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[SolVanderlyn]

UMK3 doesn't count. OG MK3 only!

Out of the classic trilogy, these two were the ones most people knew about, owned, and played. The biggest differences between MK2 and MK3 were the roster and the setting - 2 took place mostly in Outworld and had dark, fantasy-esque locations, such as The Dead Pool and The Living Forest,

whereas 3 took place in Earthrealm (basically Earth), with modern day, realistic locations such as The Subway and The Graveyard.

The characters looked more "real" in MK3, as well, with Sub-Zero removing his ninja garb and the other ninjas being removed or turned into cyborgs:

And new characters having a very down to earth aesthetic, such as Stryker, who looked like an ordinary urban policeman:

Compare the newer designs to the brighter color palettes and more fantastical outfits of MK2, and you see that there is a clear thematic difference.

The roster also differed greatly between games, with about as many characters being removed as there were new ones introduced.

Which did you prefer?

 

[oo7]

MK3 all the way. Dem combos. Also loved the cyborgs. Mk2 was a huge improvement to 1 though.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

MK2 is infinitely better than 3.

 

[angelic]

MK2 is infinitely better than 3.

and done.

 

[kriskrosbbk]

MK3 Ultimate on Sega Mega Drive II .Those days man.

 

[Aeriscloud]

MK3, that roster.

 

[F0rneus]

MK2 has better stages and atmosphere. And fatalities. MK3 (UMK3) has better gameplay.

 

[Vire]

MK3 Ultimate, the cyborgs and Kabal were too much fun. I have amazing memories of playing that at the arcade

 

[Lettuce]

MK3, once you ran you couldnt go back

 

[Nokterian]

Played the shit out of MK2 on my sega game gear and played the shit out of MK3 on PC back then..yeah it was on PC!

 

[Karsticles]

Both look better than MKX faces somehow.

I liked UMK3 the most.

 

[OchreHand]

MK2 by far. So many quarters spent.

I hardly touched MK3, something about the art style turned me off.

 

[TONX]

MK2. Will never forget the line to play it the day it was released in the arcades. Amazing that the Mortal Kombat name is still this powerful.

 

[Protag]

3.

Roster, setting and fatalities and their variations

 

[Jotamide]

I fucking hated the cheese rockets from Sektor in MK3, MK2 was an astronomical improvement over MK1, but I played UMK3 more. So I guess MK3?

 

[Raxus]

Being limited, 2. UMK3 trumped them all until MK9 showed up.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

MK3 went over like a dull thud at my arcade. Only 4 returning characters, dial-a-combos, cheesy -alities, the 2nd movie blowing ass, it was alot of things going against it.

Jeff Gerstmann was right last week, MK3 didn't get good till UMK3; it was like "Yup, now MK3's released."

MK2 > MK3

 

[Insane Metal]

MK3 all the way. Dem combos. Also loved the cyborgs. Mk2 was a huge improvement to 1 though.

First post nails it again.

MK3 FOREVER.

 

[pizzacat]

MK3 was not a complete game

 

[Takamura-San]

MK2 all the way.

* Better atmosphere
* Much better fatalities (MK3 fatalities were a joke)
* No plank falling
* Better gibs
* Gameplay was simple and fun
* Better secrets

MK3 and UMK3 are a joke compared to MK2

 

[giancarlo123x]

MK3 went backwards as shit. UMK3 made it a little better.

 

[baphomet]

MK3 is the better game for sure.

 

[Tagyhag]

MK2 is a better game than MK3.

UMK3 kills both.

 

[kodecraft]

MK2 is infinitely better than 3.

Agreed.

 

[vio]

MK2 all the way.

* Better atmosphere
* Much better fatalities (MK3 fatalities were a joke)
* No plank falling
* Better gibs
* Gameplay was simple and fun
* Better secrets

MK3 and UMK3 are a joke compared to MK2

What he said. MK2 was peak of the series.

 

[bounchfx]

MK2 has better stages and atmosphere. And fatalities. MK3 (UMK3) has better gameplay.

this. I look back and really love MK2, but I remember playing the hell out of 3

 

[RenegadeXV8]

I liked the bleak, post-apocalyptic atmosphere of MK3.

The entire game had this oppressive nature, down to the menu music.

Also, Smoke's "Blow up the whole Earth" fatality.

 

[Tokubetsu]

I liked the setting of 3 just as much as 2 but it was always too fast for me as a kid, then the ultimate version felt even faster.

 

[Takamura-San]

To add to my post. MK3 gibs are so damn awful. Mannequin limbs and all the cuts were shows as cut by a razor. Truly awful. When you compare to MK2, which all the body cuts are shown as ripped apart.

 

[Aeriscloud]

This is why Trilogy exists, right here.

 

[Lord_Balkan]

I preferred MK2's theme, characters and simplicity over the combos and running of MK3.

I was never a fan of traditional combos in MK3 and on. I liked the deliberate, slow attacks along with the cool juggles (jumpkick slide ftw) and I think MK3 was at odds with that. Though, it did speed things up, so I can see why people prefer that over MK1/2 style gameplay

 

[KingV]

I'm surprised anyone prefers MK3 to MK2. I really hated the dial a combo system and run button. Animalities were dumb, fatalities were bad, and the roster was worse.

 

[Tansut]

Cyber Smoke renders all pro-MK2 arguments moot.

 

[Shaanyboi]

This is why Trilogy exists, right here.

Trilogy was an unbalanced mess.

 

[giancarlo123x]

Cyber Smoke renders all pro-MK2 arguments moot.

Poor man's Scorpion in vanilla 3.

 

[Maligna]

I feel like MK3 is the better game technically, but I prefer MK2 purely for nostalgia reasons.

I would go through the Arcade mode as Shang Tsung and I would try to do the soul steal fatality on each character as I went, and if I succeeded then I was allowed to morph into them for the rest of the play through.

 

[Insane Metal]

I'm surprised anyone prefers MK3 to MK2. I really hated the dial a combo system and run button. Animalities were dumb, fatalities were bad, and the roster was worse.

Wow, I still LOVE the combo system and running button. Fatalities were fun, and the roster far superior.

 

[Tansut]

Poor man's Scorpion in vanilla 3.

GET OVER OUT OF HERE!

 

[Dictator93]

They both are great. Kabal is in MKIII though. so.... yeah that is awesome.

 

[Sarobi]

MK2

It was simple to play and had some great fatalities.

 

[Takamura-San]

This is why Trilogy exists, right here.

As someone that played the Trilogy as recently as a few weeks ago. I disagree. The trilogy is a mess.

And forgot the MK3 animalities. My god they were goddamn awful. They even managed to ruin Liu Kang MK2 Fatality.

 

[oRuin]

MK2. Great game.

 

[Jaeger]

MK3 didn't hit all the same notes the previous games did. Alot of it was fixed with Ultimate, but MK3 on it's own is not a good game IMO.

I'm going with MK2. Introduced Smoke, Noob, and Jade.

 

[Krejlooc]

mk2 is the best game of the original series. It is the best put together and most fun to play. I actually own both the arcade versions of MK2 and MK3 and MK2 is far more cherished to me. I played these games as they came out, in the arcades, and was a die hard MK fan. MK2 was the best sequel I had ever played, where as MK3 was largely disappointing to me (even though I still played the shiiiit out of it).

Crazy thing is, I remember there being way more hype for MK3 than MK2. MK2 had crazy hype as well, mind you, but basically every gaming magazine ran MK3 front page stories (or stories about MK3-killers) for 2 damn years. Maybe that's why I felt it was disappointing - it didn't live up to the hype, where MK2 surpassed its own hype.

Regardless of the marketing, I still maintain MK2 is a better game in every way. While the dial-in-combos of MK3 are neat, the organic (and accidental) juggle system of MK2 felt better. It was simply a much more cohesive game. It also had better secrets. I remember the first time I saw a friendship - it kind of blew my mind lol.

 

[giancarlo123x]

As someone that played the Trilogy as recently as a few weeks ago. I disagree. The trilogy is a mess.

And forgot the MK3 animalities. My god they were goddamn awful. They even managed to ruin Liu Kang MK2 Fatality.

Look at the difference, why the hell would they ruin it?

 

[Aeriscloud]

Trilogy was an unbalanced mess.

I don't care. 12 year old me didn't care.


Come at me Kabal.

 

[BluePigGanon]

MK2, no contest. I was super bummed out by 3: I didn't respond to the gameplay, I felt the character designs took a huge step back (MK1 and MK2 looked like a retro Shaw Brothers movie, which I loved... MK3 onward looked like a low budget heavy metal album covers or something), and the backgrounds were kinda boring.

 

[Pizza]

Trilogy all the way. Still the best MK game!

 

[Krejlooc]

Look at the difference, why the hell would they ruin it?

this image highlights what I am talking about. In MK2, death animations like this got unique frames. They drew every character with a specific, "lui kang eats them as a dragon" disembodied torso. In MK3, they just cropped the sprite... which leads to arms floating in the air without explanation.

This type of stuff happens all over MK3. It got worse in UMK3, and hit rock bottom in MKT, where they had to find ways for characters to explode in order to avoid having to draw new unique frames for old actors. It reminds me of a MUGEN game.

 

[giancarlo123x]

Trilogy all the way. Still the best MK game!

In what way, shape, or form?