Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance

As the popularity of arcades dwindled in the late nineties due to increasingly powerful home consoles, it was clear that Midway Games needed a new strategy to keep Mortal Kombat fresh and relevant.

Spin-off games aside, all had fallen silent at the studio, giving rise to strong competition in what was now a hotly contested market. Released five years after its predecessor, Deadly Alliance introduced all-new mechanics with a large number of fresh faces. Fighting within a free-flowing 3D plane, kombatants had three distinctive fighting styles, consisting of two hand-to-hand and a weapon (with the exception of Blaze and Mokap). Damage to character models and clothing was now a thing; players could also use their environment to their advantage in some instances.

Konquest made its first appearance as a tutorial mode of sorts, as well as The Krypt which allowed players to unlock various content via a currency system. Test Your Might also saw its return, joining the brand new Test Your Sight.

• Developer: Midway
• Publisher: Midway
• Designers: Ed Boon
• Artists: Steve Beran, Tony Goskie, Herman Sanchez
• Writers: John Vogel, Alexander Barrentine
• Composers: Dan Forden, Rich Carle, Vince Pontarelli
• Release date: 16 November 2002

MOVELIST NOTATIONS
1  Attack 1
2  Attack 2
3  Attack 3
4  Attack 4
BL  Block
CS  Change Style
SP  Special

Mortal Kombat has always been, and always will be…

For millennia, the forces of good and evil have been locked in eternal battle over the control of Earthrealm. Some seek to use the tournament to destroy all that is good. Others seek vengeance, power, or eternal life. Time after time each individual threat has been vanquished, and Earthrealm has enjoyed relative peace (many years. But there is concern that Earth is once again in peril. And this time, the threat of evil has two faces…

It is now known that the sorcerer Quan Chi has escaped from the Netherealm. Since his escape, Quan Chi has unlocked the secret of the ancient Rune Stone, discovered the ancient undefeatable army of the long forgotten Dragon King, and most disturbing of all, formed an alliance with one of our deadliest enemies…Shang Tsung.

With their combined strength, they plotted to overpower the only two beings who could prevent their total domination of our two realms. The first was the Emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn. In a false show of allegiance to Shao Kahn, they sprung their attack. They then travelled to Earthrealm by way of a mystical portal known only to sorcerers and deities. There they confronted Earth’s mightiest warrior and Champion of Mortal Kombat: Liu Kang.

It has been Shang Tsung’s greatest desire to consume the soul of Earthrealm’s greatest warrior. With Quan Chi’s assistance, he achieved this goal. Liu Kang is dead.

They have since returned to Outworld and are using the souls of conquered warriors to resurrect the Dragon King’s undefeatable army. Should they succeed, they will have the means to conquer Outworld…and eventually Earthrealm. They will be unstoppable.

I can no longer stand idly by and watch this evil consume the world. I have relinquished my status as Elder God to return to Earth and lead you all to battle against our old adversaries. We must act now. We must stop this Deadly Alliance!

Raiden

A total of 676 koffins line the dark hall, set out in a 26 x 26 grid labelled from AA to ZZ. Players must use all six variants of koins (, , , , and ) to unlock content.

• Guide (PDF, 2 MB)

All platforms

• Additional Kombatants
  A total of eleven kombatants must be unlocked before the game’s full roster is available (nine with visible slots, plus two hidden).
  • Blaze: Complete Konquest mode with all kombatants
  • Cyrax: Open koffin CN (3033 koins)
  • Drahmin: Open koffin UR (6500 koins)
  • Frost: Open koffin IV (208 koins)
  • Hsu Hao: Open koffin MW (3317 koins)
  • Jax: Open koffin SA (3780 koins)
  • Kitana: Open koffin KI (2931 koins)
  • Mokap: Complete Konquest mode with all kombatants
  • Nitara: Open koffin TI (4022 koins)
  • Raiden: Open koffin XG (3116 koins)
  • Reptile: Open koffin LL (3822 koins)

• Play as Blaze
  Once you have unlocked Blaze, hover over Raiden on the Character Select screen, hold and press Start.

• Play as Mokap
  Once you have unlocked Mokap, hover over Cyrax on the Character Select screen, hold and press Start.

• Alternate Costumes
  Each kombatant (with the exception of Blaze and Mokap) has one alternate skin that can be unlocked using earned currency in the Krypt. Simply highlight your desired fighter on the Character Select screen and press Start to change their attire.
  • Bo’ Rai Cho: Open koffin PH (1200 koins)
  • Cyrax: Open koffin ZW (1485 koins)
  • Drahmin: Open koffin SW (1152 koins)
  • Frost: Open koffin UB (1261 koins)
  • Hsu Hao: Open koffin QX (1518 koins)
  • Jax: Open koffin ZM (1410 koins)
  • Johnny Cage: Open koffin DK (1460 koins)
  • Kano: Open koffin BD (1520 koins)
  • Kenshi: Open koffin YM (1435 koins)
  • Kitana: Open koffin BQ (1327 koins)
  • Kung Lao: Open koffin YJ (1208 koins)
  • Li Mei: Open koffin KX (1406 koins)
  • Mavado: Open koffin RD (1455 koins)
  • Nitara: Open koffin AR (2206 koins)
  • Quan Chi: Open koffin AA (1556 koins)
  • Raiden: Open koffin JR (1685 koins)
  • Reptile: Open koffin XO (1736 koins)
  • Scorpion: Open koffin UH (1660 koins)
  • Shang Tsung: Open koffin ML (1170 koins)
  • Sonya: Open koffin SH (1834 koins)
  • Sub-Zero: Open koffin YA (1999 koins)

• Additional Arenas
  A total of seven arenas must be unlocked in the Krypt before the game’s full selection is available.
  • Dragonfly: Open koffin WT (1400 koins)
  • House of Pekara: Open koffin HP (2093 koins)
  • Lava Shrine: Open koffin II (1843 koins)
  • Moloch’s Lair: Open koffin ZD (98 koins)
  • Nethership: Open koffin DS (1472 koins)
  • Palace Grounds: Open koffin KR (4222 koins)
  • Sarna Ruins: Open koffin PW (2006 koins)