Top Ten Fatalities Of Mortal Kombat 9 (2011)

The newest Mortal Kombat has been out for a few days now and naturally, a number of hardcore fans have managed to pick it apart and find every little nugget of bloody goodness. It's a truly amazing thing to see just how much love gamers have for this series when they manage to not only find all the secrets it has to offer, but to already start theorizing on what the next game in the series could feature. I can't imagine a bigger compliment to NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. Interactive than asking for seconds of their newest title.

But on to the point. Mortal Kombat has shown just how far it can go with insane gore, but which of the newest Fatalities are the best of the bunch? The series has a rich history of showing unique ways to kill your opponent, some great, some not so much, and the latest Mortal Kombat is no exception. How do these new ones measure up? Let's find out.

I should note that I went by my usual "one-per-character" and "regular-fatalities-only" rules, as well as one that eliminates any repeat Fatalities or composite Fatalities (as in, ones that are two old ones combined). It really isn't fair to compare ones we've already seen with ones that are brand new, is it? But even with these rules in place, it was really hard to narrow the list down. If you agree or disagree, feel free to say so in the comments below.

WARNING: The following post contains videos which contain lots of blood and gore the likes of which are unheard of. If you're under the age of 17 you shouldn't be reading this because it will corrupt your very soul, but if you feel you must, make sure no one else is in the immediate vicinity.

Honorable Mention: Smoke's Smoked Out Fatality

We'll start with an honorable mention, then get into the good stuff. Again, it was really hard to narrow the list down to ten. This one is one I really wanted to include in some fashion, but only for the story behind it so it wouldn't really fit on the actual list.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxbw14BJk4I

While the Fatality is pretty good on its own merits, what stuck out for me was the unique situation behind it. As it turns out, a YouTube user by the name of piranhasoldier made a fan version of this Fatality. It arrived on the internet before the real version appeared. This certainly raised some eyebrows when the real Fatality appeared, but as far as I know, MK went gold before the fan version appeared, so it could just be a coincidence. Still, the MK YouTube page Favorited the fan version, which could mean nothing, or it could be hinting at something.

Well, I thought it was interesting.

Continue to Page 2 for our the beginning of our top 10 Fatalities of Mortal Kombat 9!

Johnny Cage Mortal Kombat 9 Fatality

10.) Johnny Cage's Award Fatality

I'm probably alone in this, but I really don't understand the hate towards Johnny Cage. Yes, he's smug and annoying, but charmingly so. He's the only person I can think of who can make having an endless supply of sunglasses seem cool. Plus, he does have a unique sense of humor.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGz7wPekztw

Was the statue necessary? Of course not. It was still funny, and it's a perfect example of what a Fatality is supposed to be, a way to mock your opponent after you've beaten them. Plus, after a few minutes, you start to realize that Johnny Cage actually won an award for one of his movies at some point. Make of that what you will.

9.) Jax's Three Points Fatality

Sometimes, simplicity works best. If you can take something that's fairly basic, and put a unique but simple twist on it, it's okay in my book.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GSldt01GHU

I was initially worried about this one when it started. After all, it looked suspiciously like Sheeva's Jackhammer, which was terrible. Then Jax kicked his opponent's head off and I was no longer worried. It's simple, it looks devastatingly brutal, and it's creative to boot. What more do you need?

8.) Kitana's Splitting Headache Fatality

On the Worst Fatalities list, I mentioned that Kitana always had the same two Fatalities in most of the games she appeared in. Well, apparently someone at NetherRealm Studios noticed this too, as both of her Fatalities in this game are brand new. Someone also noticed the potential of bladed war fans.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ9pByXQjU4

Stabbing someone in the gut is pretty nasty, but then spreading the blade and opening the wound, allowing blood and entrails to start spilling out? Now we're getting into the messy stuff.

7.) Shang Tsung's Identity Theft Fatality

I'm sure most of you are hoping to see Shang Tsung's clown gun Fatality. Well, sadly, it is technically a repeat. It's an improvement over a badly censored one, but still a repeat. That doesn't mean his other Fatality isn't good, though.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91T2WF7TTDk

Sure, it's a simple one, but look at it in context. Imagine how horrified you would be to realize that you're about to kill yourself, against your own free will, by ripping off your own head. It's completely out of your control, and no matter how much you try to stop it, it's going to happen. That's scary.

6.) Mileena's Be Mine Fatality

Yep, Mileena rears her incredibly scary face once again. I thought her Deception Fatality would be the extent of her overall freakiness, but I was sadly proven wrong once the demo was released.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCXX9QrO-gw

She struts over to her opponent, radiating sexuality, then rips their head off and promptly chews on their face. All while, again, looking aroused by it. Yeah, good luck sleeping after that. I swear, it's like Ed Boon is constantly saying "yeah, I dare you to be attracted to this character!"

Continue to Page 3 for more of the best fatalities of Mortal Kombat 9!

Reptile Mortal Kombat 9 Fatality

5.) Reptile's Acid Yak Fatality

Maybe I'm a bit weird in this aspect, but when it comes to Fatalities, I don't look for lots of gore. I look for creative uses of lots of gore. That's probably why you'll disagree with a number of choices on this list, but that's just how it goes. So, when I see something different in one of these games, I generally like it.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5cLLQPu1mg

Ripping out the heart? Been there. The brain? Done that. Ripping out the stomach after spitting acid down your opponent's throat? Nice job.

4.) Kabal's It Takes Guts Fatality

Continuing on the trend from above, this next Fatality actually surprises me in its gore creativity. Apparently, Ed Boon wanted to give Baraka something similar to this way back in MKII, but it was considered way too gory, even for them. I guess this shows how much times have changed.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi6jwoLTbZc

I'm still shocked by it, oddly enough. I mean, you've already ripped out their intestines. They're pretty much finished after that. Having your opponent fall onto the hookswords is just the blood icing on the gore cake. (How that's for a visual?)

3.) Sindel's Migrane Fatality

Sindel's always shown off just how powerful a voice she has. We've seen how it works on a larger scale, with her screaming her opponent's skin off, then blowing away various body parts. But here we get to see how it works on a smaller scale.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb2SLBiLBbQ

This also gets to show off just how detailed NetherRealm is with the Fatalities. In the old days, the head would've just exploded, but here, only half of the head does. It's a minor detail like that that really puts this over, in my opinion.

2.) Sektor's Scarecrow Fatality

While I do encourage creativity in Fatalities, sometimes Mortal Kombat goes above and beyond my expectations, to the point that I have no idea where they got some of their ideas.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb-YZJ3oCx8

I have absolutely no idea what device Sektor uses to accomplish this, but the end result is incredibly impressive. One strange knick-knack manages to separate all of the body parts from the torso, while still keeping them around the same area. I don't think anything like this has ever been done before, least of all within video games. Someone should see if this has been done before.

Continue to Page 4 for the #1 best Fatality of Mortal Kombat 9!

Noob Saibot Mortal Kombat 9 Fatality

1.) Noob Saibot's Make A Wish Fatality

Though it was really hard to narrow the list down like this, I always knew what exactly would take the number one spot. When I first saw this Fatality, my jaw dropped at just how incredibly brutal and disgusting it was. It was incredibly simple too, yet also very effective in its execution.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6SGjbZtvbM

First off, it's a slow Fatality, making you wince with every movement. Second, there's a great amount of attention spent on the detail, with the organs spilling out from underneath. Third, unlike most Fatalities that end with the opponent in halves, it moves from bottom to top, which increases the length of the Fatality. This also leads into my last point in that, presumably until the final tug, they're still alive through the whole thing. I can't even begin to imagine how much pain one would be in if they were just a head stuck to two halves of a body.

It's interesting, now that I think about it, that Noob Saibot is the one with the best Fatality in this game. He is the original Sub-Zero reincarnated, and who had the most shocking Fatality back in the first game? Exactly. Not sure if it was intentional, but if it was, nice touch.

What's your favorite?

Mortal Kombat is out now for the Xbox 360 and PS3 and you should read our review to see why it's worth picking up.