Kenshi, Kitana, Jacqui, and Takeda can also reflect projectiles with Brutality properties back onto their owners, with Kenshi having to be in his Balanced variation and Kitana in her Royal Storm Variation, and Takeda in his Ronin Variation, with Jacqui's being a universal Brutality. In addition, Shinnok can also do Brutalities linked to the moves initiating them that are copied only via his Impostor Variation and by meeting the conditions of another character's Brutality in some circumstances. But even then, the attack must be delivered under certain circumstances such as hitting them in the head, or even respecting a certain distance before dealing the final blow.Īn example of a Brutality being used as a finisher has Quan Chi using his Throw where he forces an opponent into a portal, but instead the usual throw ending, his opponent is ripped apart and their gory remains shower Quan Chi.Įach character has five different listed Brutalities (two universal Brutalities, and three Brutalities exclusive to each Character Variation), with some characters having a sixth or more unlisted Brutality as well, hidden within a character's 3 variations, though some characters had their Hidden Brutality added in certain updates of the game. However, they all share one thing in common, that being the required special move must be the final hit before the health gauge is completely depleted. However, they function in a completely different way compared to previous games, as Brutalities here are now essentially special attacks or combos that go on in a fatal route to kill the opponent outright in a more violent fashion similar to a Fatality. In addition, many of the Brutalities in the game require different criteria to meet, and they can literally be anything such as performing special moves a number of times or the use of interactive objects. Here they function as a power-up mode of sorts that lasts until all Fatality orbs are depleted and turns normal attacks into devastating combo assaults, with strong attacks and throws instantly killing the enemy.īrutalities make a return in Mortal Kombat X. They were upgraded into a three dimensional environment, were easier to pull off and were more spectacular in comparison to previous games. Brutalities were brought back for Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks in 2005. It was dropped after Mortal Kombat Trilogy and not featured in Mortal Kombat 4. In some versions, the opponent's bones and limbs would simply fly off the screen.īecause of its extreme difficulty to perform and unspectacular results, the Brutality was unpopular.
Even if successful, the Brutality had what was considered a lackluster payoff - the opponent would disappear in an explosion of blood and an unrealistic amount of bones and limbs covering most of the screen. To do the Brutality, one had to perform a long combo by quickly pressing an eleven button combination. Upon defeating an opponent, “Finish Him” or “Finish Her” would appear on the screen, and the player would then be able to perform a Fatality.
In doing one step further, Mortal Kombat’s deadly combo-finisher actually killed an opponent, making them explode in a fantastic, bloody fashion.īrutalities were, however, very difficult to perform. Mortal Kombat, to possibly outrival their adversaries, incorporated their own form of a deadly combo, known as Brutalities. In the game, there was a finishing move known as an Ultra Combo in which a fighter brutalized an opponent with a tremendous combo of over twenty hits. They were introduced following the release of Killer Instinct in 1994. These combos appeared in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Mortal Kombat Trilogy before they were dropped, alongside the other forms of finishing moves when Mortal Kombat 4 was released. A Brutality allowed a player to pull off an extraordinarily long and rapid combo to kill an opponent.