Highlights
- Mortal Kombat 1’s daily challenges reference the Mercy mechanic, which was introduced in Mortal Kombat 3 and made a surprising return in Mortal Kombat 11.
- Players speculate that Mercies may have been originally intended for Mortal Kombat 1 but were cut due to time constraints, or they may be added in a future update.
- The absence of Mercies in Mortal Kombat 1’s challenges and the mention of non-existent “Titan Battles” in the bonus tasks can be frustrating for completionists.
Players are noticing a reference to an old feature in one of Mortal Kombat 1’s daily challenges: the Mercy mechanic. While the Mortal Kombat series is infamous for its brutal and gory Fatality finishers, other, less lethal methods of dispatching downed opponents have been introduced over the years. This includes Mercies, which were brought into the series in 1995’s Mortal Kombat 3 and would make a surprising return in Mortal Kombat 11.
Unlike Mortal Kombat 1’s Brutalities and Fatalities, performing a Mercy attack would extend a match by granting the receiving opponent more health after the iconic “Finish Him/Her” phrase appears onscreen. Most of the time this would only delay the revived player’s downfall, and in Mortal Kombat 3 Mercies were used to grant access to MK’s shape-shifting Animality finishers. Mortal Kombat 11’s version of Mercy, on the other hand, only provided players with a trophy and the ability to rub extra salt on the wound of defeat by giving them one last chance to defend themselves.
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So far, the Mercy mechanic has been completely absent from Mortal Kombat 1, though one of the game’s daily challenges suggests that this wasn’t always the case. Reddit Supa_Link pointed this challenge out on r/Mortalkombatleaks with a screenshot, with a highlighted achievement offering the player 25 Silver Koins for performing two Mercies during a match. Since there are no Mercies in Mortal Kombat 1 as far as players can tell, this challenge can’t be completed – though it does raise the question of why the game mentions the old Mortal Kombat 3 feature in the first place.
Many theories have been formed to explain this strange reference, with one possibility being that NetherRealm was originally going to include Mercies in Mortal Kombat 1 – only to cut the feature due to time constraints. Another possibility is that Mercies could be added to Mortal Kombat 1 in a future update, just like Friendships were brought into Mortal Kombat 11in its story-expanding Aftermath DLC. Evidence for this can be found in leaked audio for upcoming Mortal Kombat 1 DLC characters like Omni-Man, who mentions the Mercy mechanic in his Announcer voice pack.
In the meantime, not being able to complete all of Mortal Kombat 1’s daily challenges might be frustrating for completionists, who are also pointing out a reference to non-existent “Titan Battles” within the game’s list of bonus tasks. Perhaps these battles will be brought into Mortal Kombat in an upcoming update alongside the ability to perform Mercies, though nothing is clear at this point.
Mortal Kombat 1 is available now for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.
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Source: The Gamer
