Mortal Kombat Advance allows players to take control of one of multiple playable characters, who fights against a computer-controlled or player-controlled opponent one-on-one.

It was largely panned for its lackluster controls, low-quality graphics, and poorly programmed artificial intelligence for computer-controlled opponents.

The timing eventually lined up, allowing Virtucraft to begin development on Mortal Kombat Advance.

He further criticized that the relentless computer AI makes it impossible to win in single-player without relying on cheap tactics.

The 0 score was the first in the magazine's history,[19][20] given out by editor Dan Hsu, who clarified that "[it] was not a misprint," and that it was worse than every other bad fighting game combined.

[11] AllGame writer Skyler Miller felt that the audio and visuals were quality, but that the difficulty was "brutal" due in part to poor controls.

[9] IGN writer Craig Harris anticipated what Virtucraft could do with this title, commenting that when porting a beloved game, it is important to get it right due to how fans would respond.

[17] Game Informer writer Justin Leeper said that regardless of the content or "arcade accuracy", the controls make it difficult to play well.

[13] Nintendo World Report writer Andres Rojas felt that despite good audio and visuals, the poor controls, slowdown, and AI make it terrible to play.