Mortal Kombat: Deception is the sixth installment in the Mortal Kombat series. Deception was developed and published by Midway for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in October 2004. A Nintendo GameCube version was published in February 2005. A PlayStation Portable Port was released in 2006, renamed Mortal Kombat: Unchained, which included new characters.
Mortal Kombat: Deception follows Deadly Alliance and precedes Armageddon. Deception was released in two versions for the Playstation 2 and Xbox, a regular version, and a 'Kollector's Edition', which added a metal trading card and a bonus disc containing a history of Mortal Kombat, several video biographies of characters, and an 'arcade perfect' version of the original Mortal Kombat.
Intro
"It was not by chance that this struggle came to be. The blame falls squarely upon my shoulders for giving evil the chance it needed and therefore fulfilling an ancient prophecy. Raiden's Earthrealm champions had failed to stop the Deadly Alliance from fully resurrecting the mummified army of the Dragon King. In the end, only Raiden himself stood between Earthrealm and total destruction. Defying the Elder Gods' wishes, he alone challenged Quan Chi and Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat, Earthrealm's last hope for freedom. Raiden fought well against the two sorcerers, and it seemed as though victory was at hand. But the combined might of Quan Chi and Shang Tsung proved to be overwhelming even for a Thunder God. Raiden, was defeated. The Deadly Alliance had won. Their victory was short-lived. As suspicion and lust for power overcame both Quan Chi and Shang Tsung, the former allies turned on each other. The Deadly Alliance was no more. Quan Chi defeated Shang Tsung and revelled in his conquest. But it is said that there is only one true ruler of Outworld. And that ruler had returned: Onaga, former emperor of Outworld, the Dragon King. The prophecy had been fulfilled. The Dragon King had indeed returned to Outworld to reclaim his army and impose his dominance. Death awaited all who stood in his way. And so it was that a new alliance formed out of desperation. Sworn enemies joined forces to kombat a greater threat. Raiden began to realize that even their combined might was not enough to defeat the Dragon King. There was only one chance left. Raiden’s sacrifice was in vain, for the blast had little effect on the Dragon King. Now Onaga has what he needs to shape the Realms as he sees fit. I was the fool who brought him this power. Only I can destroy this threat, born of deception."
(These are the words of Shujinko.)
Storyline
In the final events of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Raiden's Earthrealm warriors had failed to stop the Deadly Alliance. Kitana, Kung Lao, Jax, Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage were defeated during their battle against the Tarkatan warriors, Frost was consumed by her own freezing ability and put into the tombs of the Cryomancers, and Sub-Zero was trapped in Outworld, trying to find the portal back to Earthrealm. Ultimately, the Deadly Alliance itself (Shang Tsung and Quan Chi) had completed their plan. The Elder Gods had advised Raiden not to interfere, but he defied their wishes; alone he challenged the alliance of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, in Mortal Kombat. He had the upper hand for most of the fight, besting Tsung and Quan Chi, until Tsung absorbed a soul from the Soulnado and knocked him down with a fireball. From there, Quan Chi and Tsung combined their powers to defeat Raiden, with Quan Chi levitating the helpless Thunder God and Tsung using a fireball to strike Raiden down.
With Raiden defeated, the Deadly Alliance turned on each other, with Tsung wanting Quan Chi's amulet. The Deadly Alliance was no more and Tsung found himself facing his one time partner Quan Chi. Despite Tsung's efforts, Quan Chi proved too much for him. When Quan Chi stood alone, a hulking form entered the tomb, and the mummies of the Dragon King's army turned to kneel. In disbelief, Quan Chi looked in shock and in great horror... Onaga, the Dragon King, had returned.
Quan Chi knew that the Dragon King had come to claim his amulet. Quan Chi used his powers against Onaga, but he could not stop him. Even with Tsung, and then Raiden, helping him, they could not stop Onaga. Raiden concentrated his godlike essence into a single blast, which destroyed the palace and everything within, but Onaga was unharmed, and possessed the amulet.
Onaga now seeks to use six artifacts called Kamidogu to fuse the realms into the One Being, resulting in the destruction of everything therein. Those fighters not killed in the battle against the Deadly Alliance (Li Mei, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Kenshi and Bo' Rai Cho) must now stand against him and his supporters. These include the Tarkatan horde (led by Baraka) and their former allies, who were resurrected by Onaga and are under his control. Raiden became corrupted by his suicide by Onaga's magic and resurrected Liu Kang's body and sent it on a rampage. The spirit of Liu Kang joins Ermac to help him save his friends.
In the story explored in Konquest mode, a young man named Shujinko is deceived (hence the game's title) into spending his life collecting the Kamidogu for Onaga, who uses the guise of an emissary of the Elder Gods named Damashi. This is prior to Onaga's resurrection in the body of Reptile. Onaga only reveals his identity and intentions after Shujinko has gathered all the Kamidogu. Shujinko, led to believe he was working for the greater good, joins the others opposing Onaga.
Characters
New characters
- Ashrah – A demon searching for redemption by killing other demons with a magic sword called the Kriss; she seeks to destroy Ermac and Noob in order to gain full purification.
- Dairou – Hotaru's former subordinate, hired by Darrius to assassinate Hotaru.
- Darrius – Leader of the resistance in Seido, the realm of Order.
- Havik – A Cleric of Chaos who saved Kabal from death; he wishes to consume Onaga's heart and revive Shao Kahn to ensure chaos reigns, instead of the forced order that would follow if Onaga fused the worlds into the One Being.
- Hotaru – A warrior of Order, pledged to serve the Dragon King.
- Kira – A cunning and brutal Black Dragon recruit recently hired by Kabal.
- Kobra – A brutal and bloodthirsty Black Dragon recruit.
- Onaga – The Dragon King and former emperor of Outworld, reincarnated by using Reptile as a vessel.
- Shujinko – An old warrior who was deceived by Onaga when he was a young adolescent, who received the power to mimic other fighting styles from Onaga.
Returning characters
- Baraka – Leader of the Tarkatan race.
- Bo' Rai Cho – The general of Edenia's army.
- Ermac – A mysterious fighter made of several fused souls who assists Liu Kang in his mission.
- Goro – The Shokan prince who appeared to be working with Shao Kahn.
- Jade – A loyalist to Queen Sindel who agrees to help her save her daughter Kitana, and also seeks to see Tanya dead.
- Kabal – The leader of the new Black Dragon clan.
- Kenshi – The blind swordsman who was saved by Sub-Zero.
- Li Mei – A young warrior saved from the Deadly Alliance by Bo' Rai Cho and helps him in Edenia to fight the Tarkatan Horde.
- Liu Kang – Earthrealm's protector, the undisputed Champion of Mortal Kombat, and reanimated zombie being controlled by some unknown force.
- Mileena – Kitana's evil clone who poses as her to disrupt Edenia's defenses.
- Nightwolf – A Native American warrior who acts as the "Sin Eater" of his tribe.
- Noob-Smoke (The alliance of Noob Saibot and Smoke) – the joint team in which Noob Saibot looks to create an army of Cyber-Demons with Smoke as a template. Deception officially revealed Saibot to be the original Sub-Zero from the first Mortal Kombat game.
- Raiden – The God of Thunder who is reborn from his death and has become enraged at how mortals have repeatedly endangered Earthrealm.
- Scorpion – The Champion of the Elder Gods who has been sent to Outworld to destroy Onaga.
- Shao Kahn - The Emperor of Outworld. Thought to have been killed by the Deadly Alliance, Kahn tries to stop Onaga.
- Sindel – Queen of Edenia who looks to save Kitana.
- Sub-Zero – The Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei clan who looks for a portal back to Earthrealm.
- Tanya – The traitor of Edenia, who now serves Onaga.
Shao Kahn and Goro are playable characters in the GameCube and Play Station Portable versions, included to offset the lack of online play offered by the PS2 and Xbox versions. Both villains apparently survived the events of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance; Shao Kahn by the use of a clone, and Goro was saved on the battlefield by Kahn after having been left for dead by his allies. Both characters follow the storyline of trying to return Shao Kahn to power.
Cameo Appearances
Nearly every fighter in the entire series makes a cameo in Mortal Kombat: Deception.
- Blaze
- Cyrax
- Drahmin
- Frost
- Fujin
- Goro
- Hsu Hao
- Jarek
- Jax
- Johnny Cage
- Kai
- Kano
- Kintaro
- Kitana
- Kung Lao
- Mavado
- Meat
- Mokap
- Moloch
- Motaro
- Nitara
- Quan Chi
- Rain
- Reiko
- Reptile
- Sareena
- Sektor
- Shang Tsung
- Shao Kahn
- Sheeva
- Shinnok
- Sonya Blade
- Stryker
Trading Cards
- Ashrah
- Baraka
- Bo' Rai Cho
- Cyrax
- Darrius
- Goro
- Jade
- Jax Briggs
- Johnny Cage
- Kabal
- Kano
- Kenshi
- Kira
- Kitana
- Kung Lao
- Mileena
- Moloch
- Nightwolf
- Quan Chi
- Raiden
- Reptile
- Scorpion
- Shang Tsung
- Shao Kahn
- Shujinko
- Sindel
- Smoke
- Sonya Blade
- Sub-Zero
- Tanya
Arenas
Bold indicates this arena must be unlocked.
- Beetle Lair
- Chamber of Artifacts
- Courtyard
- Dark Prison
- Dead Pool
- Dragon King's Temple
- Dragon Mountain
- Falling Cliffs
- Golden Desert
- Hell's Foundry
- Kuatan Palace
- Liu Kang's Tomb
- Living Forest
- Lower Mines
- Nethership Interior
- The Nexus
- The Pit
- Portal
- Quan Chi's Fortress
- Sky Temple
- Slaughterhouse
- Yin Yang Island
Characters' live backgrounds
- Onaga in Dragon King's Temple
- Liu Kang in Liu Kang's Tomb
- Raiden in Sky Temple
New Features
- MK:D has highly interactive stages, with multiple levels, breakable boundaries, and instant-death traps. Characters can no longer be slammed against walls (visible or not), however.
- MK:D also has a "Combo Breaker" system which allows players to interrupt combos up to three times per match. This is generally regarded as a welcome change to Deadly Alliance's uninterruptible combos (combos tend to be shorter in this game as well).
- While most returning characters from Deadly Alliance retain their first fighting style, certain characters feature new or reworked secondary fighting styles.
- The game introduces the new Hara-Kiri finisher, where the loser kills themselves in an unique way for each kombatant. This finisher is unique to MK:D alone.
- Characters are more specialized as well, boasting unique (though sometimes held over from Deadly Alliance) throws, finishing poses, and rises after losing one round (e.g., Sub-Zero shoots ice to the floor to lift himself up, etc.). Also, perhaps due to complaints, every non-weapon fighting style includes an uppercut, a trademark of the numbered series (1 through 4), but used only sporadically throughout Deadly Alliance.
- Certain stages also contain unique stage weapons often following the stage's theme, that any character can pick up and use.
- MK:D adds Chess Kombat and Puzzle Kombat game modes. Chess Kombat is similar to classical chess, but uses player-selected characters as pieces, and pieces must engage in Kombat to take a piece (much like the 1980s computer game Archon). Puzzle Kombat is reminiscent of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, a puzzle game by Capcom.
- The character Noob-Smoke switches character models instead of fighting styles (Noob Saibot fights with Monkey style, Smoke with Mi Tzu), with no weapons style. They are playable after unlocking, and appear in Arcade Mode as sub-bosses. (Note: in the GameCube version, Noob-Smoke is playable without unlocking.)
- MK:D is the first Mortal Kombat to feature an extensive online mode.
Changes from Deadly Alliance
- Weapon impalements are no longer in the game, due to the introduction of death traps.
- MK:D has a smaller Krypt than in Deadly Alliance (400 Koffins as opposed to 676). This reduces the number of "filler" Koffins that had either nothing or allusions to other koffins in them.
- The removal of the Test Your Might or Test Your Sight minigames.
- The Neijin power-up technique has been removed.
- A number of returning characters from MK:DA feature new primary costumes, with certain characters regaining their original costumes from MK:DA as an unlockable alternate costume.
Konquest Mode
Deception contained a RPG-style game named 'Konquest.' Konquest explored the history of Shujinko, starting prior to his training with Bo' Rai Cho and ending with the beginning of Deception. While mostly an adventure game, the combat elements all took place in the normal Deception fighting mode. Players seeking to unlock much of the bonus content in Deception were required to play through the Konquest mode, which critics regarded as a sub-par addition to the game.
Note: The story of this konquest mode takes place long before the first Mortal Kombat game.
Mini Games
Chess Kombat: A mode where you can use characters as chess pieces including Leader, Champion, Sorcerer, Shifter, and Grunt. When you try to steal a square from one of your enemies, you will fight that opponent for the square. You can fight at classic arenas such as Courtyard, The Pit, Dead Pool, Portal, and Living Forest.
Puzzle Kombat: A mode where you can play a game that is similar to tetris. To win, your opponent will have squares stacked up all the way to the top of the opponents' screen. When you get a colored dragon symbol, you will use it to land it on a same color the symbol is to give your opponent more squares.
The characters that are included in this mode are:
- Baraka - Double Edge
- Bo' Rai Cho - Collapse
- Ermac - Levitate
- Jade - Stack
- Kaba - Double Bomb
- Kenshi - Invisibility
- Mileena - Drill
- Nightwolf - Breaker Buster
- Raiden - Storm
- Scorpion - Jumble
- Sindel - Arrange
- Sub-Zero - Freeze
The arenas that are included in this mode are:
- Beetle Lair
- Hell's Foundry
- Liu Kang's Tomb
- Sky Temple
- Slaughterhouse
- Yin Yang Island
Game Covers
Characters in ports
(Only referred to Kombat mode)
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Unlockable character |
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Selectable using a game-altering device |
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The Krypt
The Krypt has exactly 400 koffins to unlock. Like Deadly Alliance, players can unlock characters, arenas and other kontent. To look up the list of koffins, click on Mortal Kombat: Deception/Cheats.
Trivia
- This is the first Mortal Kombat game to feature online gameplay.
- In the 1996 movie Spy Hard, the antagonist General Rancor played by Andy Griffith says to the titular character Dick Steele played by Leslie Nielsen, while proclaiming what he believed to be the future of the Internet: "What's left of you will have to watch helplessly while I play Mortal Kombat with the entire world!" Eight years later Deception was released, the first Mortal Kombat game to feature online gameplay. (Note: There was a short-lived online game adaptor called "X-Band" for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo, at the end of both consoles' lifecycle). A similar line was declared by comedian Jim Carrey in the 1996 film Cable Guy.
- Due mostly to the inclusion of several cameos in Konquest mode (as well as in the Dark Prison arena), Mortal Kombat: Deception features nearly every single character from the Mortal Kombat series in some form or another, ranging from the well-established (Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, etc.) to the more obscure (Rain, who is a non-playable character in Konquest mode).
- Mortal Kombat: Deception is the first Mortal Kombat game to feature Stage Fatalities (now known as Death Traps) since Mortal Kombat 4.
- This Is the first Mortal Kombat game to feature two "human" characters as a sub-boss rather than the traditional monstrous creatures such as the Shokans, Centaurians or Oni. The new sub-boss (so to speak) is the tag-team tandem known as Noob-Smoke.
- And is the first Mortal Kombat game to feature a non human boss (Onaga) instead the traditional human-like bosses (Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, Shinnok and Quan Chi)
- Stages like the Dead Pool, the Living Forest and the Pit were brought back due to fan complaints as they were popular stages in the Mortal Kombat series.
- Kitana was originally planned to be playable in this game. However, it was decided that the storyline would change and have her dead in favor of the reappearance of Jade, who has not been featured in many Mortal Kombat games. There are file strings that refer to Kitana that support this.
- This is the second time Kitana was planned to be a playable character but ultimately replaced with another character, after having been originally planned for Mortal Kombat 4 before being retooled into Tanya.
- Some characters (such as Darrius for example) are said to be plays on established Mortal Kombat characters. Darrius, in this sense is said to be a play on Jax, who was the first African-American Mortal Kombat character. Other characters such as Kira and Kobra are actually hybrids of different characters such as Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage and Kano. Kira, for instance, has Sonya's and Kano's special abilities (plus a fireball of her own, presumably a play on Tanya's fireball in Mortal Kombat 4) while Kobra's moves are identical to the ones Johnny Cage used in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.
- Although the deceased Earthrealm warriors from Deadly Alliance (Jax, Sonya Blade, Kitana, Johnny Cage & Kung Lao) are stated to be under the Dragon King's control after he resurrected them, the characters are not playable. The only character that died in the Deadly Alliance/Deception story and returned as a playable character is Liu Kang. The deceased Earthrealm warriors, as well as Quan Chi and Shang Tsung, can be fought in Konquest, and in fact some must be fought in order to unlock other secrets (e.g. Jax must be fought to unlock the temple where Liu Kang is found). Each of these non-playable characters uses fighting styles already possessed by other Deception playable characters with the notable exception of Jax, who uses a completely different set of fighting stances. He is the only non-playable character besides Onaga to have a completely different fighting style.
- In Mortal Kombat: Unchained, however, Jax and Kitana are playable, using their Deadly Alliance costumes, styles, attacks and finishers. Jax's bio tells that he is already free from Onaga's spell but Kitana is not.
- In illustrated scenes that feature these characters, Kung Lao is depicted wearing his alternate outfit instead of his primary outfit. This swap would be retained for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. Kitana meanwhile is depicted as wearing a maskless blue version of Mileena's primary outfit, a look not seen anywhere else.
- It was rumored that there would be "Super Unlockables" in the game. After Deception was released, Gamespot.com initially reported that the character Motaro could be unlocked. This was later proved to be untrue, however, and was subsequently removed from the website once it was revealed that there are no super unlockables in the game. The source which provided Gamespot.com with the faulty information is unknown.
- Strangely enough in the Gamecube version of Deception, Havik & Kira are seen in the puzzle kombat preview screen despite not being playable without hacking the game.
- A number of characters from this game are present in the trading card game, Epic Battles.
- If you knock Havik completely off of the sky tower, in the middle of his yelling as he plummets toward the ground, he exclaims "Ah man, this is gonna suck" and then resumes his screaming the rest of the way down.
- In France, the title had been changed to "Mortal Kombat: Mystification".
- In June of 2005, Xbox Live hosted a Game with Fame with Chicago punk band Rise Against playing Mortal Kombat: Deception against other players.
- In the 2008 The Simpsons Game, in the game factory level, there are lots of references of famous videogames. The enemies in this stage are American Football players, and Liu Kang look-a-like's. Their only move is a fire ball. When the player's life bar is almost empty, a voice will yell "FINISH HIM!", whereby the enemy will respond with: "Ehm.. alright, I will!" Later in the level, there is a stage with lots of posters of EA games, and one of Moral Kombat: Deceptions. On this poster is a picture of Flanders in a Johnny Cage costume.
- Dairou, who was planned to appear in Deadly Alliance, debuts in this game.
- Tanya is the only character who debuted in Mortal Kombat 4 to be featured as a playable character in this game.
- Special editions of the game would have one of five characters featured on their covers, along with a metallic card of the character: Baraka, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Raiden and Mileena.
- Characters in the Netherrealm and Chaosrealm are shown to talk backwards while interacting with Shujinko in Konquest Mode. When their dialogue is forwarded, they will say things such as:
- "I am talking backwards. Spooky, isn't it?"
- "Drink milk, get plenty of sleep, listen to your parents, do your homework."
- "If you have decoded this, you have way too much time on your hands, my friend."
- "It is said that John Vogel is a genius."
- "Reiko is not Shao Kahn, though sometimes, he secretly wears the emperor's helmet."
- In 2008, Mortal Kombat: Deception, Armageddon, and Shaolin Monks were sold together in a box set called "Mortal Kombat Kollection".
- Along with Deadly Alliance, Shaolin Monks and MKX, the game also appears in Mortal Kombat 11 as an arcade cabinet in Tournament stage.
- This game is the only Mortal Kombat game in the series to feature Liu Kang as an unlockable character.
Glitches
- In Konquest Mode, on one part of Baraka's training, his blades will sometimes turn purple.
- In the Yin Yang arena, whenever the trees are the snakes and you knock an opponent against it, a coconut will still fall down on your opponent.
- In Konquest Mode, when training with a character, sometimes they will do their fighting style in a fast movement.
- In Konquest Mode, if you run fast enough and hit A to open a door, you'll walk through the wall into the house.
- If a Hara-Kiri is performed on the wrong character, and the right character is ahead, after you hear "Finish Her/Him!", the character proceeds to kill themselves without input.
- The "Arcade Perfect" port of Mortal Kombat included in the Premium Edition of the game features a number of bugs, such as music playing on the incorrect stages and game speed being slightly faster.
- In the Gamecube version during the battle against Onaga but during the pre-battle intermission (Round 1, Fight!, etc.) , if one pauses, holds down a directional button, then unpauses, the character can actually move one step before the round/match begins. This can be done repeatedly to obtain some distance. Keep in mind however Onaga is also capable of 'Free' movement as well when this glitch is being performed.