The Original Guide can be view here:

http://www.ultimatemk.com/cguide.php?game=mk1arcade
This is the original Strategy FAQ i posted at http://UltimateMK.com
few months ago. Its covering every single character and various
strategies and juggles TESTED in real vs matches. Since its a really
old game its amazing that new stuff have been found even today that
effects in the actual gameplay. This FAQ is the most informative MK1
Strategy Guide on the net right now and i duobt someone will release
something better. I wish to thanks to Soultaker who helped a lot
while i still writing it - he is also well known in Europe as one of
the best MK1 players there.
Another important thing is this is FAQ for Revision 5.0, older
revisions are like different MK game. Lower gravity, changed juggles
and etc, this is only for Revision 5.0 - a lot of those strats will
not work on older revisions or home versions.
Current Tier List:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Sonya
Cage
Liu Kang
Kano
Raiden
Sub-Zero
Scorpion

************************************************************************
*******
*******************************
Legend
********************************
************************************************************************
*******
F...................Forward
B...................Back
D...................Down
U...................Up
LP..................Low Punch
LK..................Low Kick
HP..................High Punch
HK..................High Kick
BL..................Block
JK..................Jump Kick
JP..................Jump Punch
SHK.................Standing HK
SLK.................Standing LK
RH..................Roundhouse

aa..................Anti Air
TP..................Teleport Punch
Inf.................Infinite
otg.................Off/on the Ground
gc..................Glitch cancel

************************************************************************
*******
*******************************
Blocking
********************************
************************************************************************
*******
Blocking in MK is different from virtually every fighting game.
Obviously
there is a button for block, rather than holding back, which eliminates
the need for proximity blocking entirely, and you can buffer moves
easily
while blocking. A not so obvious concept about blocking in MK is frame
update. Character sprites are behind by one tick in MK, so you can block
things upon the frame they connect. There is a similar concept in SFA3
called "Blue Blocking" which your character turns blue and it takes away
less guard stun meter. You can essentially Blue Block sweeps and low
hitting attacks in MK by tapping D+BL on or just before the frame the
sweep will connect, and your character will not have to duck, enabling
them to counter faster, or sometimes duck half way, and stand back up
instantly. It is a good idea to learn how to block only when absolutely
needed, so you aren't stuck in standing back up frames after releasing
block, rather, releasing block at the end of the contact and standing
up while unblocking.
************************************************************************
*******
****************************** Jabs/Kara Jabs
*******************************
************************************************************************
*******
You can cancel a LP or HP by tapping any other attack button, canceling
forward direction with LP or HP and then immidiately blocking will not
allow the opponent to hit you. Still there are some moves that could be
faster and could hit you like crouch kicks mostly. Kara Jabs is basicaly
the same thing in MK1, Canceling a LP or HP with block.
************************************************************************
*******
******************************* Corner Jabs
********************************
************************************************************************
*******

Once you have someone backed into the corner and blocking, tap LP,
because
there is no pushback for this scenario in MK1, UNLESS the opponent's
character is stand up, if they are ducked you will not be pushed away.
They
will be in the corner, and they will eat pixel after pixel of block
damage.
The only thing that the victim can really do is escape with a special
move
(fly kick, square punch, etc), uppercut, or crouching LK. If you can
sniff
out when they are going to try to do any of those, do a knee or special
move, preferably a containment. If they block a knee you will not be
pushed
back like it was in umk3, so do it wisely to keep them trapped in the
corner. Try to throw out 4-6 jabs then knee, because thats usually when
people realize that they are losing a lot of energy to chip damage. If
the
knee hits, continue to jab and keep them locked down. Also, don't forget
to
hold back while you do the corner jabs so that they can't counter throw.
If
you are under corner jab pressure, after the first 1 or 2, try and spam
on
crouch kick, and you have a good chance of sneaking out.
************************************************************************
*******
****************************** Throw Defense
*******************************
************************************************************************
*******
Hold "Back" and you will not be thrown. Up+Back, Down+Back, Down+Back+Bl
also works. Many people complain about throws, but throw prevention is
pretty easy in MK, and it's been this way from MK1 through MK4. In MK1
there is a way for throws to not be escapable ifsomeone did it to you
after you got some move (whiff backwards shadow kick, crouch kick, etc).
************************************************************************
*******
***************************** Crossup Throws
*******************************
************************************************************************
*******
This tactic is best used while an opponent is being defensive. The best
way to describe this is when you are at jump distance, do an early JKs
so
you land directly on top of the victim, without hitting them. You will
land overlapping the victim's sprite. If you hit LP right as you land,
you will have a very good chance of connecting a throw because they have
to hold back to prevent the throw, and the direction is pretty hard to

determine in such a close situation in a small amount of time. Also

there
are no crossover JKs/JPs in MK1!
************************************************************************
*******
************************** Retalation/Punishers
****************************
************************************************************************
*******
When certain moves are blocked, they will roll up into a ball and float
right next to a player setting up a punisher juggle, sometimes they
float
away from you but still can be punished. Other punishment scenarios to
look for are against Liu Kang's Dragon Kick, Sonya'sleg grab, Sub-Zero's
Slide and etc. All of these, when blocked, make them stay locked in
place,
generally very close to you, free to be countered, but only within a
very
brief time. This is not much longer than the amount of time it takes you
get out of blocked so you must react quickly.
************************************************************************
*******
******************************
Anti Air
********************************
************************************************************************
*******
Commonly referred to as "aa" directly in place of the attack which would
be used as anti-air. These are attacks which are used to take someone
out
of the air. It is very important to understand every character's best aa
opportunities. A standing HK is a very simple and effective way to anti
air someone. Some characters can aaHP others out of the airvery easily,
setting up decent, to super high damage combos. Some characters should
go for RHs on their aa's because it will set up combos, traps, or other
tactics and set ups. The best simple form of aa is the uppercut. Try and
scout early JKs.
************************************************************************
*******
******************************
Pushback
********************************
************************************************************************
*******
Some attacks/special moves if are blocked or hit opp in corner, the
attacker gets pushed back to just under jump distance. If you juggle

someone in the corner with LP/HP jab, or a jab after just about any
other
hit, you will be pushed back, but you can cancel this with any special
move. The same thing applies to when you throw out 3 jabs in succession
and they are blocked, the third punch frame will freeze and you will be
pushed back. At any time during the "iceskate", you can cancel out with
a
special move.
************************************************************************
*******
******************************
Wake Ups
********************************
************************************************************************
*******
In MK and many other games, there are times when a move that is usually
unsafe to do when the person has the ability to block can be used to
generally make you character get up morequickly and reward you for doing
so with a potential juggle, or counter after blocking when in close
range.
What you must understand is that of course, even though this is
inherently
unsafe in all fighting games due to baiting, errors, etc, it has become
a
huge part of fighting game psychology, so it is always a factor. "Will
they bait" "Will they wake up" etc. These are sometimes referred to as
50/50s. Some characters have excellent wake up moves that are actually
safe in certain situations. Moves that will mostly be used as a "Wake
Up"
are Shadow Kick, Slide, Teleport Punch, etc. Check the Character Guides
for some wake up scenarios.
************************************************************************
*******
************************ Throw/Uppercut Brokeness
**************************
************************************************************************
*******
This will be hard to explain but i will give a try. In a two player game
(and only two player) game if you interupt a move/special move or any
attack of your opponent with a throw and you do a special move/fireball
(the special move should not be anti air) immidiately after the throw
without loosing any frames, it will be unblockable. There is no100% sure
way to always get this but you will figure it out by yourself when you
can
do it and when not. That can often lead you into a victory or into a
trouble - for example Raiden- Throw, Torpedo is punishable, because if
the
Torpedo is not aa the opp can punish you even if it hits. And if you do
that vs Scorpion you risk more than half of your energy in this
scenario.

Still its a very useless stuff in corner and mid-screen in some

scenarios.
You can get even uppercut after the throw and it wont be unblockable.
Another "Broken" move which can lead into unblockable attacks is the
uppercut. So far only Raiden has real advantage of this because of his
pseudo infinite. Canceling attack with uppercut, then teleport with no
frame lost and uppercut again. I know in some very very rare cases Cage
can get uppercut unblockable SK or Sweep after it but thats it.
Some other moves that can lead into unblockable stuff are the freeze and
leg grab.
Dont forget that if your opponent just ducks the unblockable
uppercut/move
will whiff (if its not the torpedo because it hits opps ducked).

--Glitch Canceling--Explained in Sub-Zero's Guide since he is the only one that has real
glitch cancel in MK1.
************************************************************************
******
**************************** Moves & Fatalities
****************************
************************************************************************
******
SONYA:
Energy Rings: LP, B, LP
Leg Grab: D+LP+LK+BL
Wave Punch: F, B, HP
Fatality: F, F, B, B, BL (anywhere)
JOHNNY CAGE:
Forceball: B, F, LP
Shadow Kick: B, F, LK
NutPunch: LP+BL
Fatality: F, F, F, HP (close)
LIU KANG:
Dragon Fire: F, F, HP
Dragon Kick: F, F, HK
Fatality: rotate d-pad counterclockwise (anywhere)

KANO:
Knife Throw: Hold Block, B, F, Release
CannonBall: rotate d-pad clockwise
Fatality: B, D, F, LP (close)
RAIDEN:
Lightning
SuperMan:
Teleport:
Fatality:

Bolt: D, F, LP
B, B, F
D, U
F, B, B, B, HP (close)

SUB-ZERO:
Freeze: D, F, LP
Slide: B+LP+LK-BL
Fatality: F, D, F, HP (close)
SCORPION:
Spear: B, B, LP
Teleport Punch: D, B, HP
Fatality: Hold BL U, U (sweep)
************************************************************************
******
***************************** Character Guides
*****************************
************************************************************************
******
=====
Sonya
=====
Sonya is the god tier of Mortal Kombat 1. She can be played defensively
and offensively. All you need to win the round with her is just one Leg
Grab. This is probably the most broken move in 2d mk game history after
the noob saibot's fireball in MKTrilogy. Another advantage that Sonya
has is her duck block pose. She can duck jab pressure and that makes her
almost impossible to hit from close distance. Her uppercut is nice too.
Still you may have troubles for using it as aa against some Jump Kicks
like Kano's and Ninja's but using the block cancel into uppercut trick
will help you then. It can be useful for escaping jab pressure too from
some characters. Because its big hitting area you can use it as a
punisher
after blocked Shadow Kick, Slide and etc when there is no time for leg
grab. Like Cage Because of her falling animation some characters can get
aaKnee, unblockable Sweep or JK, unblockable Sweep on her.
Her duck LK is awesome. Its better than Liu Kang's but not as good as

Kano's. You can use it as an anti air but sometimes its better just to
uppercut. Sonya has very bad HK and LK. They are slow and easy
punishable.
In actual competetive game they will just never be used, except if you
have troubles with the Leg Grab and use them for punishing blocked
sweeps,
fireballs and etc. Her RH is bad too. Can be used as an anti air but its
not 100% safe. You can try to get some risky juggle using it like aaRH,
aaLP, Leg Grab if you feel cocky. Her HP is good overall. Use it for
retalations or cancel it with block for eventually aa leg grab after it.
Her LP is also not bad but it can whiff some characters like Kano and
Ninjas. Her JK is short and easy punishable, better go for JP since it
has longer hitting area. Sonya's JK is good for "on top" hitting
opponents
especialy when they will try to counter. Her Sweep is another awesome
basic move. Its very hard to be punished against most characters. Moves
like Slide, Roll, some LKs can still give you a trouble but you can spam
as
much as you can it especially the whiff sweeps.
The Wave Punch can be used of course against jumpers, but sometimes at
the start up you can often get hit by JK for some reason. You can delay
this move which is very useful sometimes.If you see a fireball start up
animation you can use it as a transport move but its kinda risky, in
most
of the cases the opponent will try to aaHP or special move you but there
is
a very huge chance they will miss. Still it can be used safely
sometimes.
Two wave punches one after another if the first one miss can work too,
especially if you play against jumpers. Another situation where the wave
punch could be useful is after blocked torpedo. Even because this move
cheat the gravity in revision 5.0 you cant add any hits after it.
The Leg Grab is what makes Sonya such a beast. The Leg Grab effects like
a
Throw, and that for some reason disable the block for the opponent. That
means that you can get leg grab - unblockable sweep/c. lk or another Leg
Grab. I will go into more details about this infinite after few. The Leg
Grab is the ultimate punisher mashine - you can punish with it
fireballs,
special moves, whiff attacks and even c. lks. Even Jump Kicks using
aaHP,
Leg Grab. Once you got someone with this move all you have to do is
trick
the opponent using her infinite and the round is yours.
The Fireball/Rings is a useless move. The combination for it is LP, B,
LP
(thanks to ChaiN for the correct combination since i though its B+LP,
B+LP
lol), its not that hard but even from full screen distance the opponent
will see what you will try to do. I will not advice to use it even in
juggles because the better option is to replace it with the leg grab. In

proto revision she could get leg grab after the fireball near the corner
because the pushback but this bug is removed in later revisions.
Sonya has one UNESCAPABLE infinite in Revision 5.0. What you have to do
is
Leg Grab, move forward and while the animation is still runing cancel
with
another Leg Grab. If you not cancel this move the second leg grab will
be
blockable. It has to be done with perfect timing because if you late it
still will be unblockable but the opponent can counter the second leg
grab
with crouch kick and sometimes even with Uppercut. If you late anyway
somehow with the leg grab you can trick the opp with sweep but that will
end the unblockable part. Against Raiden you can get it mid-screen
without
moving forward. Just Leg Grab, repeat lol. This can happen also against
any
character near the corner, in those cases its always unblockable and
unescapable.
Basic Juggles:
1. aaHPx2, Wave Punch
2. aaHPx2, Leg Grab
3. (corner) JK, aaHP, Leg Grab
Advanced Juggles:
There is really not much to write here since all you have to do is leg
grab
someone. Moves that can lead to leg grab are:
1. aaHP/aaLP (x2), Leg Grab
2. JK, Leg Grab
3. RH, (Forward is requied) Leg Grab
============================================
===========
Johnny Cage
===========
Cage is ranked as #2 character in MK1. He has good wakeup setups, rushes
and
decent punishers. His uppercut is probably the fastest uppercut in the
game
but with weird collision boxes. For example after blocked Freeze you
cant
uppercut Sub-Zero even if you are close to him. Its still very usefull
for a
Jump Kicks/Punches and if you got an uppercut in corner vs someone you
can add

massive combo damage even in revision 5.0. His uppercut is very usefull
also
if someone jabs you, when the biggest chance to connect the uppercut
through
the jabs is against ninjas or Raiden. Cage is somehow vulnerable to aa
grounded unblockable sweeps. Because of his falling animation some
characters
can get aaKnee, unblockable Sweep or JK, unblockable Sweep on him.
His duck LK is a standart, you can use it for jab escapes or countering
jks if
you have not enough energy to block - uppercut. Slow HK, better use his
LK, it
can counter even Sonya's sweep. Cage has also good jabs pressure, you
can
connect low jab and make ducked opponent standup through crouch kick if
its vs
Liu Kang and Raiden. Use his HP only for retalation and you can try to
mix low
jabs with shadow kick or nut punch (not against sonya obviosly lol). Bad
RH,
not useful overall. Short sweep, use it only when its safe.
His JK has a long range but it can be easy countered by everone, so you
should
use it for full screen fireballs or long distance jumps only. His JP is
one of
the best, you can use it as a wakeup close early JP followed by SHadow
Kick,
or countered JK followed with combo. Its also the best setup after
uppercut
in corner. Cage had infinite in revision 3.0 with JP in corner but it is
removed in 5.0.
The Shadow Kick is his best move. It is the perfect weapon for
retalation,
close or far blocked stuff, wakeups, countering crossover jumps (there
is no
crossover jump kicks in mk1). Depends on how the Shadow Kick hits you
can add
another just to be funky after a crossup jump. You should never use it
vs Sonya
since she can always punish it. You can add Shadow Kick after blocked JK
too
against some characters but better use his uppercut. It is also good
wakeup
after you being thrower from ninjas. The Shadow Kick has also weird
properties
and sometimes if you do it against ducked opponent they wouldnt be able
to
uppercut, crouch kick you or whatever for some reason. There is no way
to
predict when this will happen so dont count on it. Its possible
sometimes for

Shadow Kick to go and hit through a fireball, freeze and etc. It is also
the
best punisher for a short recovery time specials like slide, nut punch
and etc.
The Nut Punch is not so bad move also. You can use it when you jab
pressure
someone instead of Knee or against crossover jumps and jabs after it.
Sometimes
its hard to punish it when it miss but moves like Slide, Harpoon, Leg
Grab and
etc can always punish it so watch out when you use it as a surprise. You
can use
it as a punisher also if you feel cocky against slide or counting
scorpion's and
Raiden's teleports. Against aggressive dumb jab pressure players you can
try two
nut punches one after another. Say they crossover jump you and try to
throw or
jab you, do a nut punch then immidiately another if they hold forward
and try to
continue jab pressure, that sounds really dumb but it works ;]
The Fireball is not very useful move. It can be used somehow for full
screen
zoning, but most of the characters can jump kick over it. You can try to
get
unblockabe fireball after throw (i will explain that broken part later)
but still
it depends because the opponent can easy punish it. In corner if the
fireball
hits higher enough you can add Shadow Kick or JP, Shadow Kick for a
decent juggle.
Basic Juggles:
1. JK, Shadow Kick
2. aaHPx2, Shadow Kick
3. (in corner) Uppercut, JP/JK, Shadow Kick or RH
Advanced Juggles:
1. aaHP, JK, Shadow Kick
2. JK, JP, Shadow Kick
3. JK, Shadow Kick/JK, Shadow Kick (near the corner but works mid-screen
too)
4. Uppercut, JK/JP, aaLP, Shadow Kick
5. JK, Uppercut, JP, JP, Shadow Kick (about 95%)
============================================
========
Liu Kang
========

Liu Kang is #3 in the Tier List, but if played right he could EASY
destroy Cage.
This is my favorite MK1 Character because of his endless juggle options.
His
rushes and strats mostly contains "whiff" flying kicks which i will
explain later.
He has very very good Uppercut, with close to Kano's hitting area but a
lot faster.
I've seen punishing Kano's sweep with Uppercut from about 3 steps
distance. His
Uppercut is also oe of the best to escape Jab Pressure. Its perfect for
anti air
because you can punish everything with it, but you can use it with the
Block
cancel trick too. The only bad thing about it is the recovery time, if
its blocked
you can easy be punished with another uppercut, mostly from cage and
raiden.
His and Sonya's c.lks are the best in the game after Kano's. It could
give you
troubles sometimes because some characters can hit you through c.lk with
LP and
make you stand up, but if its timed right there is a very little chance
to happen.
You can use it as an anti air too but better go for uppercut because his
fast
startup animation. Very good HK, can be used for punishers or anti air,
his LK is
very fast and good too, and can punish even Sonya's sweep if its timed
right. Use
HP for retalations or cancel it with block for eventually aa flying kick
after it.
Good and long LPs. His RH is very fast but with a short hitting area,
you can use
it for a close punisher if there is no time for uppercut or the flying
kick will
miss. Good and long JP but this basic move is not used much, you can
counter
easy flying kick/roll will it if you just jump back and you are on
danger and
add aa flying kick for a neat combo but thats it. His JK is awesome! You
can
literaly not touch the ground if you mix jks and flying kick right, it
also has a
very long hitting area and you can almost always add flying kick after
it. His
sweep is not so bad too but easy punishable, use it only on safe.
The Flying Kick is amazing move. It is perfect for wake ups for such a
slow
game. Think of it like Kabal's Spin in UMK3, of course there is no run
here but
if you learn your opponent strats you can even get it when you see
opponent's

fireball starting animation. Against some characters if the flying kick

hits
them in the air in corner you can get so much fun juggles for revision
5.0 - LP,
LK then Fireball or Flying Kick and etc. The "No Landing" trick in
corner in UMk3
works here too and its very good choice sometimes in corner pressure
because it
can open the opponent for a Knee, Throw and etc. Because his weird Jump
Kick,
Liu Kang can do neat stuff mixing it with the Flying Kick. Jump from not
so far
distance with an early aa JK, they usualy will try to uppercut or
counter your
JK because Liu's JK overall is easy punishable but cancel it with the
Flying
Kick when you land and the opponent will miss, the early aa JK can open
the
opponent also for a free throw using this trick, then you can try to
throw a
fireball or jk/flying kick again. Another whiff strat with this move is
in jab
pressure. Perform some jab pressure then do a whiff Flying Kick,
sometimes
another Flying Kick right after the whiff one will work too but you can
try a
lot more variations like fireball, jk/jp, block and turtleing for a wake
up
flying kick and etc. The Flying Kick is easy punishable move if its
blocked.
You will always get an uppercut but sometimes even blocked the opponent
can
juggle you with aaLP as a punisher, then combo you, so dont spam too
much with
it. Often you can escape jab pressure with it too. I will not advice to
use this
move as a transport move especially against jump backers. Its very easy
to
counter it in this situation, sometimes even with combo.
The Fireball is another great move. You can try to zonning with it from
full
screen distance because Liu has weird collision boxes while performing
and
recovering from the fireball and its hard (but not impossible of course)
to JK
over it and hit. Aa Fireballs will open another neat situations for good
combos.
You can get even from full screen sometimes two aa Fireballs then Flying
Kick,
and if you get one near the corner you can get against some characters
about
85% aa combo! Putting some in jab pressure is not a good idea except if
its
done at the same time when the opponent try to c.lk you, in this
situation they

often will miss with the crouch kick but still will try to punish you,
liu will
recover faster from his fireball animation and almost always you could
block
cancel and retalation them. Some characters can be hited in ducked block
pose
from the fireball so i will suggest to always perform some after throw,
you
can get unblockable fireball if the throw is one of the unblockable ones
and
if its not you will recover quick enough for not being punished, dont
throw
fireballs only when its vs another liu because he can punish you with
the
flying kick. In revision 3.0 Liu Kang had an infinite in corner using
fireballs
but it is removed in Revision 5.0.
Basic Juggles:
1. JK, Flying Kick
2. aaHPx2, Flying Kick
3. aaHP, Fireball, Flying Kick
Advanced Juggles.
1. JK, JK, (aaLP if its near the corner) Flying Kick
2. aaFirball, aaFireball, Flying Kick
3. aaHP, JK, Flying Kick
4. aaHP, RH, Flying Kick
5. (corner) JK, aaHP, Fireball, aaLP, Flying Kick
6. (near corner) aaHP, Fireball, JK, Flying Kick
7. (opponent in corner and Liu is about outside sweep) aaFireball,
Flying Kick,
aaLP, Fireball, aaLP, FLying Kick (!)
============================================
====
Kano
====
Kano is #4 in the tier list, he is not and never will be better than Liu
Kang,
as many people think. His position could be challenged by a pro Raiden
player
but because not many players use Raiden, its all a matter of own opinion
and
experience. Kano has the longest uppercut as a hitting area. His and Liu
Kang's
uppercuts can hit from about a sweep distance after retalation. Somehow
no
matter how good his uppercut is, its not very useful for anti air.
Anyway its
the perfect punisher for almost everything. Like Cage, after uppercut in
corner

you can get massive combo damage even bigger than Cage's in revision
5.0. Its
though to uppercut through jabs but you can try to connect it as the
other player
moves forward. If you manage to get one of the broken throws near the
corner and
the opponent holds block after it you can get unblockable uppercut and
combo
that will be more than 100% in revision 5.0!
His duck LK is the best in the game. It does about 2 aaHPs damage and if
you
spam it right it can help you to won a round/match, use it as many times
as
possible against jabers. It is also an excellent counter for jump
kick/punches
that are not on top of your character. His HK is not so bad but still
slow
enough for good anti airs, same LK as Cage's. Kano has very neat jab
tactics
using his "Whiff" roll, otherwise his LP are good but you can be
uppercuted
through them. Use HP for retalation or cancel it with block for
eventually aa
roll after it. His RH is also bad but not as bad as Cage's, you can try
to get
it in a step away after jab pressure. His sweep is good but easy
punished if
blocked.
Kano has one of the best Jump Kikcs in the game. It can hit easy ducked
grounded opponents, easy can hit otg, easy can win aa jump kicks duel
but,
after the block, uppercut retalation was discovered he loose his
potential vs
liu, raiden, cage and sonya. Kano has an awesome Jump Punch too. You can
use
it as a wakeup close early JP but not followed with Roll because if its
blocked you risk too much energy, or countered JK followed with combo.
Its
also the best setup after uppercut in corner. Kano had infinite in
revision 3.0
with JP in corner but it is removed in 5.0.
The Roll is his most powerfull arsenal. You have two variations of this
move.
The first is performed by holding Block and then circle counter
clockwise. There
is a way to actually use it, like just when your opponent decide to
throw a
fireball to release a block but you will not be able to do that as a
surprise
more than 1 times in a match (or opponent LOL). The second variation is
without

block. It has so small startup time that you can actually punish
everything in
the game with it. From Sonya's Sweep to Scorpion's Teleport Punch. It
can be
used as a transport move also, if you are from full screen distance than
your
opponent and lets say he is a turtle scorpion teleporter, perform the
roll and
you will land right infront of him or at least close enough to start a
good jab
pressure. You can try to put it in a jab pressure too. If they decide to
release
the block and you do the roll you can whiff so you will land behind them
and
often after that the opponent tryes to jump or fireball, but you will
recover
faster so try another roll or knife throw after it. Another option is if
they
try to crouch lk you, do the roll and sometimes you will hit them
through their
crouch kick. The ninjas sometimes can be hard to get with a roll in
combo
because of their falling animation (it will just push them or whiff).
The roll
is also good unblockable addon after throw. It has weird collision boxes
and
sometimes you can do it through fireballs/freeze and etc.
The Knife throw is a weird move. It has good hitting area but because
his
slow start up and annoying combination its not the best choice for
spaming. I
will advice to use it mostly from full screen and be careful when you do
that
vs Liu Kang or Cage (and good Raiden player) because they can easy jump
over
it and hit you. You can add aa Roll if you get aa Knife Throw near the
corner.
Basic Juggles:
1. JK, Roll
2. aaHPx2, Roll
3. (in corner) Uppercut, JP/JK, Roll or RH
Advanced Juggles:
1. aaHP, JK, Roll
2. JK, JP or JK, Roll
3. Uppercut, JK/JP, aaLP, Roll
4. JK, Uppercut, JP, JP, Roll (about 95%)
Broken Throw Setup:
1. (near the corner) Throw, unblockable Uppercut, JK, JP, Roll (100%+)

============================================
======
Raiden
======
I'm falling a sleep now so its possible i miss some stuff lol. Officialy
#5
in the tier list. The ninjas can be very annoying against Raiden, but
less
challengable against the other characters, thats why Raiden is higher.
People often mistake because this fact. Even because Raiden have
troubles
and is very vulnerable to jab pressure he could be very dangerious if
played right. Cage and Kano will have very hard time vs pro Raiden
player.
Anyway, he has very good tactics using his lightening and teleport
(yep!).
Raiden has long but bad JK, its easy punishable and hard to get in close
distance. His uppercut is one of the best. Using the Block cancel trick
allows you to cound every JK in the game where Sonya's, Liu's and
Raiden's
JKs will even dont need the block to be counted. Like Cage and Kano,
after
uppercut in corner you can get massive combo damage even in revision
5.0.
His uppercut can be useful for escaping jab pressure against everyone
but
it will be very difficult to get it vs ninjas. If you manage to get one
of the broken throws near the corner and the opponent holds block after
it you can get unblockable uppercut against some characters followed by
a
combo for resulting huge damage.
His duck LK is the worst in the game. You can still use it for an aa or
escaping jab pressure after whiff jab but dont count on it. His HK is ok
but try not using it much because it can lie you sometimes and you will
think that it will count jump kick for example but it wont, for
punishers
after blocked grounded stuff better use his LK. Something interesting
about Raiden's HK is that in PC DOS version of the game it had
ridicilious
damage - about 20%. Raiden can from other hand do good jab pressure
because of his teleport if used right which will lead the opponent into
throw or counter or his torpedo which will hit ducked opponents, but use
it as a last hit of the round only because its punishable even if it
hits.
Use HP for retalation or cancel it with block for eventually aa torpedo
after it. His RH is very fast but with short hitting area, can be used
as
a aa sometimes. His sweep is slow and easy punishable, i will advice to
not use it much. Raiden has an awesome Jump Punch, its like Kano's and
Cage's but with bigger hitting area. You can use it as a wakeup close
early JP followed with Lightening, or countered JK followed with combo.
Its also the best setup after uppercut in corner. Raiden had infinite in

revision 3.0 with JP in corner but it is removed in 5.0.

The Torpedo is a very dangerious move for the opponent but for you too.
Even if you hit someone with it its punishable by canceling the
animation
fall with a special move. Its punishable even after broken throw setup,
the only way it cannot be punished if its an aa Torpedo. Often you will
be able to get it in a jab pressure but you will risk so much if its not
a last hit of the round because scorp can tp, spear; sub can freeze
combo you and etc. I personaly dont use this special move much but if
you want to use it do it i will say again only if its aa or as a last
hit lol.
The Lightening is a very usefull move. Its the perfect move for zonning
because the lightening itself is a long fireball and often can hit
people
who just try to straight jump it and its very fast. Use it as more as
possible from full screen, watching for jumps also and count them with
it.
After aa Lightening you can get teleport and some jab pressure, then
again
lightening often the opponent will jump after this mix up and you will
be
able to count it or teleport. There is not much to say about this
special
move too but you can try to get the lightening after broken throws
because it can hit some characters in his duck pose. If you get near the
corner aa Lightening that hits enough you can get JP or aaLP, combo
after
it if you are close enough.
The Teleport can be deadly if used right. Most people dont know how or
when to use it and thats where Raiden is the most vulnerable. The most
famious strat was with Jab Pressure mixed with Teleport but most people
do it so haotic that it opens them for a free hit. Here are few just an
example tactis for using teleport in jab pressure, they are not 100%
safe
but hard to predictable: 1. Jab, Jab x2, Teleport; 2. Jab, Teleport, Jab
x 2, Torpedo and etc, just mix with it. After the teleport in jab
pressure
you have few options: tap the knee if your opponent late with the d+lk
or
whatever counter he will use, holding block or canceling LP with block.
Its a very usefull move for escaping from jks, fireballs and etc, it can
be used as a transport move too and can help a lot if used with the
lightening as a zoning for escaping and placements. This special move
opens
many variations in early revisions for big combo possibilities and
infinite
variations but they arent too much in Revision 5.0.
Raiden has two infinites in revision 5.0 which works on some characters.
The

first Is almost impossible to get it in a vs match because its very

difficult
to get it unblockable. What you have to do is Uppercut, JP, Repeat in
corner.
So far i tested it on ninjas and Raiden and managed to get it
unblockable
only vs him ;]
The second infinite is more like "pseudo" infinite and have to be done
by
frames and its very difficult but i got it few times vs ninjas and cage.
What you have to do is do uppercut (mid-screen) then cancel it with
teleport
and cancel the teleport animation with another uppercut (because you can
cancel the moves earlier while you are in teleport recovery animation).
So
what you basicaly have to do is Uppercut X Teleport X Uppercut, Repeat
lol.
If the opponent just duck the uppercut will whiff but if they try to
block
and you done it right its unblockable.
Basic Juggles:
1. JK, Torpedo
2. aaHPx2, Torpedo
3. (in corner) Uppercut, JP, aaHP, Torpedo
Advanced Juggles:
1. JK, JP, Torpedo
2. aaHPx2, Teleport, aaHP, Torpedo/Lightening
3. Uppercut, RH/HK/LK, JP (that oppens the opp for a corner jab
pressure)
4. JK, Uppercut, JP, aaHP, Torpedo
============================================
========
Sub-Zero
========
Sub-Zero is ranked officialy as #6 BUT if used right he can be
considered
as top 3 (!). His uppercut has nice hitting area but the recovery and
start
up time is terrible. Forget to use it as an anti air. You can still use
it
as a punisher after blocked stuff but better use his freeze except for
blocked jump kicks. There is a trick to use ninjas uppercut against
aaJump
Kicks. In revision 3.0 you simply have to do Down + Block and cancel
with
Uppercut to hit your opponent after JK, but in revision 5.0 the gravity
was

lowered. What you have to do now is block the jump kick from your
standup
pose, then duck and cancel it with uppercut. Its hard but once you got
it
and practice it enough you can use if often. You cant add hits after his
uppercut or use it against jabers due his slow startup animation. Ninjas
throws are dangerious against Cage and Liu Kang sometimes because you
can
get wakeup Shadow Kick or Flying Kick (mid-screen) after it, so be
careful
against those characters.
Ninjas Duck Kicks are good enough for jab escapes and anti air, however
its
very difficult to get aa D+LK against Kano's JK and on top JKs. Often
two
Duck Kicks one after another works vs jabers. Ninjas sweeps are easy
punishable if blocked, but you can use them as a whiff strat against
some
characters. If you get Cage in about jump distance you can try to get
few
sweeps without touching him, usualy they will try to Fireball or Shadow
Kick you but they will miss, if they shoot fireball they will be sweeped
if
they do shadow kick you will recover excactly before the shadow kick
animation ends and can punish it. However its not a 100% sure tactic
just a
strat example. Scorpion and Sub-Zero have the best HK and LK. HK can be
used as anti air, not against Kano's JK but against everything else, the
LK is very fast and useful too, you can punish Sonya's Sweep with it.
Their RHs are good too. You can use it in a jab pressure strat mixed
with
sweep or duck block cancel, for example: Jab, Jab, Jab, Step away RH,
Whiff Sweep/Block to Punish and etc. You can use it as an Anti Air
agains
some jump kicks too. The HPs and LPs are good too. You can try to get
the
UMK3 aa trick against jumpers when they jump at you with JK or JP try
aaHP
and cancel it with block, then if aaHP hits do Slide immidiately (which
will
push you back and you will have more time than the opponent for the next
move)
if not you will just block the JK and you can try to get aaD+LK because
there
will be not enough time for Uppercut.
The Freeze is probably the most interesting special
MK1. It
has so weird properties. First its the only special
that has
hit limit and it is 0. That means that you cant get
hit.
Anyway because of UMK3 Combo Videos everyone should
the

move (for me) in

move in the game
freeze after any
know already about

glitch canceling, so i will not go into deep details about it like Shock
did
in UMK3 General Gameplay Guide and will just paste the most important.
You
can cancel a LP and HP on the frame of contact, into a special move with
a hit
limit, one hit beyond that limit. In other games this technique is
referred to
as "Just Frames" meaning essentially you have just one frame in 60 to
get this
to work. That means that you can get aaHP/aaLP, Freeze - glitch
canceled. I
actually never got glitch cancel freeze after jp/jk in MK1 and i doubt
its
possible there but still i will not say that its not possible yet. The
Freeze
is the only special move that has real glitch cancel in MK1. Although
there is
the backfire in the game you cant get aaFreeze, Freeze for some reason.
You can
use the Freeze also in a jab pressure because some characters can be
freezed
while they crouch kick. For example if you jab someone and you know that
they
will d+lk try to freeze them at the moment where they will try to do the
crouch
kick. Staying from full screen distance and wait for freeze against
jumpers
works too, still remember that there is a time difference between jump
with jk,
jp and just jump and its mostly noticable in MK1. Often if they are not
far
enough and JK at you, they will be aafreezed but you still will get the
JK hit.
This special move can be used against crossover jump too if you have
enough time
to react, for some reason only the CPU can get aaFreeze against
Scorpion's TP,
even if you know when Scorpion will teleport you will not be able to get
him
freezed. The Freeze is unique move for another reason - his inf which i
will
explain. There was a glitch in Revision 3.0 with Sub-Zero's Freeze where
if you
get double freeze in some scenarios the game resets (not the danger double
freeze glitch in r5.0 btw), however even in revision 3.0 it has nothing
to do
with the competetive stuff because it was mostly used from players that
see
they will loose the match and perform it to escape the shame lol.
The Slide is a very useful special move too. It can punish literaly
everything
because of its short startup time. Its also hard for retalation. Its
easy

punishable from moves like Slide, Shadow Kick, Leg Grab and Roll, but if
the
other player have experience you can take uppercut from Liu and Raiden,
Spear
from Scorpion and sometimes even Freeze if your slide is blocked.
Putting slide
in a jab pressure is also a not bad idea, sometimes even two slides one
after
another will work (for example if they try to fireball). Another neat
trick is
to perform slide after throw. Often the slide will not be blockabel
because of
the broken Throws in MK1 and ALWAYS unblockable after Freeze - Throw. If
the
Slide is a second aa hit you will be pushed away and will recover faster
than
your opponent. Because of this glitch (?) Sub had an infinite in Proto
Revision
but its removed later.
Sub-Zero has one pseudo infinite. Its not blockable but its escapable.
What you
have to do is Freeze, Throw and repeat. If the other player try to hold
the
block he will be frozen. Of course its not usefull against everyone who
knows
how to escape the throws or if they duck after the first throw. If you
anyway
get someone freezed and managed to throw him do the slide or if its near
the
corner uppercut, both of them will be unblockable.
Basic Juggles:
1. aaHP(x2), Slide
2. JK, Slide
3. aaFreeze, JK, RH
4. Freeze, Throw, Slide
Advanced Juggles:
1. Mid-Screen Freeze, JK, JK/LK (against some characers instead just
Uppercut)
2. (Corner) JK, RH, Slide
3. (near corner) JK, JK, (aaLP if possible) Slide
4. aaHP, Freeze, JK, RH
============================================
========
Scorpion
========
Scorpion is ranked as #7 in the tier list. It doesnt matter he could be
monster

against Raiden, it doesnt matter he can turtle as hell with teleports

and all
his other tactics, because some people can play so good with him doesnt
make him
better in the tier list. His uppercut has nice hitting area but the
recovery and
start up time is terrible. Forget to use it as an anti air. You can
still use it
as a punisher after blocked stuff but better use his spear except for
blocked
jump kicks. There is a trick to use ninjas uppercut against aaJump
Kicks. In
revision 3.0 you simply have to do Down + Block and cancel with Uppercut
to hit
your opponent after JK, but in revision 5.0 the gravity was lowered.
What you
have to do now is block the jump kick from your standup pose, then duck
and
cancel it with uppercut. Its hard but once you got it and practice it
enough you
can use if often. You can try to get Spear with this same trick of
course but
you risk so much because of the recovery time from the spear. You cant
add hits
after his uppercut or use it against jabers due his slow startup
animation.
Ninjas throws are dangerious against Cage and Liu Kang sometimes because
you
can get wakeup Shadow Kick or Flying Kick (mid-screen) after it, so be
careful
against those characters.
Ninjas Duck Kicks are good enough for jab escapes and anti air, however
its
very difficult to get aa D+LK against Kano's JK and on top JKs. Often
two Duck
Kicks one after another works vs jabers. Ninjas sweeps are easy
punishable if
blocked, but you can use them as a whiff strat against some characters.
If you
get Cage in about jump distance you can try to get few sweeps without
touching
him, usualy they will try to Fireball or Shadow Kick you but they will
miss, if
they shoot fireball they will be sweeped if they do shadow kick you will
recover excactly before the shadow kick animation ends and can punish
it. However
its not a 100% sure tactic just a strat example. Scorpion and Sub-Zero
have the
best HK and LK. HK can be used as anti air, not against Kano's JK but
against
everything else, the LK is very fast and useful too, you can punish
Sonya's
Sweep with it. Their RHs are good too. You can use it in a jab pressure
strat

mixed with sweep or duck block cancel, for example: Jab, Jab, Jab, Step
away
RH, Whiff Sweep/Block to Punish and etc. You can use it as an Anti Air
agains
some jump kicks too. The HPs and LPs are good too. You can try to get
the UMK3
aa trick against jumpers when they jump at you with JK or JP try aaHP
and cancel
it with block, then if aaHP hits do Spear immidiately if not you will
just
block the JK and you can try to get aaD+LK because there will be not
enough time
for Uppercut.
The Spear is a horrible move. If you catch someone with it thats ok, but
the
recovery and startup time is so slow that if you miss you can be
punished
sometimes even from full screen. The Spear however can be used as
punisher
against sweeps, uppercuts, slide and etc. You can try to use the spear
against
jab pressure if the other player step away enough for whiff Jab, but
still its
not 100% safe. Something interesting about the Spear is that if you
catch
someone with Spear at the same time when they shoot fireball and both
characters
are hit (you will get the fireball and other player will be hit by
spear) you
can get UNBLOCKABLE Teleport Punch if you are fast enough. You can try
to stay
from full screen distance and catch jumpers with the spear but again its
not a
100% safe strat. Because of "missing" crossover jump kicks in MK1 you
can easy
get Spear if someone crossovers you. In MK1 you can jump after you catch
someone with the Spear but all you can get using this is OTG JK against
some
characters.
The Teleport Punch is what make Scorpion a monster against some
characters. You
can use it as a Wakeup, even blocked its hard to punish. Also its the
best move
for turtleing. You can try to use it for jab escape too but difficult.
The only
bad thing is that you cant use the Teleport Punch in or near the corner.
Because
of gravity changes in Revision 5.0 all you can get after aa Teleport
Punch is
aaLP, Spear, still a good damage anyway. Sometimes aa Teleport Punch can
hit
backwards and it will be hard to get Spear in this situation, this often
happens

if you do the TP faster than you need against Raiden's Torpedo. Another
interesting stuff is that in some cases if you get Teleport Punch in
juggle
(usually after Death Punch) you will be pushed away from the Teleport
Punch,
I'm not 100% sure but i think even Spear done as soon as possible in
this
situation is always blockable in Revision 5.0. Using the TP can often
open the
opponent for one of the "Broken" Throws, there is no 100% known way to
get them
with Scorpion but you can try to throw a Spear sometimes after them if
you feel
cocky, works best against Raiden. The Teleport Punch can be neat in jab
strats
too, get some jab pressure, then use the Teleport Punch to escape and
you can
try to throw a Spear or wait to see what your opponent will do and
counter it.
Sometimes if you got the Teleport Punch you will hide behind the screen
and it
will shake for a while, you can use this moment for safe spear in this
situation but thats it overall lol. Scorpion had infinite in older
revisions
using his TP move but its removed in Revision 5.0.
Basic Juggles:
1. aaHP(x2), Spear, Uppercut
2. JK, Spear, Uppercut
3. Teleport Punch, Spear, Uppercut
Advanced Juggles:
1. (corner) JK, RH, Spear, Uppercut
2. aaHP, JK, Spear, Uppercut
3. Teleport Punch, aaLP, Spear, Uppercut
4. (near corner) JK, JK, (aaLP if possible) Spear, Uppercut
************************************************************************
******
************************** Combo Examples & Vids
***************************
************************************************************************
******
I recorded and uploaded few combo/retalation video examples for the
guide.
They can be viewed at my youtube profile. Here are the direct links:
1. Sonya Punisher + Infinite Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMs_AmTzU_0
2. Johnny Cage Corner Combo Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiatXP7nuyo
3. Liu Kang Corner Punisher Example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyS5bJ6gIyg
4. Kano Mid-Screen Combo Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68ZB8RCgh-w
5. Raiden Corner Combo Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRj6iYRajWI
6. Sub-Zero Glitch Cancel Punisher:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soDvxJEByY4
7. Scorpion Mid-Screen Punisher:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNmQySq-5-Q
============================================
VS Matches - Here are few MK1 Matches vs some of the best players Soultaker, FIX, TripleH and etc... I will post from time to time
another matches there where you can see a LOT of strats from the
Guide used in a real match:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=905F5CCBB6C22ED1
Or you can check this dir from time to time too:
http://mk.ediko.net/archive/movies/vsmatches/mk1/
============================================
Check out the first, and last, MK1 combo video. All combos and glitches
are
performed by me ;] It has really insane footage for such a limited game!
It
was edited by Shock. Here are the direct and youtube links for it:
http://www.ultimatemk.com/dtz/cvids/getvid.php?id=146 - UltimateMK.Com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bp4-_3DIPo - YouTube Link
************************************************************************
******
This document may be redistributed in whole or part, free of charge, so
long
as proper credit is given to me.
For any changes or updates you should visit:
http://UltimateMK.com
And you can find me also at:
http://www.mksecrets.net

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