Midway changed the engine to allow only two slow movements on the z-axis (the side steps, which only worked to dodge beam-attacks), which made MK4 similar to previous games (and thus helped it to avoid hitting the Polygon Ceiling). In order to test its 'virgin' 3D engine, Midway released a 'test game', War Gods, which was panned by critics and allowed Midway to learn from its mistakes before finalizing MK4.
Raiden and the Wind God Fujin escaped, then gathered Raiden's most trustworthy allies in order to defeat Shinnok and his allies. With the help of Edenian traitor Tanya, the evil duo ascended to the Heavens and killed most of the Elder Gods. Bi-Han, the original Sub-Zero was deceived to free him, and years later, Shinnok allies himself with the villainous Quan Chi. Thousands of years ago, Raiden waged war against former Elder God Shinnok this war ended an entire civilization, and Shinnok was later condemned to the Netherrealm. After Mortal Kombat 3 and Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, Midway decided it would venture into 3D - which gave rise to Mortal Kombat 4, released in 1997 for the Arcade, Game Boy Color, PC, PlayStation, and Nintendo 64.