Star Powered Kombat.

I love Mortal Kombat.  I’m not ashamed to say it.  It’s been a guilty pleasure of mine since I encountered the first Mortal Kombat arcade game (cripes, I’m old) in a Long Island mall.  With Mortal Kombat X hitting the shelves today it’s been on my mind, and I realize I have some fond memories of this splattery, gory series.

I used to gather with my middle school friends in a local comic book shop to pump quarters into the Mortal Kombat arcade game.  We would lose our minds when one of us managed to find and fight the elusive Reptile.  Liu Kang and Scorpion were my favorites.  In high school, I would run to the nearby convenience store after classes and pump quarters into Mortal Kombat 2.  Liu Kang and Scorpion were still my favorites, and Kung Lao joined the list, but I damn near lost my mind when I learned I could play as Reptile.  I saw the original Mortal Kombat movie in the theater.  None of my friends would go with me.  I was disappointed when Reptile turned out to be an extremely crappy CG creature… but damn near lost my mind when he turned into a statue ninja and kicked Liu Kang through a wall and oh my god that fight scene was so awesome and the music was AAAAH!

When Mortal Kombat 3 came along, I began to lose interest.  Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was a turd of a movie.  The 3D elements of Mortal Kombat 4 made it seem “off” to me.  I lost track of the spinoff games, comics, and everything else, and for a few years I had no interest in returning to the splatter of Mortal Kombat… until Deadly Alliance and Deception recaptured my interest.  I have a particularly soft spot for Armageddon, as it was one of the few joys I had during an unfortunate adventure in my life.

While I never played Mortal Kombat 9 (I’m so glad they went back to numbering their titles), I was excited to see its return and success.  With Mortal Kombat X (hopefully) in my hands today, I’m flooded by those old memories.  And with some characters being the sons or daughters of classic cast members, there’s an added element of nostalgia now that I’m a dad myself.

I may have lost my mind a little when I saw how cool Reptile looks in the new game.  I can’t wait to play it and pretend to be a kid again.