It's been twenty years since Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance undertook an ambitious reinvention of the series for a new era of console hardware. It introduced many exciting things to the series, but some ideas didn't make it into the final cut -- such as two arenas recently extracted from game files by intrepid fans. Read on for details:

Deadly Alliance took the series forward with a new generation of individualized fighters whose battles were staged in elaborate 3D rendered arenas still remembered fondly by fans. For all the unique and iconic stages, there were those that didn't make the cut, such as the Senate of Elder Gods and Forest Retreat stages.

Fan modder ermaccer recently discovered the vestiges of these arenas, which lack the complete resources of his Deception Katakombs discovery, leaving them an untextured shell of what might have been.

Vertex colouring offers shape and definition to the arenas' elements, similar to what was seen in unlockable concept art and video in the game's Krypt mode. Coloured entities surround a central fighting ring in The Senate stage, surrounded by glowing orbs perched on posts. A large dragon logo overlooks events, with a starry planet-filled sky texture revealing a cosmic view beyond.

The unfinished Forest Retreat reveals another circular design, marked with greenery and what might've been sand and ponds breaking up a tranquil garden setting. It shares some stylistic similarity with the Wu Shi Academy and Lung Hai Temple, albeit with a simpler geometry.

According to Ermaccer the stage archive data was only able to be extracted from US copies of Deadly Alliance, removed completely from international releases of the game.

Subsequent installments have returned to similar concepts, such as Mortal Kombat 11's Shirai Ryu Fire Garden, Wu Shi Dragon Grotto, and Kronika's Keep. Would you have liked to have seen these originals in Deadly Alliance? Share your thoughts in the comments below and find more in the 3D Kombat Klassics forum!