Mortal Kombat II was released in arcades in 1993 by Midway as the sequel to the original Mortal Kombat. Sound designer and composer Dan Forden became famous for briefly popping into the corner of the screen during fights to shout a falsetto reaction, a running gag best known from his Toasty moment. This nutcracker variant uses the same style of surprise cameo for a groin hit, and the clip later spread through game videos, meme edits and soundboards as a quick reaction for painful moments.