Mortal Kombat 1/Miscellaneous

Flip Stance

A button that changes the position in which the character faces the camera. The default stance has both characters facing with their front side towards the camera and their left shoulders facing each other. Flipping the character stance will change them to have their back facing the camera. The buttons are notated as “Front” or “Back” punch/kick and will typically use the corresponding limbs to act out these commands; this means that the move will be animated virtually the exact same but, for example, Front Punch will be performed with the left arm when the character’s front side is facing the screen and their left shoulder is in front (vice versa for right arm when their back is facing the screen).

Certain moves will also automatically change the stance of the character after playing out. There is no difference in frame data or hit reaction between facing front or back, leaving the Flip Stance button with little effect on gameplay. This input can however be used to cancel movement and generally only animates for one frame; there is potential to use Flip Stance for swaying the character’s shoulders back and forth during movement in neutral to bait the opponent into anticipating incoming attacks, however this is not a commonly utilized strategy and may not be recommended in Kompetition.

The main functions of the Flip Stance button within actual gameplay are pressing the button on a knockdown to delay getup, or using certain character-specific commands that utilize this button (such as airdashes or unique cancels which may cost meter to perform, Kameo commands, Peacemaker’s “Ultimate Ally” assist that calls Eagly to attack Kameos, etc).

Round Start

Each match will begin with both players at jump distance from each other, starting with 1 bar of super meter each until one player lands First Hit (which automatically grants them another bar). Like many fighting games, super meter does not reset between rounds. Unlike most fighters however, MK is the only game that uses a round system (as opposed to a total lifebar like Injustice or Killer Instinct) that does not reset both players back to the match’s starting neutral position. Instead, the losing player will stay where they lie while the winning player performs a taunting animation that will automatically walk them back if they are too close, creating distance from the opponent. This keeps players at a fair distance when starting a new round but may still enforce a mindgame by requiring the losing player to work themselves out of a disadvantageous position at round-start (i.e. having their back to the corner).

Taunts

Every character has several unique taunts which can be performed at random by tapping Down four times. These do not particularly affect the kompetitive meta of the game as they have no passive or active abilities associated with them. These taunt animations cannot be cancelled out of by other actions once they have started and may have recovery frames that would leave them vulnerable to attack; unlike most fighting games, however, taunts in MK1 will allow the player to hold & buffer the Block button while still stuck in the taunt animation, allowing them to block incoming attacks meant to punish the taunt automatically. Although this can still leave the taunting player susceptible to throws, being grabbed out of a taunt will still allow the player to input a throw tech (as long as they have released Block in time to tech the throw).

The input for taunts is intended to interrupt "teabagging" but this can be avoided by holding Forward or Backward while rapidly tapping Down (sometimes known as ”wavebagging”).

End of Round Taunts

Taunt animations performed automatically by the character after winning a round (some of which may feature character-specific dialogue lines). Unlike previous games, these can be selected manually in the Kustomize menu, although a taunt that walks the character back will be automatically selected if the player is too close to the opponent after winning a round.

Finish Him/Her

The klassic finisher window, a staple of Mortal Kombat; after landing the final KO hit & knocking the opponent down, they will stand up in a dizzy state with the words “Finish Him” or “Finish Her” at the top of the screen. This window allows the players a means of post-win expression to land one final hit/kombo, perform a specialty finisher, or simply taunt and ridicule the opponent.

Fatalities

A traditional MK finisher that allows players to input a character-unique button sequence during the “Finish Him/Her” window, after which a cinematic will play out that depicts the winner killing the loser in a manner that is typically very violent and graphically grotesque (although can sometimes be very silly and ridiculous). Fatalities can also be performed by holding block and pressing the corresponding face button to spend Easy Fatality tokens, which can be purchased or earned through in-game progress. Kameos also have access to their own Fatality, which is often their signature Klassic Fatality taken from their appearance in an older MK game. Additional Fatalities are also sold separately and can be equipped across the entire cast; currently the only pack of Fatalities available is the Holiday Pack, featuring Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas themed finishers.

Animalities

A variation on Fatalities in which the character morphs into an animal to deliver a violent finisher. These were added with the Khaos Reigns patch and are available to all players for free. Many of the Animality inputs are purely directional and do not require an attack button to activate.

Brutalities

Returning from previous entries, a type of “mini-fatality” that can finish the opponent as the final hit of the match, killing them in style before the “Finish Him/Her” screen appears. All characters can perform a Klassic uppercut Brutality by simply pressing D2 as the final hit & holding down the 2 button. Each character will have several other Brutalities (earned through game progress) that are associated with certain special moves and strings; the Brutality can be achieved by meeting the specific requirement needed for the individual move as the match-ending hit (i.e. pressing or holding a directional or face button, being a certain distance away, having a specific health value remaining, etc). Kameos can also perform their own unique Brutalities, usually having one associated with their Forward Throw (with the exception of Shujinko).