Mortal Kombat II is, without a doubt, the best fighting game ever made. As graphics and sound quality are irrelevant factors in game quality, the 16-bit sound and video on its Super Nintendo version are more than sufficient (as a side note, despite its obsolete technology, the SNES is still the best console ever because the games made for it were more fun than any game on any other system with the possible exceptions of Red Faction for the PS-2 and Perfect Dark for the N64). What makes MKII so wonderful is in the personality its characters have and the well-developed game mechanics.
A problem with too many games in the fighting genre is that the developers decided to subdivide attacks by strength or speed (Killer Instinct is the worst offender). I always enjoyed the fact that the Mortal Kombat series divided by height (Low Punch/High Punch, Low Kick/High Kick) instead. Also, the Mortal Kombat series is alone in having a meaningful block function (absent from the Street Fighter series, as well as Killer Instinct, Primal Rage, and Virtua Fighter). Beyond that, special moves are meaningful and distinct, and although some have the same basic principle (for instance, Scorpion's harpoon, Sub-Zero's freeze, and Reptile's force ball are all projectile attacks to disable an opponent), they all look and act differently (in the previous example, the freeze does no damage, the force ball is the slowest attack in the game and easily jumped over, and the harpoon can be stopped if Scorpion's hit while it's in the air).
Anyway, the point is, Mortal Kombat II, particularly with a human opponent, is incredible fun. I play between 2 and 3 hours a week against other people, still. This is the finest fighting game ever made, and it's worth the 40 bucks or so to buy a used Super Nintendo just to play it.
