Mortal Kombat’s Fatalities. You know them, you love them. These over-the-top finishing moves are what helped propel the success of the series. But what about the other finishing moves? You know, the "Friendships!" Let’s take a look back at the silly side of Mortal Kombat history with the evolution of this unique finishing move.
Introduced in Mortal Kombat II, the short-lived Friendship finishers were created as a sarcastic response to the backlash against the grotesque violence of the first game. Instead of brutally decapitating your opponent, or uppercutting them down into a bed of spikes, you could end a match by signing an autograph as Johnny Cage, kicking a football as Sindel, or doing the Cyrax Dance. But these family-friendly finishers didn’t replace the classic fatalities. In fact, more than double the amount fatalities were added in Mortal Kombat II. Even amidst the 1993 congressional hearings against video game violence, Mortal Kombat was poking fun at its cynics.
More finishers such as Babalities, Animalities, and Brutalities were introduced over the next few titles. However, after the release of Mortal Kombat Trilogy in 1996, Friendships were removed to make way for Mortal Kombat 4’s grittier new 3D visuals. We wouldn’t see another Friendship for another 24 years--at least--until the recently announced Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath Expansion.
While not the spiciest way to finish off an opponent, Friendships left their mark on the Mortal Kombat universe. With all the disgustingly creative fatalities in through the years, it’ll be interesting to see what other clever Friendships we’ll see down the road for Mortal Kombat 11 and beyond. Share your favorite Friendship in the comments below and for future Mortal Kombat coverage, keep it right here at GameSpot.