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1[[quoteright:260:[[VictoryPose https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maximus_3449.PNG]]]]
2[[caption-width-right:260:''"[[SelfPlagiarism I Can't Believe It's Not]] VideoGame/MortalKombat4 "'']]
3
4->''"Be careful what you pray for."''
5-->-- '''{{Tagline}}'''
6
7''War Gods'' is a [=3D=] fighting game by Creator/MidwayGames, released in arcades in 1996 and ported to the Platform/Nintendo64 and Platform/PlayStation in 1997. With Midway Chicago (better known these days as [[Creator/NetherRealmStudios [=NetherRealm=] Studios]]) still knee-deep in polishing up ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' and its eventual ''Ultimate'' update, it would be a couple of years before they could enter the burgeoning [=3D=] fighting realm being carved by ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'' and ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter''. To fill their market void, Midway commissioned a small development team made up of younger staff to take a crack at it, the result being ''War Gods''.
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9In the distant past, a spaceship carrying a powerful ore with the power to create life crash lands on Earth. Chunks of the Ore are scattered across the planet; over the course of human history, ten mortals find pieces of the Ore, which transforms each of them into immortal warriors. The ten have now gathered to fight over each other's pieces of the Ore.
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11The game did not make much waves critically or commercially upon release, and its legacy was a long-standing urban legend that it was a testing game for ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'''s hardware. Despite being debunked by Midway Chicago's Ed Boon since release, it was confirmed by co-project lead George Petro that ''War Gods'' was indeed an isolated production that didn't even run on ''MK''-related hardware, but rather, the graphics engine of ''[[VideoGame/{{Cruisn}} Cruis'n USA]]''.
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13For the book series, see ''Literature/TheWarGods''. For the trope, see WarGod. For the unrelated, yet successful Sony franchise, see ''VideoGame/GodOfWar''.
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15----
16!!Troper, you are chosen!
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18* {{Acrofatic}}: Grox, the sub-boss.
19* AWinnerIsYou: Despite each character having a specific backstory, everyone shares the same generic ending of possessing the Ore and bringing peace back to the world, regardless of their heroic or villainous alignment.
20* {{Backstory}}: Each of the ten characters have their own backstories, and how they become immortals in process.
21* BigBad: Exor, who dominates the box art and in Midway tradition, is the in-game narrator.
22* BlingOfWar: Grox.
23* {{Combos}}: The combo system is similar to ''Mortal Kombat 3'', complete with damage percent indicator. You can pull a sequential 10-hit combo in the process.
24** ComboBreaker: You can apply combo breakers in this game too.
25* DefeatMeansExplosion: Defeating Exor in the last round with him results in a satisfying explosion with an epic tune to accompany it.
26* DigitizedSprites: One of the rare games to use this in combination with 3D models; the developers photographed their actors then "wrapped" the skins around the wireframe model while combining it with motion-capture animation.
27* FantasyKitchenSink: This game has a Norse valkyrie, a lookalike of an Egyptian god (who is ''not'' the deity, but a graverobber, as per his text), a witch, a Caribbean voodoo priest, an Aztec high priest, a Roman gladiator, a stone idol, a samurai, a modern soldier, and a robot all beating the crap out of each other.
28* FinishingMove: Aside of the usual fatalities, all the characters can end the match with a powerful uppercut or an out-of-the-ring roundhouse kick to their opponents.
29* FixedFloorFighting: The stages' floors have circled ring limits, showcasing the closest thing they have for 3D fighting.
30* GoGoEnslavement: [[FatBastard Grox's]] [[FanDisservice manner of dress.]]
31* HealthyGreenHarmfulRed: The characters' full health bar is represented by a green colour. As their life depletes, their health bar acquires a red colour.
32* HeroicSecondWind: A recognized if obscure game mechanic in the game. If a player has their health drained down to "Danger" levels without inflicting damage on their opponent, then comes back to win, the announcer will declare "Comeback Victory!" after the end of the round.
33* ImmortalityInducer: Each playable fighter has a piece of the ore that makes them explicitly immortal. It does not quite explain how they get [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers superpowers though...]]
34* MonsterModesty: The only thing hiding Grox's shame is a loincloth... thong... thing.
35* LargeAndInCharge: Grox is Exor's number two for a reason. [[LightningBruiser A very LARGE reason.]]
36* NonindicativeName: ''War Gods''. There is no war (more like skirmishes), no one actually becomes a god, is a god, or is even a god whose [[WarGod domain is war]].
37* PlayingWithFire: Kabuki Jo.
38* FinishHim: Given that it's made by the people that gave birth to the infamous "fatality" line, this is no surprise. What IS surprising is the fact that this is done between '''IMMORTALS!'''
39* SNKBoss: Both Grox and Exor are very hard bosses to defeat, with character having very little hitstun and knockback and need little animation startup for Exor's area-of-effect moves or Grox's throws.
40* SomeDexterityRequired: The {{F|inishingMove}}atalites are very hard to pull in the arcade version. Thankfully, got simplified in the Platform/{{Nintendo 64}} and Platform/PlayStation ports.
41* TakenForGranite: Pagan's Fatality, where she releases Medusa's head, and it turns the opponent to stone before EyeBeams blow them up. [[DevelopersForesight Amusingly, the first part of the move doesn't work on Tak, since he's already a statue.]] He taunts the head until it blasts him to pieces.
42* TheAnnouncer: Exor.
43* ThereCanBeOnlyOne: All holders of the ore fight each other so they can collect all the pieces and [[WebVideo/{{SCXCR}} "become the]] [[Wrestling/UltimateWarrior ultimate warrior]] [[WebVideo/{{SCXCR}} or some crap like that."]]
44* TwoGirlsToATeam: While not a team per se, the roster has only two female characters: Viking virago Vallah, and dark art practioner Pagan. The bosses Grox and Exor, alien as they are, are also male-coded.
45* VanillaEdition: The [=PS1=]/N64 ports are ''very'' barebones, even for the time - there's only the traditional arcade ladder, and while a second player can jump in by pressing start during the game, there's no separate VS. Battle mode, despite that long being a standard in fighting game home ports by this point.
46----
47->''"It's useless to fight me!"''
48-->'''Exor'''

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