Collection essentials #369: Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero (PS1)

Here’s a game you might be surprised to see on the list. It’s one that doesn’t exactly have a great reputation. And I’m not gonna pretend like it’s some super great game and that the haters are blind, but I do think it deserves better than the reputation it’s got.

Mortal Kombat is a series that has some cool characters and interesting lore and backstory surrounding it. For the main arcade entries in the series, the story and lore was transmitted through character bios that would display during “attract mode” while waiting for the next inserted quarter and also each character’s ending upon defeating the final boss. There was, of course, other media such as comic books and movies based on the games which gave fans more to chew on. In the latter half of the ‘90s, the developers had the great idea to create a single-player story-driven action game which would cover certain events leading up to the first Mortal Kombat game. And thus we got Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, featuring one of the most popular characters in the series. While it’s a prequel to the first game, it also features antagonists from the fourth entry which released in arcades just a little bit earlier.

One thing that I think is kinda neat is that this game has cutscenes with live actors, which you don’t see that often in games like this. The actors are mostly (maybe all?) people who provided motion capture for the graphics of the mainline Mortal Kombat games. So it is perhaps no surprise that the acting is not particularly great. But in my opinion it’s not terrible either, and I kinda like that the game even tried to pull off this sort of thing. 

As for how gameplay works, the developers actually tried to stick as close to the controls of a regular Mortal Kombat game as possible. The main way that you fight enemies is mostly the same, but since this isn’t an actual fighting game and features large levels, they decided that there ought to be a dedicated button for changing which direction you face. Sub-Zero will gradually earn more moves as the player progresses, and there is a meter that must be partially consumed to use special moves as opposed to in the mainline games which don’t have such a restriction. There are various items to find such as those that restore health or the special move meter. And the game also doesn’t just involve fighting, but also platforming, navigating traps and hazards. 

And…well, gameplay leaves something to be desired. The game doesn’t control that well, and the various traps and hazards are usually pretty unfair and frustrating. The whole thing comes off as unpolished. 

It’s been a good two decades since I really sat down and spent time with this game, so my impressions aren’t very fresh. And when I did, I used one of its codes to give myself unlimited extra lives to reduce the frustration factor. But, dangit, as a young teen who was a big fan of Mortal Kombat, I had fun with and appreciated this game. I think the idea behind it was really great, even if it should have been a lot better than it turned out. I think it’s very possible to enjoy this game if you’re a big fan of the series and know what you’re in for when you’re going in. So for me, I view this game fondly and want it in my collection.

Now, there was another Mortal Kombat action spinoff game made later for the PlayStation called Mortal Kombat: Special Forces, and that one is actual trash and will not be making this list. Even I have my limits.