Mortal Kombat II Fan Project for 3DO Reaches New Milestone

I don’t get to share too much news on the 3DO, for those of you who are not familiar, the 3DO company was founded by one of the co-founders from Electronic Arts in 1991, and at the time had a price tag of $699 (approx $1,300 in today’s money). The 3DO Company did not build the hardware itself, each manufacturer built their own, with Panasonic being the most popular model – releasing in 1993.

When it launched, the 3DO was technically advanced. It featured a 32-bit RISC CPU, two custom graphics processors, and support for full-motion video (FMV). It also had a built-in CD-ROM drive, which was not standard then.

It supported daisy-chained controllers, meaning multiple controllers could be connected in a series without the need for separate ports. It also came with stereo sound and high-resolution graphics for its era.

Despite its technological superiority, the 3DO sold poorly due to its high price and lack of killer apps. It sold around 2 million units worldwide, far below competitors like the PlayStation (102m units) or SNES (~49m units).

Anyhow, enough of the history lesson – the 3DO scene, whilst naturally not as big as some of the other consoles from its generation, still has a scene alive and kicking.

In an exciting development for fans of the console, the fan-made port of Mortal Kombat II for the 3DO console has reached its Release Candidate stage, with version 5.01 now available as a public BETA.

Shaun, the developer behind the project, shared this news through the 3DO HD YouTube channel, emphasizing that while this version is still in beta, it marks a significant step towards a complete port for a console that never officially received one.

This project, not affiliated with NetherRealm Studios or Warner Bros., is purely a non-profit fan endeavour. As noted in community comments, the port does not yet include all features from the arcade version, such as fighter-specific fatalities. Current limitations include Shang Tsung only morphing into the opponent and potential audio skips during background changes in the intro and ending scenes. However, Shaun has committed to addressing these and other bugs, as they are reported by the community.

The latest update includes gameplay improvements and bug fixes, with plans for a “complete” version in the future that will feature all the classic MK2 moves including fatalities, babalities, and friendships.

For those interested in contributing to or exploring this nostalgic project, the ISO can be downloaded from Google Drive, and fans can support Shaun’s ongoing work via Ko-fi.

This endeavour showcases the dedication of the retro gaming community to breathe new life into classic games on platforms they were never intended for, celebrating the 30-year legacy of both the game and the console.

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