Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance

Did You Know?

• American rock band Adema recorded a song for the game titled 'Immortal' and made a music video featuring Scorpion.
• The game was released in the UK on Valentine's Day 2003.
• Both GBA versions were re-released as part of the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection compilation in 2025.

Gameplay

Deadly Alliance introduced a completely different fighting system from previous entries. Each character has three individual fighting styles, generally two hand-to-hand styles and one weapon style, except for Blaze and Mokap who have three hand-to-hand styles and no weapon style. Players can switch between styles with a button press. The number of special moves per character was reduced to between two and four, usable in any fighting style, encouraging use of the improved fighting system. Characters can no longer run, and there is no run meter. Movement in the third dimension is easier and can be used continuously, unlike the limited sidestepping in Mortal Kombat 4. Invisible boundaries prevent fighters from leaving the arena when knocked against the edge. Character models are more realistic, with flesh moving or jiggling during movement. Environmental interaction is infrequent; some levels include obstacles like pillars or statues that can be shattered to damage nearby opponents. Each character has only one Fatality, and the game does not include Stage Fatalities. The Acid Bath level features special acid-vomiting statues called Acid Buddhas that damage fighters who stray too close.

Plot

At the end of Mortal Kombat 4, Quan Chi revealed himself as the murderer of Scorpion's family and clan, and Scorpion dragged him into the Netherrealm. In the opening intro, Quan Chi escapes the Netherrealm using Shinnok's amulet and discovers a tomb containing mummified remains and an ancient runestone revealing the remains are the undefeatable army of the Dragon King, a long-forgotten Outworld ruler. Quan Chi allies with Shang Tsung, offering him an endless supply of souls in exchange for transplanting souls of defeated warriors into the army. They kill Shao Kahn and Liu Kang, the greatest threats to their plans. Raiden surrenders his status as an Elder God, realizing Earthrealm is doomed if the alliance wins. The story is learned through Konquest mode and biographies in the Krypt. Deadly Alliance is the first game in the series with an in-continuity ending where the heroes lose and the villains win, with the sequel revealing what happened to the characters.

Characters

The game features 21 playable characters, 2 additional secret characters, and 1 unplayable character. New characters include Blaze, a massive fire elemental guarding the Dragon King's egg; Bo' Rai Cho, a jovial Outworld native and former trainer of Liu Kang; Drahmin, a Netherrealm Oni seeking revenge against Quan Chi; Frost, Sub-Zero's first Lin Kuei trainee; Hsu Hao, a Red Dragon operative; Kenshi, a blind swordsman; Li Mei, an Outworld native enslaved by the Deadly Alliance; Mavado, a Red Dragon mastermind who kills Kabal; Mokap, a joke character based on motion capture work; and Nitara, a manipulative vampiress. Moloch is an unplayable sub-boss. Returning characters include Cyrax, Jax, Johnny Cage, Kano, Kitana, Kung Lao, Quan Chi, Raiden, Reptile, Scorpion, and Shang Tsung. Blaze and Mokap are secret characters. The GBA port Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition added Sektor, Noob Saibot, and Sareena as exclusive characters.

Reception

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance received generally favorable reviews, reviving the series and introducing innovations. Jeremy Dunham of IGN praised the reinvention of the formula, highlighting true three-dimensional fighting, different fighting styles, and a deeper combo system. Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot commended the fluid animation and graphics, and called the roster a good mix of old and new faces. Benjamin Turner of GameSpy welcomed the new characters and the fighting system. Craig Harris of IGN lauded the Game Boy Advance version for its polish and content. GameSpot named it the second-best GameCube release of November 2002 and gave it annual awards for Best Fighting Game on Xbox and GameCube. It won the Best Brawl award at G-Phoria in 2003. The game was included on the best-seller budget lines for all three consoles. The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated it for Console Fighting Game of the Year, losing to Tekken 4. It sold over 350,000 units in nine days, 1 million in its first month, and over 1.3 million by January 2003. By July 2003, it had sold 2 million copies; Ed Boon stated in April 2011 that it sold 3.5 million units.