The game's critical reception has varied considerably, depending on the platform and publication. Brazilian magazine "SuperGamePower" gave the Nintendo 64 version 4.8 out of 5, and regarded it as the best Mortal Kombat game. French magazine "Super Power" gave the N64 game 91%, favoring it over the PlayStation version. The four reviewers of "Electronic Gaming Monthly" all gave the Nintendo 64 version their recommendation, citing the impressive amount of content and absence of load times, though Dan Hsu and Crispin Boyer found the graphics disappointing given the capabilities of the console. Both Boyer and Shawn Smith said the game had converted them to the Mortal Kombat fandom. "GamePro"s Major Mike likewise praised the amount of content, as well as the accurate recreation of the arcade games' graphics, the addition of the Aggressor meter, and the application of new mechanics to characters from older games in the series. He complained that the game suffers from some slowdown and muted music, but concluded it "delivers with all the fighters, secrets, and carnage that made the series the phenomenon it is today." Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot contradicted Major Mike, saying that the music is normal for a non-CD game and it is the sound effects (which Major Mike described as "arcade-perfect") that sound muffled. And while he complimented the Nintendo 64 version's large selection of play modes, he said it is conspicuously missing frames of animation from the arcade games, and that the characters left out of this version are "favorites". Peer Schneider of IGN contended that "all" of the audio aspects sound muffled. He said the Nintendo 64 version is a faithful conversion of the arcade games, though he compared it unfavorably to the PlayStation version. However, he held that the arcade games themselves are too aged to merit an appearance on the Nintendo 64, referring to them as five years old (in actuality, "Mortal Kombat 3" was barely a year old at the time, and even the oldest in the series was four years old). "Mortal Kombat Trilogy" was said to be a "particularly horrible game" among the Nintendo 64 library by "Forbes", but was honored in Nintendo Power Awards '96, coming second in the category "Best Tournament Fighting Game".