I remember hating this one a fair bit upon its original release. As a 3D fighting game it was no Tekken 3 and certainly no Virtua Fighter. Even with the market's want for 3D experiences, MK4 seemed like a step below those bleeding edge titles and when compared to the 2D fighters of the same period - truly beautiful titles that feature art that stands up even today - it was night and day. MK4 just felt a bit out of place, a relic that didn't know what it wanted to be.

Turns out I was a bit of an idiot. MK4 takes the UMK3 combat and simplifies things a little, relaxes the execution requirements and adds a bunch of fun extras like weapons into the MK mix. A run through it with a couple of characters FELT good - so good I spent an hour or so trying out really hard combos in practice mode. I feel I may enjoy this game a lot more now I'm far more well versed in high-end MK play because things that didn't make sense to me back in 1997 now do. Good, bone-breaking fun.

Most MK fans hate this one because it's accessible.

The gameplay is almost the same as previous games, but with actual AI that doesn't read your inputs and a few cool gimmicks, like picking up and throwing items or pulling out a weapon. But unlike the previous games, you can actually play this one without having to memorize all the moves and getting triggered when they don't work.

It does have less content than its predecessors and the presentation definitely took a dive, but that was pretty common for franchises transitioning into 3D. I think it's more important that it managed to not only retain, but improve its core gameplay. Plus, it's really cool to see some of the old arenas remastered in 3D.

In addition, there's now a proper practice mode and each character has a sort of story with a cutscene finale, so there's a motivation to play through all of them.

I think this was a solid entry for the time. Personally, I don't remember anyone complaining about it back in the day. Everyone thought it was really cool to play MK in 3D. You could often find people playing it in Playstation clubs, and we got a PC version at some point and played hot-seat with friends and relatives. Didn't even know this game was hated until I got internet.

Otro título de la reconocida saga de peleas llega a la N64 para llenarla de sangre y fatalities. A grandes rasgos MK4 es un juego entretenido que logra su cometido aún con las limitantes de control de la consola de Nintendo. No hay muchas novedades en cuanto a sus predecesores salvo el hecho que fue el primer título de la franquicia en incorporar modelados 3D para sus personajes y la posibilidad de utilizar armas en combate lo que agregó ciertas características únicas, aunque no tan innovadoras. Por todo lo demás es un juego que se disfruta mucho más en su versión original de Arcade, aunque sus ports como el de N64 también pueden ser disfrutados por aquellas personas que aprecien los buenos juegos de peleas de antaño.

MK had just reached the park of its popularity with Mk3 and the movie having just come out a couple years before. MK was gonna be in 3d! My dad and I played it in the arcade and we instantly loved it. Then the n64 version came out and we played for hours for a week and hen we just stopped playing it. The game did not transition well to the newer consoles. We found ourselves going back and playing the MK trilogy for the n64 instead. Mk4 just isn’t that great. It feels like a 2d,3d, arena fighter. But it’s not quite that either. You can pick weapons and through hem at each other. There are still fatalities and what not but it’s just bland. The models are ugly and the new characters added are far from interesting. He endings are some of the most hilarious moments in gaming, so I suggest watching those online of you get the chance. Aside from that. It’s not worth checking out.