I was about eight years old when I first played Mortal Kombat, the one-on-one fighting game that scandalized parents and politicians in the early 1990s.
I was playing with my cousins in the arrivals area of Toronto's Pearson airport when I unknowingly unlocked a secret finishing move.
The ninja I was controlling, Scorpion, removed his mask, revealing a skull, and spat a fireball, setting his opponent ablaze, leaving nothing but a charred skeleton.
The word "FATALITY" flashed in green all-caps.
My eyes widened in shock. I looked at my cousins, all of us agape. That unbelievable moment was just one example why Mortal Kombat became the must-play game of 1992.
Scorpion performs his infamous finishing move in Mortal Kombat II. The games' bloody violence scandalized parents and politicians at the time.
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