored he received an invitation by Shang Tsung himself and took the form of a human to compete in the tournament.

Sub-Zero

The actual name or identity of this warrior is unknown. However based on the markings of his uniform, it is believed he belongs to the Lin Kuei, a legendary clan of Chinese ninja.

Scorpion

Like Sub-Zero, Scorpion's true name and origin are not known. He has from time to time distrust and hatred towards Sub-Zero. Between ninjas, this is usually a sign of opposing clans.

Sonya

Sonya is a member of a top U.S. special forces unit. Her team was hot on the trail of Kano's Black Dragon organization. They followed them to an uncharted island where they were ambushed by Shang Tsung's personal army.

Kano

A mercenary, thug extortionist thief - Kano lives a life of crime and injustice. He is a devoted member of the Black Dragon, a dangerous group of cut-throat madmen feared and respected throughout all of crime's inner circles.

Johnny Cage

A martial arts superstar trained by great masters from around the world. Cage uses his talents on the big screen, he is the current box office-champ and star of such movies as Dragon Fist and Dragon Fist II as well as the award winning Sudden Violence.

IV. Controls

A=Low Punch/High Punch (registers all low punch and high punch moves. For instance, Scorpion's hand spear attack is Back, Back, Low Punch. So you will press Back, Back, A to execute it. However you can also uppercut, which is down+High Punch. It does this if you're using the standard three button controller) B=Block C=Low Kick X=High Punch Y=Block Z=High Kick Start=Block Up on the D-pad=Jump Down on the D-pad=Duck Left and Right on the D-pad: Move left and right Diagnal Up-Left and Diagnal Up-Right: Makes the character jump forwards or backwards

Common moves that everybody shares: Uppercut: Down+High Punch Sweep Kick: Back+Low Kick Roundhouse: Back+High Kick Throw opponent: Must be up close to enemy, hold Forward and Press Low Kick

V. Move List

Sub-Zero:

Freeze Ball: Down, Forward, Low Punch

Slide: Back+Low Kick+High Kick

Fatality (Right up close): Forward, Down, Forward, High Punch (Just use "A" instead of High Punch if you only have a three button controller, same as uppcuts)

Scorpion:

Hand Spear: Back, Back, Low Punch

Telelport Punch (Causes Scorpion to appear on the other side of the screen with a flying punch): Down, Back, Low Punch

Fatality (Sweep Distance): Up, Up (The proof here is that if you keep pressing up repeatedly fast enough, as soon as he hands, the fatality will activate. If you had to move a lot beforehand, it's quicker to hold block and press up, up)

Liu Kang:

Fireball: Forward, Forward, High Punch (Just use "A" if using a three button controller)

Super Kick: Forward, Forward, High Kick (Just press "C" if using a three button controller)

Fatality (Any distance): Do a 360 with the D-pad, Forward, Down, Back, Up being the correct order to do it in. You can hold block for it to prevent jumping.

Rayden:

Shoot lightning: Down, Forward, Low Punch

Flying Thunder God: Back, Back, Forward

Teleport through the ground: Down, Down, Up

Fatality (Close): Forward, Back, Back, Back, High Punch

Johnny Cage:

Shadow Kick: Back, Forward, Low Kick

Energy Ball: Back, Forward, High Punch (Just press A if using a three button controller)

Groin Punch: Down+High Kick

Fatality (Close): Forward, Forward, Forward, High Punch (Again, just press "A" if using a three button controller)

Sonya:

Energy Rings: High Punch, Back, High Punch

Leg Throw (This move is so cheap):Down+Low Punch+Low Kick

Flying Punch: Forward, Back, High Punch

Fatality (Any distance from sweep and further): Forward, Forward, Back, Back, Block

Kano:

Throw knife: Hold Block, press Back, Forward

Cannonball: Hold Block and do a 360 spin on the D-pad, Forward, Down, Back, Up.

Fatality (Close Distance): Back, back, Low Punch

VI. Character Pros and Cons

This section will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each character, which can help you strategize for upcoming battles.

Sub-Zero Pros: -Can freeze enemies with his ice ball, leaving them open for a free hit

-The slide can often come as a quick, unexpected surprise that will often knock the enemy off of their feet

-Goro can be a hectic battle when using a character that doesn't do moves that give you a free hit. Freezing Goro will give you an easy uppercut for good damage

-When fighting against Scorpion, if you launch an ice ball when he launches his hand spear, Scorpion's attack will do some damage but it's primary effect becomes moot because Scorpion will freeze and the hand spear will disappear

Cons: -Is left open after his freeze ball attack. If the move is blocked or the opponent jumps over it, Subby's just asking for trouble.

-Once again he becomes left open with his other special move. If the slide is blocked, he's a sitting duck for about half a second, and that's all the computer or human opponent needs

-His openness after shooting a freeze ball leaves him especially open to Kano's cannonball attack due to how fast it can be executed, so be careful when fighting against Kano with Sub-Zero

-Attempting to freeze an enemy while they're still frozen will result in a "Double Freeze Backfire", thus freezing Sub-Zero instead

Scoprion Pros: -His Hand Spear attack will both paralyze an enemy and drag them to you, giving you a free opportunity to attack

-If an opponent is too close to you and you're nervous about the opponent whomping you, you can use the teleport punch to come out of the other side of the screen, providing a greater distance between you and the opponent

-Should Kano use his cannonball attack against Scorpion, Scorpion's hand spear will not only totally interrupt the attack but will also draw Kano to him as per usual

-Scorpion's hand spear can be rendered ineffective by any projectile attack

Cons: -After throwing his hand spear, Scorpion is left extremely vulnerable, especially to jump kicks. If you throw the hand spear and the enemy jumps over it, expect to be hit hard. Sonya can be particularly effective against him if she jumps over the spear because of how quickly she can execute her leg throw and she has a tendancy to spam this attack, especially in the endurance rounds, so beware of her

-Much like Sub-Zero's slide, if Scorpion's teleport punch is blocked, it takes a while to leave the animation and can set him up to be hit pretty hard

-If you use the hand spear against Sub-Zero and he decides to launch an ice ball at the same time, Sub-Zero's attack will trump Scorpion's

Kano Pros: -Cannonball attack will knock an opponent off of their feet

-The cannonball attack is especially effective against Sub-Zero, as the cannonball makes Kano fly over the freeze attack and most assuredly will hit Sub-Zero

-The cannonball attack will interrupt Sonya's leg throw

Cons: -The cannonball leaves Kano open to a wide variety of projectile attacks, which will knock him down

-The cannonball is an especially bad idea to use against Scorpion as Scorpion's hand spear will not only interrupt the attack but will pull Kano to him as well

-Kano has no moves that will stun an enemy

Sonya Pros: -Sonya's leg throw is often unexpected by the computer (or by you if you're fighting against her, grrr) and makes for a great surprise attack

-Energy ring attack will interrupt Scorpion's hand spear attack

-It's easy for Sonya to jump over Scorpion's hand spear attack and execute her leg throw attack

Cons: -Sonya's leg throw must be executed up close to the opponent oftne leaving her open if not executed fast enough

-No stun attacks

-Kano's cannonball attack trump's Sonya's leg throw

Rayden Pros: -Rayden's teleport will transport him throw the ground to the other side of the opponent, especially useful against Sub-Zero and Scorpion who's stun attacks leave them open

-The Flying Thunder God attack will send him soaring right under Scorpion's hand spear

-If it connects, Flying Thunder God will also send Rayden flying back a fair distance from the opponent, providing some much needed space

Cons: -Flying Thunder God hurls Rayden right into the path of Sub-Zero's freeze attack

-After teleporting, Rayden is vulnerable for a very short time while re-forming on the other side. Scorpion's hand spear, Sub-Zero's freeze attack, Sonya's leg throw, and Kano's cannonball all can make the most out of this short window of time

-The Flying Thunder God attack is very easy to see coming and can often be adaquately prepared for

-No stun attacks

Liu Kang Pros: -The super kick will send an enemy flying back to the extreme back of their side of the screen

-Projectile attack can interrupt Scorpion's hand spear and Kano's cannonball

Cons: -No stun attacks

-Super kick leaves him extremely vulnerable if it's blocked as he falls down slowly and can't block will doing so

-Liu Kang's super kick is easy to see coming and can be blocked or ducked under

Johnny Cage Pros: -His groin punch will stun an enemy, not to mention it's a humorous attack -Projectile attack flies at a decent height, it's easy to jump and fall into -The shadow kick, when it connects, send the enemy flying

Cons: -His stun move must be used up close, which can leave him vulnerable, much like Sonya's leg throw -Shadow kick can be ducked under, which will leave him extremely vulnerable to an uppercut -Shadow kick also leaves him very vulnerable to Scorpion's and Sub-Zero's stun attacks

VII. Frequently Asked Questions

Q. I heard that this version allows for blood to be shown while the Super Nintendo version doesn't, but the game still doesn't show blood on this version either. Was I lied to?

A. No, you weren't lied to. However, this version requires a cheat code for the blood to be activated. See section II for the code to allow blood to be shown.

Q. Sometimes a green ninja will jump into the arena before a battle and say something that makes no sense. What's the meaning of this?

A. This is the character known as Reptile and he can only be fought under certain conditions. What Reptile speaks are hints on how to get to him. When fighting in the pit arena, if you see a shadow flying over the moon in the background, execute a double flawless and perform a fatality. You will instantly be transported to the bottom of the pit where you will fight Reptile. He's far different from his future incarnations and has both Sub-Zero's and Scorpion's attacks....all of them!

Q. Is Reptile an unlockable kombatant?

A. No. Reptile unfortunately can be unlocked, but it would be great to play as him!

Q. Are there any secret characters to play as? That dragon logo on the character select screen looks awfully suspicious, especially that future Mortal Kombat games made use of the same symbol for a locked character.

A. Unfortunately, no. Tons of rumors have been circulated saying that you can play as Goro, Shang Tsung, Reptile, and even characters that aren't even real. They're all lies. This game has zero unlockable characters, sorry to burst your bubble.

Q. Do the blood and cheat codes mean anything? Because their combinations seem to spell something.

A. You'd be correct. The blood code spells out "ABACABB", a reference to the album "Abacab" by the band Genesis. The cheat menu code spells out "DULLARD", a name of one of the game's programmers.

Q. Are there any stage fatalities in this game?

A. Yes, there is one. In the Pit stage, with the blood code enabled, do a regular uppercut. The screen will get darker and the enemy fill fly off of the bridge and onto the spikes below.

Q. Is it possible to fight Reptile in the endurance rounds? If so, do you fight two Reptiles?

A. Yes, you can fight Reptile in the endurance rounds if all of the criteria are met. You must pull off a double flawless and use a fatality on the Pit Stage without using the block button at all. The first character will be Reptile, and the second will be a green version of the second opponent from the regular endurance match. These souped up green opponents are nasty. They still retain they're regular moves by the looks of it, but the effects of these moves still be like that of Sub-Zero's and Scorpion's, either freezing you or pulling you to them.

VIII. Copyright and Legal Info

Hopefully you found this FAQ useful and I hope it helps you strategize much better if you find this game to be difficult. Thanks to Midway, Ed Boon, and John Tobias for bringing us the first in a long line of great fighting games and to GameFAQs Admin SBAllen for hosting this FAQ. All characters and game designs and the soundtrack are property of Midway, as well as the name of the franchise.

This guide belongs to (Richard "Sour DieseL" Hull) (c) 2010