References and Easter Eggs
Pac-Man's Grave In
MK3, the developers whose last names appear on the closest tombstones in this stage are, alphabetically,
Steve Beran,
Ed Boon,
Dan Forden,
Tony Goskie,
Dave Michicich (spelled Mikicic),
John Tobias, and
John Vogel. Since there are seven designers and only four tombstones, four names are chosen at random before each round. Their accurate dates of birth appear as well, with the date of death being April 1, 1995, the month of Mortal Kombat 3's arcade release (as well as April Fool's Day). The name "CAGE" can also be seen on one of the markers on the far left of the stage, referring to
Johnny Cage's deceased status in MK3. In a sly reference to the first
Mortal Kombat, where he appeared in the
Palace Gates stage, an engraving of
Pac-Man can be seen on the right in an upward facing position, implying that he too had died during Earthrealm's invasion.
In
Mortal Kombat Trilogy for the
Nintendo 64, The Graveyard receives a bit of an update. In addition to the
Midway development team, names of Trilogy's designers were added to the rotation, and the date of expiration was changed from April 1, 1995 to September 30, 1996, in order to reflect the release date of Mortal Kombat Trilogy.
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