Despite this, the game is fondly remembered for its arcade atmosphere and for successfully transitioning the brand into the 3D era without losing its identity.
: Critics at IGN at the time praised the "fantastic" texture skins that replaced the stiff 2D look, though they admitted the outfits were "cheesy by nature". Mortal Kombat 4
This applies primarily to the Arcade and N64 versions. Despite this, the game is fondly remembered for
However, the game faced criticism for its character design. The departure from digitized sprites meant the characters looked "plastic" or "blocky" compared to the hand-drawn artistry of Street Fighter III or the fluid motion capture of rival games. Additionally, the "New Era" characters—specifically Jarek and Tanya—were often cited by fans as some of the least interesting additions in series history. However, the game faced criticism for its character design
Mortal Kombat 4 was ported to several platforms, including the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, PC, and Sega Saturn. The quality of these ports varied, with some offering near-arcade quality and others criticized for poor graphics or gameplay issues.