Mortal Kombat 2 Walkthrought
Running through Mortal Kombat II on Sega (Genesis/Mega Drive) is pure ladder climbing — no detours. Pick your path — Novice/Warrior/Master — and head up. Early floors follow simple rules: play mid-range, wait for a jump — cash out with an uppercut; if your poke gets blocked — instant sweep. Baraka loves to spin in with Blade Spin — hold block, wait for the lull, then uppercut. Reptile happily dashes across screen on nothing — feint an opening, bait the Elbow Dash, greet him with an uppercut. Versus Sub-Zero, keep it tidy: his freeze blows up jump-ins, so step in and out to bait a whiffed ice, then jump-in kick — back off. Never forgive Scorpion’s teleport: block, immediate uppercut, then a sweep to lock the corner. Mileena is straightforward: block the Ball Roll — uppercut punish; if she fishes with sai from range, hop on her head while she reaches.
Ladder: fight order and stages
The MKII ladder on Sega usually runs 6–8 regular fights, then “?” and the bosses. The question mark is key — keep secret conditions in mind. Watch the arenas: on The Dead Pool, after “Finish Him” you can dunk them in acid — stay close so you don’t whiff the spacing. Kombat Tomb has deadly ceiling spikes: if you’ve got a corner trap, don’t jump without a reason — a stray hit can impale both of you. The Pit II is perfect for long-range brake-checks: one missed jump and it’s an uppercut launch into the abyss. In Living Forest, hold a spot that lets you step back safely — the AI often jumps into dead space, gifting you a punish. In The Armory, don’t fling projectiles brainlessly — ninja teleports snipe a ton on your recovery.
Mid-ladder, the “mean” duos show up. Jax and his over-shoulder throw love to scoop you after your sweep — ditch the sweep-sweep autopilot, mix in a backstep into instant uppercut. Kitana’s safest at mid-screen: block fans — jump in, kick, step out. Kung Lao will harass with Hat Toss — see the wind-up, neutral jump, kick on the way down; don’t fidget on the ground or you’ll get thrown.
Secret fights and ladder tricks
That’s half the fun in MKII. To reach Jade, watch the “?” on the ladder: in the fight right before it, win a round using only low kicks and never touching block. Done — you’ll get whisked into a secret room where the green assassin gives you an exam. Smoke opens on The Portal: land an uppercut, hear “Toasty!” on the right — instantly press Down+Start to warp into the gray ninja fight. Noob Saibot is stubborn: rack up a long, lossless streak in 2‑player Versus and the black wraith appears on his own. It’s more a party trick, but for a clean MKII run it’s worth knowing — the ladder punishes the nosy and rewards the patient.
One more note on finishers. For Friendship or Babality, don’t touch block in the final round. For stage fatalities, remember spacing: The Pit II and Kombat Tomb — point-blank; Dead Pool — closer to center. In MKII on Sega, position matters as much as the input. And after a Flawless Victory, the AI often panics and raw-jumps — that’s a free opening uppercut next round.
Shang Tsung: the first stopper
Game plan for Shang in MKII: don’t give him room for triple skulls. Two strats work on repeat. First — point-blank: sit at step distance, interrupt with jabs, sweep, and quick jump-in kicks if he tries to backstep; if he starts a morph, a hit will break the animation. Second — the reaction half-step: hold mid-range, see the first skull — instant jump-in kick to the head, land into sweep. If you’re late and he starts the three-skull string, don’t jump the second — wait for the third, then go over. He loves to throw from block — after your short poke, take a micro step back instead of hugging him.
Kintaro: the big patience check
Kintaro on Sega MKII scares with leaping slams and grabs. The loop that works: jump-in kick to the face — quick projectile — step back. Repeat on rinse. With Kitana it’s fans after the jump, with Liu Kang the fireball, with Mileena a sai (no greed). He often tries to jump back at you — stay grounded, watch the shadow, half-step back, meet with an uppercut. His flip-grab is telegraphed: if you’re close, block the wind-up and punish with a sweep. Don’t mash in the corner. If you’ve penned him in, let him out mid-screen — easier to read stomps and run the jump-kick → projectile template. Any long “charge-up” (pose or roar) is a free jump-in. Don’t trade projectiles head-on: he’ll either leap over or stuff you with one.
Shao Kahn: a calm final
Shao Kahn punishes jumps and whiffs harder than anyone. The plan: mid-range and patience. His green shoulder charge is super telegraphed: hold block, take the contact, punish with uppercut or long roundhouse, then step back. When Kahn swag-steps with a “You weak…”, don’t be shy — any fast poke or Liu Kang’s Flying Kick blows it up. Block his green projectile standing, then instantly step in and sweep if he’s near, or short jump-kick if he’s far. Don’t get cute trying to leap — the shoulder will tag you. If you’re cornered, don’t swing — wait for shoulder, block, punish, and roll back to center. Two or three clean shoulder punishes plus chill play, and the emperor crumbles without drama.
A couple of practical ladder bits
In Mortal Kombat II (a.k.a. MK2, “Mortal Kombat 2”, just plain “Mortal Kombat”), the AI loves traps. On The Portal, keep a thumb ready for Down+Start — Smoke shows up out of nowhere. In Living Forest, a hint for Jade flashes — remember: low kicks only, no block. In The Armory, it’s comfy to “check” the CPU with two-hit strings then back off — their throws whiff air. On The Wasteland, don’t get herded: the open field forgives errors, but a corner trap is death — walk in diagonals. On Kahn’s Arena, forget the flash — two reliable punishes beat any combo lab dream.
If you’re clearing MKII on Sega for a full ladder finish, set difficulty to what you can hold consistently. Novice gets you to the bosses faster; Warrior hits the sweet spot of length and risk; on Master the AI won’t bite on jump-ins as much, so you’ll need to fish cleaner for uppercuts and sweeps. Mind your continues: in the finals, save credits — a couple of test rounds to learn Kintaro and Kahn’s rhythm pays off.
And about the finish: want a Stage Fatality — pre-position; want Babality/Friendship — final round without blocking. Tiny details, but they’re what make a complete Mortal Kombat II run on Sega — when The Pit II, Dead Pool, the question-mark fight, and Kahn’s smug “You weak…” are all behind you, ended with one cool, calm punish.