Glitches and Errors

About Glitch
A glitch is a short-lived computing error generated by an unintended execution. Although often brief and resolved within mere seconds of occurring, glitches are popular amongst gamers and were especially laden in earlier games, often producing bizarre, beneficial or hurtful results in gameplay or graphics. Its longer-living counterpart is a bug.

Glitches in Mortal Kombat
Glitches are no stranger to the franchise and have, once discovered, been often exploited and/or experimented on. In earlier days, some may have perceived these strange occurrences as either hidden characters or moves well-placed within the game and have spread the news to others.

Mortal Kombat

 * Ermac - An abbreviation of the term 'Error Macro'. This supposed glitch had inferred that a secret character alongside Reptile existed within the game that was not only harder to locate, but was also available as a playable character. The glitch rendered Scorpion in a red sheen instead of the usual yellow, which is in fact, the original costume color that was used in filming before it was digitally recolored. ERMACS is nothing more than a statistics listed within the arcade ROM's game audits.


 * Double Super Uppercut - A glitch that required either precise time or rapid button mashing, it is possible to execute Johnny Cage's Fatality twice in a row, producing a second head in the process almost immediately after the original is knocked off.

Mortal Kombat II

 * Baby Bashing - In Revision 2.1, the game did not lock the character's position after performing a Babality, allowing the player to continue on and proceed to attack the baby, resulting in severe graphical and gameplay glitches such as the characters disappearing and half of the screen replaced by a wall of scrambled sprite work.


 * Deep Freeze Experiment - The first half of Sub-Zero's Deep Freeze Uppercut Fatality resets the finisher timer so that the user may inflict the fatal blow. However, using other Fatalities such as the Ice Grenade or a Stage Fatality or using Shang Tsung's morphs can produce different results.


 * Skarlet - The glitch rendered Kitana in a red sheen instead of the usual blue.

Mortal Kombat 3

 * Kabal´s Ripoff - While all characters have to grant "Mercy" before they can perform their Animality, Kabal doesn't have to in the Sega Genesis port. However, performing the Animality firsthand causes Kabal's head to fall off by no visible means.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

 * Scislac Busorez - Playing as Human Smoke in the arcade, Xbox Live Arcade and Nintendo DS versions of UMK3 forces the background to Scislac Busorez and will remain in there in all fights (except bosses) until the player loses and chooses someone else.


 * The Blackness Doesn´t Affect Me! - Performing Classic Sub-Zero's Spine Rip in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 as Shang Tsung causes the latter to unmorph and reappear in the blackness.


 * Colored Ice - In the Genesis version, select Unmasked Sub-Zero and perform his Ice Clone move directly above the opponents head. The color of the ice will be the same color palette as the opponent. Example, doing this to Rain will turn the ice purple.

Mortal Kombat 4

 * Meat Reset - Clearing the game as Meat makes the game reset itself.
 * Sometimes, when a character comes to deliver a neck-breaking move to the opponent, the other will say "Don't touch my head". When the move is performed, the player might be treated to a rare occurrence. Despite the opponent's neck being broken, he/she will scream out "AAAAH! My legs!"
 * When a character is defeated and falls to the ground, they will sometimes get back up, but then fall right back down.

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance

 * Endless Test Your Might - If the player starts a new Konquest Mode and plays it until mission 18, quits the Konquest, and starts Versus, they will need to do a Test Your Might. Finishing the minigame will make another one start, and repeats.

Mortal Kombat: Deception

 * Self Inflicted Fatality - If the winner inputs a fatality and the loser inputs a Hara Kiri at the same time, The fatality will effect the winner, causing them to mutilate themself in the fatality. The glitch will use the loser's weapon if the fatality uses a weapon. The fatality can be seen here

Mortal Kombat: Unchained

 * Purple Blades - In Konquest mode, training with Baraka will make his blades purple.

Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe

 * Jax's Power Fist - If the player presses pause for a long time right in the moment that Jax hits the ground with his "Ground Pound", there is a chance that Jax will get stuck with purple energy on his hand.
 * Electrical Batman  - If Batman launches his Batarang past the Joker, then Joker performs his "Put it there pal!" Special Move to electrify Batman, as soon as the Batarang hits The Joker, Batman will stay electrified.

Mortal Kombat (2011)

 * Invisible Human Cyrax - Randomly, while using enhanced moves, Cyrax will become completely invisible. He still plays normally, but he is absent from the screen. Connecting a X-Ray attack will restore Cyrax to normal.
 * Klassic Ninjas´ Color Swaps - Randomly, if the player is wearing a Klassic Costume, and encounters a hidden fighter, the fighter´s clothes will swap to the player´s colors. This is most noticeable with Klassic Noob Saibot.
 * Silenced Pistol - If the player shoots Stryker's pistol to the left, the pistol will be silenced. If shot to the right, it will sound normal.
 * Kahn Kan't be Killed - If the player gets Shao Kahn's health down to 0% while Kahn is charging or is invulnerable, Kahn can still kill the player.
 * Scorpion's Single Sword - If the player is playing in Scorpion's Klassic Costume and wins a round on the right side of the screen (P2´s side), Scorpion will pull out a sword and do a pose with it, while a copy of the sword remains at its spot and the other sword disappears, even though Scorpion never touched it. When Scorpion sheathes it, the sword returns to its appropriate spot.
 * Reptile Eats Kung Lao's Hat - If the player uses Reptile's Klassic Fatality on Kung Lao, Kung Lao's hat will go through Reptile's neck and disappear afterwards.
 * Noob Saibot's Hidden Move - It seems that when in Tag-Team, if the opponent is using Noob Saibot with Ermac and switches out during a Kombo, he will shoot a puff of bright green smoke to the player.
 * Invisible Sektor - If the player plays as Smoke and against Sektor, when Sektor does the Homing Missile and the Teleport Uppercut in order, as Smoke uses Shake against the missile and is contacted with the missile, as sektors uppercut contacts while Smoke counters the rocket, Sektor will turn invisible for a few seconds.
 * Cliping Through the Hat - When Smoke does his "Cooked Out" fatality on either Raiden or Kung Lao, his hand will clip through the hat.
 * Frozen Sektor - Sometimes when fighting, Sektor will sometimes freeze, being unable to attack and unable to take damage.