Mystery Initials in MK3's High Score Screen

[Dangerboy]

Hey everyone! Let's play Unsolved Mysteries!

In Mortal Kombat 3's home version, there is a high score screen that is also in the arcade version. Ed Boon admitted that there's no way to make the high score list; it was just a sort of "set goals" thing for players.

However, all the intials in the table represent other Midway games, and I can't for the life of me figure out the final game. Here are the initials and what they're figured out into:

MK4: Mortal Kombat 4
WWF: WWF Wrestlemania Arcade Game
NHL: NHL 2 on 2 Open Ice
MK3: Mortal Kombat 3
MK2: Mortal Kombat 2
MK1: Mortal Kombat 1
DOM: Doom (they did one of the home version)
CAR: Cruisin' USA
ROD: (??)
OFF: 4 Wheel Off-Road Thunder

The ROD Is the one throwing me off. I'm pretty much guessing on CAR and DOM (thanks to a vbender brainstorm), but the only thing we could guess for ROD was Robotron...but the D doesn't fit.

Anyone know what it might mean?

[Arcade Antics]

ROOM OF DOOM! :D

But seriously, depending on the timeline, I'd bet that ROD is a hint at HOT ROD REBELS, the unreleased sequel to SF Rush 2049.

OFF is probably Off-Road Challenge.

[Dangerboy]

Antics:
Actually....that would make sense...considering this was 1995ish, was that game around then?

Jason

[Arcade Antics]

Antics:
Actually....that would make sense...considering this was 1995ish, was that game around then?

Jason
SF Rush was 1996 IIRC, 2049 would have been around 99. But I'd imagine that HRR was in progress anytime in that general time frame, since if SF Rush was released in 96, it would have been in development for quite at least a year or two prior.

[Ze_ro]

I think the biggest flaw in the logic here is that if Hot Rod Rebels was a sequel to Rush 2049, then you would think that Rush itself would be amung the games. I think it's more likely it would be Road Riot (1991), or possibly (though less likely) Road Blasters (1987) or Road Burners (1999)

There is another possibility here... since Midway themselves didn't write the home versions, could it be Probe or Digital Eclipse or whoever sticking in a game of their own?

--Zero

[Arcade Antics]

I think the biggest flaw in the logic here is that if Hot Rod Rebels was a sequel to Rush 2049, then you would think that Rush itself would be amung the games.
But RUSH couldn't fit on the initial screen and ROD does. :D (I know, I know, SFR would have fit). It's possible that all those games were in development simultaneously, and HRR could have been the candidate for first release at the time, then gotten pushed back as development progressed. Or regardless of the planned release dates, they could have thrown ROD in there because it's funnier than SFR, or they wanted to drop a hint at an upcoming game instead of a well known one, you know how those wacky Midway guys are. :)


I think it's more likely it would be Road Riot (1991), or possibly (though less likely) Road Blasters (1987) or Road Burners (1999)
It wouldn't be Riot or Blasters for sure, the design team involved isn't the same group of folks who worked on the Midway games (Boon, Tobias, Jarvis, etc.) whose games are listed in the HS table. Road Burners I'm less familiar with. It's a possibility, but I don't think the Midway gang worked on that one either.


There is another possibility here... since Midway themselves didn't write the home versions, could it be Probe or Digital Eclipse or whoever sticking in a game of their own?
Jason said the screen is the same as the arcade version, so working from that, no. :)