Mortal Kombat is one of the biggest video game franchises in the world. The wildly popular fighting game may have been around for awhile, but it’s still going strong. However, despite the fact that the franchise has spent a considerable amount of time in the spotlight and under the scrutiny of the public eye, there are still some things that many people don’t know. With that in mind, here we present our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about Mortal Kombat. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
Number Fifteen: It Was Created by Four People. And it took less than a year to create! Mortal Kombat was created in 1991 by a programmer, a comic book artist, another artist, and a sound designer in just 10 months.
Number Fourteen: It Was Based on a Movie. Mortal Kombat was originally based on Bloodsport, which is a Jean-Claude Van Damme film.
Number Thirteen: Van Damme Has His Own Character. The MK character of Johnny Cage is based on Jean-Claude Van Damme. Cage appears similar to Van Damme in both personality, appearance, and even his initials.
Number Twelve: Two Characters Were Based on Big Trouble in Little China Characters. The characters of thunder god Raiden and boss Shang Tsung resemble two characters in the 1986 John Carpenter film.
Number Eleven: It Took Six Months to Come Up With a Name. Though it took only 10 months to develop, Mortal Kombat lacked an official name for six out of those 10 months. Alternative titles for the game include Kumite, Dragon Attack, Death Blow, and Fatality.
Number Ten: An Outsider Came Up With the Game’s Eventual Title. A game designer by the name of Steve Richie, who was friends with one of the creators, was the one responsible for coming up with the name Mortal Kombat. He came up with “kombat” after seeing “combat” misspelled on a drawing board.
Number Nine: The Game Actors Are Kind of a Big Deal. One of the actors in the game is Ho-Sung Pak, who you can also see in The Legend of Drunken Master, starring Jackie Chan. Stay tuned for part two of our list of 15 things you didn’t know about Mortal Kombat, coming soon!