Well, I'm sorry to have been a liar but this had to be redone to my liking or at least close to it. That's right, another MKII run which incorporates quite a bit of the cooler Glitched Fatalities, Combos, and Weirdness from the last run while also adding new said criteria. Come and indulge in what should be the final MKII run unless SNES9X says otherwise, sound-wise.
Emulator and Options:
SNES9X v1.43+ v10 for Windows
[X] Use WIP1 Timing [X] Allow Left+Right/Up+Down [ ] Volume Envelope Height Reading [X] Fake Mute desync workaround [ ] Sync samples with sound CPU
Movie Details:
- Aims for Entertainment rather than Fastest Time (Though, Time is not Wasted Needlessly).
- Plays on Hardest Difficulty Level (Which is actually Easier in some Aspects).
- Does not Receive Damage from the Computer Controlled Player (Only in Two-Player Fights is Health lost).
- Abuses Programming Errors (Fatalities, AI bugs, etc.).
- One Player Controls Two Players. (Yup)
Before I begin, I'd like to address that there will be spoilers, clichés, and possible patronizing but I'll try to keep at the lowest possible level while still realizing there might be first-time viewers. Don't let that discourage you from reading though. No words of mine can better describe what you may see (but in some cases they can, if I exaggerate).
The Beginning
Once again, it starts out with the destruction of the Acclaim logo by none other than Shao Kahn and Kintaro, mostly Kintaro. With the hardest difficulty selected and Shang Tsung taking role, we're ready to rip this game one.
The Dead Pool - Scorpion
Good ol' Dead Pool, doesn't seem to disappoint.
Round 1 - Reptile
Reptile to start things off and it didn't come out too bad. A nice and simple, yet, complex combo which features the supposed "Death Punch" whilst invisible.
Round 2 - Sub-Zero
Sub-Zero is quite possibly the worst combo-maker so you'll see I abuse the Death Punch quite frivolously, when in doubt (churns out a lot of blood though). Afterwards, a botched Fatality is seen where Sub-Zero deep freezes Scorpion but does not shatter him but rather knocks him into the Dead Pool where the corpse seems to utter "Oh maw!" or something similar.
Kombat Tomb - Mileena
This place seems to disappoint at critical, yet, subtle level.
Round 1 - Kitana
She's a great combo-maker what with her Fan Raise and Fan Throw which seems to lift opponents up further so the combo can continue. You'll see quite a devastating combo which shows all of her special moves used. Finishes off with a late hit (not as late as it sounds).
Round 2 - Liu Kang
Another great combo-maker is Liu Kang. How do you follow-up the previous combo? Well, you just have it difficult for them to live through it, that's all. Besides the combo, we get to see the Spike Ceiling used but not abused because of a flaw in Shang Tsung's character; You can't do his Pit/Ceiling Fatality as Shang Tsung nor can a morphed-into character do anything after the corpse hits the ceiling (such as a Friendship or Babality). And that's 1 of 2 reasons why this place disappoints, stick around for part 2 later on.
Wasteland - Baraka
I can't see anything bad about this place so I'll just say it's pretty cool.
Round 1 - Scorpion
Albeit, not quite as cool a fight as the last run's, it's still pretty quirky. Scorpion may rank as 3rd or 4th as a bad combo-maker, mostly because his only utterly redeeming move is his harpoon but he has one combo that kills pretty good (too bad it isn't shown though). Not much more to say other than look at how dumb the AI is; they sometimes will jump right to you without doing a move allowing you to capitalize.
Round 2 - Johnny Cage
Johnny Cage has an ultimate power combo, which is shown off later, which makes him rank up there between the 1, 2, or 3 spot of greatest combo-makers. You'll see I toy with Baraka the whole way through before knocking off all three of his heads where one of them actually wraps the screen and defies all physics, relatively and metaphorically speaking.
The Tower - Jax
This place, for some reason, doesn't really remind me of a tower, more like a fake Hollywood set.
Round 1 - Kung Lao
Kung Lao can be the best at making combos but only to a certain extent, I rank him at #2. Right away you'll see a close call followed by unfair treatment. That's what this AI gets!
Round 2 - Mileena
Ah yes, Mileena, I crown her the best at combo-making since she has an air projectile, a ground move that lifts the opponent off the ground, and a teleporting kick which can help keep combos going some of the time. Besides that, her combos can be diverse other than some other characters. There's really no chance for Jax, it looks as though he wasn't ready for round two. He thinks he has a chance when he's going a projectile frenzy but to no avail. At one point Johnny Cage appears and dodges Jax's moves where he sneaks in a sucker punch which Shao Kahn thought was so hilarious. This fight has quite a 'comical but no flop' fatality where Jax's bones are apparent but his body's intact doing some sort of balance-inducing dance, after being smacked with one rock-solid bone, which ultimately failed.
Living Forest - Johnny Cage
Probably one of the neater looking places of the whole game, it's at a neutral level to cool level of confidence when it comes down to entertainment value.
Round 1 - Baraka
Baraka has a pretty cool combo that can be seen later on in a condensed manner, I'll explain later. Other than that, he's average at best. Couldn't find anything too much better than what you might see in this fight. I never knew his high kick hit that much.
Round 2 - Jax
Jax can do some pretty cool combos, one of which you can see later, and has some good moves but are time consuming which isn't too good for Shang Tsung but at the same time, good in this case. Johnny Cage can be difficult to manipulate but that's okay, it makes it more fun and entertaining when he meets his maker. One thing to note in the fight is how 'unlearned' Johnny Cage appears to be. Glitched fatality is Jax popping off Cage's extra set of arms while severely burning his body and making a tree spew blood, yeah right.
The Armory - Kitana
This place is kind of cool, kind of too open with emptiness rather than full of weapons though but whatever.
Round 1 - Rayden
While his combos are short/quick, they're very devastating. Rayden's probably among the average combo-makers since I can't really find anything that lasts longer than his corner beatings which you'll see in this round. On to the next round.
Round 2 - Reptile
Finally cycling around the characters for a second time. Here you'll see something familiar about this fight albeit relatively different. One thing being the signature 2 right-handed, invisible punches (like last time). At the point of Johnny Cage appearing in this fight, I'd like to apologize for all the jumping but it's the fastest form of backwards traveling. You'll see a confused Kitana, not knowing where Johnny Cage (even though he's pushing her) is until it's too late, Bam!: Shadowkick followed up with the signature derisive laugh and point of Johnny Cage. Now we get to see Reptile do his thing where his head comes off and jumps around the room before settling on the wall, his body deep and unleashed tongue that eats Kitana's head with no clue as if it went into his body or just plain disappeared, and Kitana's floating, headless body with a pool of blood being careful by not mocking 'relative and metaphoric' physics.
The Pit II - Liu Kang
The one and only time we see this level, better make it a good one.
Round 1 - Mileena
Liu Kang's a dork, thinking he can just sneak attack me. Well, he pays the price alright, one big, scary uppercut... heh yeah. This round exploits the AI but not before doing a different combo than since the previous usage of Mileena. Poor Liu Kang, not the greatest marksman.
Round 2 - Johnny Cage
I find that this fight is more tolerable if I use Johnny Cage right away and initiate the Glitch for the Glitched Fatality (more like botched). In this fight we get to see the rare and uncertain Red Shadowkick and by uncertain I mean what else does it do besides sound and look different? Johnny Cage seems a little insecure and really wants Liu Kang to back off. Kitana makes her appearance to throw a fan that Liu Kang is damned to duck under until his demise. After missing hitting him over and over again she cuts the BS and sweeps him good. And now Kung Lao comes on into the fight to decapitate Liu Kang but fails to do so and begins to let just let 'em have it before plunging his body onto the hard, hard ground. Sorry it's not as redeeming as before but the screen scrolled and I found myself with less time to do things to him.
Two Player Initiates
The Portal - P1: Shang Tsung P2: Kitana
The one and only appearance of this level which serves its purpose to allow me to fight Smoke.
Round 1
One uppercut is all it takes to get Dan 'Toasty' Forden to appear although you have to be lucky. Kitana does the pleasure of sending Shang Tsung into The Portal.
Goro's Lair - Smoke
I guess this level had some sort of appeal or a charm, if you would, since they went and brought it back.
Round 1 - Mileena
Instead of rehashing the same exact combo as the last run's, I decided to make it more elaborative and/or powerful. You may think this is good, well wait 'til you see the second round.
Round 2 - Johnny Cage
The ultimate combo that kills them dead, it's quite fun to watch. Thanks to Dark Fulgore and Joxolthkhanurs for this one.
Two Player Fights Begin
Kahn's Arena
What a great way to introduce this level by having a 2-player fight.
Round 1 - P1: Sub-Zero P2: Scorpion
Classic and possibly cliché fight between the two. Well we all know that Scorpion is superior in the combo department but Sub-Zero can be mighty sneaky which makes him a dirty fighter. It's real action packed with not too bad of combos.
Round 2 - P1: Rayden P2: Shang Tsung
Not so expected but still turned out pretty good. It was a close fight.
Round 3 - P1: Scorpion P2: Kung Lao
If you think ahead, you can kind of see what's going to happen. Good stuff in this fight, nothing but Kicks is used. The classic Double Friendship has returned where Shang Tsung has drawn a liking to one Kidd Thunder.
Two Player Fights Have Not Ended
Dead Pool
That's right. I figured if one 2-player fight is good then certainly one more would be great.
Round 1 - P1: Kitana P2: Mileena
Another classic/cliché fight but in the end isn't entertainment all that matters. Turns out be a great combo-fest
Round 2 - P1: Baraka P2: Reptile
The cool thing about 2-player fights is that you can do pretty much anything you want and this fight is a good example of that. The combo shown is pretty much staged but I hoped to make it pretty convincing as possible. Looks as though Baraka is trying to find Reptile without touching the Energy Ball. Shouldn't it have been a double KO?
Round 3 - P1: Rayden P2: Scorpion
I'd say this is a pretty crazy fight for not being able to use the Punch buttons with one of the fighters. A split Dead Pool Fatality/Babality, that's all I'm going to say besides who's the real winner?
Two Player Fights Have Still Not Ended
Kombat Tomb
Yup, still more to come but I'll be frank, this is it. If I'm going to do two, why not three? That way, I get to use every character at least once and also show one more quirk off.
Round 1 - P1: Liu Kang P2: Kung Lao
A lot of counter attacking in this fight. Turned out to be a good fight while being quick-paced.
Round 2 - P1: Jax P2: Johnny Cage
This is a good fight. Jax seems like a terminator in this fight, you know, all coming at Johnny Cage with no compassion. Well besides getting the best of Johnny Cage from the get go, we'll see what's up in the end, when the roles reverse, literally.
Round 3 - P1: Kung Lao P2: Kung Lao
Why not a mirror match with a character who's moves are mostly done with the kick buttons. There's some good fighting in one but maybe a little too much teleporting. In the end I felt a double Babality was necessary but I must apologize for the blandness that is two Shang Tsungs. I wanted to do Kung Lao and Rayden but it was not to be, by the game's regulations. And this concludes part 2 of why this level is disappointing.
Two Player Fights Have Finally Ended
Wasteland - Reptile
For a change of pace and perspective, I decided to use player 2's slot for the rest of the run.
Round 1 - Shang Tsung
We really don't get to see Shang Tsung deal out some pain so I decided to use him to his fullest here. Pretty quick match ending with just too many fireballs.
Round 2 - Johnny Cage
There's not been much face pummeling in the run so I decided to incorporate that in this fight. I was also going to do the Kintaro glitched fatality but it was just not happening. Instead I did Johnny Cage's which gets the half body part but not quite like Kintaro's.
The Tower - Sub-Zero
Back here again, still looks fake.
Round 1 - Scorpion
Besides the unfair use of the harpoon, Sub-Zero is duped into jumping not realizing Scorpion can chuck him rather easily. A kind of funny moment occurs in this fight which also shows why the computer can have the advantage of moves on command. Poetic justice in the end though.
Round 2 - Jax
I discovered a pretty powerful combo in this fight where a lot of Jax's moves get used in the process. After some quirks from Jax and Johnny Cage, it was time to make a clone. I guess in order to do so, a set of arms is required.
Living Forest - Rayden
Still as awesome as ever, this level that is.
Round 1 - Baraka
Quite an array of moves by Baraka, looks good near the end of the fight.
Round 2 - Kitana
In this fight, I wanted to do a really good combo that may or may not end (it ended) so I backed Rayden up into the corner and got to work. Leaving him floating, Johnny Cage comes out and defies every move of Rayden's while cheap shotting him in the end. This glitched fatality is pretty cool looking with all the blood and guts and the body still being intact as well as the fan spinning at a very high velocity.
The Armory - Kung Lao
I had the option of either not using the Low Kick here or the next round in order to fight Jade. I decided to wait until the second round so I could do one of Shang Tsung's fatalities.
Round 1 - Liu Kang
Instead of doing a long combo, I did a short one which nearly takes all of Kung Lao's life.
Round 2 - Rayden
I use Rayden because he doesn't require any other button than low kick and has better moves than Shang Tsung. In the end, as stated above, we see Shang Tsung steal Kung Lao's soul.
Goro's Lair - Jade
Projectiles don't hit Jade so I used two characters whose combos don't necessarily require projectiles.
Round 1 - Baraka
From the get go, I get Jade to lead me to the corner and that's when the fun begins. I wanted to do 3 Blade Swipes and a Blade Fury but it's not very likely because of all the lag from all the blood.
Round 2 - Kung Lao
Now this time I lead Jade to the corner where I do a couple of combos. The first being pretty good but the second being the superior of the two.
Kahn's Arena - Shang Tsung
Well, now we're getting close to the end and we're on the last possible fight for a glitched fatality so let's make it a something special.
Round 1 - Reptile
A bit of a rehash of the previous combo in the two player fights but ends differently. The end of the fight is interesting because it looks as though the explosion from being invisible knocks Kung Lao out.
Round 2 - Johnny Cage
For starters, we can't forget the hilarious and powerful combo by Johnny Cage so there's that. One blow that sends him backwards which makes him look like he's losing his balance and if that's not enough, we push him over with a Shadowkick. Now the toying begins. Shang Tsung can't seem to even make contact, whether he's missing by a little or not even being close, it's all good fun. Later on, you'll see Liu Kang do some magic tricks with his fireball. Since this is the last Glitched Fatality we might as well go out with a bang, heh, and that's what it is: A near game ending one at that.
Kahn's Arena - Kintaro
Tag teaming is still around since it's good and fun.
Round 1 - Sub-Zero & Scorpion
I did my best in making it look spiffy. Lots of action and speed is what I was shooting for.
Round 2 - Liu Kang & Kung Lao
Liu Kang's a funny fighter and this round shows it off a bit, especially in the beginning. Before Kung Lao's used, you'll see that a little, tiny, cheap punch knocks Kintaro off his feet like he's been severely smacked which I find funny. The combo I do with Kung Lao seems to be continuous, according to the game, because the last hit sends Kung Lao sliding backwards which is an indicator.
Kahn's Arena
The last possible fight, will it be good?
Round 1 - Mileena
After I get Shao Kahn to go to the corner, it was on. It's difficult to do combos on both Kintaro and Shao Kahn because the don't jump like normal characters or fly as high as normal characters but I feel I did pretty well in this fight.
Round 2 - Kitana
Kitana to close things up for us. The overall fight was a no contest as I don't think Shao Kahn had the will to fight. Some good combos and interesting ending with Shao Kahn tumbling backwards all the while.
Glitches, Tricks, and Things I've Noticed
Glitched Fatalities
In order to have Glitched Fatalities you need to do Johnny Cage's High Knee Bolt (the projectile) twice in a row, with the second one being done within frames after the first one. You also want to make sure you are the furthest one back, where you are closer to being off the screen. Afterwards, it's up to you to find where it is by a couple of means. One way is by using a projectile by either Liu Kang, Reptile, Sub-Zero, Shang Tsung, Kitana, Mileena, Baraka, Scorpion, and Rayden. Another is doing the same after you do a Shadow Kick/Uppercut and usually where Johnny Cage lands is roughly where the projectile is.
Death Punch
It's a punch which pretty much hits your opponent the maximum amount of hits allowed before you bounce off of them. In order to do it you have to swing the punch when your opponent is coming into it either from jumping, getting up, or walking into it. You'll know when it happens because you'll here your punch hit a lot of times and if done to the fullest extent, you'll bounce off your opponent.
AI Manipulation
There's a couple of things you can do to manipulate your opponent. You can jump away from them at a certain distance and they'll jump toward you. As long as you don't impose a threat, they'll comply. Another thing you can do is at a certain distance if you jump toward your opponent they'll continuously back up and as long as you keep up with them, don't threaten them, and aren't too far away from them.
There's also something you can do with the Glitched Fatality starter. If you throw a projectile, after you start the glitch, you may have a chance of getting them to stay stuck, ducking, anticipating the projectile but it never comes. As long as you don't touch them, they'll stay that way forever.
Kitana's Fan Throw+Fan Lift Effect
If you throw a fan at someone from far away, while you're in mid air, close to the ground, and then as soon as possible do the fan lift, they'll start backing up uncontrollably for a while. You can continuously do this. Thanks to Dark Fulgore for this one.
Quick Punch Animation
I found out somewhere near the 3/4 mark in the making of this run that if you do either High Punch or Low Punch and then follow up about a frame or two later with anything like a Low Kick or High Kick then your punch will be much quicker. It's really useful if you're going to do an air combo because you'll be able to leave the ground sooner.
Things I've Noticed
- Early on, even on Very Hard mode, your opponent's AI is much dumber than, say, when you fight Shang Tsung; They'll walk into a lot of your moves and don't fall victim to usual manipulation like the later on opponents do. I guess this is much like the Arcade where the game gets ridiculously hard as you progress.
- You can only seem to get your opponent to back away from you indefinitely when you are in control of the player 2 slot. It seems that way because I couldn't get them to do it from the first player slot.
- Your opponent can do some unfair things like Sub-Zero being able to do his freeze while the ground is frozen while you can't. Also, Kitana can do her fan throw over and over again even before it gets off screen. They can also do uppercuts without even ducking and can always seem to throw you unless they are in the middle of an animation whether it be from a move or from being tripped. They also have annoying reaction time where, let's say, you trip them and then try to jump over them but you'll find that it's no good because they'll be in the air, kicking you before they even get up.
- If you do a fatality on the last possible frame before it says who won, the screen may lose some text and some interesting effects may occur like reanimation.
- If you jump in the corner toward your opponent while it says finish him, input your buttons for the fatality on the first possible frame you hit the ground on, you may end up having your character turned around doing the fatality.
- Smoke and Jade (possibly Noob Saibot) have super human speed and reaction time.
Closing and Thanks
I hope you enjoy this run 'cause it was real fun this time around to make. It may be difficult to judge but I'll let the people decide on that. I'd like to thank Dark Fulgore and Joxolthkhanurs for the combo ideas from their combo video. I'd like to also thank Dark Fulgore again for supporting me and giving me ideas for the run, it really did help. Thanks Bisqwit for TASVideos, a place for us TASers. Well, see ya.
adelikat: Accepting for publication to obsolete the author's published movie.