Just in case anybody wonders, the version of Arcade MK4 I captured is an unpolished "skeletal" version visually. Final Arcade Graphics are better. Capturing Arcade Mk4 is notoriously hard. It felt really good to finally do another one of these after the usual months of research. Thank you to everybody that helped me with the general information. This game is notoriously hard to find out about at high level, hence this episode even existing in the first place. Hope you enjoy and are staying safe!

I like how instead of working on the juggle and combo systems to avoid infinites, they just decided to implement a mechanic that throws both fighters across the screen if you do too much damage. It looks hilarious.

"This isnt a brutality jarek ....THIS IS A FATALITY"

The alternate costumes gave the characters different weapons. Johnny had a saber by default but his tuxedo version had a gun with the moveset of Fujin's crossbow.

The game with the best gibberish of all time for sure as well as the most ominous continue screen music ever

MK4 has some of the funniest tower endings

The reason this series means a lot to me is because a lot of fighting game franchises like KOF or SF have really well documented and respected histories. I feel like some people discredit MK because they don't think that it has the same kind of competitive history. Even if MK doesn't have the same level of competitive history as something like Street Fighter, it's awesome to see that it still had a dedicated and competitive community back then. Definitely makes it easier to be a proud MK fan/competitor.

I really love when people around the world apreciated our hard work, love this video props to hanzo who keep the scene alive for so many years

So glad you got to do this video, Mortal Kombat 4 is so often left out (Midway Arcade Treasures, MK Arcade Kollection) that fans really need to take some time to appreciate MK4 for what it is!

That MK4 commercial will always hold a special place in my heart. I had it recorded onto a VHS with the first episode of South Park and would rewind to watch it over and over again.

"We've joined the smash e-sports team" uh oh

I played Mortal Kombat 4 a lot in the arcade, and when it was released for Nintendo 64 it became one of my favorite games on the console. The game has its flaws, but it's still a great game.

there was a bowling alley with this arcade back when I was a kid, I played on it a bit and used to beat some random people who'd show up and play against me, nothing too crazy to speak of, but I came back to it a few years and realized they're using the mk4 cab for tekken 3 now, still has all the art and and arcade decals for MK4 but its tekken 3 now lol

The aesthetics for this game are unforgettable. Still my favorite Mk game. Had such a strong balance of the dark/mystical tones and the great humor that can be found in MK games.

When I was little, Kai was so forgetable for me that I called him 'Carl' as a joke 😆 Until this day I still call him like that

The MK game I played the most, when I was still at school. I come from small town in Bulgaria, so we were like 3-4 guys who could challenge each other. At first we played on Playstation I think, then on PC with keyboard some of the tricks and executions you mention were much easier. Thanks for the video. It surely brought some good memories :)

Oh. Hello there mustards beard. I see you've found a new host.

For me MK4 is one of the best game in the series, also had the best soundtrack and the scariest atmosphere of all Mk games!

Everytime I see a new Meta Video, I get excited. I legitimately stop what Im doing and cast it to my TV with a good meal to really soak it in. Your hard research on a topic I enjoy is very much so appreciated. Keep up the fantastic work! 👏

This is my favorite series, as always this dudes bring in top notch content

Yes! I love this series, and MK4 is the game i have most nostalgia for.

That intro was p fire. I love the effort put in ketchup! Thx so much!

Fast paced, great action, good cast, weapon combat, great music, sort of an old school MKX, loved it a lot, fond memory includes the endurance round where you had to play the whole cast till the end...good times

3:07 lmao sub-zero gave no f$&#s to Kai’s bowing

Great episode, great series. I have a really weird attachment to this game and it’s certainly one that gets dunked on by the larger Mortal Kombat community so props for putting so much time into this video.

This series is literally television quality. We appreciate your work so much!

Absolutely love this series man, takes me back to playing MK back in the good ol' days of the arcades. Looking forward to the next one!

Someday this era of Midway arcade games will be available for us to play

Been waiting so long for this, love the content as always. Keep it up you guys are one of the best channels on this platform

Man this video was amazing. Super high quality and in depth and entertaining. Im def a street fighter guy but the nostalgia of Mk and the info i never knew about mk3 and beyond was super enjoyable. Thanks and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for this, I love your videos on the meta of characters and how a games meta turned out. You guys are awesome

Fabulous content as always. Thoroughly researched and your ingenuous passion for MK shines through brilliantly, yet with subtlety . Keep up the good work, mates!

Yo I remember this game being my first mk game on arcade, it left a really strong impression on me because of the shock I got from watching the game over screen as a kid, as I didn't know games could be that violent, me and the boys played mainly kof and tekken, but I became an mk fan after my experience with the game, so I have a soft spot for it. Coincidentally, I'm venezuelan and had no idea there was a competitive history for the game in my country, which is just awesome. Nice video as always

This is easily one of my top 3 channels, I look forward to more in-depth MK Meta episodes.

I love these info filled videos based around the meta of these classic MK games. Personally id like the part talking about tier lists and the Top tiers to be expanded upon just a bit and not casually mentioned with random character details. I love knowing what was the meta and why.

Stumbled on your channel, all your content has been killing it.

This is the version of Liu Kang I remember best, with the red vest. Wish they'd bring it back at least once.

I was not ready for that kinda of production from the intro 🔥🔥🔥

This game is really underrated. The base gameplay comes from the best part of the Klassic era (UMK3/Trilogy) and the endings are hilarious. It’s a really good game.

Congrats for a great video, as usual. In my experience in the arcades that I went to in Caracas, Venezuela, I only played a little of MK4 for a while till the place closed it's doors because it went out of business. Of course I did played a lot of MK1 thru UMK3

Thank you for another great video! I love this series!

This might be my favorite KZfaq series currently. Absolutely adore it.

I had MK Gold for Dreamcast man I loved it a lot. Awesome video thank you for being this little bit of MK history back. Till the next video good sir

Man, I have always been truly awful at fighting games, but the lore of MK was always interesting to me. As well, seeing the competitive history of MK by game, as well as Character specific has been really interesting! Thank you for doing these

Also, I can vouch for ya on playing MK4 at the arcades being expensive. There was a Cici's Pizza over near Azle, in Texas, that I used to go to. Every time I went there, I would want to play MK 4, but it cost 75 cents/3 quarters. Because of this, I *NEVER* got a chance to play this until I got my n64.

I remember looking forward to this game as a kid and being confused by its janky weirdness after finally saving up enough money to buy it. Its the first MK game i abandoned and never returned to, not when that same year tekken 3, virtua fighter 3 and soul calibur were available. Looking back on it this might be the game that ended my obsession with the MK franchise. Thank you for the excellent video and insightful commentary.

I remember the first thing that caught my attention in MK4 was when you roundhouse kick your opponent they spin in the air and the camera turns with them. First time I saw it as a kid in arcades I was instantly hooked. Also I remember my friends and I called the "bone breakers" crunch moves lol.

The only time I saw a MK4 arcade cabinet in the wild was in June 2000. I saw one at the Halifax International Airport here in Canada. I was not able to play it as I needed to catch a flight to England at the time sadly. It was all by itself in a long hall that led to our terminal which stood out as being very odd. It wouldn’t be until about 4 years later when I finally picked it up on N64 from eBay and got to play it.

I just binged all the mk meta videos and just got to this one, and damn that intro is hellfire

i have been waiting so long for another MK Meta video!! CHEERS

HOLY BUJEEZUS. I LOVE the new MK Meta intro. looking dam gorgeos!

dude!!!! I have been waiting for this meta!! I really love MK4 !!!

@PNDK&M another great meta video I remember when MK 4 came out in Australian arcades the cabs had censor curtains to stop kids seeing the violence Keep us in mind mate if you ever going to do a MK2 Meta , have a lot of footage of current running MK2 arcade tournaments in our local arcades 😀

Clicked like b4 the vid began cause these are always fire......Ketchup and Mustard the Goats

"Huge thanks to Hanzo from Venezuela" Never would have expected to hear a shout-out to someone from my country in a MK Meta video (vamos carajooooo)

I love the mk meta and competitive history videos!!!

I loved this game so much, wish more MK games were like it! The unified combo system made it feel so easy and fun to try new characters, but there was still enough differentiation with their specials and weapons to make characters feel unique.

Fantastic video! You made my weekend.

great mk meta intro and also when is mk2 and mk deceptions mk metas coming btw keep up the good work

First time I played MK4 I discovered some very easy infinite combos with Subzero and Scorpion which kinda killed it. Maximum damage was a very necessary addition it seems. Also there was a weird bug where if you froze or harpooned Lui Kang mid bicycle kick, you would trade but you would be stuck in the bicycle kick animation but Lui Kang would be perma stunned from your projectile and you'd have to wait till time over

This game is amazing, I don't think there is a more fast paced MK game! Definitely going to be playing it on my own channel soon!

My brother and I had this on N64 growing up and we used to rent the PS1 version and go up to our friends house to play it just to watch the (Awesome) live-action cut scenes. Good times

super underrated game, i love the ps2 era titles as well but i played this one a ton on n64 as a kid. i think its an interesting balance of a more stripped down classic mk game with some small 3d flourishes

This episode turned out awesome! Im very glad to be a part of it as well! GGs to everyone!

This is the 1st mortal kombat game that I had ever played since I was young. you could really feel how MK was really scary back then..

Was shocked to find this game on GOG the other day for dirt cheap, didn't think a single digital storefront sold it. Immediately picked it up, looking forward to playing it when I have time.

Perfect video for me before going to sleep.

Incredible video like always. So I guess that since MK4 is actually more poke-heavy in comparison to MK3, that puts it in the offense-defense balanced group of MK games like MK1, MK2, MK9 and MK11, rather then the more-offense-based MK games group with MK3 and MKX.

I remember the first time I heard and saw that you can play the boss character I was excited. I also spent whole summer where my brother and I let a guy borrow Goldeneye so we could borrow MK4 for the N64.

Mk4 still my favorite mk game,despite how corny it is

Mk4 was the first mk game I ever played. I never played the arcade version or any arcade game in general. But I did get the N64 version and had fun playing vs my bro. My favorite character to play was scorpion. But I pretty much played everyone and knew their special moves/fatally. There is a bug I found out about in mk4 that can make the AI you fight against stop trying to kill you. It's kinda funny because once it works you could win by letting the time run out. But if you hit them they start acting normally again. To do it involves doing a combo in a certain way that I learned while playing in the practice mode. Scorpion can do this bug and sub zero could too. But it requires a different combo for him. For some reason the bug works on everyone but goro. To do the scorpion one here is what you gotta do. Get close and high punch them into they back away and use your spear to bring them back to continue to combo. Then do HP HP HK and whatever you call upper cut. Once they're in the air you wanna punch them with HP or maybe LP might work aswell. I think 2 or maybe 1 times might work. I remember usually doing 2. You might need to walk up a little closer while they're in the air so you can land the hits. And then BHK should get the max damage thing to come up. After that happens you should immediately use your spear while you're across the map away from the ai because of the max damage pushing you away. What would happen if it works is they try to duck it but after that they don't move anymore. This does not always work. I could only get it to work about 50% of the time. The reason I think this happens is because the ai acts wired when you trown things at them. They usually wait there into the right time to jump over or something. And I think what happens here is they think they're still waiting for the right time to move but the thing is the object is already gone so they just get stuck there waiting into time runs out. I can't remember if it works on any level of difficulty AI but I know for sure it works against the hardest ones. Doesn't work against humans just AI

Seeing the MK4 infinite fall Death Coin Continue screen on an arcade machine in real life was such a memorable experience for me. Back when MK used to embrace horror and gothic themes way more freely. great video

You two are a shining example quality content for the FGC. Thank you so much.

No lie, I have a glossary of competitive Mortal Kombat fighting terms open while I watch these because I don't understand any of it. But I enjoy the knowledge you have. I play MK very casually and feel a bit like an outcast on this channel, because I have certain mains but I can't explain in technical terms why, but I still enjoy learning.

I've been waiting for this.

Awesome video. Wondering if you will cover mk2 at some point.

I recently got the PS1 version again and playing it in my PS2 Slim. I'm definitely enjoying Tanya and Shinnok again.

Fantastic video. MK4 isn't my favorite, but I do enjoy playing it occasionally.

I can't wait for you to get to Deadly Alliance, though I'm not even really sure if a competitive scene ever existed for it. Definitely not in the same way Deception did.

This, the creepiest MK entry so far

If there's one thing I loved about this game, its definitely the easy-bake combo system that every character has. Might not be visually impressive, but even from a casual standpoint it has its moments.

Got this game for Christmas as a kid and at the same time my ps1 was starting to break. So everytime I wanted to play it I had to spend 30 minutes of restarting the system for it read the damn disc.

The last time I played MK4 in the arcade was at Universal Studios in Florida. That must have been 20 years ago.

MK4 was the first Mortal Kombat I ever encountered, at a OSU Buckeyes themed resaurant of all places. I remember thinking Scorpion looked so cool, and seeing his scorpion Fatality in attract mode blew my mind

MK4 was my first love. It's my top 5 favourite video game of all time, simply because it brought me into the MK universe.

I love playing mk4. It's not the best but still had some great times.

Bought this game on console and played in arcades back in the day. Never knew mk4 was this deep!!

MK4 is one of the most underrated MK games in the franchise, it can and has been played competitively as well. Was the only MK to have actual cinematic endings too and among the best music in the franchise. That being said I'd also play MK 4 any day over MK 11 which is full of gimmicks, cheaters and toxicity. MK4 actually takes skill to win in. Also fun fact Mk deadly Alliance was originally supposed to be in the arcades but sadly got canceled and limited to direct home ports only.

Everyone hates on mk4 but it was my first move game and I love it endlessly

Well this was a nostalgic trip and I’m somewhat surprised that MK 4 was more popular than I thought. I always thought it was a downgrade because it didn’t have the roaster size from Trilogy and I find more search results from any of the older arcade games. At the very least we got some very interesting characters like Quan Chi out of it and his famous soul stealing gaze on Arcade cabinets

Idk about you, but being able to execute jax's multislam was like a HUGE accomplishment for me

i had this game back them for n64, really liked it

Basics, main tricks, in MK4s mechanics. Nice bars man. 😂

Universal strings was my favorite part of this game. I hope they do it again someday

I remember the arcade version being at pizza hut and seeing Liu Kang's dragon fatality during the demo

These videos are great!!!! 👍🏻

can't wait to see MK2 MK meta!!!!

Another great addition to the series! I have a question though, what's the music do you use for the MK Meta intro?

So why couldn't they implement the push back poke system in MK11? Cz even in high level play the D1/D3s are so abused.

Stopped watching just to say that mk meta intro was awesome, excellent quality content as usual. Looking forward to this one, cheers from South Africa ✌