Mortal Kombat 1 basic moves guide

The basic moves in the first Mortal Kombat - guide for noobs like me!

The basics:

Basic Controls - these do what they say they do

Forward, Back, Up, Down

Block
Low Punch
High Punch
Low Kick
High Kick
Note: it's in the game's control list, but there is no "Run" in the first game

Slightly less basic controls:

Movement:
Up + Forwards or Backwards - Somersault over head height
Note: you cannot move forwards or backwards while crouched

Close range:
High Punch - Elbow strike*
Low Punch - Unblockable throw, unless opponent is backed against edge of screen
High or Low Kick - Knee strike

Sweep range:
Back + Low Kick - Leg sweep
Back + High Kick - Roundhouse Kick**

Crouched:
Down + High or Low Punch - Uppercut
Down + High or Low Kick - Tiger-tail kick

Jumping:
Up + High or Low Punch - Very high punch
Up + Forward or Backwards + High or Low Punch - Very high punch
Up + High or Low Kick - Very high axe kick
Up + Forward or Backwards + High or Low Kick - Very high jumping side kick
Note: if you press the kick/punch key straight away, the attack will go above the head height of a normally grounded opponent. However, if you wait, you can connect these attacks on your way down.

* Kano headbutts, Scorpion and Sub Zero do a backfist strike, Sonya does a palm uppercut. The moves are graphically different but mechanically the same.
** Raiden, Liu Kang and Jonny Cage do a spin hook kick, Sonya does a spin crescent kick

Special Moves

You can find the special moves for each character in game. When you're in a fight (after the word "FIGHT" has gone from the screen, and before the fight is ended), press escape and you will find "MOVES LIST" in the menu. I've also copied them below.

↑ ↓ - up and down keys
→ - Forwards...the "→" symbol does not mean "right", it means "forward". If you're facing right, then press the right key, but if you are facing the left, you will need to press the left key to move "forwards"
← - backwards - left if facing right, right if facing left.
Things seperated by a comma means to do them in sequence.
Things seperated by a + means to hold those keys as you press the next keys
"HOLD BL" means hold the Block key down while you press the others

Examples:
↓, ↑: tap Down then tap Up
→, → + HP: tap Forwards, then hold Forwards and tap High Punch
↓ + BL + LP + LK: hold Down, hold Block, hold Low Punch, tap Low Kick while still holding the others.
HOLD BL, ←, →: Hold Block. Tap Backwards, then tap Forwards while still holding Block.

Finishing moves say [CLOSE], [SWEEP] or [ANYWHERE] next to them. These refer to how close you need to be to pull off the move.

Johnny Cage

Green Bolt: ←, → + LP
Shadow Kick: ←, → + LK
Split Punch: BL + LP

Fatality: →, →, → + HP [CLOSE]

Kano
Cannonball: →, ↓, ←, ↑, →
Knife Throw: HOLD BL, ←, →

Fatality: ←, ↓, → + LP [CLOSE]

Raiden
Teleport: ↓, ↑
Lightning: ↓, → + LP
Torpedo: ←, ←, →

Fatality: →, ←, ←, ←, + HP [CLOSE]

Liu Kang
Fireball: →, → + HP
Flying Kick: →, → + HK

Fatality: →, ↓, ←, ↑, → [ANYWHERE]
Some say to Hold BL first to stop him jumping and ruining the fatality
Jedi Fonger's tip: ↓, ←, ↑, →, ↓ [CLOSE/SWEEP]

Scorpion
Spear: ←, ← + LP
Teleport: ↓, ← + HP

Fatality: HOLD BL, ↑, ↑ [SWEEP]

Sub-Zero
Freeze: ↓, → + LP
Slide: ← + LP + LK + BL

Fatality: →, ↓, → + HP [CLOSE]

Sonya
Ring Toss: LP, ← + LP
Leg Grab: ↓ + BL + LP + LK
Square Wave Punch: →, ← + HP

Fatality: →, →, ←, ← + BL [ANYWHERE]

Comments appreciated

I'm a noob! I made this guide because I was having trouble finding this information myself.

If you see anything I've missed (that's within the scope of this guide), or that's wrong, please let me know in the comments! Thanks!

[JediFonger]

pc keyboard.

[Snorkel]

@JediFonger, I tried your Sonya and Sub Zero tips, I can do the moves as written, but not as your version. Are you using keyboard or controller?

[JediFonger]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4Drw4A0XtA&ab_channel=DrewTony%27Z
^just to follow up on my previous comment.

Liu Kang's fatality is actually per above video, it is a clock-wise sweep but starts with down then clock-wise and returning to down.

Holding block does help if you can't do it fast enough without the block. i was able to consistently reproduce it starting with down arrow key,

Also, you must be closer/sweep position and you can't be anywhere or it wont work.

[Snorkel]

*shrug* I coped and pasted the instructions from in-game at someone's request.

Have you been able to get Liu Kang's combo to work at all?

[JediFonger]

also subzero all i needed was hold LP+LK and then press BLOCK to activate the slide no need for back

[JediFonger]

also subzero all i needed was hold LP+LK and then press BLOCK to activate the slide no need for back

[JediFonger]

for sonya all i needed was LP+LK at the same time and it worked everytime.

[Snorkel]

Mmm, I can't get Liu Kang's move to pull off either. Perhaps it's a problem with keyboards not detecting that many keystrokes in such a short time.

[lumen caecorum]

i am starting with forward it doesnt work for some reason i checked if im pressing the wrong buttons many times

[Snorkel]

@Demonman Gaming Make sure you're starting with forward, not backward.