Line #35 YMMV/MortalKombat4


1	* AntiClimaxBoss: Shinnok. He just doesn't have the fear factor other bosses have like Shang Tsung or Shao Kahn, and on lower difficulty levels, he doesn't even use his special moveset changes. This is especially jarring since he, as a fallen Elder God, is supposed to be ''leagues'' above them both yet comes across as a second rate Shang Tsung. [[CreatorBacklash Even Ed Boon admits]] that Shinnok probably shouldn't have been the FinalBoss of ''Mortal Kombat 4''.
2	* CompleteMonster: [[Monster/MortalKombat Shares a page with the rest of the franchise]].
3	* GameBreaker: All the new arrivals in ''Gold'' were criticized for being rushed and incredibly busted when compared to the base roster, but by far the worst offender was Sektor, with his ''Gold'' incarnation being widely considered ''the single most busted kombatant in the entire franchise.'' His missiles (both straight-firing ''and'' [[HomingProjectile homing]] varieties) had ridiculous damage and knockback, could be [[SpamAttack spammed out with no opportunity for counterplay]], and travelled slow enough that [[MacrossMissileMassacre he could have multiple on-screen at the same time]], turning ''Mortal Kombat'' into a BulletHell game for his opponent. Not only that, his teleport-punch was so fast that it could be used to lead into an escapable combo were it not for the Max Damage feature, and his weapon was ''a laser gun'', giving him even more projectiles against his already ridiculously loaded kit.
4	* GoodBadBugs: In ''Gold'', using Sektor's guided missile just before performing a Fatality. Your opponent will be hit by both: somehow, your opponent will be crushed by the Compactor even after the missile got them out of its range, and the Flamethrower will make them glitch all over the place. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8Vfz3PFtCU&t=13m50s Behold]].
5	* HilariousInHindsight: [[HilariousInHindsight/MortalKombat Shares a page with the rest of the franchise]].
6	* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: A major complaint with the game is that despite the jump to 3D, the game still plays almost the same as ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'', which had already suffered from CapcomSequelStagnation thanks to ''Ultimate'' and ''Trilogy''. Not helping is that the much-hyped 3D basically amounts to being able to occasionally sidestep a projectile. While this helped dodge problems associated with {{Video Game 3D Leap}}s, it still made for a fairly underwhelming game.
7	* MemeticMutation: [[Memes/MortalKombat Shares a page with the rest of the franchise]].
8	* {{Narm}}:
9	** Jarek's ending. After he tosses Sonya off the cliff, he stomps on her radio, which inexplicably makes a bone-crunching sound effect. The scene ends with Jarek doing an UnevilLaugh.
10	** Jax's ending. After Jarek kills Sonya, Jax gets his revenge by dangling him off the cliff:
11	---> '''Jarek:''' Wait! Wait! This is [[PoliceBrutality brutality]]! You can't do it!
12	---> '''Jax:''' Wrong, Jarek. [[PreMortemOneLiner This is not a brutality! This is a fatality!]]
13	---> '''Jarek:''' I'M SO GAAAAAAAAAAY!
14	** [[https://youtu.be/f9SWl1Z-t9I Scorpion's ending.]] Quan Chi informs Scorpion that it was he, not Sub-Zero, who murdered his family, before [[DraggedOffToHell returning him to the Netherealm]] one body part at a time, which results in Scorpion appearing as a disembodied groin. Scorpion rushes towards Quan Chi, [[TakingYouWithMe causing both of them to be taken to the Netherealm]]. Quan Chi immediately lets out a BigNo and keeps repeating the same movements while Scorpion just stands there next to him, not doing anything.
15	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poo3Rux1zg0 Sub-Zero's ending.]] Sub-Zero defeats Scorpion and claims that the latter's quest for vengeance is over. When Scorpion explains that he can't be killed, Quan Chi appears behind Sub-Zero and whacks him in the back of the head, causing him to [[ThePratfall comically fall to the ground]]. The comedic timing is impeccable. The N64 is even funnier since the scene ends with Sub-Zero whispering "Arrright" which is hilariously casual compared to Scorpion's more eloquent farewell it's said in response to.
16	** Reiko's ending in the arcade and Platform/Nintendo64 versions. The camera does a pan-around of his body, a portal materializes, and he walks into it, causing it to close again. [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse That's it.]] They corrected this in the other home ports, tying Reiko to Shao Kahn in the process.
17	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQAGKNIQMeo The gibberish featured in the game]]. Some of the notable examples include Tonya saying, "CAN I TAKE YOUR ORDER?!" during her Neck Twist fatality, Raiden saying, "GUY THAT LOOKS LIKE HIS AUNT!" during his Electric Fly, and Fujin saying, "OH I'M GONNA THROW YOU OVER THERE!" during his throw.
18	** The Continue screen is a shot of your character [[IFellForHours falling deeper and deeper]] into a pit until they hit a [[SpikesOfDoom bed of spikes]] on the bottom. While memorably creepy, the same male scream is used for female characters when they die. Also, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpvqrKV8T40 when Goro is subject to this]] he spins around in his idle animation and crashes head-first into the ground, which is just comical.
19	* NauseaFuel: [[NauseaFuel/MortalKombat Shares a page with the rest of the franchise]].
20	* NeverLiveItDown: Jarek will forever be remembered for his Narmtastic screams and laugh in his, Sonya's, and Jax's endings along with being a clone of the much more popular Kano.
21	* ObviousBeta: The initial arcade release wasn't technically supposed to get out to the public because it lacked, among other things, endings, the Kombo Limiter system, and certain characters and Fatalities.
22	* PortingDisaster:
23	** While the [=PS1=] and [=N64=] got relatively solid ports that even retained the arcade's 60-fps frame rate, the Sega Dreamcast's ''Mortal Kombat Gold'' port was ChristmasRushed for the launch date and was crippled by bugs and crashes, aided by five returning characters that all used recycled animations and moves that hardly jived with the base game data. It ended up needing a "patch" in the form of an UpdatedRerelease that ironed out some of the game-breaking problems, identified by a giant "HOT! NEW!" sticker on it. Making it worse was that it was a buggy release of a 2-year-old arcade game in a Dreamcast launch with no shortage of cutting-edge, better-than-arcade-perfect fighters in the form of ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur]]'', ''VideoGame/PowerStone'', and ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomClashOfSuperHeroes''.
24	** The Platform/GameBoyColor version is a cheap and unplayable bastardization because of technical and graphical limitations. The "music" is a complete nightmare and makes music in pirated bootlegs sound ''good'' by comparison. And the fatalities are played out in small, monochrome cutscenes. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWOEBio6cA0 Prepare yourself.]]
25	* ReplacementScrappy:
26	** Jarek was hated by fans who felt that he was nothing but a re-hash of Kano's moves. This is because he was originally supposed to be Kano, but the developers wanted more "new" characters, so they reskinned him. Though many would still prefer Kano, Jarek still has a decent fanbase if only thanks to the {{Narm}} he brings which leads to various funny MemeticMutation, specially his UnevilLaugh and "I'M SO GAAAAAAAAAAY!" scream.
27	** Tanya and Reiko were this, mainly in the eyes of the fans of Kitana and Noob Saibot, respectively, because they wanted the latter to appear instead of the former.[[note]]Although Noob ''did'' appear as a secret character regardless; Kitana would only be added in ''Gold''.[[/note]] Surprisingly enough, it didn't last long and they were RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap, becoming [[EnsembleDarkhorse fan favorites]] because of their distinct personalities.[[note]]Tanya betrays her own realm, while Reiko, who's an enigmatic enforcer, suddenly puts on Shao Kahn's helmet in his ending.[[/note]]
28	* TheScrappy: [[TheScrappy/MortalKombat Shares a page with the rest of the franchise]].
29	* SignatureScene: Jax's ending, particularly the part where Jarek is [[SoBadItsGood tossed off the cliff]]:
30	--> '''''[[IncomingHam GOIN' SOMEWHERE, JAREK???]]'''''
31	* SoBadItsGood:
32	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmO1SbnHw-U All the N64 endings]]. Since there was no room for the remade FMV endings of other console ports, they're instead done in-engine, like in the Arcade version with lower quality sound.
33	** The endings and voice acting in general, but special mention goes to any ending that involves [[FountainOfMemes Jarek]].
34	* TearJerker: Sektor's ending, in which he kills Cyrax, Jax and Sonya [[YankTheDogsChain just as Cyrax was about to regain his human memories]]. If you've seen Cyrax's hopeful ending, it's worse because Sektor's has much of the same buildup, only this time it goes horribly wrong.
35	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: While not necessarily a fault of the game itself, a big reason for why ''Mortal Kombat 4'' didn't get as much long-lasting buzz as its predecessors was because by 1997, arcades (the primary source of ''Mortal Kombat'''s success) were waning in relevance in America compared to the start of the decade, and combined with advancing technology, arcade cabinets becoming more expensive to play while the affordability of consoles with decent-quality ports was on the rise. This consequently led to [[BrokenBase a schism among fans of the arcade and console versions]], largely due to controller differences (playing on an [=N64=] controller is an entirely different beast when compared to an an arcade joystick layout), a lasting controversy that stalled out the game's momentum dramatically, leading to it being the final arcade-focused game in the franchise.
36	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Kai. Another member of the White Lotus and a Shaolin warrior in training, he has interesting gameplay quirks (his handstand stance and vertical projectiles) and is even given Raiden's blessing and Lightning Staff in his ending, all of which could have potentially led to future appearances starting in ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance Deadly Alliance]]''. He's instead PutOnABus until ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon Armageddon]]'', as he walks the earth in search of enlightenment. He doesn't even show up in the altered timelines, cameo or otherwise.
37	* TheWoobie: [[Woobie/MortalKombat Shares a page with the rest of the franchise]].

Context YMMV / MortalKombat4