Sentences written about this title, gathered by type from the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles (as of 2026-8-30).
In 2008, Mortal Kombat series co-creator, designer and producer Ed Boon said that UMK3 was his favorite 2D Mortal Kombat title.
On all "Premium Edition" copies of the PlayStation 2 version of 2006's Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, a near arcade-perfect version of the game is included in the first disc.
As of June 2010, the game cannot be downloaded as it was removed from XBLA due to "publisher evolving rights and permissions".
The game, developed by Other Ocean Interactive and published by Midway Games on November 12, 2007, in North America and on December 7, 2007, in Europe, is an arcade-perfect port of UMK3, and includes Wi-Fi play and brings back the "Puzzle Kombat" minigame from Mortal Kombat: Deception.
A reviewer for Next Generation agreed that the Saturn version is an impeccable conversion apart from the "miserable necessity" of load times during Shang Tsung's morphs, but criticized Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for offering too little improvement over the original Mortal Kombat 3.
A review by Computer and Video Games called it an "excellent conversion of a great coin-op", as well as "[e]ssential for fans, and something well worth consideration from all Saturn owners.
Reviewing the Genesis version, GamePro said the graphics and controls are solid by 16-bit standards, but the arcade version's voices and music are poorly reproduced, and the game offers too little beyond the previous installments of the series, all of which had already been released for Genesis.
The SNES version was nominated for Nintendo Power Awards '96 in the category "Best Tournament Fighting Game".
GameSpot's "Best and Worst of 2006" included the XBLA version among the five best fighting games of the year.
IGN rated the game 97th on its "Top 100 SNES Games of All Time".
In 2018, Complex listed the game 68th in their "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time" writing: "Although not as jaw-dropping as MK2 was when it first came out on the SNES, this was still a great port of the arcade classic.
Ed Boon, one of the creators of the series, has stated Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 to be his favorite Mortal Kombat arcade title.
The 2011 compilation Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection includes an emulation of UMK3 as well as the first Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II.
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was first released for North American arcades in early November 1995.
The WaveNet version received its first full release as part of the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection compilation in 2025.
On all "Premium Edition" copies of the PlayStation 2 version of 2006's Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, a near arcade-perfect version of the game is included in the first disc.
As of 2010, it remained as the only post-launch XBLA game to be released on any day other than Wednesday.
In 2018, Complex listed the game 68th in their "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time" writing: "Although not as jaw-dropping as MK2 was when it first came out on the SNES, this was still a great port of the arcade classic.
While they criticized some elements of the game itself, such as the weak fatalities, they held that the Saturn conversion faithfully replicates the arcade game in every respect.
A reviewer for Next Generation agreed that the Saturn version is an impeccable conversion apart from the "miserable necessity" of load times during Shang Tsung's morphs, but criticized Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for offering too little improvement over the original Mortal Kombat 3.
He also praised Eurocom's conversion, saying it is a superior effort to Williams' conversion of MK3 for the PlayStation.
Rad Automatic of Sega Saturn Magazine, like EGM and GamePro, praised the game's retention of the full content and quality of the arcade version, but also added, "Capcom have just released three bona fide awesome 2D beat 'em ups onto the Saturn, and ...
The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly likewise praised the quality of the Super NES conversion while noting that it offered little new for fans of the series.
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was first released for North American arcades in early November 1995.
A port for the 3DO was being developed by New Level, but was canceled in 1996.
As of June 2010, the game cannot be downloaded as it was removed from XBLA due to "publisher evolving rights and permissions".
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