Mortal Kombat Murders Competition on Sega CD – May 26th, 1994 - Today in History

Mortal Kombat was the one title that did something no other title in history could. It forced Nintendo to change their staunch censoring policy. Prior to Mortal Kombat appearing on the Super Nintendo it was almost unheard of to see blood and guts in a game on a Nintendo platform. Nintendo even censored the Game Boy version – a BLACK AND WHITE version of the game. Sega was not able to escape unscathed here though, they had a little requirement that the blood and true arcade fatalities be hidden behind a code. When it came to the Sega CD version of Mortal Kombat though, all bets were off. This allowed Acclaim to have some fun with the Sega CD version.

Difference between ports

First, this is the only console version that is uncensored out of the box. No code needed to get the blood and guts. No Game Genie required to turn grey sweat into red blood. Who remembers the code needed on the Sega Genesis version to get blood and true fatalities?

For added fun, Acclaim included the commercial for Mortal Kombat in the Sega CD version.

They did not stop there though.

Mortal Kombat on Sega CD added content

Other bonuses fans can look forward to with this version of Midway’s take on Street Fighter include authentic arcade music. Yep, full on CD-DA audio that was in the arcade is coming out of your speakers when playing the Sega CD version of Mortal Kombat.

Also, the main theme saw a few remixes included for fun.

Mortal Kombat on the Sega CD is basically the Sega Genesis version with better music and no code required to unlock the gore. There were no real graphical improvements to speak of.

Still, this was the game that forced Nintendo to change their stance on blood and gore. You could say that this was the game that spawned Nintendo’s “Play it Loud” advertising campaign.

Why?

Because the Super Nintendo version sold horribly in comparison to the Sega Genesis version. The Sega CD version probably outsold the SNES game.

If you want a copy of Mortal Kombat then head over to eBay or Amazon and grab a physical copy. For more fatality fueled fun check out these articles.

This post was originally published on Retro Gaming Magazine, a gaming website I co-own.