When Mortal Kombat first rolled into arcades in 1992, it blew gamers’ minds. Not only were the mysterious digitized fighters incredibly lifelike, but the action felt real as well. Blood spilled from characters like Liu Kang, Sonya, and Sub-Zero while uppercuts and roundhouse kicks knocked them across the screen. Then there were the fatalities. Kano ripped out Raiden’s heart! Johnny Cage tore Scorpion in half! No one had ever put such graphic, gory detail into video games and kids went crazy for it.
Source: N4G PC How Mortal Kombat's Super Nintendo debut changed video games forever