Jade made her official debut as a playable character in "Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3" (1995); an upgrade of "Mortal Kombat 3"), in which her backstory was expanded. She served as one of Outworld emperor Shao Kahn's elite assassins along with his adopted stepdaughter Kitana, with whom she shared a close friendship. After Kitana flees to Earthrealm after being put on trial for killing Mileena, Shao Kahn orders Jade to bring Kitana back to him alive; forcing her to choose between disobeying her superior or betraying her close friend. Shao Kahn also sends his servant Reptile along with Jade as insurance, ordering him to stop Kitana by any means necessary. When Jade and Reptile locate Kitana, the former stops the latter from assassinating her. Convinced by Reptile's actions and Kitana's words, Jade turns against the Kahn and aids Kitana in freeing her resurrected mother, Queen Sindel, from Shao Kahn's mind control. The three join up with Kitana's Earthrealm allies to defeat Shao Kahn, and after they liberate Edenia from Outworld, Jade serves Sindel and Kitana for years. Jade's "UMK3" backstory, along with those of Kitana and Reptile, remains unchanged in "Mortal Kombat Trilogy" (1996).