Play Mortal Kombat 3 on Snes Online

Shao Kahn already won—now you're just cleaning up his mess with faster combos and brutal stage fatalities, like spiking foes into subway trains. That centaur Motaro’s still a nightmare before the final showdown.

Developer: Midway Games

Genre: Fighting

Released: 1995

File size: 3.35 MB

Game Overview

Mortal Kombat 3 on SNES is where things got seriously dark. Shao Kahn straight-up wins at the start—Earthrealm’s gone, and now it’s just a handful of fighters left to take him down. Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, Sonya, and the crew are all that’s standing between Kahn’s extermination squads and total annihilation.

The fighting feels faster here thanks to the new run button, and the combos are way more fluid with the "Dial-A-Combo" system. You’ll still get those brutal fatalities (of course), but now there are stage-specific ones too—nothing like uppercutting someone into a subway train or a pit of spikes. And if you thought Motaro was annoying in later games, wait until you fight him here as a four-legged centaur boss before facing Kahn himself.

This was the last MK with the original digitized actor sprites, so it’s got that gritty, slightly janky look that makes the violence hit harder. The PC version even had online play, which was wild for the time. Still one of the best in the series if you like your fighting games mean and messy.