People are forgetting one very important issue here. The Mortal Kombat franchise has a very rich, complex (some would say convoluted), and detailed HISTORY. To erase all that history would be saddening and I honestly don't think we've gone that far that it needs to be done.

Just look at Spider-man's comic right now for example. There are plenty of fans, myself included, who are very pissed off that 20 years of continuity was just erased, making such powerful moments of his history, such as his wedding, his entire marriage, the death of his best friend, his unmasking, the death of Ben Reiley, meaningless. It was a move that disrespected comic collectors (the value of these previous events were greatly diminished) and fans (who had grown up and followed them.)

Similarly, MK is treading on thin ice here. If they just up and erased all of this continuity through the Armageddon, that's a disservice to the fans that have been following the story and characters. There's a reason we were so upset about not getting the bios.

Besides that, there are just some characters that DESERVE to be included, such as Sareena or Nitara, characters who basically were introduced with a lot of story potential and strong direction, but who might ultimately but cut because they're "not important" enough.

MK, like it or not, is strongest in terms of its characters. Silent Hill, by comparision, does not need the same characters but rather the same setting. Resident Evil only needs the same sort of enemies and gameplay. But MK has never had a consistent setting, storyline, or fighting engine. Rather, its only consistency is its characters, such as Sub-Zero and Liu Kang. That's the most vital part of the series, and I see no reason why that should change.

I don't trust polls especially when the majority of voters might be little kids who don't know WTF is really good for the franchise... MKO's poll being a prime example. But that's just my OPINION.

It's like Coke and Sams cola. Without the oldies in this game it will feel like we're purchasing the generic brand of food. Sure it tastes alright but are you really going to be satisfied by the main course?

If they can do this, than Nintendo can make a Smash Bros with all microsoft characters. It just won't feel right.

I've got mixed feelings about this. As much as I'd love MK to have a fresh new start, I believe there is a big risk in that the new characters might not be very good. That, in turn with a cost benefit analysis, would cause MK to fail. Now don't get me wrong I AM NOT saying a game with all new characters will be a failure.

However, we are all used to the likes of Fujin and Noob-Saibot now. And at one time or another, they themselves were NEW characters. This is the dilemma. If you want MK8 to move forward, you automatically need new characters. At least half the roster has to have new characters. But hey, that is just my analysis of it.

Yeah but those characters tied into the old characters storyline.

I mean this could be done, it would just be like what Tolkien did with Middle Earth. Different storys, same scenery. But we are also talking about a video game. It's too dangerous to do this. I mean when you buy a Mario game you expect Mario. When you buy this game you're going to expect your old favorite characters.

Like me, i took a break from MK for the playstation era. I played MK3 but that was it. Then i got back into the swing of things with MKDA coming out. I remember the antagonizing wait to see my fav scorpion (at the time) in 3D. Now imagine if someone does that with this new installment but finds everything completely new.

Hmm...well I think this is too much. I would include 2 or 3 old characters. For a game that had so many characters .. I think its almost like starting with zero old characters.

But if they would decide to do this and other (better) characters would be created, Im down for it. Even tough Im a sub zero fan, I think it's possible for them to create another "future fave" character for everyone.

XTREEMIST said it best!
That's all I can say.

No I wont be happy if the game wont have any of the old roster .Although I think that Scorpion and Sub Zero are enough still many fans dont .

We are the fans have played MK for along time and we had our favorites charcters from it some of them we have seen in almost every new MK so we had no problems but now I really dont know .

But I dont think that Ed Boon will forget about his fans and he will do his best to balance the game between the past and the future.

It is only a matter of time

well subby and scorpion are coming back fore sure, but i would at least like to see a few other familiar faces.

I really hope we have around 5 returning characters.

I would like to see:

1) Sub
2) Scorp
3) Sonya/Tanya/Frost
4) Raiden/Fujin
5) Rain/Reiko

Garlador, I agree 100%. A lot of the characters that had potential were ignored, and a lot were executed poorly (i.e. Scorpion). We need a balance--proven characters mixed with SUCCESSFUL newbies, if Midway wants to phase out the old characters. Make a good character, and make him or her work BEFORE you try this crap. Hell, I haven't found a single comic relief character that's worked since Cage. Has Midway had an awesome character since Kenshi and (to somewhat lesser of a degree) Nitara?

(Despite what alot of you here think, the answer to teh proposed question is 'no', and fanboys almost always buy a game, anyway, so our opinions don't matter as much as non-fans or semi-fans. They're the ones that make a game a million-seller.)

P.S., I too am pissed about Spidey. It reminds me what Vogel did with Johnny Cage. Sure, his story sucked before, but now we don't have a clue what he was doing between 2 and DA. If you wanna get over it, though, just pick up Captain America. Guarantee you, it'll be so good, you'll forget all about Spidey. Seriously, the books &*$%ing good right now, even without Steve Rogers. (Don't get me wrong, he needs to come back eventually, but I'm enjoying it a lot right now)

When Deception came out, I told everyone that it was a test--it was Midway using their crappy rejects in an attempt to test the waters. If it sold without its best, proven characters, they would try a complete (or near complete) restart. By the way, if they would've left some of those characters in the series continuously, I might've liked 'em better. But no, they disappear for 2 or 3 games and are back.... it was too much too quickly. Anyway, Reject's Revenge (a.k.a. Deception) worked, so ahead they went with project Ruin MK for Many. I didn't buy Deception (though I caved and DID rent it), so I can be confident when I say that I will NOT buy this game if it abandons all of my favorite characters. Sorry, ain't gonna happen. I'm not supporting a restart. Good luck and all, but I won't support something I disagree with.

^.....?

Deception was a good concept. I mean throughout the whole series the symbol was this dragon character that no one knew anything about. Sure Deception was executed a little poorly, but it wasn't that bad of a storyline. MKA ruined it all (imo.)

Still old characters should come back to start this series anew. Otherwise this will not work. They can't just have completely new characters without oldies escourting them in. But i still don't want that.

As much as i love the entire roster. Just having Noob & Fujin back would be good enough for me.

No Boon isnt a god in fact he ruined the franchise in my eyes, Tobais was the clever one - went great after he left eh

Agreed IMO i see this game actually having about 15 current characters and introudcing only a few new ones despite what boon has said. I reckon alot of the characters are actually coming back just with new looks - which of course doesnt mean they're the same characters like with Armageddon just new characters with old character names (Jarek anyone?)

You've got a double posting problem don't you?
There's this thing called the EDIT MESSSAGE.

I didnt intentionally do it i made the mistake in another thread its because they are replies to 2 different people they werent intended to be put together i just realised they dont put posts which are replies with the post they are replying to

When you wanna quote someone, click the REPLY on there POST, Then when it comes up click ADD ORIGINAL. That's how you quote.

No, I don't like that Idea, because MK has some really iconic characters. Sure, some of you guys think Scorpion and Sub-Zero are pretty lame characters, but they are the face of Mortal Kombat. It would seem out of place without them there. I'd also hope a couple of other iconic characters return. I'd imagine Raiden would be back as well, being immortal and all.

People are putting way too much stock in the old characters. Keeping in mind, I am a HUGE fan of story. I don't see how half the analogies used in this thread are truly relevant.

For example, I can not connect Spider-Man and Mortal Kombat. No one would be slapping MK's history in the face. It is just going to be a new story. People do this all the time. Anyone here familiar with the video game developers BioWare? Just because they chose to make Jade Empire rather than Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II doesn't mean they were slapping the faces of those who enjoyed the original KOTOR story.

Mortal Kombat's history does not belong to any one character. Spider-Man's history is kind of tied to the Spider-Man character.

The best argument against the all-new character suggestion, are the doubts the MK Team can create that many compelling new characters. If they can, however, it is my personal opinion that a game containing brilliant new characters would definitely be Mortal Kombat.

Ummm.....point of interest: Jade Empire and KOTR are two entirely different franchises. Just thought I'd point that out.

It's true to say that characters like Scorpion and Sub-Zero define MK to your average gamer.

I agree with your first and last point. People put too much stock in the old characters. But like I said, I think it is a good thing too keep sum old characters. But keep it too a minimal.

I also see a lot of people saying, well if they don't keep this and that character, MK will loose it fans, won't sell much, etc. Makes me wonder if they are fans of the game or the characters. I would be dissapointed if sub zero wouldn't be in the game..but hey..aslong as the game is topnotch..Im all for it.