I'd like to thank the following people right off:

Zurreco: For being such a huge source of information on this game. Patricio: For daring someone to run this game - that's right, this was done on a dare. Although I did get some game information from him as well... PCourtney at GameFAQs: His guide was quite useful in planning my strategy for this game. Anyone who prodded me into submitting.

Anyway, while running this game I discovered a lot. For instance, enemies seem to block attacks less often if you launch them from farther away - I couldn't abuse this much, but I do use it later on.

Also, there is in fact a minimum experience requirement to completing the game. The game won't let you fight Quan Chi or Shinnok if your experience is too low. The lowest experience count I tested in this regard that worked was 5300 - and it turns out I need to spend time at the last level building it up because of how many enemies I skip throughout the first seven.

This is in the maximum number of segments the game will allow - one per level. Let me be honest in saying there are some parts within certain levels that deserve their own segment (Wind Temple, anyone?), although some levels were not as frustrating for me to run as I thought they would be.

Before I get to level comments, I'd like to share some differences between the Playstation version (the one I use for the run) and the N64 version:

-Playstation version has true cutscenes - they are skippable, though, so you don't get to see them. N64 version has pictures and text boxes, as far as I've heard.
-Playstation version has particularly evil loading times (in fact, I feel the need to apologize to Radix or whoever is timing this, that's how bad they are), whereas the N64 version does not have any.
-And of course, the controller differences - since I haven't played the N64 version I won't go into detail.

Now, onto the levels:

Shaolin Temple - I'm supposed to steal a map, which is buried deep in the temple. I do quick hits on the guys upstairs because I don't want to waste time killing them, yet I still need some experience so I can get Ice Blast before facing Scorpion. This turned out to be the way for me to go. You need to kill all the guys downstairs to enter the chamber where Scorpion is
- I tried to do it in the fastest way possible, which meant crushing one under a trap. I'll take this moment to let you know that the entire challenge of the game is the traps and platforming element - not something you'd expect from Mortal Kombat. Scorpion was a closer call than I expected
- I should note that jump kicks are one of the most devastating attacks in the game, and I use them quite a bit, including once here to buy time to freeze Scorpion. I spare Scorpion so I don't have to fight him in the Prison of Souls. The rope I need to climb afterwards is probably the longest one in the game.

Temple of Wind - Every level from here on out requires the collection of three items in order to complete it. I discovered that if you jump kick close enough to the ground, but not too close, you will not stall in the air at all and can move right away. I use it more than once in this run, but I don't abuse it because the timing is very exacting. This level ranks either first or second for number of practice attempts. I unfortunately wind up a bit late for the air geyser after the ropes and need to wait for it to show up again. Another trick that's useful is that you can turn in midair - I use it when making the jump to collect the first icon so I don't have to turn on the ground. The monk near the third icon just would not cooperate, although it's actually been worse before. I probably could have fallen out of the geyser earlier, but I'm bad at judging fall distance and if Sub-Zero falls too far, he dies. The platforms have a certain rhythm to them - if you jump just after the sound effect, you'll make it. I would jump faster, except I tend to creep up when jumping. And remember, there's no net below to catch me. I go slow in the last stretch because I don't want to have to restart this level again. Fujin gave me a rough time - I wasn't sure what Zurreco meant by the 'jump backwards twice and forward once' trick to guarantee hitting Fujin, but I think I used it the way he meant at least once here with favorable results. I'm glad I stocked up on those Herbal Healers, because I needed a couple to get through this.

Temple of Earth - I slide immediately because the monk will charge at me anyway, so I figured I could get in the first hit. This level is the most trap-happy of them all - it gets worse at difficulties higher than the one I ran. The monks go without incident, but the Earth God hit me harder than I expected he would. At least he didn't do the rock attack - that attack is pretty much unavoidable. The monk by the third icon would not cooperate with me, so I lost time against him. I absolutely need that Shield of Invulnerability later in the run, but I DON'T need to fight those last few monks, so I just run right by.

Temple of Water - The way this level was presented to me, I thought it'd be horrid, but this actually turned out to be one of the easiest levels for me to run. I wasn't sure if that monk was gonna charge right away, so I jumped immediately after landing just in case. I tried to replicate a rather infamous piece of video game music with the attack pattern while waiting for the water to rise so I could get the second icon, but I think I botched it. My apologies. That one monk kept bugging me while I waited for my ride across the whirlpool to the third icon - it might be semi-exciting to you people, but I HATED it. I missed the second urn here and decided not to wait a full minute to get a second chance at it - turns out it wasn't crucial anyway. The Water God got to be a real pain this time, and I don't know why.

Temple of Fire - These monks are one of the nastier enemies in this game, which is why I'm glad they only show up for one level. I had a bit of a brain fart passing the rope for a moment. I grab a second Shield of Invulnerability here because I certainly need it. Yes, I am indeed crazy running through that much fire. The Fire God fight here was my fastest ever
- I use a Shield of Invincibility instead of healing because I don't know how much damage I'm going to take and I desperately need those healing items later.

Prison of Souls - Instead of icons, now we have to collect elevator keys. But first, the initial segment of the level. I don't know why some guards don't appear - I think it has something to do with the fact I'd been playing for a long stretch before the recording succeeded. So I have to backtrack to MAKE a guard appear so I could beat him and progress. The 'guards not appearing' thing happened again inside, although I appreciated it here because fighting two guards here is very difficult. I had fun bouncing a guard against the second force wall - those only dissipate when you kill the guard near them, by the way. Of course, now the real fun starts. The jump to and from the first elevator key is the big trouble in this segment - not only must the timing be perfect, but sometimes a guard offscreen will shoot you with the cannon in midjump, sending you to your doom. I'd say the fight with the Prison Keeper is harder than even the fights with Quan Chi and Shinnok, not just because you can't freeze him, but since there's no discernable pattern to his moves that I can exploit. The rest of the level was uneventful, although another guard failed to show up at the Urn of Strength.

Bridge of Immortality - This is the other level that could have been the most practiced level. And we're collecting keys again for the last time. If there's any battle that could be considered surprising, my fight with the dinosaur has to be it - I barely take any damage and beat him very fast. He's known to be one of the hardest bosses around if you don't know how to exploit his AI, but that's just what I've done here. The first robot isn't so tough either. I have the most trouble with the second robot, because his machine gun attack is very different from the flame attacks of the previous robot and the dinosaur. Using the remaining Shield of Invulnerability against the second robot allows me to conserve healing items. The third robot fought a little harder than the first, but he still goes down without much trouble. I have never had that many healing items entering the final level before this run.

Quan Chi's Fortress - Now I need to beat three bosses, collect their crystals and place them, while gathering enough experience to enter Quan Chi's sanctuary. This is easily the most grueling level in terms of length, and this isn't my fastest run of it mainly because I have very few experience points entering this level. Also, this level lends proof to my theory that enemies block less when you launch attacks at longer range. This mainly means Ice Blasts and sliding. Jataaka put up less of a fight than I expected, but she was no pushover. I don't trust the idea of waiting until after the three bosses are dead to build experience, because the enemies have been known not to appear at that time. Kia waits until the last minute to put up a fight, which bothers me in a way. Sareena is the nastiest of the three bosses by far, although to some extent I was able to use her aggressive combat style against her. I do spare her, however, for reasons that are made clear later in the level. I enter Quan Chi's sanctuary with 5307 experience points, which is certainly enough to grant entry, although I wonder what the exact number of required experience points is. This fight with Quan Chi was actually the easiest one I've had to date
- I know it looks a bit off, but if you dislike it I'd like you to try getting there at all, let alone with any healing items. As for Shinnok, he just would not cooperate with me. I needed him in the center because I have not been able to snag the amulet when he's in any other spot in the level. Shinnok's demon form IS beatable if you have the needed items, but I don't have them and I don't want to fight him so I just enter the portal.

I may return to this game later, but for now I'd like to distance myself from it and try something that's demanding for reasons more appropriate to the game.