It has been over two decades since "Mortal Kombat" was first released, and the popular arcade game has spawned different versions. Avid players of the "Mortal Kombat" series are aware that there are secret tricks to winning the game, but it turns out that some of these have remained in the vault for 20 years.

A few months back, coders were able to unravel secrets to the game that have been termed as the "EJB Menus," in honor of the game's co-creator Ed J. Boon. The coders posted the information on The Cutting Room Floor, but it didn't get much attention until someone posted a YouTube video on how to apply the codes in the machine.

Unlocking The Secret Menu

There are tons of combinations and a lot of button action to do before the secret menus are unlocked. It should also be done with swift precision. In fact, the guy who demonstrated the trick in the YouTube video missed his mark a few times, as seen below:

What Does The Secret Menu Contain?

The menu is actually not a secret to the owners who run the arcade machine because they need these codes to do diagnostic tests. However, accessing some of the features will lead to the characters' special endings, which most gamers can only see if they have successfully finished the specific bouts. Without the codes, they will have to devote a lot of playtime for each character just to see the special endings.

The menu is also a shortcut to putting a gamer's initials in the high score chart without having to spend time beating someone else's record. The codes for "Mortalk Kombat 3" generate another set of menus that offer more characters, game fatality demonstrations and the Galaga mini-game.

More Secrets?

Avid gamers have known the existence of the "Mortal Kombat" secret codes for years. They were brought up in a 2004 discussion in a "Mortal Kombat" fan forum. It's likely that some codes are still left undiscovered even today.

"Mortal Kombat" Today

Millennials are no longer playing "Mortal Kombat" in bulky arcade machines today since the game has updated versions released for computer and console machines, like the PlayStation and the Xbox. Developer NetherRealm has also released "Mortal Kombat," or its new version "Mortal Kombat X," for mobile devices, so there's a downloadable app of the game for the iPhone or Android smartphones. All updates and enhancements for these games are downloadable on the internet, too.