History YMMV / MortalKombat

* EvilIsSexy: Every villainess (whether [[HeelFaceTurn temporary]] or [[EvilFeelsGood not]]). Mileena ''should'' be an exception, but she instead has garnered an ''astonishing'' number of [[NightmareFetishist admirers]],
([[{{Butterface}} as long as her veil stays on, of course]]). Even in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', which toned down its {{Fanservice}} considerably, [[SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains the villainesses still wear skimpier outfits than the heroines]]. This is particularly invoked with Kitana, whose outfit as a revanant is notably skimpier than her default outfit.

* EvilIsSexy: Every villainess (whether [[HeelFaceTurn temporary]] or [[EvilFeelsGood not]]). Mileena ''should'' be an exception, but she instead has garnered an ''astonishing'' number of [[NightmareFetishist admirers]],([[{{Butterface}} as long as her veil and his helmet respectively stay on, of course]]). Even in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', which toned down its {{Fanservice}} considerably, [[SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains the villainesses still wear skimpier outfits than the heroines]]. This is particularly invoked with Kitana, whose outfit as a revanant is notably skimpier than her default outfit.

* EvilIsSexy: Every villainess (whether [[HeelFaceTurn temporary]] or [[EvilFeelsGood not]]). Mileena ''should'' be an exception, but she instead has garnered an ''astonishing'' number of [[NightmareFetishist admirers]]. Shao Kahn is also considered to be this by [[MrFanservice both]] [[EvenTheGuysWantHim sides]] of the fandom. ([[{{Butterface}} As long as her veil and his helmet respectively stay on, of course]]). Even in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', which toned down its {{Fanservice}} considerably, [[SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains the villainesses still wear skimpier outfits than the heroines]]. This is particularly invoked with Kitana, whose outfit as a revanant is notably skimpier than her default outfit.

* SugarWiki/DevelopmentHeaven: Not only because of little touches like the continuity references sprinkled throughout the game for the fans to enjoy, but because of the dedicated team members who are as integral to each game's development as much as many of the characters are. Ed Boon, John Vogel and Steve Beran are just a few of the developers at [[Creator/MidwayGames Midway]]--now Creator/NetherrealmStudios--who give so much for their game series. It has to be said that, in spite of whatever mixed reactions people may have had to the MK games over the years, it takes a lot to do things like add ''six-hundred and seventy-six'' unlockable extras in ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance Deadly Alliance]]'', including a lot that are only there to make the player smile.

** Despite everything noted, there has been at least one official localization of the series in Japan since the release of Trilogy in the region in 1998, that being the mobile release of Mortal Kombat X in 2015, otherwise known as Mortal Kombat (Online) since 2019.

* {{Squick}}: Besides the ubiquitous gore, Reptile's nature as an acid-spitting lizard man that eats people tends to lean toward this sort of thing. Taken UpToEleven in the ''Rebirth'' pilot.

* MagnificentBastard: [[YMMV/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance Nitara]]; [[YMMV/MortalKombatDefendersOfTheRealm Quan Chi]]; [[YMMV/MortalKombatLegacy Shang Tsung]]. See their respective pages for details.

* MagnificentBastard: [[YMMV/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance Nitara]], [[YMMV/MortalKombatDefendersOfTheRealm Quan Chi]] and [[YMMV/MortalKombatLegacy Shang Tsung]]. See their respective pages for details.

** Almost anything coming out from [[BigBad Shao Kahn]] in the [[VideoGame/MortalKombat2 second]] and the [[VideoGame/MortalKombat3 third]] game qualifies.

** The franchise is infamously unpopular among mainstream audiences in Japan, to the point that none of the games have seen a release there since ''Mortal Kombat 3'' (with the sole exception of the live-action films) and other Western fighting games were tarred with its brush until ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'' came out.[[note]]The game's {{Animesque}} and UsefulNotes/{{Kawaisa}} nature may have had a major hand in its popularity with Japanese gamers.[[/note]] Reasons vary, from the lack of real work on creating authentic mythology to the series' infamous downward spiral after ''3'', to generally not being quite as deep or well-designed in terms of gameplay as many Japanese fighters for a long time, to simply having an aesthetic with extremely limited appeal to the Japanese mainstream. The heavy focus on gory violence is also often criticized. It's not without a small following, but it doesn't even have a cult classic status out there. It also doesn't help to note that the series had to compete with ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' in the Japanese market, which didn't help ''Mortal Kombat''[='=]s standing in Japan. The unpopularity in Japan (combined with Japan's strong censorship in excessive and realistic blood and gore in many video games) is probably the reason why [[NoExportForYou many of the later Mortal Kombat games were never released in Japan]]. With ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' falsely rumored to have been outright banned in Japan for its no-signs-of-slowing-down over-the-top gore and violence, chances of any Mortal Kombat game being localized out there at this point is nonexistent ([[LoopholeAbuse save for the Guests from the Mortal Kombat Multiverse's appearances in the Injustice games in addition to the infamous Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe]]). Despite this, there ''are'' some Japanese players who do play the games, and Japanese private bar tournaments and streamers are likely to have a copy.

** The franchise is infamously unpopular in Japan, to the point that none of the games have seen a release there since ''Mortal Kombat 3'' (with the sole exception of the live-action films) and other Western fighting games were tarred with its brush until ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'' came out.[[note]]The game's {{Animesque}} and UsefulNotes/{{Kawaisa}} nature may have had a major hand in its popularity with Japanese gamers.[[/note]] Reasons vary, from the lack of real work on creating authentic mythology to the series' infamous downward spiral after ''3'', to generally not being quite as deep or well-designed in terms of gameplay as many Japanese fighters. The heavy focus on gory violence is also often criticized. It's not without a small following, but it doesn't even have a cult classic status out there. It also doesn't help to note that the series had to compete with ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' in the Japanese market, which didn't help ''Mortal Kombat''[='=]s standing in Japan. The unpopularity in Japan (combined with Japan's strong censorship in excessive and realistic blood and gore in many video games) is probably the reason why [[NoExportForYou many of the later Mortal Kombat games were never released in Japan]]. With ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' falsely rumored to have been outright banned in Japan for its no-signs-of-slowing-down over-the-top gore and violence, chances of any Mortal Kombat game being localized out there at this point is nonexistent ([[LoopholeAbuse save for the Guests from the Mortal Kombat Multiverse's appearances in the Injustice games in addition to the infamous Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe]]). Despite this, there ''are'' some Japanese players who do play the games, and Japanese private bar tournaments and streamers are likely to have a copy.

* [[EnsembleDarkhorse/MortalKombat Ensemble Darkhorse]]

* MagnificentBastard: [[YMMV/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance Nitara]] and [[YMMV/MortalKombatLegacy Shang Tsung]]. See their respective pages for details.

* ValuesDissonance: The earliest games in the series don't allow Johnny Cage to do his GroinAttack to female characters like Sonya and Kitana. It's unclear if this is because it was considered [[UnacceptableTargets unacceptable]] (despite almost every other form of violence being available), or the early 90's devs [[MostWritersAreMale genuinely believed]] that women can't be hurt by being punched there. Since the late 90's, Johnny can punch everyone, and everyone gets the same damage from it.

* ValuesDissonance: The earliest games in the series don't allow Johnny Cage to do his GroinAttack to female characters like Sonya and Kitana. It's unclear if this is because it was considered [[UnaceptableTargets unaceptable]] (despite almost every other form of violence being available), or the early 90's devs [[MostWritersAreMale genuinely believed]] that women can't be hurt by being punched there. Since the late 90's, Johnny can punch everyone, and everyone gets the same damage from it.

** Kombatans also have love-hate relationship with ''VideoGame/Tekken'' series. They may like series, because Ed Boon, the Mortal Kombat creator, consider ''Tekken'' to be his favourite fighting game series, besides his brainchild. On the other hand, Kombatans do not like Tekken for being too weird and not violent for their tastes.

** This is particularly prominent in ''[=MK9=]''. Among other fights, a tag-team of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi are beaten by Kung Lao; Kitana beats Shang Tsung; Stryker beats Reptile, Mileena, Motaro, and Ermac; and Cyber Sub-Zero beats Sektor, a tag-team of Goro and Kintaro, Ermac, and Noob Saibot. Most of these villains are either BigBad material or among the most powerful kombatants on the roster, and the last time the series featured the [[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance Deadly Alliance]] of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, they killed Shao Kahn and numerous heroes, including Kung Kao.

** To make it [[{{Irony}} more ironic]], ''Manga/HighScoreGirl'' got one of the Cabinets from one of the Games appearing (the series take place in the early 1990s with the age of arcade gaming when Mortal Kombat was competing with Street Fighter in the Japanese market);[[note]]It should be noted, however, the inclusion of the game on both the manga and anime adaptation could be a extented reference about the author's origins as an horror manga's artist.[[/note]] and Tomonobu Itagaki cited the franchise as one of the influences for ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive''. In addition, the Japanese [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff are okay with]] ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'' of all things [[note]]mainly because of the cuteness appeal of the characters in Happy Tree Friends despite the characters being killed off in the most horrific way possible[[/note]].

* GermansLoveHasselhoff: the series is very popular in Russia and CIS countries to the point of being synonymous with fighting game genre there. This is because in 90s and early 2000s many Russians enjoyed collecting ''Mortal Kombat'' merchandise, like stickers, caps, action figures etc.. The Sega Genesis version of ''Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3'' is considered the must-have game for the system.