Mortal Kombat - The Mother of M-Rated Games

Video games, just like any other form of entertainment, come in a wide variety of genres.

We have introduced many games on Sabukaru before, from the Pokémon series to the Smash Bros legacy, many of which are rather seen as family friendly. But everything that has a bright side has a dark side. Video games are no exception, and Mortal Kombat might just be the darkest it gets.

First introduced by Midway Games in 1992, Mortal Kombat was originally a 2-D arcade fighting game, that at first glance didn't seem so different from others. The Street Fighter and Fatal Fury series were already out, and other titles like Tekken and Virtua Fighter would be released around the same time.

But what made Mortal Kombat so revolutionary [and controversial] was the introduction of excessive gore, particularly the "fatality" system.

While the unique storyline and gameplay also lead to the success of the Mortal Kombat series, which is now on its 11th title, "fatality" is undeniably the most iconic factor of the game. Most fighting games people were familiar with at the time were simple. You fight till your opponent's HP reaches 0. Usually, this didn't mean death, but just your character getting knocked out. Mortal Kombat completely changed this with fatalities, allowing the player to brutally murder the already defeated, helpless opponent.

Mortal Kombat pioneered its own genre due to its brutal & gorey nature, opening the path for many other games, but also creating an immense amount of controversy around video games themselves. The MK series is even said to be the reason why the ESRB rating system was implemented. But this didn't stop the series from becoming one of the most successful fighting game franchises ever, having sold over 73 million units by 2021.

When MK was first introduced, all finishing moves were surely shocking, but one was especially brutal, iconic, and shocked the entire gaming world: Sub Zero ripping off the opponent's head, with the spine still attached to it.