- NA release: 23rd June 1998
- PAL release: 15th September 1998
- JP release: N/A
- Developer: Midway, Eurocom
- Publisher: Midway (NA), GT (PAL)
- N64 Magazine Score: 84%
The big Mortal Kombat game for this generation of consoles, and this one brings the graphics into full 3D. After experimenting with a few styles of graphics and gameplay with their earlier N64 fighting games, Mortal Kombat 4 settles on polygon models that manage to capture the spirit of the 2D sprites pretty well.
The gameplay also feels quite solid to me. It sticks to working from a 2D point of view with some slight 3D movement from dodging. One new feature is the ability to use items like rocks to throw at opponents, and each person can bring out a weapon with a special move (which the opponent can also use if dropped).
There’s a few modes such as an endurance mode fighting random opponents, the standard arcade mode and some tournament options for multiplayer. The practice mode also gives you a move list, but this is only on a static screen and you can’t pin one to try.
This seems like the N64’s most solid fighter so far, although it doesn’t try to do anything special either.
Fun
The MK games have always looked a bit tatty, but this latest release is fast, its animation crisp and largely convincing. For a series renowned for its ugly countenance, to spawn such an aesthetically pleasing update is akin to, say, Frankenstein and Medusa having a kid who grows up to appear on Baywatch.
James Price, N64 Magazine #20
Remake or remaster?
A Mortal Kombat collection would be good.
Official ways to get the game.
The PC version of Mortal Kombat 4 is available on GoG.
Europe
Japan
North America
N64 Games by Date
1997: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
1998: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
1999: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2000: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
Here’s another genuine arcade port, a rarity for the console.
TBH though, this is a port that probably could’ve been better because it seems to have been ported from the PS1 port of the arcade PCB; and looks/runs more or less identically to the PS1 version. It also runs at a rock solid 60FPS, just like the PS1 version, another rarity for the N64.
It lacks the FMV cutscenes of the PS1 version, instead sticking with the same real-time cutscenes as the arcade Zeus Board original.
I’ve never played it myself, but it seems like a solid enough port that could’ve probably been better.
A much more faithful and near perfect arcade conversion would later hit the Dreamcast as a launch title, under the moniker Mortal Kombat Gold