Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

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Game System

Gameplay was identical to MK3 but introduced a few new elements. Two new tournament modes were introduced. One was entitled 2-on-2 Kombat Mode which was similar to an Endurance match but with human players on both sides. There was also a new eight player tournament mode. "Chain combos" could be started by using a jump punch (vertical or angled) or a vertical jump kick which created more comboing opportunities. Some characters were given extra combos and some combos were even damage reduced. Combos that knock opponents in the air would no longer send one's opponent to the level above in multi layered levels. Only regular uppercuts would allow for this. New MK3 characters are added in UMK3 including Kitana, Jade, Reptile and Scorpion on the prototype version. New Ultimate Kombat Code added in revision 1.0 to enable Mileena, Ermac and Sub-Zero.

Some characters were given new moves. Stryker now has a "Riot Gun" special move. Kano's cannonball move could be performed in two ways; one would make Kano move straight ahead like in MK3 and the other moved diagonally. Liu Kang and Sonya have new combos which can knock opponents in the air, leading to more combo possibilities. tabloid laser printer

Some character moves were altered a bit, in most cases to balance the gameplay. Stryker's Baton Throw and Sonya's Leg Grab were given special damage protection properties. Kabal could not perform his ground saw move after a spin and a certain number of comboed hits, however this makes little difference though as any moves performed on someone after the ground saw can be blocked unless the opponent is in the air. Kabal's ground combo damage was also reduced by approximately 10%. Sub-Zero was toned down a bit as he can no longer create an ice clone next to the opponent to freeze him on the spot. If he tries, the statue will not form. Smoke's spear is disabled after 4 combo hits. Also worth noting, the spear actually comes out of the compartment on his chest, whereas in MK3 it was actually summoned from behind him. When Shang Tsung juggles an opponent with his fireball, there is now a minimum of two other hits needed before another fireball can be performed. Performing a roundhouse when one's opponent is in the corner pushes the player's character out of the corner. Sonya's MK3 Friendship, which had her waving her arms back-and-forth in a silly manner, is removed. Now she simply does her victory pose and a row of flowers grow out of the ground. Other notable alterations include: Cyrax's air throw adds to the "combo meter" and his bombs cannot be done while his net is on screen. Both Cyrax and Sheeva's ground throw activates damage protection. Performing Liu Kang's bicycle kick special drains the run meter, Jax's projectiles have a longer recovery time, and both Sektor and Robot Smoke's Teleport Punch can now home in on their target better than the previous game. Kung Lao's Spin has better collision detection; no longer causes pushback in the corner; and it also now activates Damage Protection. Nightwolf's bow and arrow has reduced start up time when comboed (which just means situations where your opponent cannot control their character after being hit). Player 1 side Sektor can fire Dumb Missiles while Homing Missiles are activated (possible glitch or incomplete programming). fargo id card printer

Additionally several miscellaneous features were added and changed to UMK3. The original red portal background used for the "Choose Your Destiny" screen is now replaced with a blue portal and an extra "Master" difficulty is added as well. In the additional "Master" difficulty setting, "Endurance Matches" return, in which the player can face as many as three opponents in a given round. These were not seen since the first Mortal Kombat. Shao Kahn's Lost Treasures are introduced after either the main game or the 8-player tournament are completed. These Lost Treasures are selectable prizes, some are extra fights, others lead to various cutscenes or other things. The smallest alterations to the game include character announcements when Shang Tsung transforms and the "Toasty!" sound is now played during the game's end credits and when the players inserting a coin, when Dan Forden's image is shown. portable thermal printer

While nothing was actually removed, some elements from MK3 were subsequently missing from UMK3's release. The only biographies featured are for Kitana, Jade, Scorpion, and Reptile (the ninja characters were not included in MK3, but were added to the lineup for this release). All of the biographiess and the full-body portraits of the MK3 characters are missing. The biographies that are featured use their 'Versus screen' portrait, with text, on the portal/battleplan background. All of the character endings show each character's Versus Screen picture accompanied by text, instead of using original art as MK3 did (a spelling mistake, however, in Sindel's ending is corrected). The storyline pictures and accompanying text are never shown (beginning with "These are the words of Raiden" and explaining the plan to conquer Earth and the Tournament warriors' struggle). Finally, The Bank, the only stage missing from MK3, was removed completely from gameplay.

In UMK3, the CPU AI was improved. However, two new flaws were introduced along with the revisions: while backflipping away from an opponent, if the player performs a jump kick, the CPU will always throw a projectile. This leaves the CPU vulnerable to attacks such as Sektor's teleport-uppercut, which can easily lead into a devastating combo. Also, if the player walks back-and-forth within a certain range of the AI's chosen character, the CPU will mimic the player's walking movements for the whole round and never attack. This gameplay flaw remained and was not corrected for Mortal Kombat Trilogy. In addition, an earlier version of the AI was used in UMK3 -- version 1.1 of the AI was used instead of version 1.2, which caused issues with its less-developed code.

In UMK3, the blue bridge portal adds to the level cycle after Mileena, Ermac and Sub-Zero is unlocked.

This game is rated M on the Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, Genesis, Saturn, SNES and Playstation versions. On the last three versions, it is rated M for Realistic Violence and Realistic Blood and Gore; for the Nintendo DS and Xbox 360 the M rating is for Blood and Gore and Intense Violence. The game is not rated in the Arcade version, but it does have the AAMA rating of Life-like violence-strong.

Characters and cast

Returning characters from Mortal Kombat 3

Cyrax (Sal Divita)

Liu Kang (Eddie Wong)

Kabal (Richard Divizio)

Kano (Richard Divizio)

Kung Lao (Tony Marquez)

Stryker (Michael O'Brien)

Jax Briggs (John Parrish)

Nightwolf (Sal Divita)

Sektor (Sal Divita)

Shang Tsung (John Turk)

Sheeva (Stop motion) (not available on Genesis and SNES version)

Sindel (Lia Montelongo)

Smoke (Sal Divita)

Sonya Blade (Kerri Hoskins)

Sub-Zero (John Turk)

Additional characters

Jade (Becky Gable)

Scorpion (John Turk)

Kitana (Becky Gable)

Reptile (John Turk)

Unlockable characters

Mileena (Becky Gable) - Unlocked by Ultimate Kombat code or beat the game with Kitana.

Classic Sub-Zero (John Turk) - Unlocked by Ultimate Kombat Kode or beat the game with Jade.

Ermac (John Turk) - Unlocked by Ultimate Kombat Kode or beat the game with Reptile or Scorpion.

Human Smoke (John Turk) - Unlocked by holding a special button combination after choosing Smoke or defeat Mileena.

Hidden opponents and Console Exclusives

Noob Saibot (John Turk) - Although he was featured in the original MK3, he is no longer a palette swap of Kano but that of a ninja. Like before, he is fought via Kombat Kode. Some machines known as Wave Net machines which were mostly placed throughout the Chicago area had a hidden code to play as Noob Saibot.

Rain (John Turk) - Featured in the game's opening montage, he is actually a fake hidden character that is not found in the arcade game, being playable only on the 16-bit console versions.

Bosses and sub-bosses

Motaro (Stop motion)

Shao Kahn (Brian Glynn, voiced by Steve Ritchie)

In the Super NES and Sega Mega Drive versions of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, both Noob Saibot and Rain are playable, although Sheeva is not present. Motaro and Shao Kahn are also selectable, being enabled via a cheat code menu.

Arenas

Including all of the original backgrounds from Mortal Kombat 3, minus The Bank and the Hidden Portal (which were removed), UMK3 includes several new backgrounds:

Scorpion's Lair (aka Hell): This stage also contains a new stage fatality, where the opponent is uppercut into a river of lava.

Jade's Desert: In a reference to his MK3 ending, Cyrax is seen stuck waist-deep in sand in the background. He will still be there even if he is in use.

River Kombat (The Waterfront)

Kahn's Kave (The Cavern)

Scislac Busorez (Blue Portal): A combination of the background from the UMK3 "Choose Your Destiny" screen, The Pit 3 bridge, and the mountains and bridge from The Pit II in MKII. This stage is added to the permanent level cycle when Mileena, Classic Sub-Zero, and Ermac are unlocked. When unscrambled, "Scislac Busorez" spells out "Classic Sub-Zero." This stage appears in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 on Super NES and Genesis titled Lost, along with on Mortal Kombat Trilogy.

Noob's Dorfen: An obvious knock-off of The Balcony stage, can now be played using a Kombat Kode unlike having to fight Noob to see it in MK3. When unscrambled, "Noob's Dorfen" spells out "Boon's Forden."

Before reaching any of the original MK3 backgrounds in 1 or 2-player mode, the game must cycle through all of the UMK3 exclusive backgrounds twice. It cycle UMK3 background once by selecting Kitana. Jade's Desert also serves as a placeholder where The Bank stage used to appear once the player reaches the original MK3 level cycle. The background music used for The Bank is also incorrectly played on Jade's Desert during the MK3 level cycle. Scorpion's Lair, Secret Cave and Abandoned River stages are selectable by using a password while on the missing Bank Stage cycle.

Layers

The following displays the Kombat Zones where a character can be uppercut into different backgrounds.

The Subway The Street

The Soul Chamber The Balcony

Scorpion's Lair Kahn's Kave

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wave Net

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wave Net was a rare network version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. It was tested only in the Chicago and San Francisco areas that used a dedicated T1 line, connected directly to Midway's Chcago headquarters; many people outside the test area were not aware of its existence during its release. One store kept the T1 line installed after the test concluded, but eventually removed the Wave Net game in favor of a Golden Tee game that uses a dial-up connection.

One of the reasons this version wasn't widely adopted was the rarity and cost of T1 lines at the time. The game was released before alternative broadband access was available. At the time, a T1 was the only guaranteed way to get broadband into an arcade, but the game didn't utilize the full bandwidth of the T1. Midway subsidized the cost of the line during the tests to make it more attractive to the arcade owners.

It is highly unlikely that any Wave Net test games were ever released to the public after the infrastructure was dismantled, and so there are no known dumps of the ROMs used by the games designed for it.

Significant ports

Like most Mortal Kombat games of its time, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 made its debut in the arcade. It was ported to many home consoles; some were more faithful ports than others.

Sega Saturn

This version is based directly on the version of Mortal Kombat 3 that was released for the PlayStation and Windows. It has the same graphical quality and menu system, though in many places remnants of MK3 removed from UMK3 for the arcade remain. The content that differentiates UMK3 from MK3 was added to this version in a haphazard way, which decreased the overall gameplay quality and ruined the balance and depth present in the arcade version.

"The Bank" level that was present in MK3 but was missing from the arcade UMK3 returns. Shang Tsung was given a morph for the Robot Smoke, which was not possible in the arcades. The secret characters can be unlocked via a secret options screen, eliminating the need to enter three separate Ultimate Kombat Kodes to unlock them. This is much faster, especially since unlocked characters cannot be saved. The Ultimate Kombat Kodes (to unlock the secret characters) were shortened to have six slots instead of ten (probably in order to allow it to be performed with only one controller), but this method is still slower than entering one code to access the secret options screen.

There were a few deviations from the arcade version that didn't necessarily improve upon the game. There are a few new Kombat Kodes, but several that were present in the arcade release do not work any longer. Noob Saibot is a shadow Kano as in Mortal Kombat 3, not a black ninja as in the arcade version of UMK3. Since the arcade intro is missing, Rain does not appear in the game, yet the message Kombat Kode "Rain can be found in the Graveyard" is still displayed. When watching the Supreme Demonstration it would take almost 30 minutes to complete the whole demonstration: the Saturn would read the CD data to load each Finishing move. This would lead the game to stop (or load) the Finishing move. However, when doing it on an animated stage, the animation would still move, while the fighters would stop.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System

File:File:SNES - UMK3.jpg

The limitations of the Super NES led to many changes in this port. Despite this, there were a few improvements. This version is also considered to have buggy gameplay. It is also considered by some to be inferior to the SNES port of the original Mortal Kombat 3.

While removing Animalities, Brutalities are introduced, a new form of finishing move that allows the player to attack their opponent with a series of kicks and punches which result in the victim exploding. Rain and Noob Saibot are made playable characters for the first time (although they don't possess Fatalities of their own). Mileena, Ermac and Classic Sub-Zero are playable without any need of codes. Motaro and Shao Kahn are unlockable characters for two player fights, although only one player can choose a boss at a time. An exclusive easter egg was present that allowed access to three separate cheat menus. The player can drastically alter gameplay, access hidden content or view the ending, among many other things.

Many sacrifices were made, however, to fit everything on a SNES cartridge. The announcer no longer says the characters' names. Sheeva has been removed, although launching the "8 vs. 8 Tournament Mode" (by holding the L+R buttons and pressing Start on the title screen), and then selecting random characters (by pressing Up+Start) will in some cases select the icon for the endurance matches (a large E), which actually represents Sheeva. The graphic data for this character is removed, meaning that she is effectively invisible, but her moves can be performed; she is incredibly fast and very glitchy. Using her normally causes the game to crash after so many moves. All stages from the original MK3 game were removed, leaving only the new UMK3 stages. Shao Kahn's treasure chest has only ten boxes instead of twelve. The portal stage from MK3 (where Robot Smoke is fought) is present (accessible only through a Game Genie code), but the graphics have been replaced with the UMK3 "Choose your destiny" background. The music that is played in this stage is the same as in MK3. Sonya's Friendship from Mortal Kombat 3 is used, as opposed to her Friendship from the arcade version of UMK3. Ermac's Fatality is altered. Rain and Noob Saibot were given Babalities, Brutalities and Stage Fatalities, but had no regular Fatalities or other finishing moves. Scorpion's Hellraiser fatality is different: he just takes the opponent back into the Hell stage where they just catch on fire and explode. Kitana's Kiss of Death only inflates heads, the same effect as Kabal's Air Pump Fatality.

Mega Drive/Genesis

Due to the limitations of the system's hardware, this port featured inferior graphics and sound than the Super NES port. It did, however, have exclusive features in comparison to the arcade. Again, like the Super NES port, Rain and Noob Saibot are made playable characters along with bosses Motaro and Shao Kahn. Mileena, Ermac and Classic Sub-Zero are playable without any need of codes. Brutalities are also included in this version. Shang Tsung can morph into Robot Smoke, Noob Saibot, and Rain, which is not possible in the arcades. Nightwolf has his Red Shadow Shoulder move from Mortal Kombat Trilogy. This version contained a rendition of Pong entitled MK4, which is the same as the one that appeared in the Genesis port of Mortal Kombat 3.

Some sacrifices were made with this port however. Animalities and Mercies were removed, reducing the number of finishing moves. Shao Kahn's treasure chest has only 10 boxes instead of 12. The announcer no longer says the characters' names. Most of the MK3 levels are missing, including The Balcony and The Street, so uppercutting in the Subway and Soul Chamber does not take the player to the level above. Although the Bell Tower has been removed, the Stage Fatality is still in the code and executable. Another leftover from MK3 that wasn't totally deleted was code data for the 'Endurance Mode', which is still accessible through a Game Genie code. Sheeva has been removed, although her sound clips are still available in the sound test. Sonya's Friendship from Mortal Kombat 3 is used, as opposed to her Friendship from the arcade version of UMK3. Scorpion's Hellraiser fatality is different: he takes the opponent back to the Hell stage, where they just catch on fire and explode. Kitana's Kiss of Death only inflates heads the same effect as Kabal's Air Pump Fatality. Rain and Noob were given a Brutality, but no other finishing moves. Human Smoke shares Scorpion's combos, rather than having unique ones. In Stryker's friendship, the running characters are replaced by dogs.

Xbox 360 (Xbox Live Arcade)

This was essentially an emulation, rather than a port, so there were few changes made from the arcade original. Xbox Live online VERSUS support was added like what was in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wave Net. Online leaderboards were created to keep track of all time network stats and friends. The screen size was adjustable for anything between 4:3 and 16:9 televisions. Unlockable Achievements were also included. GameSpot's "Best and Worst of 2006" named the Xbox Live Arcade version as the best fighting game of the year. The game was accidentally released on the digital download service on the evening of Friday, October 20, 2006. It was quickly pulled about 20 minutes later. According to Xbox Live Director of Programming, Major Nelson, an emergency meeting was called to discuss what to do about the game's release, knowing some keen users already purchased the game. The decision was made to go on and release the game on Saturday morning, four days before its scheduled release date. To this day, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 remains as the only post-launch Xbox Live Arcade game to be released on any day other than Wednesday.

Game Boy Advance (as Mortal Kombat Advance)

Mortal Kombat Advance is the title given to the Game Boy Advance port of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. The character roster is the same as its 16-bit counterparts. The Game Boy Advance version features two less buttons than those used in UMK3, which resulted in many special moves' button sequences being consolidated or changed.

The violence in this game was toned down due to a younger fanbase using the Game Boy Advance (though the game is still rated "M for Mature"). Blood is seen less in this version of the game. Each character (except for Noob Saibot and the bosses) has one Fatality and one Friendship. Three hidden characters can be unlocked by completing any tower other than Novice. The hidden characters are Human Smoke (Warrior), Motaro (Master) and Shao Kahn (Grand Master).

MK Advance was widely panned by critics and fans alike. Some players complained that the CPU difficulty had increased dramatically from UMK3, with computer opponents executing excessively long and difficult combos. Electronic Gaming Monthly editor Dan Hsu gave it the first "0" rating in the magazine's history. It currently has a rank of 34% at Game Rankings. Mortal Kombat Advance tied with three other titles for the Flat-out Worst Game award on GameSpot in 2002.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

On all "Premium Edition" copies of the PS2 version of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, a near arcade-perfect version of the game is included on the first disc. However, you can't save unlocked characters on this version.

Nintendo DS (as Ultimate Mortal Kombat)

On June 27, 2007, MK co-creator Ed Boon officially confirmed a Nintendo DS port entitled Ultimate Mortal Kombat, releasing the very first inside report and new screenshots on IGN. The game is an arcade-perfect port of UMK3, and includes Wi-Fi play and brings back the mini-game "Puzzle Kombat" from Mortal Kombat: Deception. Additionally, when unlocking Ermac, Mileena and classic Sub-Zero with Kombat Kodes on the VS. screen, they do remain unlocked after the game is reset. It was released on November 12, 2007, and rated M for Mature.

Hacks

One of the most popular Mortal Kombat game hacks on the web, Ultimate Mortal Kombat Trilogy (commonly abbreviated as UMKT), was created by Belarusian hacker known as Kabal, using the Sega Mega Drive version of UMK3 as a template. The hack includes every version of every character (except the Mortal Kombat 3 version of Noob Saibot) up to Mortal Kombat Trilogy, all of which gain new special moves and finishers, among other additions. It also introduces the stages that weren't available in any of the Mega Drive ports: The Belltower, The Pit and The Pit II. The hack exceeds "traditional" 4MB Mega Drive's read-only memory limit, like Super Street Fighter II. That means you'll need to use an emulator modified to play games over the limit. However, the real Mega Drive is able run the hack normally with some bugs that are not shown during the emulation.

A hack of the Arcade version is known as Zeus Edition, in which Stryker and Shang Tsung are replaced by Human Smoke and Noob Saibot on the character select screen. However, Noob Saibot has neither special moves nor finishers and Human Smoke can still be unlocked by a button combination as in the standard version.[citation needed]

References

^ Walk, Gary (2008-11-17). "Interview: Ed Boon on The Ups and Downs of the Mortal Kombat Franchise". GameDaily. http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/features/interview-ed-boon-on-the-ups-and-downs-of-the-mortal-kombat-franchise/?biz=1&page=2. Retrieved 2009-09-20. 

^ "Best Fighting Game". GameSpot. 2006. http://www.gamespot.com/special_features/bestof2006/genre/index.html?page=4. Retrieved 2010-2-2. 

^ "Worst Game on Game Boy Advance". GameSpot. 2002-12-21. http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/bestof2002/gba16.html. Retrieved 2009-09-21. 

^ IGN: Ed Boon on Ultimate Mortal Kombat

^ Mortal Kombat Online - Coverage of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and Mortal Kombat 8

^ Ultimate Mortal Kombat Trilogy hack

^ YouTube: UMKT shown played on the real hardware

External links

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 at Eurocom

Ultimate Mortal Kombat (DS) at Mortal Kombat Secrets. All available information, articles exclusive images and videos.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat: DS at Total Mortal Kombat. Screenshots, renders and artwork all in full high-resolution format.

Some information from someone who was working at WMS at the time.

http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=detail&id=3018

Individual move lists optimized for a secondary display at UMK3.net

Ultimate Mortal Kombat III Combat Guide

Site for Ultimate Mortal Kombat Trilogy

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Mortal Kombat series

Fighting games

Mortal Kombat  MKII  MK3 (Ultimate MK3 / MK Trilogy)   MK4 (MK Gold)   Deadly Alliance (Tournament Edition)   Deception (Unchained)   Armageddon  vs. DC Universe   Mortal Kombat 9

Action/Adventure games

Mythologies: Sub-Zero  Special Forces  Shaolin Monks

Information

Main characters  Minor characters  Fatality

Film and television

Mortal Kombat  Annihilation  Devastation  The Journey Begins  Conquest  Defenders of the Realm

Other

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