Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Saturn)

For the Sega Mega Drive game, see Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Mega Drive).

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Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Saturn)
System(s): Sega Saturn
Publisher: Williams Entertainment (US) GT Interactive Software (EU)
Developer: Eurocom Entertainment Software
Licensor: Midway Manufacturing
Original system(s): Arcade boards
Genre: Fighting
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code US 1996-06-27 $59.9959.99 T-9701H EU 1996-06 T-25403H-50 DE 1996-06 T-25403H-50 PT 199x STJGT0209 UK 1996-07-24 £44.9944.99 T-25403H-50 PL 1996 219zł219 AU 199x FULT07SSC BR 1997-04
Non-Sega versions Arcade

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a fighting game and update to Mortal Kombat 3, originally released in arcades by Midway Manufacturing in 1995. The following year, it was ported to the Sega Saturn by Eurocom Entertainment Software, which was published by Williams Entertainment in the United States and by GT Interactive Software in Europe.

Story

Weary of continuous losses in tournament battle, Shao Kahn, who lost to Liu Kang in the Outworld tournament in the previous game, enacts a 10,000-year-old plan. He would have his Shadow Priests, led by Shang Tsung, revive his former Queen Sindel, who unexpectedly died at a young age. However, she would not be revived in the Outworld, but in Earthrealm. This would allow Shao Kahn to cross the boundary lines and reclaim his queen. When Sindel is reincarnated in Earthrealm, Shao Kahn reaches across the dimensions to reclaim her, and as a result, Earthrealm gradually becomes a part of Outworld, stripping billions of their souls. Only a few are spared, protected by Rayden. He tells them that Shao Kahn must be stopped, but he cannot interfere; due to his status, he has no power in Outworld, and Earthrealm is partially merged with Outworld. Shao Kahn has unleashed extermination squads to kill any Earthrealm survivors. Rayden's protection only extends to the soul, not to the body, so his chosen warriors have to fight the extermination squads and repel Shao Kahn.

Gameplay

Select Your Fighter

Kombat Kodes

Characters

Note: Move lists assume that the character is facing right. When facing left, and should be reversed.

P	Any punch button
LP	Low punch
HP	High punch

K	Any kick button
LK	Low kick
HK	High kick

BL	Block
RN	Run

All characters can perform roundhouse kicks with + HK  (which knock the opponent across the screen), leg sweeps with + LK  (which cause the opponent to fall down), and uppercuts with + HP  (which knock the opponent high into the air). Throws are performed by pressing  LP  when next to the opponent.

When using a standard three-button control pad, for moves requiring  LP , hold the direction and  LP  simultaneously. For moves requiring  HP , release the direction before pressing  LP . Special moves requiring  LP + HP  can be done with just  LP . Uppercuts are performed with + LP .

Fatalities often require being a certain distance from the opponent in order to execute. Each character has a special button combination for performing the stage-specific Fatalities on the Subway, Bridge, and Pit 3 stages. Friendships and Babalities can only be performed if the player does not block during the final round. Animalities can only be performed if the player grants the opponent Mercy first.

Stages

The stages are played in order (and loop around after the last one). Motaro is fought in Kahn's Tower and Shao Kahn is fought in the Pit 3. The Subway, the Bell Tower, Pit 3, and Scorpion's Lair stages have stage-specific Fatalities.

Two stages are accessed by uppercutting an opponent through the ceiling of another stage: the Rooftop is above the Bank and Kahn's Kave is above Scorpion's Lair.

The Subway

The Rooftop

Soul Chamber

Kombat Temple

The Lost World

The Pit 3

Jade's Desert

Kahn's Kave

Scorpion's Lair

River Kombat

The Bridge

The Street

The Bell Tower

The Graveyard

Noob Saibot's Dorfen

Kahn's Tower

Versions

Curiously, the Saturn version is closer to Mortal Kombat 3 in design than to the arcade version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and drops many Ultimate features.

The Bank stage that was present in Mortal Kombat 3 but was missing from the arcade Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 returns. Shang Tsung was given a morph for the Cyborg Smoke, which was not possible in the arcades. The secret characters can be unlocked via a secret options screen, eliminating the need to enter three separate Kombat Kodes to unlock them, which is useful as there is no save system. The Kombat Kodes (to unlock the secret characters) were shortened to have six slots instead of ten (probably in order to allow it to be performed with only one controller), but this method is still slower than entering one code to access the secret options screen.

There are a few new Kombat Kodes, but several that were present in the arcade release no longer work in the Saturn version. Noob Saibot is a shadow Kano as in Mortal Kombat 3, not a black ninja as in the arcade version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Since the arcade intro is missing, Rain does not appear in the game, yet the Kombat Kode message "Rain can be found in the Graveyard" can still be displayed.

Loading times cause the "Supreme Demonstration" mode to take almost 30 minutes to complete.

History

Release

A Japanese Saturn version was planned, but cancelled. This version was set to be published by SoftBank.

As with previous games in the series, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was banned in Germany on launch. The ban would not be overturned until 2005.

Production credits

UMK3 Cast of Characters

• Kano and Kabal: Richard Divizio
• Sonya: Kerri Hoskins
• Jax: John Parrish
• Kitana: Becky Gable
• Kung Lao: Tony Marquez
• Stryker: Michael O'Brien
• Nightwolf and Sektor: Sal DiVita
• Sub-Zero and Shang Tsung: John Turk
• Sindel: Lia Montelongo
• Liu Kang: Eddie Wong
• Cyrax and Smoke: Sal DiVita
• Scorpion and Reptile: John Turk
• Kitana and Jade: Becky Gable
• Ermac: John Turk
• Mileena: Becky Gable
• Shao Kahn: Brian Glynn

Ultimate MK3 Design Team:

• Software: Ed Boon
• Graphics: John Tobias, Steve Beran, Tony Goskie, Dave Michicich, John Vogel
• Sounds and Music: Dan Forden

Ultimate MK3 Saturn Development Team:

• Producer and Programming: Mark Hetherington
• Hardware Code: Paul Bates
• Programming: Dave Pridmore
• Sound and Music: Neil Baldwin
• Steve Richie as The Voice of Shao Khan
• Grunts, Screams, Groans and Gibberish: Jon Hey, Peg Burr, Dan Forden, Ann Mazza, Vince Pontarelli, Ed Boon
• Eurocom Entertainment Testing: Richard Moody, Kevin Holt
• Many Thanks Go To: Hugh Binns, Adrian Mannion, David Schwartz, Greg Miller, Mark May, Mark Guidarelli, Scott Patterson, Rob Atesalp
• Packaging and Print Material: Debbie Austin, Steve High, Shawn Murphy, Dave Young
• Product Manager: Brian Johnson
• Williams Entertainment Testing: Peter Chang, Steve Kramer, J.R.Salazar, Will Shen, Jason Shigenaka, John Stookey, John Ubalde, Eddie Fe
• Special Thanks: Michael Rubinelli, Michael Gottlieb

Source:

In-game credits

Magazine articles

Main article: Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Saturn)/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #82: "May 1996" (1996-xx-xx)

Print advert in Next Generation (US) #18: "June 1996" (1996-05-21)
also published in:

• GamePro (US) #93: "June 1996" (1996-xx-xx)

Print advert in Ultra Game Players (US) #93: "January 1997" (1996-12-31)

Print advert in Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) #8: "June 1996" (1996-05-22)

Print advert in Playmag (FR) #4: "Juin 1996" (1996-0x-xx)

Print advert in Blue Jean (TR) #03/97: "Mart 1997" (1997-xx-xx)

Print advert in Gameshow (TR) #30: "Eylül 1997" (1997-xx-xx)
also published in:

• Gameshow (TR) #31: "Ekim 1997" (1997-xx-xx)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source GamesMaster (UK) 90 №43, p40/41

	90
Based on 1 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 576 KByte (HU) 91 Consoles + (FR) 96 Computer & Video Games (UK) 75 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 86 Freak (IL) 89 Gambler (PL) 85 GameFan (US) NTSC-U 82 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 73 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 85 Joypad (FR) 80 Maximum (UK) 75 Mega Force (FR) PAL 73 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 93 Next Generation (US) NTSC-U 50 Player One (FR) 90 Secret Service (PL) 90 Sega News (CZ) 86 Sega Power (UK) PAL 93 Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) PAL 91 Total Saturn (UK) PAL 81 VideoGames (US) NTSC-U 80

	83
Based on 21 reviews

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Saturn)

Saturn, US
Cover
Disc Manual

Saturn, EU
Cover
Disc Manual

Saturn, PT
Cover
Disc

Saturn, AU
Cover
Disc

Saturn, BR
Cover

Technical information

Main article: Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Saturn)/Technical information.

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	459,025,728	1996-06-06	CD-ROM (US)	T-9701H V1.006
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	459,042,192	1996-06-07	CD-ROM (EU)	T-25403H-50 V1.007
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	459,053,952	1996-08-04	CD-ROM (EU)	T-25403H-50 V2.000 (Rev A)
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1		1996-02-07					Page