* CreatorBacklash: Around the release of ''VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon'', Ed Boon admitted that making Shinnok the FinalBoss of ''4'' was a mistake, seeing that [[LargeAndInCharge previous bosses were much bigger enemies]] who Shinnok simply couldn't toe-to-toe with.
* DevelopmentGag: Liu Kang can turn into a dragon which resembles the logo of the series.
* DummiedOut:
** Some old characters were replaced by new ones at the last moment. This explains why these characters have similar moves/fatalities:
*** Kitana in favor of Tanya, though she does return in ''Gold''. She is also playable in the Nintendo 64 port through Game Shark means, but has a limited move set and can freeze the game at certain points.
*** Noob Saibot in favor of Reiko, although he's still playable via a code.
*** Kano in favor of Jarek. This particularly noticeable since Jarek's second fatality is him shooting eye beams when he doesn't have a robotic eye like Kano does.
** There was a stage called Skull.
** In ''Gold'', via Kombat Kode, it's possible to play in the Stage Selection arena, which is called "Ladder?".
** Shinnok was set to be playable in the Game Boy Color port, and with a Game Shark code is still accessible, with fully working movesets and all, though he has no single player ending.
*** Sektor was set to appear in the Game Boy Color port of ''4'' before he eventually did in ''Gold''. Some unused sprites of his attacks are in the game code.
* FollowTheLeader: Despite being the fourth main entry in the series, this game's graphics being inspired by ''VideoGame/StreetFighterEX'' and many other 3D fighting games at the time.
* RefittedForSequel: [[RefittedForSequel/MortalKombat Shares a page with the rest of the franchise]].
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Early footage of the game from the ''Mortal Kombat 4 Road Tour'' (a large promotional tour by Midway to promote the game prior to its arcade/console releases) showed that Noob Saibot was intended as a playable character right from the get-go, rather than only being an unlockable character in console ports.
** A new character named Belokk was supposed to appear in ''Gold'', but was scrapped due to time constraints. However, [[http://www.angelfire.com/ex/outerworld/characters/belokk.html six screenshots of him were leaked]].
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