The arcade industry had been in a bit of a slump in the late 1980s – the rise of home systems like the NES had made quarter-munchers less alluring to kids who could simply play games at home. Arcade manufacturers responded by pumping up the tech of their machines to deliver better graphics and faster gameplay, but that was merely a stopgap measure. Something needed to be done to make the coinop relevant again, and in 1991 Japanese company Capcom did so with the release of Street Fighter II. The insanely popular one-on-one brawler turned the arcade into a social place for gaming, where players could duel against each other in a mano a mano clash for supremacy. Its success inspired dozens of other fighters, but the most notable is 1992's Midway release, Mortal Kombat. Learn about the franchise from the days of yore to the latest model in this feature.