Series guide
All Mortal Kombat games in order
By Lenn Hodes · founder — every cartridge tested by hand
Thirty years, three reboots, and three different games simply called Mortal Kombat — one of them the newest. Below are all twenty main and spin-off releases in order, from the 1992 arcade cabinet to Mortal Kombat 1, with the Nintendo versions marked (several of them were their own games, not ports) and buying notes on the Game Boy, GameCube and PlayStation 5 copies we stock and test.
The short answer
Mortal Kombat (1992) → II → 3 → Ultimate MK3 → Trilogy → 4 (1997) → Deadly Alliance (2002) → Deception → Armageddon (2006) → MK vs. DC → Mortal Kombat (2011, the reboot) → X → 11 (2019) → Mortal Kombat 1 (2023). For the story, only the last four connect; everything else stands alone. Start with 11.
Tested Mortal Kombat games in stock
Game Boy, GameCube and PlayStation 5 copies — every cartridge and disc play-tested on real hardware and listed exactly as it is.
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
Factory sealed
Mortal Kombat 3
Personally tested · Good condition
Mortal Kombat II
Personally tested · Good condition
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Personally tested · Good condition
Mortal Kombat 1
Personally tested · Good condition
Every Mortal Kombat game in order
- Mortal Kombat · 1992 · Arcade; SNES, Game Boy & Mega Drive 1993 — the original seven fighters; the SNES version famously replaced the blood with sweat
- Mortal Kombat II · 1993 · Arcade; SNES, Game Boy & Mega Drive 1994 — the one most people call the best of the 2D era — and the SNES port kept the blood
- Mortal Kombat 3 · 1995 · Arcade; SNES, Game Boy & Mega Drive 1995 — Run button, combos, Animalities; the Game Boy version is a heavily cut monochrome port
- Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 · 1995 · Arcade; SNES & Mega Drive 1996 — MK3 with the missing ninjas back; the version later ported to GBA and DS
- Mortal Kombat Trilogy · 1996 · Nintendo 64 & PlayStation — every fighter from the first three games in one cartridge — the biggest 2D roster
- Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero · 1997 · Nintendo 64 & PlayStation — a side-scrolling spin-off; the first game with a story mode
- Mortal Kombat 4 · 1997 · Arcade; Nintendo 64 & PlayStation 1998 — the jump to 3D polygons and weapons; Mortal Kombat Gold on Dreamcast (1999) is the expanded version
- Mortal Kombat: Special Forces · 2000 · PlayStation — a Jax action spin-off; the series’ low point by common consent
- Mortal Kombat Advance · 2001 · Game Boy Advance — Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 squeezed onto a GBA cartridge
- Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance · 2002 · PS2, Xbox, GameCube & Game Boy Advance — the reboot of the fighting system — three stances per fighter; the first new Mortal Kombat on a Nintendo home console since the N64
- Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition · 2003 · Game Boy Advance — Deadly Alliance’s handheld follow-up with a different roster
- Mortal Kombat: Deception · 2004 · PS2 & Xbox; GameCube 2005 — Konquest mode and the chess and puzzle games; the GameCube disc added Goro and Shao Kahn
- Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks · 2005 · PS2 & Xbox — a co-op action retelling of Mortal Kombat II; no Nintendo version
- Mortal Kombat: Armageddon · 2006 · PS2 & Xbox; Wii 2007 — every character ever, with Kreate-a-Fatality; the Wii disc has motion controls
- Ultimate Mortal Kombat · 2007 · Nintendo DS — UMK3 plus Puzzle Kombat on a DS card, with online play at the time
- Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe · 2008 · PS3 & Xbox 360 — the crossover, and the last game before the reboot; teen-rated, so no Fatalities as such
- Mortal Kombat (2011) · 2011 · PS3 & Xbox 360; Komplete Edition on Vita 2012 and PC 2013 — usually called MK9 — the reboot that retells the first three games; no Nintendo version
- Mortal Kombat X · 2015 · PS4, Xbox One & PC; XL 2016 — a generation later, with the new characters’ children; no Nintendo version
- Mortal Kombat 11 · 2019 · PS4, Xbox One, Switch & PC; Ultimate on PS5 & Xbox Series 2020 — the first Mortal Kombat on a Switch cartridge; Ultimate bundles both Kombat Packs and Aftermath
- Mortal Kombat 1 · 2023 · PS5, Xbox Series, Switch & PC; Definitive Edition 2025 — a second reboot, hence the "1" — not the 1992 game; the Definitive Edition adds Khaos Reigns and every fighter
Do you have to play them in order?
Not for the fighting — each game is complete on its own. The story is a different matter: Mortal Kombat (2011) rewrote the first three games as one tale, Mortal Kombat X and 11 carry it forward, and 11’s ending is why Mortal Kombat 1 restarts everything. If you play only those four, play them in that order. The 1990s games, the Deadly Alliance trilogy and the spin-offs can be taken in any order at all.
Which Mortal Kombat should you buy now?
- Modern, complete: Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate on PS5 — every fighter and both story chapters on one disc.
- The newest: Mortal Kombat 1 — on PS5 for the best version, on Switch for the portable one.
- The 2D classic: Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 or Mortal Kombat II on the SNES — the games the series is remembered for.
- On a Nintendo home console: Deadly Alliance or Deception on the GameCube — complete, and they play on early Wii models too.
Buying Mortal Kombat second-hand
Three games are called just "Mortal Kombat"
The 1992 arcade original, the 2011 reboot (nicknamed MK9, on PS3 and Xbox 360) and Mortal Kombat 1 from 2023 — which is the newest game, not the oldest. A second-hand listing that says "Mortal Kombat" needs the platform to be read properly, and every listing of ours names it.
The Game Boy games are their own thing
Mortal Kombat, II and 3 on the Game Boy are monochrome, with smaller rosters and simplified moves — cheap, historically interesting, and not the SNES games. They are region-free and play on every Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and SP. The SNES and Mega Drive versions are the ones to buy to actually play the 2D games as they were.
Deadly Alliance and Deception on GameCube are complete games
Both are the full PS2 games on a GameCube mini-disc, and Deception on GameCube even added two fighters. GameCube discs run on the first Wii models with the controller ports. The Game Boy Advance Deadly Alliance and Tournament Edition are separate, smaller games built for the handheld.
Mortal Kombat 11 and 1 on Switch run below the PS5 versions
Both Switch cartridges are the complete games, but at a lower resolution and frame rate than the PlayStation 5 discs. If you own both consoles, buy them on PS5; if you want them portable, the Switch versions are the only way. Mortal Kombat is PEGI 18 on every modern platform.
Every copy tested before it is listed
Booting, gameplay, saving, disc and label condition — checked on real hardware. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 5.0★, and we ship tracked to all 27 EU countries. Originals only; if something ever turns out not to be genuine, you get your money back.
Browse tested gamesQuestions we get asked
Do I need to play the Mortal Kombat games in order?
No. Every game stands alone as a fighting game. If you care about the story, the 2011 reboot retells the first three games, Mortal Kombat X and 11 continue it, and Mortal Kombat 1 restarts it again — so 2011 → X → 11 → 1 is the only order that matters.
How many Mortal Kombat games are there?
Twenty on this page: thirteen main fighting games from the 1992 original to Mortal Kombat 1, the Trilogy, Advance, Tournament Edition and Ultimate compilations, and the Mythologies, Special Forces and Shaolin Monks spin-offs — plus mobile games that this list leaves out. Counting every port separately, the number roughly doubles.
Is Mortal Kombat 1 the first game?
No — it is the newest, from 2023. The "1" marks a second reboot of the story. The first game is Mortal Kombat from 1992; the first reboot is Mortal Kombat from 2011, usually called MK9.
Which Mortal Kombat games are on Nintendo consoles?
On cartridge or disc: Mortal Kombat, II and 3 on SNES and Game Boy, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 on SNES, Trilogy, Mythologies and 4 on the N64, Advance, Deadly Alliance and Tournament Edition on the GBA, Deadly Alliance and Deception on GameCube, Armageddon on Wii, Ultimate Mortal Kombat on DS, and Mortal Kombat 11 and 1 on Switch.
Which Mortal Kombat should I start with?
Mortal Kombat 11 for the modern games — the biggest roster and the most complete story mode, and it is on Switch as well as PlayStation. For the 2D classics, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 or Mortal Kombat II on the SNES.
Do you ship outside the Netherlands?
We ship to all 27 EU countries with track & trace. Parcels leave from the Netherlands, there are no customs charges within the EU, and your country’s exact rate appears at checkout before you pay.
Years given are the first release; the Nintendo versions are in the notes. Onze GameCube-collectie in het Nederlands.