How To Beat Mortal Kombat 2's Insane Difficulty! | Arcade1Up

[@fista1331]

God this brings back so much memories of going to my local arcade and watching people line up to play MK2 for hours... Best childhood memories there. Miss it. Sure you can play online with people in the comfort of your own home, but something about actually being there next to your opponent.. making friends.. the sights and sounds of the arcade.. nothing like it.

[@KillerArcadeGames]

I agree. I miss arcades. We still have some great ones in Texas but most of the patrons aren’t skilled players. I’d love to do battle with a good player one Killer Instinct or MK again....mainly MK4 because I’m much better at that one haha.

[@mikejulz87]

Mortal Kombat 2, Street Fighter 2, Tekken 2.. those were the days

[@Ethernet480]

Same....put the quarter up on the screen sill to hold your spot in line

[@mekkimaru2365]

Making friends......or being threatened with violence because they lost!! Have seen many fights in some pretty ghetto arcades in the mid 90s

[@deinly1]

@@mekkimaru2365 I was about to say, sure I did make a few friends, but I also got decked by an 18 year old over a tic throw on sf2- when I was 11 and he cheesed first.

[@user-jl2wd1it8h]

The sound effects and visuals in the game are amazing. The voice overs are still some of the best ever made.

[@TboneTenEighties]

Agree.

[@clintjones92515]

"I RULE THIS WORLD!"

[@StonedDragon-kj1di]

Agreed

[@JB-mb6lm]

Yep!

[@RexBanner_]

OUTSTANDING!

[@jameslockwood8840]

The Mileena / Kitana AI throws are ridiculously frustrating and bs

[@KillerArcadeGames]

I agree. Seeing this game again as an adult really shows how much money I threw away to annoying AI as a kid haha.

[@icecsm16]

I was playing MK2 at Costco because they have these for sale and I totally agree. My second opponent was Mileena and I was surprised at how difficult she was. Her throws are ridiculous. When I'm performing a move, she somehow grabs me through it 96% of the time. Very unfair!

[@jeff-8655]

That's how they made their money of the arcades you had to keep putting quarters in over and over.

[@DRHORSELEACH]

I would go as far as to say that the AI straight up cheats. It can cancel your moves and override them with it's own at inhuman speeds. I still love the game but goddamn lol.

[@randygr8121]

you just can't let them walk in on your or you're done

[@jasonxhx7854]

Man I used to know every single ability for every character, how to turn into each character with Shang Tsung, beat all my friends, and still never beat the game vs this AI. Awesome to see them smashed. Thank you for the video!

[@claysoggyfries]

Same bro. The AI is probably some of the worst AI in history

[@leiperfamily7707]

As good as you are I was better

[@leiperfamily7707]

@NÄFYUS 2049 you got a problem with that mr Lawrence?! Jk I’m ok at the game not the best

[@anthonyshanaman5637]

@NÄFYUS 2049 what? I always landed my jp kicks. Y’all are weak.

[@GetOffMyLawn_]

A r b

[@germonmarshall9492]

When you get to Kintaro..with any character, when the round starts, don't move. High punch repeatedly, Kintaro will get hit with the first punch an stand there as long as you keep high punching. Do this for 99 seconds an win flawless victory both rounds.

[@notsure1135]

That was true early on in the game, like in the last few weeks of 1993, but by February of 94, it changed.

[@germonmarshall9492]

@@notsure1135 it's worth a try.. it still works on my MK II mame rom..

[@TheHonro]

@@notsure1135 It still works. Well on the latest rom I have does.

[@retr0life]

This kinda works on the DOS version, but you have to somehow bring him to the edge of the screen first.

[@jackcasse]

The AI was likely made insanely hard to promote people playing each other which, of course, equates to more quarters.

[@orenmauritzen8674]

Probably, me and my friends used to play singleplayer until we were about to get killed, then we inserted an extra credit and pushed start in order to "save ourselves from losing the round" We thought we were so smart, "cheating the machine" lol kids

[@dustyjarvis464]

Agreed

[@hughmc1133]

The most effective strategy I found was to force the CPU to jump towards you and counter them with a quick jump kick. To do this take one step forward and jump backwards. You'll notice the CPU hesitate for a split second before jumping forward. You'll hit the ground first and that'll give you the opportunity to launch the jump kick counter. Its pretty effective.

[@Doucheydouche]

I used to see people use that strategy in the arcades. It works at least until you get to Kintaro. I can’t remember if it works on him. I’m almost positive it doesn’t work on Shao Kahn.

[@psychotheunsane7285]

@@Doucheydouche it doesn't work on either of them because they use a "boss jump" (they stay upright, snd don't jump as far). There are plenty of cheese strats to beat them with nearly everyone, though.

[@redghost4664]

that's the technique i used back in the day, most effective using sub zero after the jump kick counter freeze the ground as soon as i land from that kick enemy slipping toward me and then uppercut or kick him. unfortunately it didn't work with kintaro....

[@CrazyClayer]

@@Doucheydouche yeah, this is exactly how I played as a kid. I dont remember ever beating II in the arcade. I think I only saw one or two people ever beat it. III and Ultimate must have been easier because I beat that several times in the arcade.

[@chakir348]

In mk 3 sub zero freezing attack do to the jobe too

[@trapmouth]

Don't hold block at the beginning of the round against Shao Kahn. Hold down to duck, his dash attack won't connect, and then you can uppercut.

[@TogonzoMedia]

This game's final ROM revision has loop holes depending on who you pick and which side of the machine you play on. These loopholes require the difficulty to cranked all the way to max (VERY HARD) to make the CPU AI predictable from the 3rd fight to the end. This way, the only hard battles will be the hidden characters (Jade for 1P game, Smoke/Noob 2P game) and the bosses ... If you're playing on the left side: Pick only Cage, Reptile, Sub-Zero, Shang Tsung, Jax, Baraka, and Scorpion. With the latter being the only exception, all these fighters have one thing in common: no teleport move. Teleporters are handy only on the right side because they have a different loophole to exploit. From here, during the 1st match on the Deadpool, just duck down. The CPU will walk right next you, and whiff high punches. Time it right and uppercut 'em. Or if you're Cage: nut punch, football punt (F+HK), shadow kick juggle. You can win the fight with just all uppercuts but the CPU could still get in some retaliation. For the 2nd fight, the pattern there is two or three jumps backward to create distance and then jump forward and kick, and juggle or sweep if it lands. Fairly easy fight but this pattern only works here because now the CPU is pissed off and ready to kill you. 3rd fight onward: When the fight opens duck for a split second. The CPU could open the round with either a jump kick attempt or a teleport, and if you time it right, you can make them pay with an uppercut. Other than that, this is where the CPU likes to approach you until they reach just outside of sweep range and either throw a projectile or teleport move. This is where a CPU Raiden becomes dangerous because he can decide to just ... hooomakamatayeeee ... from the front or back! The key here though is they usually chuck 3 or 4 projectiles moves in a row before advancing forward, teleporting, or shadow kicking. If they advance forward, you need to time a backward jump so that when they walk in close for a high punch, it should whiff since you're already near the arc of your jump or making your descent. This goads the CPU into leaping after you after a brief hesitation ... and that hesitation is key because you're already on the ground by the point to either uppercut them or set them up for a combo. Without this hesitation, you should jump back one more time to create more distance since the odds are the CPU will follow you with another forward jump, setting themselves up for punishment. The drawback here: if you put yourself into the corner, *DO NOT FIGHT YOUR WAY OUT*! If you don't let the CPU throw you out of the corner, they will wreck you with a corner combo and then throw you. So letting them throw you is the best option as it's less damaging and puts them in the corner, where there's a 75% chance they follow up with a special move that can be blocked for a corner combo of your own. If they pursue instead, leap backward once they're within sweep range. They'll probably follow you with leap forward for the hesitating leap forward. Use this all they way up to the bosses ... BOSSES: For Kintaro, play defensively. He's going to fireball and leap a lot. But he's also going to roar and pose just as much. If you're using a character that has a 25 degree angled jump kick, you can Flawless Victory is ass all day long because if you do a snap jump kick right at his forehead when he's walking toward you, he'll bend down to double uppercut you and eat the jump kick instead. This snapping jump kick -- i.e. where you hit the kick button at the same time to leap forward -- is crucial for the boss fights, but fighters with a 45 degree jump kick (Raiden, Lui Kang, Kung Lao) can't pull this off but they have fireball and teleport traps to make up for it. Just keep practicing here. The 25 degree angled jump kickers can wreck Shao Kahn by forcing him into a corner and once there, duck his hook, and retaliate with a ducking low punch + uppercut for a sick two-hitter! RIGHT SIDE LOOPHOLE: This will be short and sweet: the CPU is a sucker for being goaded into throwing projectiles when you're doing a leaping backward kick. So if you time your kick very late so that the animation for it starts just a split second before you hit the ground, they'll throw a projectile, opening them up for a teleport combo or Liu Kang's low fireball. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. I shit thee not! You can fireball trap, teleport trap, diving bullet kick, ground roll yourself all the way to the bosses with the remaining characters since they can't perform any of the loopholes on the left side of the machine. Attempting those loopholes on the right side = Roundhouse City! Not good!

[@ganjabobby]

This is pure gold! You’ve really been there, got the t-shirt, and wrote the book. If only we had the resource in the 90’s.

[@ctgmighty7039]

Fun fact there is actually a strategy with teleport characters as well, if you've seen PNDK&M you'll know that the best strategy especially for speedruns is to jump back and kick which will bait the Ai to react then as they react you teleport and punish their reaction, it works the best with Cyber Smoke as he can get the best damage from jump back kick, teleport punish then jump in kick into air grab, it makes running through this game so much easier

[@ctgmighty7039]

My bad I wrote my comment before reading the right side loophole but it works on both sides if you jump back kick straight away then teleport punish on reaction to the projectile

[@dutchdykefinger]

krissspy

[@aquilonianace4791]

@@ctgmighty7039 You are confusing mk2 with ultimate mk3. Cyber smoke is not on this game. It's okay. You weren't even born when these games came out.

[@teamspirits732]

Kintaro is very easy to beat if you're playing as Sub-Zero, just lure into a corner then freeze him when he taunt then push him to the corner before he de-freeze and repeatedly use low punches on him until he's dead.

[@alanlee67]

Barakas shredder is OP. The ai often walks or jumps into it.

[@yungsammysosa6201]

Thats exactly what he just said 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@davidkruse4030]

Did you watch the video🤦‍♂️

[@alanlee67]

@@davidkruse4030 Didn't really watch it. used to run the machine back in the day with this cheesy tactic. You can beat the game on a couple credits if the operator doesn't set the difficulty off of the normal.

[@thereisaway4632]

"It's doesn't care how many times it's kicked your ass, it's just wants to kick it some more..." MrGstar321

[@sykosteve777]

"The A.I. in this game is FUCKED" - MrGStar321

[@KillerArcadeGames]

I agree on both of these quotes LOL.

[@jouby3109]

that guy's a fucken legend

[@samm5334]

Rip MrGSTAR321

[@thereisaway4632]

@@samm5334 hi. It's me

[@mattb9664]

Version 2.0 was actually fun to play in the arcades, and just about everyone could 1cc it. That all went away with version 3.1. My exploit fighter is Kitana - I use her longer sweep kick which has sometimes a phantom connect, and just take my time to draw the CPU in for an unguarded hits. Technique is pretty similar to yours in the video!

[@fullnelsontecmo]

Raiden is the easiest character to defeat Kintaro with. You can teleport after a knock down followed by a roundhouse kick. You can continue teleporting and roundhousing until he's defeated.

[@digitalintent]

Crouch. Wait for the character to get close. Jump back. The enemy will jump towards you. Do a roundhouse kick. Jump forward (depending on character a combo may be possible.) Rinse. And. Repeat. This is pretty much how everyone in the arcade beat the game.

[@GUARDIANA01]

This exactly 🤟. As a 13/14 year old when MK2 came out, this was one of my all time favs !!! At the time though honestly I didn't recognise the difficulty issue................... There was this little old cabinet in the corner no one played ...except me. It's name........ was Samurai Showdown. I had come welllllll prepared 😂🤣👊

[@theungreatkahli]

Yep

[@richardslotboom9250]

Yes this works well too

[@juniorarererua2571]

Yup fukn oath brother best cheapie ever..... shang tu sung was my man i knew every character fatalities ( hence why i like shang tu sung)

[@jondoe-du2fr]

My tactic used to be: Pick Liu Kang. Jump back and hold LK to charge his Bicycle Kick. Spam his Flying Kick (Fwd, Fwd + HK) a couple of times. Then release LK to do the Bicycle Kick. The AI would duck the Flying Kicks but stand up and get hit by the Bicycle Kick 9 times out of 10.

[@projecttracer6039]

The AI was so damn brutal in this game even on the easiest difficulty

[@TheRoboKitty]

@Luis Suazo The devs weren't trying to "properly set". It's well documented that the Mortal Kombat games will let Ai opponents just cheat and ignore your attacks between 50% and 90% of the time, depending on certain variables (the starting difficulty and how many times you've already won)

[@TheLiquidheat2643]

@@TheRoboKitty yeah they actually have videos and explain on how the AI cheats to where it's impossible to hit them they'll always counter you and hit you first it was 1000% of cash grab scam LOL

[@ShaneDurette]

There is a mechanic in the game, which you can tell the AI jumps when you jump. If I recall it had to be player 2 side. But if you duck, wait for the AI to walk towards you , then jump back. The AI will delay then jump at you. This gives you free rain to do whatever you want to them. Whether it be juggle them or whatever you like. GL and enjoy.

[@ragewarrior3743]

Yes only player 2 side you could have kinda hypnotize the AI and just basically have them walking same distance from you back and forth. Nice memories

[@psychotheunsane7285]

@@ragewarrior3743 That's usually only seen on higher difficulties when the AI is trying to play perfectly and is practically staring unblinking right at your controller.

[@cdawg9031]

This tactic was used back in the day with Baraka, but it's slightly different with other characters, but jumping back, forces CPU to jump into you, this was the main weakness of the CPU, my 2 favourites to use was Subzero or Scorpion, haven't played this game in years, Awesome video though dude

[@cdawg9031]

Yeah, everyone in the Arcades back then was doing it, but so true

[@ghoulflier1016]

Oh man, after so many years I finally have the glimpse of a chance to beat this game. Thanks a lot!

[@mastrorick]

14:03 "surprisningly Shang Tsung is not that difficult here" Shang Tsung: proceed to punish him

[@MOE13576]

Yes, we ALL SAW the SAME video you did.

[@bannedkapreese1]

There’s a much simpler method with scorpion to beat the regular fighters after the 3rd one. Jump kick, hold down while they’re landing and getting back up, then when they walk towards you, jump back. They’ll jump with you, but you’ll land first. As you’re landing, start the spear move while you’re in the air. You should be pressing low punch to finish the sequence of the move when you touch the ground. By the time they land, they’ll jump right into the spear. You just do this forever until you get to Kintaro. With him, you can easily beat him with anyone and their jump kick. You just have to time it perfectly right after he uppercuts and misses you when you’re jumping towards him. The jump kick has to be SUPER late and super deep in order for this to work. You can beat anyone with Shao Khan, too. Sometimes he’ll mow over you with a shoulder thrust or a punch, but you can basically jump towards him, land right in front of him and crouch immediately. He’ll do a punch move. Wait for the punch move to completely end, then uppercut him. Jump towards him as he’s getting up and just keep repeating the crouch and uppercut method.

[@KillerArcadeGames]

I'll try it!

[@murraymorgan7796]

I used to cheese kintaro with Scorpion - get him into the corner and try and do the in close HP elbow, the temporary stun means you can do it as long as it takes. Shao Khan is easier, jump into him with no attack and duck, more often than not he'll do the kick or the punch which will miss and you can uppercut. Very cheesy but also effective.

[@lucasterable]

Everybody in my town used these strategies: MK1: jump backward; jump forward + dropkick MK2 vs regular characters: crouch and wait; jump backward when AI gets close; AI will jump toward you -> uppercut or roundhouse-kick it while it's midair. Jump toward it and crouch. As it gets up, jump backward, and so on. Works with any character but only if you play on the Player 2 side. MK2 vs Kintaro: leg sweeps. Vertical jump + kick when he does the leap move. MK2 vs Shao Kahn: leg sweeps. crouch to avoid his shoulder tackle and uppercut him.

[@TheHeadlessHorseman]

There is a couple tricks I learned for mk2. Sweep repeatedly. I have won entire matches just but sweeping over and over again. The computer is more prone to falling for this in mk2. If your not playing as baraka you can still learn them into jumping towards you by jumping backwards and then when then flip towards you press back and high kick to do the round house

[@enigmazach]

Thanks for shining a spotlight on the Kintaro method I use! The timing and distance are indeed crucial, but once mastered it becomes extremely consistent. Cheers!

[@KillerArcadeGames]

No problem, thanks for uploading that video, I'd never seen that one before. I always knew if jump kicking a lot was easier but didn't know the exact reason or method. I just saw you did an MK1 video too, I'll have to check it out, I've never thought of that game as overly difficult. MK2/UMK3 is ridiculous though.

[@tra2118]

For some reason this really satisfying to watch lol

[@KillerArcadeGames]

Well there may be another one of these coming soon for you to be satisfied by! hahah

[@gregorygow5445]

Thank You So Much! Your video helped me to beat Mortal Kombat 2 (SNES) as Baraka! I kept on using that Shredder Move!

[@KillerArcadeGames]

I’m glad it was helpful!

[@MrBenedictHeyer]

There's a method for beating Kintaro based on a simple fact: he does not have max damage pushback from punches. What I do is I choose Sub Zero and jump into the corner. Sometimes Kintaro jumps after you and does his battle cry. When he does, you have to freeze him. Once he is frozen, jump over him and push him into the corner while frozen. Then take a small step back and spam punches. You will be able to drain all his energy and he won't be able to escape from this.

[@KillerArcadeGames]

That sounds difficult to pull off but I'll try it! Thanks!

[@jaredt2590]

The difficulty goes up as you play. If you set it to very easy by the time you get to the final fight it'll be on very hard. I'm really good with Reptile, I pretty much get to Shao Kahn with him and then use another character if I want to beat it with someone else.

[@Angelalex242]

I was a Scorpion player. Teleport spam was my friend, and his spear proved effective against the bosses.

[@Capodecamper]

You can hold block and down in the corner to cheese Mr khans shoulder charge

[@Zenn3k]

Proud to say, I beat MK2, in the Arcade, in the 90s (I don't recall the exact year). I used Katana, and I cheesed the SHIT out of it :) Fan wave, jump kick, air fan, zip punch combo on repeat.

[@Xyphoe]

The strategy I used that I found as a kid was pretty simple and usually got me to Kintaro was this - Keep ducked > Let them walk right up to you > Jump Back > 4/5 times they'll jump with you > Uppercut or round house kick > move forward to gain ground > repeat. The basic strategy. Which I think others here in the comments have mentioned. Doing uppercuts was risky though, a late timed round house kick was better because it would send them right over to the other side of the screen meaning you could walk forward and not get stuck at the back of the screen where you couldn't jump backwards. Kintaro I can't remember how I beat him, I think I just use to cheese him with jump kicks.

[@Jeremias194]

Just in case, I recommend that you know all of Baraka's special moves so you can use it on other occasions to do more damage to the opponent and if you want to make it more fun you can do Fatalities although it is not necessary

[@Sk8erPhatCat13]

17:50 Shao Kahn's Shoulder Charge, all you gotta do is duck with no block, this leaves him wide open for an Uppercut. There is a certain distance where he gets up and automatically goes for the Shoulder Charge. After an Uppercut, stand that distance and you can just Uppercut after his Shoulder Charge everytime

[@Thedude38356]

The Kitana fan lift method was how I defeated Kintaro and Shao Khan to win Mortal Kombat 2 as a kid. She became my favorite player for that trick.

[@mr_shen8835]

Dropkick fan throw too

[@petr79]

If you were really skilled you could even do an uppercut while Kintaro was jumping at you from above. Uppercut would send him to the other side of the screen because of the height.

[@OxBlitzkriegxO]

The AI difficulty never actually changes regardless of what the setting is in. What changes is how fast the AI ramps up the difficulty.

[@PikangsFutaba]

Yup, the higher the difficulty, the faster it goes up with your victories and the slower it gets down when you're constantly losing (this losing portion doesn't apply to Kintaro and Shao Kahn of course).

[@dredwick]

I have to admit, I have always wanted to beat MK2 on a very difficult setting with Baraka while doing the same thing over and over.... and now I know how! Thx!!

[@CrazyRedReploid]

Here's my strategy for this game, for opponents 3 and onward (minus the bosses), I usually jump backwards all the time, and the CPU mimics that as well, as soon as he jumps toward you, immediately high kick, rinse and repeat. The bad thing about it is, it does NOT work for all characters you play as.

[@drunclecookie216]

as player 1 you can trick the cpu with most of the characters by letting the cpu get within sweep distance, jump backwards, the cpu will jump towards you and you can catch them with your character's best attack/combo/etc. keep doing that over and over and the cpu is pretty easy to beat. There are a few characters that this trick won't work for so it's best to play as player 2 where the cpu won't counter every jump kick and it's slightly easier. The characters the jump back trick doesn't work for are Liu Kang, Kitana, Mileena, and Raiden. Also, it seems like the jump back trick only works for Kung Lao for the 3rd to 6th enemies, the last several enemies won't fall for it.

[@MSigurdHall]

I always walked all over this game with Liu Kang when I was a kid. I'd be spamming punches, fireballs, and sweeps while charging the bicycle kick, and the second I knocked down my opponent, I'd be on them before they could fiht back. It was pretty rad.

[@blaazepower386]

If you wish to have or play the ultimate version of MK2 ever made, with a more forgiving and less cheap AI, i suggest you try MK2 PLUS. I installed it on my MK2 arcade cab and this is definitly hands down the best version of MK2 period. Your gonna throw MK2 ver 3.1 away. You get a few new moves, a new AI which is less cheap if you put it on extra easy, Jade, smoke and noob saibot are playable, and some fatalities have also been enhanced like for Johnny cage torso rip, the enemy's legs falls down once he throws the torso over his shoulder instead of remaining straight, which never made sense to me back in the day, stuff like that. Theres a new MK2 plus menu too and features you can tweak to your liking, you can choose the coin-up screen and the game over screen, use the classic or turbo mode, use the new AI or keep the old one.... In a word, its great ! And the greatest thing is, they used the original code within the game to bring out all those enhancement. Its not a mugen version, they kept all the original assets of the original game. Its like an updated version of the 3.1 revision. Check it out, its free if you know how to patch the rom (which i don't think will be an issue for you considering your skills) heres the link : www.mortalkombatplus.com you have all the instructions on the website on how to patch the rom and install the game. You can also get the new UMK3 PLUS that just came out a week ago. Enjoy !

[@KillerArcadeGames]

I've heard of Ultimate MK2 and actually played it in an arcade recently. This looks interesting. I will check it out Thanks!

[@blaazepower386]

@@KillerArcadeGames Yes you definitly have to check this out, its MK2 PLUS beta 2 (which is the latest version) you can also get the recently released UMK3 PLUS beta 1 as well but MK2 PLUS is the more complete package and was released a year ago or so. Once you'll install MK2 PLUS on your mame cab, you won't ever replay revision 3.1 trust me. You'll see. You will need MAME plus to run it but everything is on the www.mortalkombatplus.com website and well documented you shouldnt have any issue patching the rom and make it run in your cab. Enjoy

[@joshtaylor8304]

Where you get your cab from I need it lol fr

[@randygr8121]

what i wouldn't give for somone to release 2.1 of MK2 when you could do the babality then kill the baby lol

[@Civickid96]

I just always timed my backflip for the CPU to pause and jump forward. From there, you can uppercut or jump kick them in mid flip every single time. For Kintaro, you can backflip to the corner and wait for him to teleport stomp you. From there, if you can position yourself when he does his flexing pose, you can just throw punches at him till he literally falls over.

[@dereksbooks]

Yes, I usually used Shang Tsung with with tactic because of his compact and quick hop kick, and being able to transform for varied fatalities/ friendships. I encountered only one or two arcade units on which this exploit didn't work.

[@BillLambert]

I abused that Kitana combo so much back then. Fan lift > jump into late kick > fan throw > uppercut. Super cheap, super effective.

[@DieAxtimWaldeImSpieleWald]

Now that's interesting. Back then when I tried to figure out how all of this works in MK2 and how the CPU is cheating my top choice was always Barakka, followed by an intentional continue in the Kintaro match, choosing Kitana for that and the fight with Shao Khan. For both I always used the careful-defensive technique and when they got close enough without hitting me I threw the fan elevation thing, hitting them hard after that. It wasn't as hard and combo'ed as you did and took a lot more time but did the trick without a doubt using only one continue in best practice :)

[@MrAllmightyCornholioz]

If you played arcades like this in the 90s, then you would be come the coolest kid on the block.

[@expansioniskeyrn]

I played cheap and used Kitana or Shang Tsung to turn into Kitana and kept using her glitch move to make them go into a trance.

[@lionleon77]

Whoa! now I can see why my brother was number #1 in a small area of Santurce Puerto Rico. He was able to beat this machine at all times. He was definitely good but now I know how good he was.

[@aculp8097]

This definitely brought back some amazing horrible happy/sad crying moments

[@Omicron9999]

I dunno if it's the same for the arcade version, but in the console version there's an almost foolproof way to beat Shao Kahn easily with any character. All you do is jump back into the corner as soon as the round starts and hold crouch block. He'll hit you with his shoulder charge which will break your guard and do some chip damage, but his recovery is so long that you can just uppercut him before he can follow up, dealing more damage to him than you took from his shoulder charge. Then you just hold crouch block again, wait for his shoulder charge and repeat. He always does the shoulder charge and he always gets hit with the uppercut every time.

[@mcruded13]

Try crouching and jumping backwards when the opponent is coming towards you. Use kick to cover yourself. The opponent will jump after you and is wide open for uppercuts, roundhouses, fan lifts etc.

[@ChuckWyld]

Kung Lao's diving kick is good too! Jump backwards and have them jump with you and use diving kick.

[@t33d33]

I did that at arcade 25 years ago, Jeez that takes me back

[@melissali1571]

Love your videos.I spent 3rd grade playing Killer Instinct, mk2, xmen vs street fighter, darkstalkers, all street fighters, cadillac and dynosaurs... OMG I want an arcade machine now! Very nostalgic.

[@KillerArcadeGames]

Thanks Melissa!

[@jaredt2590]

This is the definition of an arcade game, pulls the player in and takes all their money away.

[@KillerArcadeGames]

Very true and almost all of them are successful unless you master the games. There's only a couple of fighters I can beat with one credit.

[@Tubeite]

GET OVER HERE!!!

[@Abubaker42]

I had this game as kid, the trick is to maintain a certain distance you jump with a low kick and try hitting them on knee if I recall correctly worked well about 25 years ago. Specially with Kintaro.

[@theconsolekiller7113]

Awesome playing. I go through hundreds of fighters myself to inflate the kill list and exploits really are king in these games. Especially final bosses in alot of these games. Its usually a matter of finding the character and move or moves that exploits the opponent youre on. These games often cheat and skip animations, dont take damage, read inputs or perform charge specials instantly.

[@billybones6463]

baraka's blade fury is the most damaging move in the game if i recall correctly. kintaro can be killed by any character by trapping him in the corner and low punching repeatedly. once you connect unblocked, he dies. shao kahn can be killed by repeated jump kicks from close range. he will block, but you can get into a groove where you connect before you character balls up and the space created by his blocking gives enough room to rinse and repeat.

[@thisisnotachannel]

I use that technique occasionally... even when Shao Kahn blocks, the jump kicks do a surprising amount of damage to him!

[@Incubate31]

Just hearing that old arcade sound brought me right back to playing MKII as a kid.

[@brettziebarth233]

If you wait till the opponent gets close to you, then jump backwards they always jump after you, (maybe not the first or second fight cuz they’re easy) then when you land you can attack with either high kick or a jump kick (with someone that has an air throw like jax you jump kick then hit block for the added back breaker) this is quite effective against the AI in that game.

[@brentfarvors192]

NOPE!! The AI was recently PROVEN %100 to cheat! It anticipates your move, then counteracts in a split second for every match above 4...His method is the ONLY ONE that works, because the AI wasn't programmed to allow grabbing Baraka during the blade chop...

[@hanoisolo]

​@@brentfarvors192 wrong, the method Brett mentions works 100%. I used to do that method to make it all the way to Kintaro before I got my ass handed to me.

[@brentfarvors192]

@@hanoisolo As STATED IN THE VIDEO; JESUES; I just CAN'T anymore with you morons...

[@hanoisolo]

@@brentfarvors192 hey stupid, just because you're wrong, don't get all pissy about it.

[@brentfarvors192]

@@hanoisolo BUT, I'm NOT WRONG, dumb azz!!! Did you even WATCH THE VIDEO..? Obviosly not...Idiocracy. Time for your next booster!!!

[@phixphixation7261]

When you jump back they almost always jump towards you. Before they land just smack them back with an uppercut or a highkick sweep, this works for every character.

[@facemischief]

Nice King of The Hill shirt you're wearing!

[@KillerArcadeGames]

I'm glad someone finally noticed!! My wife made that one for me.

[@jesjr2694]

Definitely want one lol

[@evilpoptart37]

Damn, you beat me to it

[@stevencoil9831]

I did not notice his shirt nice

[@dr.hugog.hackenbush9443]

I tell ya wHat..

[@09Joshmark]

Ok bro, when you catch kintaro with the fan wave, jump press High punch or low (make sure it hits kintaro), immediately throw the air fan, you will be in the floor again so you can hit with High kick

[@michaelmccoy1794]

Mixing in baraka's command slash move (forward+punch) here and there is also effective against opponents that try to shimmy you like raiden was. It has longer reach than his slashing barrage does.

[@EndlessTravels]

According to the code of MK3 and many of us assume its similar to MK2, is the code moves the dif. up as you win to max level of 9, so starting off at easy just makes the first fight easier, but the 4th fight regardless you put easy or hard will be max difficulty This game was coded very wisely to take the money of players

[@TARINunit9]

You forgot the most important part: the "diff" variable decides how often the game will just outright cheat with certain moves (usually throws but also anti-airs) capping out at 90% of the time. What defines cheating? When cheating, the game gives the CPU extended range, a split-second of invincibility, and will use a specific move with instant reaction as soon as the player presses an input (for example if the player presses high punch which crouching, the AI will input a throw on that same frame; and if the player inputs a forward jump, the AI will input Baraka's blade flurry on that same frame, under the assumption the player will land on it)

[@GregsGameRoom]

Easiest way to defeat the AI is to jump away. When they jump towards you is when they're vulnerable. Works until you get to Kintaro & Shao Khan.

[@blakfloyd]

Indeed. That's how I learned to get by way back when this game was fairly new. It sucks that the AI is so cheap that we more or less had to resort to this. This guy's technique is basically the same thing but it makes the game even more boring since you have to completely operate from your own corner. It leaves you at a severe disadvantage in the instances when the CPU doesn't play along since they'll either throw you or repeatedly jump straight up and kick you if you dare to try to jump out of the corner which re-corners you until they inevitably throw you anyway. He also could benefit from buffering the backward joystick taps while in midair so he could just press low punch as soon as he lands. That extra fraction of a second he gives the CPU gives it time to block or knock him out of starting the move. I just can't see how this even feels like playing a video game at all when it's just racing to a corner, doing one move repeatedly, and hoping you get lucky enough for the CPU to beat itself.

[@jaredt2590]

Only with certain characters.

[@dereksbooks]

​@@jaredt2590untrue. The AI is programmed to keep close to you, so it doesn't matter which character you use. When you jump back, the AI will nearly always jump towards you (without an attack). This Baraka method was convoluted and unnecessary. Getting yourself stuck in the corner as a strategy is just bad. I was easily able to beat this game without any continues back in the day, but it wasn't fun just "tricking" the AI.

[@joelgman8027]

This video JUST made me beat MKII Arcade FOR THE FIRST TIME! all of Baraka tricks worked for me even with Kintaro! Thanks so much for this tutorial!

[@VideosbySteve]

All you gotta do is hold down and crouch, then jump backwards. AI will pause, then jump forward without attacking.

[@blackneotheone2978]

Yep thats the strategy for every character except the bosses pretty much

[@blackneotheone2978]

And thats why i hated this and sf2 turbo because it read inputs i didn't know this shit as a kid so i assumed i sucked but now i know it was rigged to rob me

[@drunclecookie216]

the only ones that technique doesn't work playing as are Liu Kang, Raiden, and the female ninjas. For those 4 it's better to play on player 2's side where the difficulty is lower

[@biggezee]

@@blackneotheone2978 the crouch jump method won't work if you pick liu kang or play on the second player side

[@blackneotheone2978]

@@biggezee i didn't even know that

[@drakefulton3914]

Usually for Kahn I will just walk in and hit him with a standing high kick, the timing can be tough and he will block, but getting the timing right you can stay on the offensive. For kintaro, once you land and jump kick, after landing, hold back and have the character you are playing take two steps back (or a quick two count) and then jump in again with a jump kick. If kintaro gets in the corner, just jump back and rest to the middle. Usually for the main characters I use sub-zero and utilize the jump kick, after landing a jump kick do the ground freeze and they will walk in, uppercut and slide.

[@slimmdogg420]

There is a coin counter built into the game, it's in the game audits section, if I remember correctly.

[@mikecronis]

Revenue was about $600M US. I remember not having much of a hard time in 1993 getting to Kintaro but then it was tough beating him and that took me a few months to actually win using Raiden and later with Ermac. The MAME version is not as good as the arcade, but you can buy a refurbished MKII for about $800.

[@airofmystery14]

You should do another video of MK2 but playing from the Player 2 side. The A.I. gives a different feel when you're trying to beat the game with any character.

[@KillerArcadeGames]

Thats interesting, I'll try it out.

[@randygr8121]

works the same if you play 1 player and jump to the right side of the screen

[@SuperHns]

@@randygr8121 no, the AI playing against Player 2 is kind of broken, not as tough as playing as player 1.

[@paulnikonowicz]

I am able to consistently beat this game on one credit with scorpion. It goes like this: Foot sweep when enemy is close. If enemy jumps back, teleport punch, spear. If enemy blocks, jump back. If enemy follows with a jump, apply a combo. If enemy does not jump back, repeat previous steps. On kintaro, it's hard. but basically the strategy is to footsweep and do a little damage at a time. For shao kahn, it's really easy with scorpion: Jump forward and kick. Block Shao Kahns lunge. Punish with spear. Repeat.

[@kebarzivo]

The foot sweep and the jump back work a lot for me. When fighting some opponents, I flying kick as well. I will try the strategy you mentioned about Shao Kahn, though. Perhaps, Kintaro is the hardest character to beat. (Freezing him with Sub-Zero can be quite effective, but you have to be very quick and it doesn't work all the time)

[@vjspectron]

On SNES, I remember my fallback technique was to spam the leg sweep, especially once you got them cornered! There seemed to be a lack of invulnerability frames for standing up that would allow you to cheese the shit out of them like this if your timing was good! PS: nice shirt!

[@Anxel]

First fight, console or arcade, hold down. AI will always punch, most of the time you can time a free uppercut. It's MK2 though, so sometimes they'll ignore that you did anything and punish.

[@UttRConcrete]

Before there was the "cheesy" victory in Street Fighter Alpha, there was Baraka's blade slice lol.

[@Altown-g3o]

I’ve mastered this game with Liu kang. Simply do the flying kick over and over while simultaneously holding low kick for 5 seconds to stash the bicycle kick. The flying kicks just buy you time because the opponent mostly ducks to avoid getting hit so you have to be fast with your buttons. But when you stop let them get close to you then release the low kick button and bam bicycle kick. Obviously you have to use your own creativity of other ways to cause damage but that’s a staple and is the go to in a tight spot and it works every time. I’ve beat the game on max difficulty more then I can count with liu kang doing that.

[@brandonhall7939]

I remember watching this guy at the arcade use Kitana to high fan them up in the air while they in the corners and just high punch them to death as they couldnt fall back down.

[@SDSOverfiend]

On the player one side. Sub,Rep,Scorp,Cage,Jax,Barraka, Shang.Kit, The A.I. behaves different to them than player 2 side. Normal difficulty and up the A.I. starts with a special move. Everybody except Cage and Kung is a projectile most time. Cage will shadow kick most of the time and Kung will teleport. The A.I. is programmed to jump forward when you jump back on this side. You can delay the jump by pressing low kick soon as you ascend. When you land A.I. jump then. That's when you get creative with combos. Scorp, and Cage can get half life combos. If you get box in cross up your way out or just crouch and hold down back. A I. Or humans can't throw you in that position because it don't register (Straight down they can) . The A I. Will keep throwing a single low punch over to ur head. If you get your jump kick guarded. A.I. will do a special. Guard it and punish with high kick.. wash rinse repeat. Kintaro... Go to the corner and jump back and kick. It's weak but he will walk into it. I can remember the A.I. pattern for player 2 side. Mileena, Kung, and Raiden A I. Reacts different. I knew it in 93..

[@KillerArcadeGames]

Interesting info, thanks! I'm saving this comment to try out some stuff later.

[@SDSOverfiend]

@@KillerArcadeGames No doubt have fun with it.

[@doralburnett9886]

Cool technique. Makes sense. Smart playing. Simple and effective. Appreciate the vid

[@KindaCharming]

In a similar trick, Kung Lao is the easiest way to beat this game. When you jump backward and kick, the AI immediately will either jump back with you or throw a projectile. Either way, if you time it correctly, you can do his diving kick (Down + HK) to fly in and kick them as they throw their projectile or are jumping with you. Repeat and win.

[@leon323]

This video was extremely helpful until I got to Kintaro. For Kintaro I use Liu Kang and the strategy I would use would be to use my ring finger to charge the bicycle kick with the low kick Button and use my middle finger to jump and high kick. I'm playing on a mortal kombat arcade 1up machine

[@KillerArcadeGames]

Nice! Yea, Kintaro throws a wrench in this plan haha. I haven't tried Liu Kang against Kintaro yet, I'll give it a shot.

[@FrostyMikeGaming]

I own the real full size arcade of MK2 and I always set the difficulty to very hard and I am great at the game. I spent tons of hours when this game came out and it's sad to see my Aladdin's Castle closed down in 2000. I was also in a MK2 tournament back then and yes I did win so money for that but for owning a real arcade I had to buy that with my own money when I was age 19 so I started very young in collecting real arcades. I'm 43 now and it's cool to see these mini arcades come to life again especially for the people who wasn't around the 80's and 90's so i'm glad Arcade1up came up with this idea and I wish we had these back then.

[@KillerArcadeGames]

Hang on to that cabinet! I hated seeing my local arcades die off. There’s one location left but it’s just full of the newer arcades that have no soul in my opinion. Just money eating beastly machines. These smaller cabinets make it possible for me to have something like the real thing. If/when I move, I hope to have some ground floor room to have some real arcades. Right now, mine are upstairs in a spare room that can’t even accommodate a full sized cab lol.

[@FrostyMikeGaming]

Oh I still got it with my collection and I was lucky to buy it off at Aladdin's Castle after two years has passed so I jumped on it quick but the price then was expensive but at that time I had to own it. My friends were shock when I bought it and after the mall closed they would come and chill at my place and have fun there so it was cool having a arcade party with my friends late at night. I have one local coin-op shop here as well and they lease and sell arcades still so i'm glad they are still in business through all these years. I bought a Dark Stalkers in a Dynamo cabinet from them for $550 and the cabinet looks like new but I don't care for the game so I bought it because off the price and I still own a few CPS2 games so to me it was a steal. I bought alot from them in the past so they know me so that's probably why I got it for cheap. I think back in 2006 another coin-op shop was open and they were just selling arcades so I stop in to see what they had and what caught my eye was two Ms. Pac-Man. I asked the owner how much are you selling them for and he said $500 each so I picked out the one with the faded graphics on it and the other was just plain blue. If I had more money back then I would of bought both but one is good enough so I was happy. I had a full size NBA Jam Tournament but it got sold and I wish I still had it and the condition was super new and it was in a bowling alley place. Yeah your right the arcades nowadays are children machines and claw games and those don't catch my attention so I pass on those. I hear ya about having your ground floor full of arcades and that's how my mind was set when I was age 18 and at the time I was living in a apartment so being on the 3rd fooor wasn't fun moving them. lol :)

[@jaykob2482]

Great vid, bro! I get a nostalgia overload every time I see any of the og MK games (MK2 being the best). Damn, I yearn for those days as a kid playing in the local arcade, lol.

[@KillerArcadeGames]

Thanks! That’s why I love Arcade1Up. They give me the option to have the real arcade feel at home. You just need to invite tons of people over to really recreate it haha.

[@robyn1128]

Kintaro was easier than Raiden. That’s crazy. Great job btw. Have so many memories playing this game as a kid. I remember I loved SF2 and when I got MK2 from my older cousins, I was really excited to play. my mom saw me playing it and was like “is that blood?! Fatality?!” 😮😮 It was more graphic than SF2 lol

[@bkxc]

Haha yes, I would LOVE to know the $$$ these machines earned!

[@KillerArcadeGames]

I would assume during the peak years it would have been nearly $1k per day on weekends. Those machines were always busy at my local arcade. They had 3 of the same damn game and they were all in use. I know those used to cost them $2-$3k to buy new back then so they must have been making their money back quickly to buy so many.

[@vangoghsseveredear]

@Randy Wilson you seem knowledgeable, but that sparked a question... once the machine was purchased, did they take a portion for royalties or anything too? Or once you bought the machine all the earnings were yours to keep?

[@Beyondlimits_400]

@@vangoghsseveredear Probably not but I can only speculate as I was born in 1995 lol

[@slimmdogg420]

@@vangoghsseveredear it depends on the arcade, many places didn't buy games at all. Some like Bally's and Alladdin's Castle bought the games outright. Locally we ha a company called Dee's Amusement and they provided games for convenience stores, Walmarts, Theaters, and some arcades.

[@vangoghsseveredear]

@@slimmdogg420 so the companies send you it and rent it to you basically? So they keep majority and give the business a percentage or something? Interesting. I missed the huge arcade boom unfortunately. I was around basically to watch the end of it, but ive always loved arcades. It really is a shame they aren't really made anymore

[@Mike_44]

Oh man.. brings back so many memories of my high school years '94-'96.. Sighs.. Thanks for the video!

[@leandrotarsia7212]

No one is mentioning the player 2 glitch where you duck and jump forward from the right distance and without pressing any button. It makes the ai walk backwards to the end of the arena.

[@jorgeacevedo959]

I loved that glitch with Kitana to push them to the wall then jump in low kick, fan, low punch then uppercut!! It was beautiful ❤️

[@jorgeacevedo959]

Or same wall, jump in low kick then fan lift himp in again low kick air fan ❤️

[@leandrotarsia7212]

@@jorgeacevedo959 Yes. You can pull some ass wrecking combos with that glitch.

[@yamilchedraui5779]

That was the only way I could make it through the game back in the day

[@PlanetZoidstar]

It might just be some janky hitboxes at play, but I swear sometimes your Blade Fury attack just wouldn't work on the A.I. Like they just decide when your hits don't connect when they should. Plus the A.I would blatantly recover from knockdowns faster than a Human player would, so you could knock them down with a jump kick, but they recover almost instantly to retaliate.

[@gmon7940]

I use the technique where I get close to them and jump back, then they'll jump forward after me which will give me time to land a HK. Rinse and repeat. I play Shang Tsung and morph into the opponent when it's time to finish them and perform their own fatality against them.

[@richardslotboom9250]

Same here this method works really well!

[@gmon7940]

@@richardslotboom9250 Yeah, pretty much have to play cheap to beat the AI in this game.

[@brorjordas1979]

Never played this MK2 as an arcade - only on PC. But this video did bring back memories. I remember playing lots the MK1 arcade when I was a kid. Remember well that Kano was the one to first get thru Goro. Kano's leg was so low down on the jump kicks that you could easily hit Goro immediately when going up in the air. A long serie of rapid jump kicks towards Goro's face was more than effective. Kinda repetitive (and boring) surely - but was the way to get easily to challenge Shang Tsung with all of the other characters.. Good times.. Nowadays sometimes play MK1 on a plug-n-play controller game that connects directly to the TV.😁

[@urnotjustin]

lol this was a cool video. my strategy was always doing a high output of damage or trying to manage one. I'd do Sub-Zero, jump back to bait them to jump in, roundhouse, freeze the ground, they walk into it, roundhouse/uppercut, slide, jump kick - rinse and repeat. not full proof though obviously

[@retiredsnowbunnyhunterx5106]

That's exactly how i play with sub zero in mk2. Seem like that only works with sub zero, scorpion, reptile, johnny cage, and baraka.

[@bboy1481]

@@retiredsnowbunnyhunterx5106 kung lao and jax

[@MrLinkyPlays]

That was like same with mk4 except you combo into his wep, then just keep throwing it untill they duck then combo again and pull out a new wep.

[@SuperRobertson79]

You don’t have to go to the edge of the screen. Just crouch, and let him get near, and than jump back, the opponent will follow you with a jump! I remember to play MK2 in Hungary with one coin (20Ft) trough! There is also a trick for player two, and with that you can make nice lookin “combos”.

[@LakeFX]

Playing the Sega Genesis version when I was 10, If I saw that Mileena and Kitana were at the top of the tower, I'd immediately hit "reset".

[@KillerArcadeGames]

LOL!

[@robdifazio1228]

If u use lui krang and bicycle kick against kintaro in the corner n spam low n he cant do nothing. Also u can sweep kick when hes close that works too

[@erik814u2]

So there is another way to cheat the AI that is actually a little more fun than the one you showcase here because it allows you to actually pull of some nice juggle combos. You have to choose the player 2 side. This works best against the 2nd to 3rd AI opponent because as you mentioned, this is where they get really cheap. Basically all you do is move in towards the opponent and watch them walk back. You can essentially walk them all the way into the corner and as long as you keep walking forward, they will keep walking backwards with no risk of them doing anything to you. Next step is to walk away just a bit and then jump back once. 95% of the time, the AI fighter stops walking away from you for about a second or 2 because they are about to throw a projectile. Right before they do, you are in the perfect position to jump in over the projectile and land a jump kick that will juggle them for the opportunity to land a 2 or more hit juggle combo. I used to do this back in the day in the arcade and beat the whole game on 2 quarters. It even works on Jade but you just need to time your jump quicker because she moves faster. Enjoy!

[@billybones6463]

i'm confused about the start of your combo; the AI always walks toward the player with the goal of doing a throw. so how do you get it to move away from the player? its hard for me to visualize walking forward, then jumping back once, then jumping forward over their projectile. still, i am interested in seeing your strategy in action bc it sounds promising

[@erik814u2]

Billy Bones Here’s a link to the video I created. Notice how you need to walk in slightly before you jump into them to activate the glitch: kzbin.info/www/bejne/emnXg5xjZdp3qqc

[@erik814u2]

Billy Bones Here’s another video I made for you: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpKxk6FjfJx8qbc

[@sabin97]

back in the 90s what we did was a very simple thing.....wait for the computer to get pretty close to you, but not close enough to grab you, then jump back. if the computer jumps, upper cut it. if it doesnt, then jump back again. it takes a while to calibrate the distance correctly, but once you do, it will follow your lead every single time.

[@Wildbot34]

Still have the muscle memory of how to do all these moves 25 years later....insane

[@Dimebag333x]

I remember some combos too! Insane is right

[@teknomax7883]

Not as hard as you think, mate. Kiiind of riding a bike

[@htxflow]

My cousin not too long ago came over while i was playing killer instinct on the Wii(modded). He's not a gamer but was able to do all of orchids combos like he never forgot after 2 decades. That muscle memory a mf bro lol

[@oknarphianexkraveduccial4325]

First of all it was 28 ago when mk2 released. Second of all there where 4-5 motions for all the moves. Du df DB bf bb FF the same for every fighting game.

[@oknarphianexkraveduccial4325]

You're insane if you're proud of remembering child's play

[@WJSMAIDEN89]

I figured out pretty quickly that Baraka was the fighter that would get you to Kintaro with that slashing attack when I first played the game. After that just jump kick with any fighter to defeat Kintaro and possibly Kahn. I only found out about beating Kahn effectively by watching youtube videos.

[@Klos1neMN]

For the very first opponent, at normal difficulty, you can actually just crouch and the computer won't do anything except try to high punch you. This was programmed into the arcade version as well as all the home ports. From there you should be able to just uppercut them the whole match.

[@ic_trab]

If you lower the difficulty, it increases the amount of matches where the AI will do that. It is basically doing that instead of throwing you.

[@ebim0nster]

Wow! Funny how I stumbled upon this. I used this exact strategy when I played this game as a kid