Shaolin Monks is fun but once again it has plenty of flaws and it seems it is not canon.BUT I believe that it is canon because it was made after MKII so it was changed. I will not live in denile, MKII was a better game story and all, but Shaolin Monks is what happened. Seeing that they made Kung Lao Champion of MK it does make it ruin ALL of Mortal Kombat. Too many things wouldn't of happened.And I realize that. Who knows, maybe as we speak Ed Boon is making a revived version and isn't saying anything...( Though I HIGHLY doubt that.)



UlcaTron

You seriously expect them to never change their fucking clothes?

Lol i dont think that is the point but seriously do you think they would not change clothes???



UlcaTron

ahem

who cares? the game kicked ass, certainly the most playable MK in a long long Loooooooooooooooong time

Why is it not canon?

For starters, the numerous blatant contradictions with the already established storyline. You listed some. There were many others.
Also, even if you look at Shaolin Monks' story as a stand alone game, ignoring all the contraictions and rest of MK canon....it's not a good story. There's no plot. The driving logic is shallow and at times, nonsensical. Characterization was awful. Overall, it was not an improvement over the storyline we already have in any way.
And finally....the MK team pretty much said we can ignore it. At first they acted like it was going to be canon, but they've since backtracked on that...so it's safe to say MK:SM doesn't count.



Gameplay-wise, it was good game. Fun and entertaining.
But story-wise...it was a trainwreck.

Wait... When and who of the MK team said to ignore it?

I'm not sure if you guys are familar with what goes on in other forms of media (comics, in this case) but changing/altering a games story and the what not is common place in things like, lets say Comic Books. There's a term for this, and its called a [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retcon]Retcon[/url]. Ya see, after 15 or so, you may want to change or alter, or retell the stories a bit differently. Clean up stuff if you will. This is what Ed Boon, and his team did with Shaolin Monks.

Yea, so and so guy didnt have on what he did back in Mortal Kombat 1, is like complaining that Spider-Man didnt have on his Bell-Bottoms that he wore in the original 1960's/70's version, in the Spider-Man Movie that just came out. OMG, not canon! That is foolishness.

Shaolin Monks IS Mortal Kombat 1-2, retold. Better/improved/altered costume designs, and a few (albeit minor) story elements changed. Big deal. It's what everyone does. Now, if this title was made by anybody BUT Ed Boon, then these silly Non-Canon claims would hold, but it wasnt. So let it rest, its canon. Live with it. Be happy that the game was so great. You should be embrassing these changes.

Difficult to say. In the first Fight Night interview, the MK team implied MK:SM was meant to override MKII's story. In the same interview, they kind of contradicted themselves which didn't help. They've since only given vague answers that suggest some it might be canon and a lot of it isn't.
Supposedly, there was an interview where Boon said Special Forces was officially non-canon and Shaolin Monks was only a "what-if" story, but I've never seen this interview myself.

Personally, I take that as a greenlight to ignore MK:SM if I chose. And I chose to.



Yes I do know what a retcon is. And retcons are nothing new to Mortal Kombat. They've retconned a lot of things.

The purpose of a retcon is to, as you said, clean up a story. Make past events fit with story better or to stream-line the plot. MK:SM does neither. It makes things more confusing and dumbs down the overall story and characters.

MINOR changes? No, no.
See, the characters wearing different clothes...that's a minor change. Drastically altering Kung Lao's entire character and motivation so that he becomes almost the exact opposite of what was established...that's not a minor change.
And that's just one.

There was not a single...not one...change, alteration, or addition to plot that I felt was an improvement or worth keeping. I can write an multiple page essay about everything I found wrong with the story of Shaolin Monks.

Ed Boon and the MK team did not make Shaolin Monks for the story. They made it because they wanted to make an adventure game and thought they could cash in on the nostalgia of MKII. They had no regard for the storyline whatsoever...that much was made clear in the Fight Night interview. So why should I embrace this new, dumbed-down version of the story and characters when I already have an infinitely superior one? Because it exists? Because it's there? Ever heard of Elseworlds?

Yeah, the game was fun to play...but the story of MK:SM was not in improvement in any way, and it's much better off left non-canon.

Saying SM story is "inferior" is strictly your opinion. Let's be real, a few sentences on some bio page < SM story. And that's my opinion.

So what is Kung Lao doesnt "act" as he did back in your favorite 15 year old title. The story fits none the less. As I already stated, most of these changes are minor. Sure, you can make a big deal out of the way someone "acts", but that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

Indulge me...how was the story of Shaolin Monks in any way better than MKII?

If you'd like, I'd be more than happy to explain all the reasons I liked MKII better.

Please, elaborate. I'd be more than happy to hear why you thought II's was superior.

Okay, here's a list of all the ways in which I think Shaolin Monks' storyline was inferior. It'll range from minor nitpicks and biased opinions to legitmiate flaws and criticisms.....and it is long....

- Superfriends final battle
I'm not real keen on the suggestion in the intro that the MK1 story was simplified into a simple "good vs. evil" battle, with Sub-Zero on the "good team" while Kano & Scorpion were on the "evil team." I thought it was much cooler that the Scorpion/Sub-Zero rivalry was some side thing and that neither really had any interest in the battle between Earth and Outworld. And that Kano really wasn't involved with it either...he was just looking to rob Shang Tsung's palace and his rivalry with Sonya was also a side thing. I just think simplifying the storyline into just one battle is lame. I prefer the multiple sub-plots.

- "jerk-ass" Kung Lao
What I always liked about Kung Lao story/character-wise, was that he was a reluctant hero. He wanted nothing to do with being Champion of Mortal Kombat and only fought when he had to. That he was man who didn't want what everyone expected him to be and trying to find his own path. I also always saw him as a brooding, quiet character. However, in Shaolin Monks, we are presented with the complete opposite of that. We got an arrogant jerk who would shoot his mouth off and wanted nothing more than to be Champion of Mortal Kombat. This bothers me on three fronts: the first being this is not the Kung Lao I like. Two, it actually contradicts the Kung Lao's canon story. And finally, I find it so cliche. They turned Kung Lao into a typical hot-head. I mean yeah, when you make a story with two central characters, you want them to have distinct personalities to play off one another. But rather than actually develope Kung Lao's established "reluctant warrior" persona, they instead decided to replace it with the easiest, most obvious, cliched archetype you could've used to contrast Liu Kang.

- Kitana's spell
This is a piece of idiocy I have LONG dreaded...even before they even announced Shaolin Monks. I've long feared that they would someday try to explain that Kitana's loyalty to Shao Kahn was all merely the result of an evil spell. Not only would this really not make a whole lot of sense, it also cheapens Kitana's story on many levels. What makes Kitana's story worth a damn, is that she was raised to be an evil, cold-blooded killer. However upon learning the truth about her past, she changed herself and became a good person. That's what makes her interesting and a developed character. What a spell does is eliminate that developement in exchange for cheap grade-school logic. It shallows Kitana's character and her story. "No, I was never evil...it was allllll just a spell." I also feel this cheapens Shao Kahn too. Personally, I find it presents him as far more evil, devious, and interesting that he raised Kitana as his own...making sure she grew up genuinely loyal and devoted to him.
But I will be fair and point out that the spell in Shaolin Monks actually does not change Kitana's backstory or character. She was still raised by Kahn. Still turned against him. All intact. All Shaolin Monks adds is this: at some point after learning the truth about her past, Kitana was caught and put under a spell to make her loyal again. It's unneeded plot baggage. A contrived plot device to make Kitana a boss fight. I don't like the spell in MK:SM because it's pointless and just makes Kitana's story confusing. She served Kahn, then turned against him....then was caught and put under a spell....then joined the Earth fights. I also don't like that it presents Kitana as a victim, but I'll get more into that later.

- Liu Kang & Kung Lao: sadistic murderers
For starters, I'm pretty sure real Shaolin monks don't kill at all. But hey, this is a fantasy so whatever. But even then, I always saw Liu Kang & Kung Lao as guys who would only kill when they had to...and would otherwise try to avoid it. We see that most evident in MK1 & MK2 with Liu Kang having a "Fatality" that doesn't really kill the opponent. But MK:SM tosses all that aside and presents Liu & Kung Lao as rampaging murderers, sadistically killing every opponent they meet. Like viciously stabbing an already defeated Jade in the face as just a start...

- Mileena and....Reptile..?
This was just a random plot point that was thrown in for no reason and really didn't go anywhere. Baraka would've made sense...but why did they really claim Mileena & Reptile are inseperable? Because the next stage had Reptile as the boss. It was transistion statement. Quite unnecessary.

- The Outworld "tournament"
Mortal Kombat II's original story was Shang Tsung convinced Shao Kahn to hold a tournament in Outworld and lure the survivors from MK1 to compete for revenge. Admittedly, not very deep. Then in Trilogy they expanded it to reveal the tournament was really just a ruse to distract Earth's heroes while Sindel was being resurrected. I thought that helped and added an ominous layer to MKII. However in Shaolin Monks, we're presented with something else. Something that really isn't even a tournament. I still don't exactly get the logic behind it, but it was something like the more Liu Kang & Kung Lao win fights the weaker Shang Tsung would get or somesuch nonsense. That really isn't a tournament. It's Liu Kang & Kung Lao wandering around aimlessly, getting into fights. This plot would have been a better fit for a game about MK3....not MKII. I still love Liu Kang's line "That would put us in competition with each other." No it doesn't Liu. No, it doesn't.

- Liu Kang: total dumbass
Throughout the game, again and again, one simple fact is beaten into our heads: Liu Kang is not smart. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the biggest Liu Kang fan, but they really went overboard with Liu's naiveté. There's a difference between being a little naive...and just being flat-out fucking dumb. Liu frequently reaffirms his gullibility by blindly believing everything Raiden says...even when Raiden contradicts himself...and constantly disregards Kung Lao when he offers some kind of counter-opinion or even question of what's going on. If this is how Liu Kang really is, I'm going to have to agree with Tanya's statement in her MK4 ending: "I don't know what Kitana saw in you."

- Liu Kang & Kung Lao's rivalry
This ties into my distaste for Kung Lao being turned into Vegeta. I'm all for the idea that the heroes don't always get along and the attempt to introduce some sort of conflict between them. But this was a poor choice of action. There were other potential (non-cliched)conflicts they could've gotten out of these two without drastically altering either one. Like I said, rather than run with Kung Lao's established personality and develope a conflict out of that...which could've been pretty interesting...they went the easy, obvious route. Made worse by the fact that their "rivalry" was presented as completely immature and childish. These are supposed to be disciplined Shaolin monk warriors...yet they bicker like a couple of second graders. I also thought it was extremely lame to try to imply that even Liu & Kung Lao's ancestors fought and argued over who won Mortal Kombat.

- Mileena's origin
Midway into the game, we come across Kitana & Mileena fighting and Kitana takes a moment to explain Mileena's origin and why she hates her so much. All well and good except there were a few things that irked me here. First is a little nitpick: Kitana claims Mileena has no soul and that if she were to kill Kitana, she would take hers. Wrong. In MK3, they said when Mileena died, her soul went to the Netherealm. Therefore she does have a soul. But the main thing that bugged me is that Kitana flat out explains that Shao Kahn has magic spells that would make Mileena take Kitana's place if she killed her. Personally, I always thought it was better if the question whether Mileena's life really would improve should she kill Kitana was left ambiguous. I like the idea that just maybe...even if Mileena did kill Kitana...Shao Kahn would still treat her like shit. I preferred that ambiguity.

- Walking in and out of Outworld
Something I didn't care for in this game is the way characters are able to casually stroll between realms as though it was like taking a bus down the street. I mean okay...Liu, Kung Lao, & Johnny Cage get in because Raiden opened a portal for them. But Sub-Zero gets in and out with ease. We find the Red and Black Dragon do, too. Later we see Jax. Scorpion hops around between Outworld and the Netherealm like nothing. Personally, I always preferred to think that outer-dimensional travel was somewhat difficult...especially to the Netherealm which is supposed to be the afterlife and a forbidden realm for damned souls.

- Sub-Zero
Thing that gets me with Sub-Zero is the reason you fight him and the explanation of his scar. He attacks Liu Kang & Kung Lao...because he assumes they're enemies. His explanation being that he's learned to assume everyone he meets wants to kill him (even though at this point in the story Sub-Zero should still be loyal to the Lin Kuei)...establishing Sub-Zero as needlessly paranoid. Also bizarre that Liu Kang knows of Sub-Zero from the first tournament, yet doesn't bother to mention anything about it until after Kung Lao's slashed Subz' face with this hat. Speaking of which, that I just found very lame. All this time Sub-Zero's trademark scar was the result of Kung Lao slashes his face. Maybe less cliche, but it just feels completely flat. Maybe I wouldn't have minded so much if they fought for an actual reason...but I think the reason this didn't work is because it didn't fell like a natural part of the plot. I think if it was mentioned back in MK3 that Sub-Zero was scarred in a confrontation with Kung Lao, it wouldn't have been a big deal and probably would've been cool...but here, it seems like the reason Kung Lao was the one to give Sub-Zero his scar was just because Kung Lao was one of the main characters of this game. If the game's two main characters were say Jade and Baraka, Jade could have just as easily been the one to give Sub-Zero his scar.

- Goro's "exile"
In the canon story, Goro is so ashamed by his defeat at Liu Kang's hands that he allows everyone to think he's dead and exiles himself in disgrace. Only returning in MK4 hoping to fight Liu again and regain his honor, establishing Goro as an honor-bound warrior who has a great deal of pride in his fighting abilities. However, in Shaolin Monks, Goro apparently couldn't care less about being defeated by Liu Kang because when you meet him, he storms around like he's king of the universe. Also, you're led to Goro because Kitana claims Mileena is looking for him...so Goro not only doesn't care about his loss, he doesn't exile himself. (BTW, it's out of character for Mileena to want someone's help in killing Kitana. This was established in MK Gold.)

- Going to the Netherealm...for no reason
After killing Goro, Raiden appears and sends our heroes off into the Netherealm. Why? They never give a reason. And when you go there, it isn't even an actual level with obstacles or anything. We all know the REAL reason you get sent down there...to fight Scorpion. I mean okay, as stupid as those fights were, they at least gave some sort of explanation for fighting Kitana and Sub-Zero...but they didn't even try with this.

- Sub-Zero & Noob Saibot
One of the biggest surprises from Deception was the revelation that Noob Saibot was actually the older Sub-Zero. And of course, this led to intriguing speculation over what would happen when Sub-Zero, among other, finds out. Turns out he already knew....since MKII. This, to me, felt like a slap in the face. "Sub-Zero knew about Noob Saibot all along. He just never bothered to do anything about it, nor did we bother to mention it." And how the hell did Sub-Zero find out so fast anyway? Never mind that Noob's ending in Deception also said he hadn't seen his brother since before he became a wraith...

- Scorpion
Boy, did they do a number on Scorpion here? For me, everything that is bad and wrong about Scorpion was proudly broadcasted throughout this game. A rampaging drone, who does random things for little-to-no apparent reason and only gets his ass kicked for it...and yet, I'm still supposed to think he's a "bad ass" just because he has a flaming skull head and wears spikes and skulls on his clothes. Now some people like Scorpion this way. They prefer Scorpion as a shallow drone...but me, I can't accept him that way. The Scorpion that was my favorite character...the Scorpion I grew up with...was the one who vowed to protect the younger Sub-Zero to atone for killing his brother. The Scorpion that was my favorite character, was the one who had a sense of honor and didn't just randomly attack people for no reason, he actually responded to situations and would do the right thing when he had to. He was an anti-hero. This Scorpion...the Scorpion of Shaolin Monks...is not that Scorpion. Another thing that gets me about Scorpion's presence in this game is there is absolutely no reason for him to appear nor is a reason given. Like the random trip into the Netherealm, no explanation is given as to why you must fight Scorpion. No reason is given why he suddenly wants to kill Liu Kang & Kung Lao. Let's face it, the only reason Scorpion is there is because God forbid Scorpion doesn't appear in a Mortal Kombat game. And that's another thing that's wrong with Scorpion now. He's shoved down our throats even when he's not needed or wanted.

- Kitana: Damsel in distress
I think one thing the Mortal Kombat franchise has done well...for the most part...is present us with strong female characters who are able to stand on their own and go toe-to-toe with the guys. However, in Shaolin Monks we see one of the series' most prominant heroines become reglected to a secondary jobber. In the original story, Kitana feigns loyalty to Kahn while secretly helping Earth's warriors, then later kills Mileena and by MK3, escapes Outworld on her own to seek out Earth's heroes...establishing her as a strong, independent, and effective character, capable of walking this tightrope between both sides, fight off her deranged clone, and eventually evade the evil empire out to kill her. However in MK:SM, Kitana is shown having to be rescued from her evil spell by Liu Kang and later needs to be rescued yet again because she gets taken prisoner. Basically, they turned her into a total victim. And if that wasn't enough, she is shown getting chumped out by Mileena. I take issue with this because, once again, she's being presented as a weak and fragile damsel, which in itself is irritating...but as a Kitana fan, only enrages me moreso. But what's more ridiculous.....now, there isn't much info and what exactly happened during MKII. Debate has gone on for some time over whether Scorpion really did vow to protect Sub-Zero and also what happened to Kintaro among other things. But one thing that definitely was supposed to happen was Kitana was supposed to defeat and kill Mileena. Yet this doesn't happen. We instead see Mileena chump out Kitana, tossing her into a portal, and later Kitana being held prisoner. All due respect to Mileena fans who wouldn't want to see her lose, but in this instance, Kitana was SUPPOSED to win. Some will explain that Kitana probably just killed Mileena after being thrown into the portal and was then captured...but that doesn't change that it's stupid and taints Kitana's character by making her look very weak and ineffectual.

- Shang Tsung's paper-thin evil scheme
The big reveal at the end of the game was that "Raiden" was really Shang Tsung all along and he'd been using Liu Kang & Kung Lao for his evil schemes. When I first heard about this before I got the game, it sounded intriguing. However, once I played the game, that feeling quickly passed. Aside from the fact Tsung's masquerade was given away right from the start...his whole evil scheme was "kill people and that will make me strong." Ah. What's worse is Tsung's evil scheme would crumble to pieces if Liu and/or Kung Lao actually stopped and thought over what they were doing. Tsung's evil plan depended soley on the gullibility of the heroes. And this great deception is even further trivialized when Shao Kahn reveals that he not only knew about Tsung's plan to overthrow him...he didn't care either. So much for Shang Tsung's famed deceptive, cunning mind. Frankly, I thought the whole "distract everyone while Sindel is resurrected" thing was much better.

- Liu Kang & Kitana's "romance"
I've never been that big a fan of the Liu/Kitana romance. As a paranoid Kitana fanboy, there's the fear that she could/would someday be downgraded into being little more than "Liu Kang's girlfriend." That's yet to happen, but it is a dread that haunts me. But although I'm not fond of it, I've come to accept it. However, while it does make sense and adds a little something to both characters (or a lot in Liu's case)...it has never gotten any real developement. It always seemed like something just sort of thrown in because of the movies. It was speculated that Shaolin Monks would resolve this by providing some developement on Liu & Kitana's little relationship. It actually did the opposite. First of all, they have Liu Kang kill Jade....to which Kitana naturally gets mad. Kind of off to an awkward start. Then throughout the game, we see Liu Kang denying he likes her as if he's a eight year old and she acting like an ice queen bitch the whole game. Then suddenly at the very end...for seemingly no reason at all...they start flirting. What else needs to be said?

- Quan Chi & the Amulet
Where to begin with this? The story of the Amulet and how Quan Chi got it was pretty well covered in Mythologies and MK4. Quan Chi gets Sub-Zero to steal the Amulet. He makes a fake duplicate and gives it to Shinnok, which is stolen back. During MK4, Quan Chi reveals he's had it the whole time. So where in the fuck does Shao Kahn fit into this? Somehow, Quan Chi gave or lost the Amulet to Kahn and only got it back when Kahn died....no wait. They said the deaths were just for show and don't count. So Quan Chi DIDN'T get the Amulet....ARRGGHH!! But the main thing here for me is that the key to Quan Chi's plan....his master stroke....was he had the Amulet the whole time and NO ONE KNEW ABOUT IT! Any possible explanation taints the story and cheapens Quan Chi.

- general characterization
I'm referenced specific irks with paticular characters, but the characterization and dialogue in general for every character was just terrible. Many MK fans like to boast about how the characters of Mortal Kombat are far deeper and more developed than the characters of most other fighting games. You sure as hell wouldn't be able to tell from this nonsense.

- "plot"
There was no real plot to Shaolin Monks. As I stated earlier, all it really was was Liu Kang and Kung Lao wandering around aimlessly, getting into fights. They rarely had a clear objective...and when they did, we're given no indication their actions had any affect on what was happening. It was Raiden/Tsung who advises you to free Kitana from her spell. How did that benefit Tsung's plan? Wouldn't it have been better for him to have Liu and Kung Lao kill her so he could take her soul, too? What purpose did destroying the Soul Tombs have? How did that benefit Tsung's master plan? As I stated, Shang Tsung's evil scheme in itself was poorly developed and not at all complex. When your entire plot is dependent on your heroes being too dumb to ask any real questions, then you don't have a very good plot.


I do find it amazing that a game who's story consisted of simply a bio and ending for each character somehow has a deeper and more complex story and characters than a linear game with cinema scenes and dialogue.

Haha, goodness. That's alot of typing there. I seem to see some spoilers too, so until I finish the entire game, I'ma avoid discussing the game further. But I'll be back shortly (20 minutes should suffice). Haha.

See, the problem with SM that I had was not that it contradicted MK2's story, but that it contradicted the VERY CANON Mythologies Sub Zero game, where Quan Chi got the amulet, and not from exploding Shao Kahn.

Excellent post XiahouDun84. You fucking nailed that shit!

To me, not only does MKSM contradict and fuck up MK2's storyline, but it fucks up the stories of ALL the past MK games.

About the Amulet in particular, it's even more of a mess in Armageddon with Quan Chi's ending and the implication that Shinnok's amulet is a Kamidogu when Raiden clearly said in MKD's Konquest that Shinnok's amulet is NOT a Kamidogu but is connected to them.

Although I consider MKSM non-canon, finding it too ridiculous for it to be canon, it seems that elements of it rubbed off on MKA with Kung Lao's ending and from what seems to be the way Sub-Zero is in MKA's Konquest with him knowing about Noob and trying to free him and stuff.

There were other things that bugged me about MKSM such as the restoration of Shang Tsung's youth, which completely contradicts the MK2 intro, ZERO story for Kintaro, who wasted his time acting like some kind of Pro-Wrestler, and the LACK of an explanation as to why Kano and Sonya were taken prisoner. Sure, some might say that they are simply bait to lure the heroes, even though in MKSM, Shang Tsung lures Liu Kang and Kung Lao to Outworld.

I felt that not only Liu Kang was a dumbass, but Kung Lao was also pretty stupid, ESPECIALLY when he comes across Jax, who he seems to already know, which doesn't make sense at all. The point is that Jax tells Kung Lao that Raiden has been with him pretty much the whole time. Don't you think that Kung Lao should've told Liu Kang this?? But noooo....we have to find a giant axe to smash the damn crystals.

I also hated how the heroes were present during the Tarkatan attack on the Shaolin temple. That really cheapens Liu Kang's story and takes out the hard impact. Also, this should've been the game that explores such things, showing doubt and beginnings of regret in Liu Kang as his victory led to the deaths of his fellow monks.

About the Shaolin monks and violence thing, well...in Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path are the main aspects and they act as guidelines to the path of Nirvana. I did read somewhere about records of warrior monks (Seng Bing) being hired to kill Japanese pirates. I think that when necessary, they would kill. Another thing to keep in mind is Shaolin's association with martial arts, which seems to have started in 1565 or so, as well as the fighting being done by rebels, outcasts, etc. Some say the Shaolin warrior monk thing is a myth, but in the world of Chinese martial arts, who the hell really knows?

Anyway, moving on....

Next is Raiden, with his annoyingly bland voice and zero personality. We don't see much of him in the game. We don't get any explanation as to what happened after the battle between him and Shang Tsung. What's with the whole "magics/magicks" thing? It's like there's an implication that Raiden has magical powers or something. And here I was thinking that he was a God, not some kind of magician or sorcerer.

Then there's the whole "no powers in Outworld" thing, which is taken from the movies and shows. This is confusing as the games have NEVER established this, and there's also MKD's intro to consider, as well as Raiden's appearance in Outworld during MKA's Konquest. So Raiden has his domain in Earthrealm since he is its protector God. So let's say he loses his powers in Outworld. What about Edenia? He's been in Edenia before with MK4/MKG and MKA, yet does he lose his powers? No. Does he have his domain there? No.

When Shaun Himmerick said that they were trying to follow the story by having Raiden lose his powers in Outworld, I had to wonder what the hell he was on as he clearly doesn't know the damn story.

Face it Necromancer. MKSM fucked up big time, completely raping MK's story, making it more confusing than before. But this time, we don't get anything remotely interesting. Instead, we get garbage and more garbage.

I'm afraid with what they'll do if they make another MKSM type game. *shudders*

I can answer this one. In the Brady Games Official MK2 Fighter's Kompanion (printed in 1994) on page 16 in Mileena's bio it says, "Since Shao Kahn doesn't trust Kitana, he assigned both Reptile and Mileena to watch over her. But Shao Kahn may have made a mistake- can someone as evil as Mileena be trusted?"

Being the Reptile fanatic that I am, I always liked to think that Reptile and Mileena had a professional relationship as one ninja to another. The only thing that really kills it in MKSM is that Mileena and Reptile never have a scene together. Not exactly what I'd call "inseparable."

Aside from that, I whole-heartedly agree with everything else you said. I really like playing the game, but the story is so far out of whack it can't possibly be considered canon. Awesome post, by the way. I couldn't have nitpicked it any better myself.

There are a lot of differenes. At the beginning, Reptile stated "I do not serve Shang tsung.", read his MK2 Bio and it says he was a body guard(or something of the like).

Well it was a good game, but Liu Kang acted real childish("COUGH"Shujinko!") and Kung Lao was a douchebag.

I've been thinking lately about the state of MK's story, and I've come to believe that they're retconning out Tobias's story elements on purpose. Ever since he left, it's been retcon, after retcon, after retcon. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but Tobias was the lead story guy, right? Was him leaving that big of a deal, they need to erase his presence from MK? I'm afraid these changes are, more than likely, canon.

It's kinda like the Daniel Pesina incident. They fired him, then left out Cage, and the Ninjas in MK3, until he was replaced in UMK3 by Turk, and that half assed Cage actor in Trilogy, due to, iirc, fan outrage.

I know it's easier finding a replacement actor, than a writer. Especially since writing involves talent, and Tobias had plenty of that. Why should we suffer because of their personal issues?



Ka-Tra

If that's the case.... ( and I have my doubts)..... but if that's really the case, then those guys need to grow up and stop acting childish.

It'd be like if a comic book writer working at Marvel suddenly jumped ship and went over to DC. Do they retcon every single Marvel issue he wrote out of existence? NO! Because you have fans that were following those stories and liked them!

*remembers the Spider Man clone saga. "The spidey you've been reading about for the last 20 years was a fake!" *

Hmm... I stand corrected. But look at the backlash they got over that!

Can somebody help me list all the reasons why MKSM cannot be a canon. The makers of the game stated that it takes place in between MK1 and MK2, but at the same time it does all these things that LOOK OUT OF CONTINUITY!!! For instance...

Several characters that play major parts in MK2 and MK3 get killed off.

It was stated in the Fight Night chat that the characters you get to kill were there for gameplay reasons, they wanted to suspend belief so you could do fatalities on bosses and that it would seem less fun if the bosses ran away after each battle.

Most of the characters that appear are not wearing the same outfits they wore in MK1, MK2 and MK3.

This is really just nitpicky stuff. Costumes dont have to have anything to do with the storyline, its there mostly to make the characters look good, and I think you will agree that it really doesnt matter a whole lot.

Kung Lao is portrayed as a selfish and jealous warrior when he should be a peaceful monk who wasn't interested in mortal kombat at the time (that's why he wasn't in the first game).

I really dont see much of a contridiction, you cant be selfish and peaceful? Besides Kung Lao's story was never fleshed out very well until MKSM, I think if anything we got insight into his character.

Johnny Cage kills Goro (movie influence right there).

I dont disagree that its a movie influence, but a lot of things are influenced by the movie Kitana/Liu, Cage/Sonya, Kano's australian accent, 10 tournaments to claim absolute victory. But I do disagree that Goro died, I dont think any of the bosses dying is canon.

Shao Kahn is destroyed and Quan Chi takes the amulent.

Yeah this really doesnt make sense, but to be fair, its still quite possible that this part of the story can be explained. We know that Quan Chi had the amulet during MK Mythologies, which was 2 years before MK1. So between that time and the end of MK2 its quite possible that Shao Kahn managed to get the amulet somehow. Maybe we'll find out in the next adventure game.

Since when was Kitana assassinating b/c she was under a spell?

I dont understand what your saying here, are you saying there is a contridiction in her MK2 story because she is assassinating for Shao Kahn?

Did I miss any? The way I see it MKSM is just an adaptation of the first 3 MK games.

I see this as the same basic MK2 storyline, though it retcons the MK2 comic book and alters a few characters biographies. It just changes the details of the same events (Shang Tsung regaining his youth, Earthrealm warriors lured to Outworld, Tarkata attack on Liu Kang's temples). I also see this as from the point of view of Liu Kang and Kung Lao, so not everything will be seen from an outsiders view like we are used to in the games.

I can go with alot of stuff people say aobut all this. I've always looked at it kinda like the comic industry. After a certin writer leaves it's not uncommon for people to alter or bury their work. The original comics are long gone. If they were that importint to thr story im sure they would have been reprinted and packed as a bonus or something. Yeah i know deadly alliance had a few scans for them. The original storyline was fine but being mainly told thru comics less then half of the fans ever knew all that. This was a chance basicly to re-write history and let people know how things started. I agree the orginal plot feels more MK but im fine with this happeneing. As for the big complaint about everyone getting killed off in the game.............seriosuly just think about that for a sec. U couldnt beat MKII Without killing EVERYONE in the game. It didn't mean they were all dead did it? It didn't mean they were all dead the time before that either or the time after or after that or after that or after that. it dosnet mean their dead. If im not mistaken everyone major boss that dies stays on screen till u leave the room too then their magicly gone.

Killing everyone to win the game is an example of why story events are different than gameplay elements.

It's the same reason why using Phoenix down in FF revives your party members, but characters that die for story reasons, stay dead.

*cough*Aerith*cough*



Ka-Tra

Well, then don't fuck with him