Mortal Kombat vs. Street Fighter. The battle for fighting game supremacy has clearly died down over the years, and I'd say it's a fair observation that Street Fighter came out on top, but that hasn't stopped Midway (now Warner Bros. Games) from trying its best to keep its own flagship fighter relevant.
After a rough period that included the release of several abysmal spin-offs and an underwhelming (but also underrated) Dreamcast port of MK4, it seemed the franchise was on the verge of becoming extinct. That is, until Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance was released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. Series creator Ed Boon and his team brought Mortal Kombat into the modern age with a new 3D engine and a return to the darker feel of the series' earlier games. Some fans still criticized the series for moving into 3D, and fighting game afficianados looked down at the game's pre-patterned combo system, but overall Deadly Alliance breathed new life into Mortal Kombat, and the formula was improved for its sequel, Deception. Rounding out the series was Armageddon, a behemoth of a fighting game featuring every character in MK history in playable form, including bosses.
By this time, the engine was beginning to show signs of aging and Armageddon wasn't as well received as its predecessors. Boon and company decided to take a different approach. Just like the old days, Mortal Kombat did something similar, but decidedly different than Street Fighter with the release of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, pitting well-known characters from the fighting game franchise against legendary DC Comics superheroes. However, the toned-down violence didn't sit well with longtime fans.
Midway eventually filed for bankruptcy and was taken over by Warner Bros. Ed Boon opened his new development studio, Netherrealm Studios, under the WB umbrella, and began working on a game that would bring MK back to its roots, pleasing fans, and showing that his game could go toe-to-toe with the best of the genre.
The new Mortal Kombat, which features no subtitle or number, is both a continuation of the previous games and a reboot. The game's story suggests that Shao Kahn won the battle for both Outworld and Earth Realm at the end of Armageddon, becoming the undisputed master of both. The thunder god, Raiden, mystically sends a message to his past self, showing him the events that will unfold, thus giving him the knowledge to change the future - and beginning the tournament anew. Featuring a cast of 26 fighters spanning the first three games in the series, Mortal Kombat is the rebirth of a classic franchise and utmost fan service.