4. A video game that you have spent the most hours playing.
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I had so many that I wanted to choose to answer for the Gauntlet, from games like X-Com, Quest for Glory, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, GTA, Mario Kart (or anything from the Mario universe), Golden Eye 64, and even Bubble Bobble. But, ultimately, there has been one game franchise that has ruled my gaming from the moment it was released.
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Mortal Kombat has been a staple in my life from the moment I encountered the first game in the arcade, at the age of 14. The graphics seemed so realistic at the time, with over-the-top violence and blood, brutal finishing moves, level fatalities, and secrets hidden in the game. But what really made me fall in love with it, was the mythos. The dark and mystical background and story they created for this game, inspired by a lot of Chinese mythology. To this day, it remains deep and ever-expanding. The media empire has since topped $5.06 billion globally in 32 years, and continues to go strong.
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Created by Ed Boon and John Tobias (last names backwards created the character of "Noob Saibot"), under the name Midway Games in Chicago, later becoming NetherRealm Studios and owned by Warner Brothers, it was originally designed as a film adaptation for a Jean-Claude Van Damme fighting game, either for the then-upcoming "Universal Soldier," or the popular movie "Bloodsport." The other 2 creators, John Vogel and Dan Forden (Toasty!), all stayed on, but the license to use "Bloodsport" and the contract to secure Jean Claude Van Damme's participation fell through. So, they carried on with a Ninja-themed idea, added Johnny Cage as a spoof on JCVD, made realistic sprite fighters instead of cartoony ones, and the rest is history.
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I used to play this game in the arcade so much, that I would con other kids. I'd pretend I didn't know what I was doing at first, but then destroy them. Eventually, I'd have a line of players wanting to compete against me to see how they would do. Other kids would give me quarters to keep me playing, and I would even let my opponent pick my character. We'd all be laughing and having a great time, sometimes quoting it out loud in the arcade. "Get over here!"
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Many people are not aware of just how much this game changed the video game industry. It was a large reason why the the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) video game rating system was created. It perfected secret game content, specialized move combos to create fatalities, showed the ease of palette-swapping to create new characters, put in realistic looking motion-captured fighters, and a whole slew of unique content made throughout the years. Whether you liked it or not, the first Mortal Kombat movie remains as one of the best video-game adaptations to film ever made. That opening cut with the Mortal Kombat scream and logo? Amazing.
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Speaking of palette-swapping, my favourite character came from a rumor of a glitch that was unfounded. In some of the original programming for the game, Ed Boon created an audit menu to log coding macro errors. They spelled it as ERMACS (error macro), and some people managed to see it in the programming and the stories flew. Eventually, the rumours made him out to be a hidden red palette-swapped secret ninja character. After years of the fake rumours, the developers added Ermac to Mortal Kombat 3, thus transforming the myth and urban legend into reality.
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In the years since, MK has spawned so many games, spin-offs, shows and art. Personally, I own a lot of them across many platforms. Here is most of my collection:
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A few final points, lest I ramble on too much. If you are a Mortal Kombat fan, and you haven't yet seen the "Legacy" web-series, I highly encourage you to. It's fantastic. If you ever have the urge to watch the horrendous "Conquest", just know that even though you can clearly see that they are stunt actors and not the real actors, some of the fighting choreography is astoundingly good and creative. The character of Siro is played by a man named Daniel Bernhardt. While he was a horrible actor, he is an amazing stuntman and martial artist (and former model), and he was the stunt performer and fight choreographer for "Creed 2," "Nobody," and the "Equalizer" tv series.
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I own Mortal Kombat artwork and a few trinkets, but my absolute favourite collectible item in the franchise is my Mortal Kombat Arcade:
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Thank you for reading. If you want to see my other entries, you can find them here:
Topic 1 - One of your Favourite Songs
Topic 2 - Piece of Art you love
Topic 3 - Comfort Movies or Series
Topic 7 - Favourite Simple Meal
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@missy @penny @kyrie @vaega
