Mortal Kombat Co-Creator Ed Boon had some history to share today about Mortal Kombat voice acting, the iconic "Get over here!" Scorpion voice line, and his place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
We're rapidly approaching the 30th anniversary of the Mortal Kombat franchise. Although there's no more DLC on the way for the most recent game, fans got to enjoy a new cheesy movie earlier this year. The franchise's co-creator Ed Boon recently showed off some behind-the-scenes footage of the game as we get closer to the big anniversary, and today he dove into a slightly different topic: the history of Mortal Kombat voice acting.
I’m normally not comfortable doing the voice in public, but we had a special opportunity to appear on Team Coco/Clueless Gamer and couldn’t say no when asked…. 😊 (6/6) pic.twitter.com/ye0Wd39x7I
— Ed Boon (@noobde) October 14, 2021
Mortal Kombat Voice Acting Was Done on a Tight Budget
There were a lot of challenges in developing this classic fighting game, but Mortal Kombat voice acting was one of the easier problems to solve: the franchise's co-creator Ed Boon already had a fair bit of experience with using his vocal talents.
"I had done voice work for about 10-15 pinball machine games over the years, so when it came time to add vocals to MK, (as a default) we used my voice for a number of our fighters including Scorpion’s COME HERE! and GET OVER HERE! screams," Ed Boon said in a Twitter thread.
"Additionally, my voice was used for the (original) voices of Liu Kang, Kano, Johnny Cage, and the announcer (Shang Tsung) … as well as Jax’s GOTCHA! voice in MK2," he continued. "For Mortal Kombat 2’s (Shao Kahn) announcer we used the (infinitely better) voice of pinball designer Steve Ritchie who (coincidentally) was the guy who originally suggested we call the game MORTAL KOMBAT."
He further explained that the first game was on "a very tight budget," necessitating his participation to save on costs. What's particularly impressive, however, is that Boon's work on the Mortal Kombat franchise also netted him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records: he holds the record for the longest-serving video game voice actor (along with the record for the longest-serving developer of a fighting game).
We don't quite know where the Mortal Kombat franchise will be heading next, but it was lovely to learn a little more about its three decades of history. You can take a trip down Nostalgia lane by buying the original three Mortal Kombat games for PC via DRM-free retailer GOG for just $5.99 or your regional equivalent.
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What's your favorite voice line from Mortal Kombat? When do you think we'll get to play the next entry in the franchise? Let us know in the comments below!
