An Animality is a Finisher that debuted in Mortal Kombat 3 that allows the victorious player's character to turn into an animal to viciously maul the defeated opponent.
Overview
Animalities are presented as the character morphing into their spirit animal in which a Mercy had to be performed in the third round of the match in order to be able to perform the Animality.
List of Animalities
- Baraka – Vulture (grabs the opponent's upper body and flies off, severing it from their lower body)
- Cyrax – Shark (swims underground with a fin out, coming back from the other side of the screen to devour the opponent)
- Ermac – Frog (eats the opponent whole)
- Jade – Cat (attacks the opponent in a vicious clawing flurry)
- Jax – Lion (pounces at the opponent, devouring them)
- Johnny Cage – Kangaroo (kicks the opponent away with his powerful feet)
- Kabal – Skeletal Rhinoceros (rams the opponent away)
- Kano – Giant Tarantula (constricts the opponent with his legs)
- Kitana – Rabbit (mauls the opponent off screen)
- Kung Lao – Cheetah (pounces at the opponent, devouring him/her)
- Liu Kang – Dragon (eats the upper half of the opponent's body, as in his MKII Fatality)
- Mileena – Skunk (releases stinky fumes that suffocate the opponent)
- Nightwolf – Wolf (pounces at the opponent, bites his opponents several times)
- Noob Saibot – Anteater (sucks the opponent into his snout)
- Raiden – Electric eel (wraps himself around the opponent, shocking them)
- Rain – Small Elephant (blows a loud sound from his trunk, making the opponent's skin dissolve)
- Reptile – Chimpanzee (chases the opponent away; the only Animality shown not to attack the opponent)
- Scorpion – Penguin (lays an explosive egg between the opponent's legs)
- Sektor – Giant Bat (whooshes by the screen twice, decapitating the opponent in the second pass)
- Shang Tsung – Cobra (devours the opponent whole)
- Shao Kahn - Hydra (Mortal Kombat: Annihilation only)
- Sheeva – Giant Scorpion (stings the opponent, who turns red and explodes)
- Sindel – Giant Hornet (pushes the opponent offscreen by repeatedly stinging them)
- Smoke (Cyborg) – Silhouette of a Bull (rams the opponent offscreen)
- Smoke (Human) – Porcupine (shoots his quills at the opponent)
- Sonya Blade – Hawk (grabs the opponent and flies off with them)
- Stryker – Tyrannosaurus Rex (devours the upper half of his opponent's body)
- Sub-Zero – Polar Bear (pounces at the opponent, devouring them. The only shared Animality with Classic Sub-Zero.)
Gallery
Reptile transforming into a Chimpanzee.
Stryker becoming a T-Rex and eating the opponent.
Kano becoming a Tarantula.
Raiden transforming into an electric eel and electrocuting Kano.
Johnny Cage becoming a Kangaroo and kicking Baraka away.
Scorpion laying down an explosive egg.
Sheeva stinging Sonya as a Scorpion.
Rain transforming into an Elephant and blowing Raiden's skin off.
Liu Kang transforming into a Dragon.
Trivia
- It is important to note that Animalities were one of many fan rumors the Mortal Kombat development team was aware of, and incorporated into a later game. Before Animalities were introduced in MK3, many fans were convinced Sub-Zero could turn into a polar bear in Mortal Kombat II. There was even a strategy guide which published a fake picture of this happening. In MKII 3.1, one of the possible lines that you would see in the game after beating Shao Kahn is a scrambling of the phrase "There are no Animalities". And of course, Liu Kang's Dragon Morph existed in MKII before it was made into his Animality in MK3.
- The playable characters introduced in Mortal Kombat 3 morph into glowing photorealistic animals when performing their Animalities. The characters introduced in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 or re-introduced in Mortal Kombat Trilogy, however, instead explode into cartoonish-animals.
- In all versions of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 containing them, and in the CD versions of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Classic Sub-Zero has no Animality, only performing his victory pose followed by the announcement of one. In the Nintendo 64 version of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, however, he receives the unmasked Sub-Zero's Polar Bear Fatality, although he transforms by exploding similar to the UMK3 characters rather than morphing into the glowing Polar Bear.
- In Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, electric eels, Raiden's Animality, appear as minor enemies in the Water Element stage.
- Despite his name, Scorpion cannot turn into his namesake, but rather a penguin. Instead, the ability to do so was given to Sheeva. He did later gain the ability to turn into a Scorpion as part of his Scorpion Sting Fatality in Mortal Kombat 4, however.
- Furthermore, this same repetition also occurs with Reptile, who transforms into a chimpanzee- a mammal- as opposed to any form of reptile.
- The roar Rain makes while performing his Animality is part of the MK3 crying baby sound byte slowed down to 0.5 speed.
- Raiden's Animality is the only one where both the victor and the victim die.