Released in the arcade in 1993, Mortal Kombat II has been ported to numerous platforms. Gamers on Game Boy, SNES, Mega Drive, Amiga, Master System, Sega Saturn and PlayStation were able to enjoy the famous fatalities right in their living rooms.

Now a group of independent developers have brought the game to a platform that was neglected at the time, the 3DO.

A long-term project

Le projet, présenté en 2023 par le développeur 3DO HD, a considérablement progressé depuis. A recent video posted on their YouTube channel reveals advanced gameplay and confirms that the port is now ready for launch. The first images show an impressive respect for the original arcade version, with sprites and backgrounds faithful to the original game.

Technical challenges

With its memory and resolution limitations, 3DO posed a number of challenges for the developers. Despite these constraints, the port features :

• All the original characters and stages,
• A single-player mode, a VS mode and a training mode with no timer or life bar,
• A stage explorer mode and even secret fighters to come.

However, some concessions were necessary. For example, fighter-specific fatalities are not yet included, and Shang Tsung can currently only transform into the opponent he's fighting. 3DO HD saids:

"This is still a BETA version. At the moment, the latest version is 5.01, as shown on the Start menu screen. I will continue to post patches on the same link. The Mortal Kombat intellectual property is owned by MK / Netherrealm. This is a non-profit fan project for a 30 year old console that has never received a port.

There will be bugs. I'll fix them as I find them. If you're playing with a CD, there may be slight audio skips when the scenery changes in the intro and ending. There are no fighter-specific fatalities in this version. Shang Tsung can only become an adversary. Soon I'll start work on the ‘full’ version, which will include fatalities, babalities, friendships and the fact that Shang Tsung can turn into anyone."

A promising beta version

Although still in the beta phase, version 5.01 is already available for download. The developer is continuing to make improvements and is planning a full version, with all the game's iconic features.

To download this port, go to 3DO HD's Google Drive. If you'd like to support their work, a Ko-Fi page is also available, as are their other ports, such as Tetris 1&2 for 3DO, accessible on their GitHub page.

Source: RetroRGB, Time Extension