There is a lot of dislike for MK in this thread.
A lot of collectors aren't fans of MK because in general, the fighters came long after the video game peak. Most people consider "classic" video games those around 1980 or so. So MK is just off the map for a lot of these people.
MK WILL be a classic eventually, and it is already to a lot of people. While not classic to me in the sense that something like Pac-man is, I still want a real nice example of a dedicated MK/MK2 because those were two games that were monumental in arcades.
SFII might be the "original" or might be a better game on technical playability merits. So what, the MK craze was far bigger. I saw some SF machines here and there, and a lot of my friends played it. But when MK came out, there were LINES of kids to play the game. I even saw plenty of college students, and even some guys in their 20's/30's lining up to play the game. I never saw that with SFII.
A lot of it was the gore gimmick, sure. I think it was also the combination of neat graphics, and "hidden" moves/fatalities, etc. MK was a temporary injection of life into the arcade scene.
I don't play the DDR games. But whether you like playing them or not, or disagree with the idea, or whatever, these games caused a bit of a stir in arcades. Just like just about everyone knows what Golden Tee is. We're lucky anyone knows anything about modern arcade games, since they are dangerously close to becoming extinct.
Wade