Mortal Kombat 3 had one of the largest rosters for a fighting game at the time. It also had some of the coolest menu selection sounds that I can remember. So, if you're nostalgic for one of the best retro Mortal Kombat games, you could check out Mortal Kombat Project Ultimate Revitalized 2.5, a fan made game built on the skeleton of Mortal Kombat 3 (thanks, DSOGaming)

The roster is bigger than even that of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, including a total of 102 combatants from across the series. Though it's been made using the art style of MK3, it includes relatively modern characters like Kotal Kahn, Blaze, and Hotaru. There also seem to be multiple variants of a number of characters, showing their visual transitions over the years. For instance, there are four versions of Reptile, including one version where he takes his 'full-reptile' form. There are also three versions of Shang Tsung, including his old-man form. In terms of big-bads, we've got Goro, Kintaro, Shao Kahn, Blaze, and Shinnok.

The project was created by Styx KazikluBey, and as the name suggests, this isn't the first version of the project. Version 2.5 has added a whole host of new characters, arenas, and finishing moves. Of course, the game is free, and you can download it right here.

Despite being a fan-made game, Styx KazikluBey had the advantage of using modern technology while creating Mortal Kombat Project Ultimate Revitalized 2.5. Ed Boon and crew didn't have the same luxury while developing the original Mortal Kombat or its subsequent sequels. This resulted in the "palette swap ninjas" – namely, Scorpion and Sub-Zero, who were later joined by the likes of Reptile, Rain, Ermac, and Smoke.

"One reason we made them ninjas was to get two fighters out of the same motion shoot & memory footprint,'' explained Boon. "But we did have some unique frames made exclusively for one ninja. For example, we felt giving them different stances was worth the 7 extra frames of animation it cost us. Since we thought of the idea during the shoot, the next step was to come up with a unique fighting stance for each ninja. They had to be different (to stand apart) but still work with all the attacks (punches and kicks) the two ninjas shared".

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