We never really imagine what a game goes through before we get to see it in its final form, let alone see what types of things were tossed out during the creation process. Today, a Mortal Kombat 2 source code leak allows us to see what animations and sprites just weren't filled with brutality.
Games take years to create, sometimes decades. One can imagine with decades of work comes decades' worth of ideas. Now, of course, not all ideas are hot sellers so some get crumpled up and thrown into the bin. Today, we get to take a look at the animations and sprites that weren't enough for a flawless victory and didn't make the cut in Mortal Kombat 2. The source code leaks bring over a dozen files that were cut out of the development of the game, and that appears to just be the beginning. The community and fans of the franchise took a deep dive into these files, and one fan known as @annoyingdog322 began to document their findings via Twitter.
One of the first animations we get to look at comes from Johnny Cage himself, showcasing what appears to be an unfinished "FATALITY" move that apparently wasn't fatal enough to make it into the final game. We also see his iconic knee kick in its original form, and a never-before-seen punch that couldn't handle the Cage. If you look very closely at Cage's pants, you will notice an Otomix logo on the leg that was also scrapped prior to the release of the game.
One of the animations screamed "Git Over Here!" at me, and that was the animation showing the infamous Scorpion sprite in all of his glory, but he's blue! His skin appears to be blue, which is somewhat ironic given that his not-so-best buddy in blue, Sub-Zero, is actually his nemesis due to a rivalry between their clans. Both I and Pegasus Kid don't really know what the developers were going for with this one, but it is interesting, to say the least.
The files shared are only what was found on day one by those digging into these unseen files, and we assume there will be more to follow in the days to come. Until then, we all must wait for the rest to surface, which is a fate worse than death!
