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Romhacker, Master Linkuei, who has worked in other romhacks like Prince of Persia Remastered Edition and Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse FastROM, to name a few, has released v1.5b of his Mortal Kombat II 32X Improvement Hack, which features a ton of Quality of Life updates to make the 32X game the closest experience yet in a home console to that of the Arcade original.

The 32X version released back in 1994 features more detailed SFX, graphics and new cutscenes compared to those from the original Mega Drive / Genesis release. However, the original 32X release still features the OST from the Mega Drive / Genesis version, and it was also widely known of its hard difficulty (but that's a given with anything Mortal Kombat 2).

This romhack adds a toggable option for nerfing the AI and adds a lot of dropped content from the Arcade version, like missing SFX, combos, fixing timings, and much more, and it even has an additional patch that allows the player to use the Arcade OST using a MSU-MD hack, which allows for better quality audio, similar to MSU-1 hacks in SNES titles.

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For those interested, the full changelog is detailed here:

• Added more voices and sfx samples:
  • Scorpion's "Get Over Here"
  • Liu Kang's Bicycle Kick
  • Shao Kahn's Laugh
  • Dan Fordden's "Oh waaa"
  • Sub-Zero's Ice SFX
  • And more...
• Added SFX in the backgrounds:
  • Livin' Forest
  • The Portal
• Combos restored and improved:
  • Jax Flying Kick + Grab in the air
  • Scorpion's Flying kick + Teleport
  • And more...
• Gameplay and timings improved
• Reset Systemress ABC+MODE to reset or go back to the MEGA ED PRO menu
• Training Mode with an exclusive new music track!
• Deadpool Dan Fordden's "Oh waaa" easter egg restored
• The PIT II fatality improved (sfx, animations and sync)
• 32X+ alternate patch with all the Arcade songs (based on the 32X+ code by jvisser)
• Auto 3 Buttons/6 Buttons detection
• Enable or Disable the Timer option
• Color palettes improved and added shadow mode in some screens to look more accurate with the Arcade game.
• And a lot of other little improvements...
  
  
• AI Nerf (by @BillyTime):
  • ON = The difficulty selected will be fixed for every fight of the battleplan (even for the bosses)
  • OFF = The original AI: after the 3rd fight, the CPU turn into a BEAST lol
• Pause System (by @yosoynacho):
  • Press MODE to pause and Start to unpause

Source

 

[eyeliner]

Just in time for the arrival of my 32x, completing my Triforce of Mega Drive 2, Mega CD II and 32x.

 

[TraderPatTX]

Just in time for the arrival of my 32x, completing my Triforce of Mega Drive 2, Mega CD II and 32x.

I had the tower of power when I was a kid but I have no idea what happened to it.

 

[dh3lix-pooch]

Very cool additions! Will give that one a testdrive asap!

 

[raxadian]

SEGAAA!

Now someone do Alex Kidd in 32 bits... wair... They did, is even an official game!

 

[codezer0]

Wishing I had a 32X, still. Considering I already thought the normal 32x version was a solid port of mortal Kombat 2, this has me curious.

 

[eyeliner]

I had the tower of power when I was a kid but I have no idea what happened to it.

Well, in less than 6 months I got the Master System II, the three mentioned, and a Saturn.

I had some friends that had Sega systems, though I was more of a Nintendo guy.

Now was the time to revisit the catalogue that I missed.

Hoping to get a Dreamcast this year.

 

[TraderPatTX]

Well, in less than 6 months I got the Master System II, the three mentioned, and a Saturn.

I had some friends that had Sega systems, though I was more of a Nintendo guy.

Now was the time to revisit the catalogue that I missed.

Hoping to get a Dreamcast this year.

I'm hoping to get a NeoGeo later this year myself. Maybe a TurboDuo too, but those cost a lot of money, and I'd have to invest in a CRT television.

 

[Dust2dust]

Fixing the cheating AI reading your inputs is already a HUGE improvement. But to be honest, I never played the 32X version, so I don't know if it was cheating like the arcade version.

 

[Sphaa]

Fixing the cheating AI reading your inputs is already a HUGE improvement. But to be honest, I never played the 32X version, so I don't know if it was cheating like the arcade version.

I'm not sure I agree. It's annoying when the AI cheat, but if you remove it you need to be sure the AI is smart enough to give you a challenge without it. If not, the game will be fun for 5 min and the it's boring.
A cheating AI is sometime necessary for it to be challenging, especially on older hardware.

 

[Dust2dust]

I'm not sure I agree. It's annoying when the AI cheat, but if you remove it you need to be sure the AI is smart enough to give you a challenge without it. If not, the game will be fun for 5 min and the it's boring.
A cheating AI is sometime necessary for it to be challenging, especially on older hardware.

Challenging it was, that's for sure. But you're right, it was probably the best they could do with AI back when it was released. It's actually very similar to the rubber band AI in racing games back then. I don't know if it's still being used nowadays.

 

[5witchy]

An arcade perfect MK1 on MD/Genesis, an arcade perfect MK2 on 32X...
This can only mean one thing: next one's gonna be a GOOD MK3 on a handheld !!

 

[Rahkeesh]

An arcade perfect MK1 on MD/Genesis, an arcade perfect MK2 on 32X...
This can only mean one thing: next one's gonna be a GOOD MK3 on a handheld !!

PS1 version on PSP/Vita?

 

[urbanman2004]

I will def be emulating this bad boy

 

[5witchy]

PS1 version on PSP/Vita?

Same as using MAME.
I'm talking about a handheld version that wasn't butchered by Midway & Acclaim's desire to make a quick buck out of this "game boy" thing.

 

[Jayro]

Why was Sonic never a 32X title?

 

[eyeliner]

Challenging it was, that's for sure. But you're right, it was probably the best they could do with AI back when it was released. It's actually very similar to the rubber band AI in racing games back then. I don't know if it's still being used nowadays.

Main AI issue was actually how much of a cheat it was. Remember trying to uppercut an opponent and you miraculously failed, only to take one in the chin? Or jumping kicks that were almost always responded to in kind?

AI input reading was unfair, but passable but when hit priorities were butchered, that was when the game became unfair and artificially hard.

 

[Dust2dust]

Main AI issue was actually how much of a cheat it was. Remember trying to uppercut an opponent and you miraculously failed, only to take one in the chin? Or jumping kicks that were almost always responded to in kind?

AI input reading was unfair, but passable but when hit priorities were butchered, that was when the game became unfair and artificially hard.

I couldn't agree more! Fortunately, the game shined when played with another person. That's probably why it's so fondly remembered.

 

[urbanman2004]

Works like a charm...

 

[Cris1997XX]

An arcade perfect MK1 on MD/Genesis, an arcade perfect MK2 on 32X...
This can only mean one thing: next one's gonna be a GOOD MK3 on a handheld !!

Arcade perfect MK2 on 32X...? Nonono, the music is still made of the original weak ass FM Synth from the Mega Drive version. You need a Mega CD or an expensive flash cart for the arcade music to be enabled