The Good & The Bad of MKSM - a ]{0MBAT Perspective
The Good & The Bad of MKSM - a ]{0MBAT Perspective
0
posted09/24/2005 12:01 AM (UTC)by
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06/09/2002 11:28 AM (UTC)
Hey guys,
Let me start off by saying this is just my preliminary impression of the final version of the game. There's a LOT I haven't gotten to yet as I do have work and many other duties to attend to. I haven't done my first Smoke mission, haven't found a lot of the secrets yet, haven't seen Ermac or been to the Warrior Shrine, haven't beaten the game on Ko-Op mode yet. I have beaten the game with only Liu Kang and Scorpion and gotten it to 69% So maybe this is a little premature. Many of you who know me realize I've been an MK fan since day 1, and I know many many details of the MK storyline and I still have my copy of the MKII comic book. I know the MK story inside and out, and I know what's new and what's changed in this. Without further ado, here is my review.
Let's start with the good stuff.
Actually, so much of this game is done right. I love how they've incorporated a little bit from every MK game and placed it in here. To start with, the intro was amazing, they have all the little rivalries going down in one all-out melee. The fact that they had Liu Kang doing the Flying Kick to win the match was perfect, as this was confirmed in MKDA as the move that Liu used to win the game. After Shang's defeat, they have his island start to crumble. They seemed to ignore that this happened in MKDA, but I'm extremely glad that they confirmed this did indeed happen. Other details from the MKII storyline are all here as well, including major ones like Shang Tsung getting his youth back, Baraka and his mutants attacking the Shaolin Temple, Jax rescuing Sonya and inadvertently freeing Kano, and even Johnny Cage following Liu Kang into the portal into Outworld. Amazing job on all of this. (BTW, I'm extremely glad that Jax didn't speak ebonics in this game. Although now, there's the plothole of why does he suddenly start doing that later? Oh well.) On top of that, the MK team has continued their long standing tradition of taking rumors and turning them into reality, as now you can take the trees in the Living Forest and kill people by knocking them into the mouths of these trees to be fed; also, you can use one of those kick-ass weapons from the MKII armory which is really all-powerful. On top of that, mysteries that were never explained before - such as how Sub-Zero got his scar - are shown happening here. All the while, little background things like statues from all the differenst stages are still here, and the Masked Guards and Shadow Priests are all fully fightable characters here which is just awesome. (On a semi-related note, I'm glad they still call them "Shadow Priests" and didn't change their name to "Druids".)
As I said before, a little bit from each MK game is included. One of the best things about it is the MK4-style weapons and skulls laying around which you can use to defeat your enemies. The "Test Your Might" scenes really help you feel the struggle your character is going through, especially in the boss battles against Scorpion and Baraka. The implementation of the special moves and putting them in a full 3D adventure game was pulled off quite nicely and is something they've got down pat; I was extremely surprised to see that even some of the more obscure moves such as Reptile's Forceball and Scorpion's Leg Takedown were included. In the ending, the villagers that came by to cheer for Kahn's defeat appeared to be exactly the same models as from MKD's Konquest Mode. Understandably, including Shujinko would have been too problematic, but it was a very nice touch to see something from Konquest make its way here. Now, even though this game takes place during MKII, other details that weren't known until later were able to be included. For instance, it wasn't until UMK3 that we learned that Jade and Kitana were friends; that fact is mentioned here. We didn't know until MKDA that there was a Red Dragon clan, but here they are now. And the word "Tarkatans" wasn't even in our vocabulary until as recently as MK: Deception, but that's what they're referred to as here. (Thankfully, they don't all look identical to Baraka, either.) The comic relief in this game was excellent, from "Are you okay?" to "She's not my girlfriend!" A lot of the taunting was great, too. Actually, Shao Kahn's taunts from the boss battle sound even cooler now than they first did in MKII. My all time favorite 2 lines are Reptile's "You humans think you're so superior", and Johnny Cage's "You just got caged!". Come to think of it, I can't believe he didn't use that line on himself at the end when he got caged. The way they handled the Johnny Cage/Goro conflict was hilarious as well, with Johnny stepping in to take all the credit and Liu Kang just shaking his head. BTW, did you notice they improved Goro's design from how it was originally? In the beta screenshots he had only 2 chest muscles, but he now has 4 chest muscles ala MK Deception; it looks a lot more realistic and modern that way, plus (don't tell the MKD team this) but in MKSM he looks even better than in MKD.
Now for the final battle scene.
Fighting Shang Tsung and then Kintaro then Shao Kahn like that is fucking awesome. The whole setup for Kintaro with the crowd cheering him on is awesome. These cinematic videos were really cool, and Kintaro and Kahn have both really developed a personality. They both really seem like to like putting on a show for the crowds, which is not something I really would have thought of before. All the nice little touches for us long-time MK fans are here, including Kahn having his orb/staff from MKII and his war hammer from MK3... and that scene where he gets unmasked is EXACTLY how John Tobias originally pictured him. They may have depicted the MKII storyline completely differently from his comic, but I'm so glad they kept his look here the same. Another amazing thing in the Shang Tsung fight is his morphs. I know he only has 4, I know it's not exactly like it worked in MKII, and I know for some reason his life bar changes names when he does it; but they've been working on getting this morphing technique down for years and now they've got it. This is definitely a step in the right direction. As a side note, I don't know if anyone noticed this, but when you're about to do a Fatality on Shang Tsung and all the background changes as it's about to start, the one thing that remains unaffected is Shao Kahn himself. This is exactly what happened in MKII when you did a Fatality on someone in Kahn's Arena.
I also really like the random quit messages, they're very reminiscent of the hidden messages at the end of MKII such as "There are no animalities" and "Ermac Does Not Exist".
Alright, now for the stuff I think they should have done differently.
To start off, Baraka's mutants are supposed to hang out in the Wasteland. I didn't see a single one of them there. Also, Oni's are supposed to be from the Netherealm, not from Outworld. So I definitely would have placed the enemy's more appropriately.
Some of the cinematic storytelling is very unclear. One thing that the monks ask at the end is, "How can we defeat you?". A voice says "The Elder Gods will help you". They don't seem to; but at the end we see Quan Chi picking up his Amulet. Are they implying that Shinnok was somehow aiding and abetting our heroes behind the scenes? The impression that most people walk away with is that Kahn had the Amulet, which is not what I got at all (it's also why I don't like hearing things second hand), but this scene should have been outlined more clearly. If this isn't what happened, then I have no idea what "The Elder Gods will help you" is supposed to be mean.
Another thing that was unclear was the whole deal with Liu Kang and Kung Lao's ancestors. They were supposed to both be descendants of the original Kung Lao who defeated Goro 500 years ago. Now they're from different families, and BOTH their ancestors were involved in MK, but didn't get along? Or maybe they're still both related. I dunno, just weird. I think that scene with their ancestors should've been scrapped altogether.
Now, a lot of people have a problem with all the death scenes, but I don't. A lack of Fatalities would have been pretty boring. But some of them could have been done much more in true to the game's story. For example; we KNOW it was Raiden who vaporizes Kintaro at the end of MKII, we KNOW Kitana is arrested for murdering Mileena, why not show these events instead? They could have had Kahn reversing the deaths anyway, as he probably didn't want Tsung to keep all those souls and stay all powerful and stuff. Speaking of that, what's the deal with the Soul Tombs? Somehow, when he tricked Liu Kang and Kung Lao into destroying them, he became more powerful. I'm not sure what happened exactly, if he gained all the souls or something that the Tombs were keeping, that was unclear. Why he couldn't destroy the Tombs himself was unclear. I'm not liking that whole part of the storyline in here, really.
The scene with Goro was way out of order. He should have been fought before Tsung in the opening video, really. I can't figure out why Tsung/Kintaro/Kahn all happened in the same order as in MKII but Goro/Shang didn't. Now, Kintaro is not out for revenge against the earth warriors responsible for Goro's death because he's probably got no way of even knowing Goro's dead. This probably would have been a good thing for Kahn to point out to Kintaro before the fight started, to give him some extra motivation for fighting against them.
The main 2 characters I have the biggest problem with, though, are Sub-Zero and Scorpion. Don't get me wrong, I know they're popular, and I know that like every character from MKII was in here and of course they've got to be included; but damnit, do it right. We never got to see Sub-Zero trying to assassinate Shang Tsung, we just see him in Outworld looking for revenge against Scorpion instead. Why was he there when Scorpion was in the Netherealm anyway? And why did Scorpion want to kill Liu Kang and Kung Lao? That was really out of character for him. Instead of Sub-Zero sparing the life of his opponent in battle (which happened the other way around, here) and Scorpion then realizing this is not the same Sub-Zero and becoming his bodyguard, they just made up their own story which was completely hollow. Or shallow. I'm not sure which one's the right word. But it sort of leaves you with that empty feeling. If they had kept true to the original MKII stories, things would have gone down like this. Sub-Zero would have had a reason to be in Outworld, because he was there to get Tsung. His reason for being a boss battle (learns to call everyone in Outworld an enemy) could be the same. During the battle, he could still get scarred. But then, the way this fight ends is that Scorpion would interrupt the fight just as Sub-Zero's life meter gets to a certain point, and starts a fight with the monks for himself. (He thinks this is the original Subby, and he wants to kill him for himself - not anyone else.) So there's your Scorpion boss battle. Okay, the fight's over, cut back to Sub-Zero, who's now extremely pissed over his face being scarred, but has a change of heart and doesn't kill the monks. This is when Scorpion, back from the dead again, figures out that this could not possibly by the same Sub-Zero. He now reveals that is correct, that was his brother, and he's after Shang Tsung. Scorpion didn't realize that the original Subby had a family, and vows to protect this new Sub-Zero on their quest for Tsung. Apologies are made on both sides, and though they're all on the same side, they feel it would be best if they stayed out of each other's way, at least for the time being. Awesome, right?
Okay, that's all my major gripes with the game. Here's a couple of minor things, though.
Kahn says their presence is unwanted/uninvited. Since when? The whole plan was that he was supposed to lure the earth warriors here for a tournament where they'd meet certain death by Kahn themselves. Barring that, it makes a nice little diversion so they can ressurect Sindel's soul on earth. Okay, in another part at the end, Kahn says "The earth realm will fall as easily as Kung Lao" and then Kung Lao's like "It's about time". WTF? Kung Lao thinks its about time the Earth realm fell? There's something not kosher about that line. Maybe a bunch of other lines were deleted and that was left in but had a different context, or something. It was just weird. Also, doubt anyone noticed this, but Quan Chi's having tattoos in the last scene doesn't really make sense. He didn't do that to himself until after discovering the tomb of the Dragon King's mummified army, which certainly hasn't happened yet.
Things I was hoping for but haven't seen (yet).
Bo Rai Cho. I know he's not really been treated as a serious character, but he IS Liu Kang and Kung Lao's martial arts instructor, he DOES have a stake in seeing Kahn defeated, and he does have homes in both Earth and Outworld. I think he should have been fit in somewhere.
No sign of Torch/Blaze? I admit I haven't seen everything in the game yet. I don't know what's out there.
Lastly, I was kinda hoping for a boss battle with the dark Shadow Priest. You know how in the old-school portal background in MK Deception, there's 2 normal colored Shadow Priests on one side, then one wearing darker robes on the other? He looks like their supervisor or something. I bet that could have made a cool boss battle.
That's about it. I may add more if I think of something else or discover something else that would radically affect my opinion of this.
Let me start off by saying this is just my preliminary impression of the final version of the game. There's a LOT I haven't gotten to yet as I do have work and many other duties to attend to. I haven't done my first Smoke mission, haven't found a lot of the secrets yet, haven't seen Ermac or been to the Warrior Shrine, haven't beaten the game on Ko-Op mode yet. I have beaten the game with only Liu Kang and Scorpion and gotten it to 69% So maybe this is a little premature. Many of you who know me realize I've been an MK fan since day 1, and I know many many details of the MK storyline and I still have my copy of the MKII comic book. I know the MK story inside and out, and I know what's new and what's changed in this. Without further ado, here is my review.
Let's start with the good stuff.
Actually, so much of this game is done right. I love how they've incorporated a little bit from every MK game and placed it in here. To start with, the intro was amazing, they have all the little rivalries going down in one all-out melee. The fact that they had Liu Kang doing the Flying Kick to win the match was perfect, as this was confirmed in MKDA as the move that Liu used to win the game. After Shang's defeat, they have his island start to crumble. They seemed to ignore that this happened in MKDA, but I'm extremely glad that they confirmed this did indeed happen. Other details from the MKII storyline are all here as well, including major ones like Shang Tsung getting his youth back, Baraka and his mutants attacking the Shaolin Temple, Jax rescuing Sonya and inadvertently freeing Kano, and even Johnny Cage following Liu Kang into the portal into Outworld. Amazing job on all of this. (BTW, I'm extremely glad that Jax didn't speak ebonics in this game. Although now, there's the plothole of why does he suddenly start doing that later? Oh well.) On top of that, the MK team has continued their long standing tradition of taking rumors and turning them into reality, as now you can take the trees in the Living Forest and kill people by knocking them into the mouths of these trees to be fed; also, you can use one of those kick-ass weapons from the MKII armory which is really all-powerful. On top of that, mysteries that were never explained before - such as how Sub-Zero got his scar - are shown happening here. All the while, little background things like statues from all the differenst stages are still here, and the Masked Guards and Shadow Priests are all fully fightable characters here which is just awesome. (On a semi-related note, I'm glad they still call them "Shadow Priests" and didn't change their name to "Druids".)
As I said before, a little bit from each MK game is included. One of the best things about it is the MK4-style weapons and skulls laying around which you can use to defeat your enemies. The "Test Your Might" scenes really help you feel the struggle your character is going through, especially in the boss battles against Scorpion and Baraka. The implementation of the special moves and putting them in a full 3D adventure game was pulled off quite nicely and is something they've got down pat; I was extremely surprised to see that even some of the more obscure moves such as Reptile's Forceball and Scorpion's Leg Takedown were included. In the ending, the villagers that came by to cheer for Kahn's defeat appeared to be exactly the same models as from MKD's Konquest Mode. Understandably, including Shujinko would have been too problematic, but it was a very nice touch to see something from Konquest make its way here. Now, even though this game takes place during MKII, other details that weren't known until later were able to be included. For instance, it wasn't until UMK3 that we learned that Jade and Kitana were friends; that fact is mentioned here. We didn't know until MKDA that there was a Red Dragon clan, but here they are now. And the word "Tarkatans" wasn't even in our vocabulary until as recently as MK: Deception, but that's what they're referred to as here. (Thankfully, they don't all look identical to Baraka, either.) The comic relief in this game was excellent, from "Are you okay?" to "She's not my girlfriend!" A lot of the taunting was great, too. Actually, Shao Kahn's taunts from the boss battle sound even cooler now than they first did in MKII. My all time favorite 2 lines are Reptile's "You humans think you're so superior", and Johnny Cage's "You just got caged!". Come to think of it, I can't believe he didn't use that line on himself at the end when he got caged. The way they handled the Johnny Cage/Goro conflict was hilarious as well, with Johnny stepping in to take all the credit and Liu Kang just shaking his head. BTW, did you notice they improved Goro's design from how it was originally? In the beta screenshots he had only 2 chest muscles, but he now has 4 chest muscles ala MK Deception; it looks a lot more realistic and modern that way, plus (don't tell the MKD team this) but in MKSM he looks even better than in MKD.
Now for the final battle scene.
Fighting Shang Tsung and then Kintaro then Shao Kahn like that is fucking awesome. The whole setup for Kintaro with the crowd cheering him on is awesome. These cinematic videos were really cool, and Kintaro and Kahn have both really developed a personality. They both really seem like to like putting on a show for the crowds, which is not something I really would have thought of before. All the nice little touches for us long-time MK fans are here, including Kahn having his orb/staff from MKII and his war hammer from MK3... and that scene where he gets unmasked is EXACTLY how John Tobias originally pictured him. They may have depicted the MKII storyline completely differently from his comic, but I'm so glad they kept his look here the same. Another amazing thing in the Shang Tsung fight is his morphs. I know he only has 4, I know it's not exactly like it worked in MKII, and I know for some reason his life bar changes names when he does it; but they've been working on getting this morphing technique down for years and now they've got it. This is definitely a step in the right direction. As a side note, I don't know if anyone noticed this, but when you're about to do a Fatality on Shang Tsung and all the background changes as it's about to start, the one thing that remains unaffected is Shao Kahn himself. This is exactly what happened in MKII when you did a Fatality on someone in Kahn's Arena.
I also really like the random quit messages, they're very reminiscent of the hidden messages at the end of MKII such as "There are no animalities" and "Ermac Does Not Exist".
Alright, now for the stuff I think they should have done differently.
To start off, Baraka's mutants are supposed to hang out in the Wasteland. I didn't see a single one of them there. Also, Oni's are supposed to be from the Netherealm, not from Outworld. So I definitely would have placed the enemy's more appropriately.
Some of the cinematic storytelling is very unclear. One thing that the monks ask at the end is, "How can we defeat you?". A voice says "The Elder Gods will help you". They don't seem to; but at the end we see Quan Chi picking up his Amulet. Are they implying that Shinnok was somehow aiding and abetting our heroes behind the scenes? The impression that most people walk away with is that Kahn had the Amulet, which is not what I got at all (it's also why I don't like hearing things second hand), but this scene should have been outlined more clearly. If this isn't what happened, then I have no idea what "The Elder Gods will help you" is supposed to be mean.
Another thing that was unclear was the whole deal with Liu Kang and Kung Lao's ancestors. They were supposed to both be descendants of the original Kung Lao who defeated Goro 500 years ago. Now they're from different families, and BOTH their ancestors were involved in MK, but didn't get along? Or maybe they're still both related. I dunno, just weird. I think that scene with their ancestors should've been scrapped altogether.
Now, a lot of people have a problem with all the death scenes, but I don't. A lack of Fatalities would have been pretty boring. But some of them could have been done much more in true to the game's story. For example; we KNOW it was Raiden who vaporizes Kintaro at the end of MKII, we KNOW Kitana is arrested for murdering Mileena, why not show these events instead? They could have had Kahn reversing the deaths anyway, as he probably didn't want Tsung to keep all those souls and stay all powerful and stuff. Speaking of that, what's the deal with the Soul Tombs? Somehow, when he tricked Liu Kang and Kung Lao into destroying them, he became more powerful. I'm not sure what happened exactly, if he gained all the souls or something that the Tombs were keeping, that was unclear. Why he couldn't destroy the Tombs himself was unclear. I'm not liking that whole part of the storyline in here, really.
The scene with Goro was way out of order. He should have been fought before Tsung in the opening video, really. I can't figure out why Tsung/Kintaro/Kahn all happened in the same order as in MKII but Goro/Shang didn't. Now, Kintaro is not out for revenge against the earth warriors responsible for Goro's death because he's probably got no way of even knowing Goro's dead. This probably would have been a good thing for Kahn to point out to Kintaro before the fight started, to give him some extra motivation for fighting against them.
The main 2 characters I have the biggest problem with, though, are Sub-Zero and Scorpion. Don't get me wrong, I know they're popular, and I know that like every character from MKII was in here and of course they've got to be included; but damnit, do it right. We never got to see Sub-Zero trying to assassinate Shang Tsung, we just see him in Outworld looking for revenge against Scorpion instead. Why was he there when Scorpion was in the Netherealm anyway? And why did Scorpion want to kill Liu Kang and Kung Lao? That was really out of character for him. Instead of Sub-Zero sparing the life of his opponent in battle (which happened the other way around, here) and Scorpion then realizing this is not the same Sub-Zero and becoming his bodyguard, they just made up their own story which was completely hollow. Or shallow. I'm not sure which one's the right word. But it sort of leaves you with that empty feeling. If they had kept true to the original MKII stories, things would have gone down like this. Sub-Zero would have had a reason to be in Outworld, because he was there to get Tsung. His reason for being a boss battle (learns to call everyone in Outworld an enemy) could be the same. During the battle, he could still get scarred. But then, the way this fight ends is that Scorpion would interrupt the fight just as Sub-Zero's life meter gets to a certain point, and starts a fight with the monks for himself. (He thinks this is the original Subby, and he wants to kill him for himself - not anyone else.) So there's your Scorpion boss battle. Okay, the fight's over, cut back to Sub-Zero, who's now extremely pissed over his face being scarred, but has a change of heart and doesn't kill the monks. This is when Scorpion, back from the dead again, figures out that this could not possibly by the same Sub-Zero. He now reveals that is correct, that was his brother, and he's after Shang Tsung. Scorpion didn't realize that the original Subby had a family, and vows to protect this new Sub-Zero on their quest for Tsung. Apologies are made on both sides, and though they're all on the same side, they feel it would be best if they stayed out of each other's way, at least for the time being. Awesome, right?
Okay, that's all my major gripes with the game. Here's a couple of minor things, though.
Kahn says their presence is unwanted/uninvited. Since when? The whole plan was that he was supposed to lure the earth warriors here for a tournament where they'd meet certain death by Kahn themselves. Barring that, it makes a nice little diversion so they can ressurect Sindel's soul on earth. Okay, in another part at the end, Kahn says "The earth realm will fall as easily as Kung Lao" and then Kung Lao's like "It's about time". WTF? Kung Lao thinks its about time the Earth realm fell? There's something not kosher about that line. Maybe a bunch of other lines were deleted and that was left in but had a different context, or something. It was just weird. Also, doubt anyone noticed this, but Quan Chi's having tattoos in the last scene doesn't really make sense. He didn't do that to himself until after discovering the tomb of the Dragon King's mummified army, which certainly hasn't happened yet.
Things I was hoping for but haven't seen (yet).
Bo Rai Cho. I know he's not really been treated as a serious character, but he IS Liu Kang and Kung Lao's martial arts instructor, he DOES have a stake in seeing Kahn defeated, and he does have homes in both Earth and Outworld. I think he should have been fit in somewhere.
No sign of Torch/Blaze? I admit I haven't seen everything in the game yet. I don't know what's out there.
Lastly, I was kinda hoping for a boss battle with the dark Shadow Priest. You know how in the old-school portal background in MK Deception, there's 2 normal colored Shadow Priests on one side, then one wearing darker robes on the other? He looks like their supervisor or something. I bet that could have made a cool boss battle.
That's about it. I may add more if I think of something else or discover something else that would radically affect my opinion of this.
0
Nice observations and Thoughts.
about Blaze,
he is there in the PIT II area..
about Blaze,
he is there in the PIT II area..
I'm glad they did not include Kintaro getting killed by Raiden or Kahn not fighting in MK II. That stuff has never been in the games and I'm hoping fans will stop bringing it up and treating it as fact.
I don't see how you could see that amulet scene and not think Kahn had it. Quan Chi picks it up from where Kahn died. What else could it mean? It was just laying there in front of Kahn's throne? I also don't see why Shinnok would have anything to do with the elder gods helping them. He had fallen from his position millions of years before that and during MK II he is chilling out in the Neatherealm. At the end Raiden tells Kung Lao that the Elder gods were watching them during their journey, letting them be fooled by Tsung because they knew good would ultimately win. I'm pretty sure the voice was just Raiden.
Mileena is the one bad guy to actually die in MK II and she's the only one to survive SM. Ridiculous.
The soul tomb thing made no sense and neither did the conversation between the monks and Kahn at the end. I'd expect that kind of confusion from a Japanese game translated to English, not from a game made in America.
I don't see how you could see that amulet scene and not think Kahn had it. Quan Chi picks it up from where Kahn died. What else could it mean? It was just laying there in front of Kahn's throne? I also don't see why Shinnok would have anything to do with the elder gods helping them. He had fallen from his position millions of years before that and during MK II he is chilling out in the Neatherealm. At the end Raiden tells Kung Lao that the Elder gods were watching them during their journey, letting them be fooled by Tsung because they knew good would ultimately win. I'm pretty sure the voice was just Raiden.
Mileena is the one bad guy to actually die in MK II and she's the only one to survive SM. Ridiculous.
The soul tomb thing made no sense and neither did the conversation between the monks and Kahn at the end. I'd expect that kind of confusion from a Japanese game translated to English, not from a game made in America.
About Me
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No Cage? No sale!
0
My problems with the game?
All the retcons, of course, but.... here are some major ones that bug me.
Almost all of my problems with the game are story-based. (the length and difficulty were both poor, too, though. Way too short and easy.)
Sub-Zero's scar was given to him by his clan. It was the Lin Kuei death mark, which EVERYONE on these forums has seemsed to forget. HIS KLAN gave it to him, not Kung Lao. Oh, and ]{ombat, Scorpion NEVER made that vow to protect Sub-Zero. Just look at his MK4 ending, which DID happen, according to DA. He WOULDN'T have been trying to kill him if that was true, or blame him for his families death. (Which also nullifies part of his MK1 ending, because he remembers his family.) Oh, and I've always meant to tell you that I agree with your position that Reiko was suppossed to be Shao Kahn. Boon really doesn't know the story that well. (That was out of place, but I wanted ya to know--been meaning to tell you that for 3-4 years.)
Shao Kahn CAN'T DIE at the end of 2, because he invades Earth in MK3.
Johnny Cage left the set of a movie to follow the monks into Outworld (it could even be argued, I supposse, that he should've ran around with them, too, but I'm not going there.) he didn't follow them after the attack.
Liu Kang was suppossed to return to his home to see his fellow monks dead, not help defend them. That's when he meet up with Lao and they went into Outworld (One problem with that, though--according to the original story, did they go get Johnny or did he just find out from Raiden that they were going, so he went to help them?)
Lao should not have been at the 1st tourney. The Official MK2 comic made that VERY clear.
Kung Lao was, of course, Liu's cousin, and both were descended from the great Kung Lao that defeated Shang Tsung, but fell at Goro's hands. This wasn't even mentioned.
Kahn didn't have the feakin' amulet. What the hell were they thinking when they added Quan Chi taking it, at the end? That was just stupid. In fact, I think it was the biggest mistake in the entire game, besides letting Kahn die at the end, when he couldn't because of MK3. EVERYONE knows he got the ammy from Shinnok. How'd they miss THAT one? It all goes back to not doing their research and ignoring the past game's stories, which is why I seriously think they didn't hire (or at the very least, didn't listen to ) that Komic expert. They told us the story mattered and he was hired so the retcons wouldn't happen, then we get the complete opposite of that at Midway Gamer's Day, when they say the Komic doesn't matter and wasn't cannon. Well, ok, fair enough. But at least don't retcon WHAT WE SAW IN THE FREAKIN' GAME!!!
.....and there many, many more retcons that annoy me, but I'll let them slide, for now. The game didn't even try to follow the original MK2 storyline, which ticks me off (any writer worth his salt DOESN'T mess with the original text in a series of stories. This screws up the entire MK history.) but I have to let it go. I'm serious, though: I myself am something of a writer, and the first rule of writing a series is to NEVER break your own rules or history. That's why it's such an insult to see htis. The writing on this game was a joke, and only added to suit the game, as an afterthought, not vice-versa, as it should have been.
Things I didn't hate, but thought were stupid:
Cage was smart enough to realize that Shang Tsung was impersonating Liu Kang, but was stupid enough to follow "Raiden" and get caught? That was pretty dumb. But what's thats say about the monks, then? Especially after Cage's warning, they should've figured out that Raiden was really Tsung (as we knew from the get -go, as it was obvious.). And, really, they were suppossed to be cousins, and i'm sure Kung Lao would've been smart enough to know that wasn't Liu attacking him, and Liu to know Kung wasn't really Tsung when he questioned Raiden. They made Liu out to be a "yes master Raiden" character, who wasn't really bright. That was dumb.
Sonya got caught THAT easy? Don't make her look pathetic. She's suppossed to be one of Earth's mightiest warriors. She should've been bested in a long fight, at the very least.
One tiny thing that annoyed me was Cage's Shadow Uppercut being red. It should've been red only 1 out of every 4 times he did it, or something, if nothing else. (Powered up, like his kick randomly did in MK2.) Not a big deal, just an annoyance, is all.
Jax. Why wasn't he in the game more? I wish that he would've been a bigger part of the story, as he was a good guy and all.
The guys that help you (Johnny Cage, Sub-Zero) don't help for very long at all. Though, I suppose this was a major theme through-out the game, though--as the entire game took me less than 6 hours to beat in SINGLE player. Only 5 or so in Ko-Op.
Enough rants. You get the idea.
All the retcons, of course, but.... here are some major ones that bug me.
Almost all of my problems with the game are story-based. (the length and difficulty were both poor, too, though. Way too short and easy.)
Sub-Zero's scar was given to him by his clan. It was the Lin Kuei death mark, which EVERYONE on these forums has seemsed to forget. HIS KLAN gave it to him, not Kung Lao. Oh, and ]{ombat, Scorpion NEVER made that vow to protect Sub-Zero. Just look at his MK4 ending, which DID happen, according to DA. He WOULDN'T have been trying to kill him if that was true, or blame him for his families death. (Which also nullifies part of his MK1 ending, because he remembers his family.) Oh, and I've always meant to tell you that I agree with your position that Reiko was suppossed to be Shao Kahn. Boon really doesn't know the story that well. (That was out of place, but I wanted ya to know--been meaning to tell you that for 3-4 years.)
Shao Kahn CAN'T DIE at the end of 2, because he invades Earth in MK3.
Johnny Cage left the set of a movie to follow the monks into Outworld (it could even be argued, I supposse, that he should've ran around with them, too, but I'm not going there.) he didn't follow them after the attack.
Liu Kang was suppossed to return to his home to see his fellow monks dead, not help defend them. That's when he meet up with Lao and they went into Outworld (One problem with that, though--according to the original story, did they go get Johnny or did he just find out from Raiden that they were going, so he went to help them?)
Lao should not have been at the 1st tourney. The Official MK2 comic made that VERY clear.
Kung Lao was, of course, Liu's cousin, and both were descended from the great Kung Lao that defeated Shang Tsung, but fell at Goro's hands. This wasn't even mentioned.
Kahn didn't have the feakin' amulet. What the hell were they thinking when they added Quan Chi taking it, at the end? That was just stupid. In fact, I think it was the biggest mistake in the entire game, besides letting Kahn die at the end, when he couldn't because of MK3. EVERYONE knows he got the ammy from Shinnok. How'd they miss THAT one? It all goes back to not doing their research and ignoring the past game's stories, which is why I seriously think they didn't hire (or at the very least, didn't listen to ) that Komic expert. They told us the story mattered and he was hired so the retcons wouldn't happen, then we get the complete opposite of that at Midway Gamer's Day, when they say the Komic doesn't matter and wasn't cannon. Well, ok, fair enough. But at least don't retcon WHAT WE SAW IN THE FREAKIN' GAME!!!
.....and there many, many more retcons that annoy me, but I'll let them slide, for now. The game didn't even try to follow the original MK2 storyline, which ticks me off (any writer worth his salt DOESN'T mess with the original text in a series of stories. This screws up the entire MK history.) but I have to let it go. I'm serious, though: I myself am something of a writer, and the first rule of writing a series is to NEVER break your own rules or history. That's why it's such an insult to see htis. The writing on this game was a joke, and only added to suit the game, as an afterthought, not vice-versa, as it should have been.
Things I didn't hate, but thought were stupid:
Cage was smart enough to realize that Shang Tsung was impersonating Liu Kang, but was stupid enough to follow "Raiden" and get caught? That was pretty dumb. But what's thats say about the monks, then? Especially after Cage's warning, they should've figured out that Raiden was really Tsung (as we knew from the get -go, as it was obvious.). And, really, they were suppossed to be cousins, and i'm sure Kung Lao would've been smart enough to know that wasn't Liu attacking him, and Liu to know Kung wasn't really Tsung when he questioned Raiden. They made Liu out to be a "yes master Raiden" character, who wasn't really bright. That was dumb.
Sonya got caught THAT easy? Don't make her look pathetic. She's suppossed to be one of Earth's mightiest warriors. She should've been bested in a long fight, at the very least.
One tiny thing that annoyed me was Cage's Shadow Uppercut being red. It should've been red only 1 out of every 4 times he did it, or something, if nothing else. (Powered up, like his kick randomly did in MK2.) Not a big deal, just an annoyance, is all.
Jax. Why wasn't he in the game more? I wish that he would've been a bigger part of the story, as he was a good guy and all.
The guys that help you (Johnny Cage, Sub-Zero) don't help for very long at all. Though, I suppose this was a major theme through-out the game, though--as the entire game took me less than 6 hours to beat in SINGLE player. Only 5 or so in Ko-Op.
Enough rants. You get the idea.
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Oh about Scorpion vowing to protect Sub-Zero. You could say before MK4, Quan Chi told Scorpion that Sub-Zero was involved in killing his family causing Scorpion to break his vow. It's not really known at the time what exactly happened. But believe me the storyline of vowing to protect Sub-Zero is a MUCH better storyline for Scorpion. It actually has DEPTH for his character.
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Guys, just one thing;
Sub-Zero's scar was NEVER explained before MKSM. Ever. There's nothing anywhere saying that Scorpion gave it to him, the Lin Kuei gave it to him, or anything like that. Sub-Zero's MK3 bio says he was "marked for death" when he left the clan, but that's just an expression meaning they were out to kill him. It does not refer to his scar.
Sub-Zero's scar was NEVER explained before MKSM. Ever. There's nothing anywhere saying that Scorpion gave it to him, the Lin Kuei gave it to him, or anything like that. Sub-Zero's MK3 bio says he was "marked for death" when he left the clan, but that's just an expression meaning they were out to kill him. It does not refer to his scar.
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You're right, ]{0MBAT. It wasn't truly explained. I thought it was, but, after re-reading his MK3 story, I once again took it to mean that being "marked for death" and him suddenly having that scar meant the scar was the mark. Yes, it isn't said, and it is only my opinion, and should not be taken for fact, as I previously thought, but I personally feel that's what Tobias meant.
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Kung Lao giving him the scar is so random and meaningless, though. I like the idea of Scorpion or the Lin Kuei doing it better.
Let me just say that I've never liked the MK2 comic. I felt it was rather rushed and poorly written, even compared to the MK1 comic. Just look at how Scorpion shows up before anyone's even gone to Outworld, proclaiming that he already knows it's a different Sub-Zero and that he's under his protection. Where's the witnessing him spare an opponent in the tournament? Tobias can't even stick to his own plot? Also, Sub-Zero showing up in a suit and tie with a state-of-the-art Lin Kuei jet never sat right with me. I mean, he hands Liu a business card for Christ's sake.
I think the beginning of Shaolin Monks, where the heroes all return to the temple, start celebrating, and THEN the Tarkatan attack occurs, is much better timed than the original. Liu doesn't get home until the place is already destroyed, and immediately sets off for Outworld...but Johnny had enough time to start a movie (presumably it's about the tournament, unless he had time to make that film already too, but that would mean years, since he films "Mortal Kombat II" in his ending with no mention of its prequel) and disappear from the set in time to join Liu through the portal. What, did Liu swim home?
Not to mention Jax sneaking into Outworld alone and searching for Sonya without participating in any competitons or battles is much more sensible than him teaming up with all the rest of the heroes from the beginning.
Let me just say that I've never liked the MK2 comic. I felt it was rather rushed and poorly written, even compared to the MK1 comic. Just look at how Scorpion shows up before anyone's even gone to Outworld, proclaiming that he already knows it's a different Sub-Zero and that he's under his protection. Where's the witnessing him spare an opponent in the tournament? Tobias can't even stick to his own plot? Also, Sub-Zero showing up in a suit and tie with a state-of-the-art Lin Kuei jet never sat right with me. I mean, he hands Liu a business card for Christ's sake.
I think the beginning of Shaolin Monks, where the heroes all return to the temple, start celebrating, and THEN the Tarkatan attack occurs, is much better timed than the original. Liu doesn't get home until the place is already destroyed, and immediately sets off for Outworld...but Johnny had enough time to start a movie (presumably it's about the tournament, unless he had time to make that film already too, but that would mean years, since he films "Mortal Kombat II" in his ending with no mention of its prequel) and disappear from the set in time to join Liu through the portal. What, did Liu swim home?
Not to mention Jax sneaking into Outworld alone and searching for Sonya without participating in any competitons or battles is much more sensible than him teaming up with all the rest of the heroes from the beginning.
I really hate it when people say Sub-Zero's scar was given to him by the Lin Kuei because it's his ''mark of death''. What? The Lin Kuei captured him, put him to sleep so he'd stay still, gave him the scar and then let him go so they could chase him?
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It's so hard to believe that as he was escaping, Sektor or Cyrax slashed him in the face?
I just realized something. Shao Kahn died in MK2. The same death sequence. In MK3, it was said that he was still alive, so that's probably the same story now - he "dies" in Shaolin Monks, but will be brought back shortly after to take over the world. I think they kind of hinted that Kahn would be brought back from the dead when they showed not only his body exploding, but his spirit lingering on for a second.
Quan Chi has the amulet . . . is he responsible for bringing Kahn back in some way?? Think about it.
Quan Chi has the amulet . . . is he responsible for bringing Kahn back in some way?? Think about it.
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Barakao1 Wrote:
Quan Chi has the amulet . . . is he responsible for bringing Kahn back in some way?? Think about it.
Quan Chi has the amulet . . . is he responsible for bringing Kahn back in some way?? Think about it.
Quan Chi's a powerful sorcereor, but there's never been any mention of him being able to ressurect people or manipulate souls; if he was able to, then there would have never been any need for him to form a "Deadly Alliance" with Shang Tsung several years later, thus nullifying the entire plot of MK:DA.
Plus, we all know he already had the amulet since Mythologies.
Sorry to bring this up, as it is sort of off topic, but not really, as it was being discussed earlier, but I was just wondering how seriously Johnny Cage is treated in this game. Is he just for comic relief, or is he treated as seriously as say Liu or Kung lao? I don't have the game yet, and was just wondering.
Thanks, and sorry again for going off topic.
Thanks, and sorry again for going off topic.
I was thinking about this last night, and if you follow the story in MKDA and MkD.....Shoa Kahn possesing The amulet makes sense. What if Onaga was the original owner of the Amulet, Kahn took the amulet when he killed him. Shinnok senses the power of the amulet and orders Quan chi to get it for him, Quan chi keeps it for himself and gives shinnok a copy.From there the events of MK3 and Mk4 happened as planned.
atleast that's the way I see it working!
It's fucked up that they disregarded plot points from some of the previous games but it's too late to change that now.
atleast that's the way I see it working!
It's fucked up that they disregarded plot points from some of the previous games but it's too late to change that now.
I think I can explain the whole Tarkatan/Wastelands thing for ya K. Baraka simply gathered them all up and invaded Earthrealm, and when that was over, they dispersed..some went with Baraka to defeat the invaders, some went elsewhere.
My guess is that Kahn originally brought them to his aid long ago during the siege of the city of Lei Chen (possibly before that). After that seige, being nomadic, they pretty much made makeshift camps in the wastelands. Majority, if not all of them, were under Baraka's control. When they were needed to invade Earthrealm, Kahn called upon Baraka, and Baraka cleared the camp to invade. That's my explaination as to why it was empty.
I thought the Sub Zero scar thing was interesting. I hope they build on that more.
The Scorpion/Sub thing I am still not sure what to make of it. It is alright. Here is the order though, according to the games: MK1: Vows to kill Sub Zero. MK2: Vows to kill Sub Zero, but finds out this is his younger brother. Becomes his bodyguard to atone. MK3: Basically a "wildcard" in the tournament, just as the bio says, but still ally of Sub Zero. MK4: NO idea what happened here, especially with the ending. My guess is that Quan, in addition to promising Scorpion life, told him that this Sub Zero also had a hand in exterminating his family and clan. So he fights and defeats Sub, then finds out it was Chi who was responsible.
So they seemed to be allies until 4, then became allies (more or less) once again.
My guess is that Kahn originally brought them to his aid long ago during the siege of the city of Lei Chen (possibly before that). After that seige, being nomadic, they pretty much made makeshift camps in the wastelands. Majority, if not all of them, were under Baraka's control. When they were needed to invade Earthrealm, Kahn called upon Baraka, and Baraka cleared the camp to invade. That's my explaination as to why it was empty.
I thought the Sub Zero scar thing was interesting. I hope they build on that more.
The Scorpion/Sub thing I am still not sure what to make of it. It is alright. Here is the order though, according to the games: MK1: Vows to kill Sub Zero. MK2: Vows to kill Sub Zero, but finds out this is his younger brother. Becomes his bodyguard to atone. MK3: Basically a "wildcard" in the tournament, just as the bio says, but still ally of Sub Zero. MK4: NO idea what happened here, especially with the ending. My guess is that Quan, in addition to promising Scorpion life, told him that this Sub Zero also had a hand in exterminating his family and clan. So he fights and defeats Sub, then finds out it was Chi who was responsible.
So they seemed to be allies until 4, then became allies (more or less) once again.
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jason06 Wrote:
Sorry to bring this up, as it is sort of off topic, but not really, as it was being discussed earlier, but I was just wondering how seriously Johnny Cage is treated in this game. Is he just for comic relief, or is he treated as seriously as say Liu or Kung lao? I don't have the game yet, and was just wondering.
Thanks, and sorry again for going off topic.
Sorry to bring this up, as it is sort of off topic, but not really, as it was being discussed earlier, but I was just wondering how seriously Johnny Cage is treated in this game. Is he just for comic relief, or is he treated as seriously as say Liu or Kung lao? I don't have the game yet, and was just wondering.
Thanks, and sorry again for going off topic.
Cage is comic relief, yes, but he's also show to be quite clever and somewhat important. He follows the Monks after figuring out that Shang Tsung was impersonating him, and actually saves Kung Lao from the sorcerer when the monks get seperated. So, it's kinda a mix. He helps fend off the Tarkatans, but taunts while doing so, etc, etc.
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well the gameplay in this game i loved, it was every thing i dreamed it could be, the fighting mechanics were perfect. But the main problems were, indeed as everybody has already stated, in the storyline. Everything is soooo freakin underdeveloped, the story line is flawed in so many ways, the cut scenes were very anti cinematic, most of the lines were awkward and unfitting, and the whole thing hardly tells a story at all.
I congradulate Midway and the team for the fun gameplay factor, but as they themselves stated, their purpose was to develop the story line of MK II, and if so, they failed miserably.
In the future id looove to see a game like this set during the MK III era, just because of how fun the gameplay was in this one, but its gonna be really hard for Midway to try to link the storyline of the two since this one was so faulty and underdeveloped.
Perhaps to make a quick recovery, midway could spend more time on the cut scenes to develop the storyline, add a few advertised "new features", and rerelease MK Shaolin Monks as a Special Eddition, which at this time, i believe could be a power play with it soon to come out on PSP.
I congradulate Midway and the team for the fun gameplay factor, but as they themselves stated, their purpose was to develop the story line of MK II, and if so, they failed miserably.
In the future id looove to see a game like this set during the MK III era, just because of how fun the gameplay was in this one, but its gonna be really hard for Midway to try to link the storyline of the two since this one was so faulty and underdeveloped.
Perhaps to make a quick recovery, midway could spend more time on the cut scenes to develop the storyline, add a few advertised "new features", and rerelease MK Shaolin Monks as a Special Eddition, which at this time, i believe could be a power play with it soon to come out on PSP.
johnny_cage_win Wrote:
Cage is comic relief, yes, but he's also show to be quite clever and somewhat important. He follows the Monks after figuring out that Shang Tsung was impersonating him, and actually saves Kung Lao from the sorcerer when the monks get seperated. So, it's kinda a mix. He helps fend off the Tarkatans, but taunts while doing so, etc, etc.
jason06 Wrote:
Sorry to bring this up, as it is sort of off topic, but not really, as it was being discussed earlier, but I was just wondering how seriously Johnny Cage is treated in this game. Is he just for comic relief, or is he treated as seriously as say Liu or Kung lao? I don't have the game yet, and was just wondering.
Thanks, and sorry again for going off topic.
Sorry to bring this up, as it is sort of off topic, but not really, as it was being discussed earlier, but I was just wondering how seriously Johnny Cage is treated in this game. Is he just for comic relief, or is he treated as seriously as say Liu or Kung lao? I don't have the game yet, and was just wondering.
Thanks, and sorry again for going off topic.
Cage is comic relief, yes, but he's also show to be quite clever and somewhat important. He follows the Monks after figuring out that Shang Tsung was impersonating him, and actually saves Kung Lao from the sorcerer when the monks get seperated. So, it's kinda a mix. He helps fend off the Tarkatans, but taunts while doing so, etc, etc.
This is THE best representation of Cage I have ever seen in an MK game. Ever.
I never really liked him because of his stupid endings (makes another movie etc). MK4s ending for him was the WORST..he was a complete idiot. MKTs bio and ending made him into a semi serious character with a cause. But this, this is just like you said...yes, it's comic relief, but it's finally done in a way that doesn't portray him as just an idiot. I am loving how Cage is in this. Cocky, yet caring about what is going on. He is actually a PART of the story now. Wonderful job.
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I completely agree with ]{0MBAT said as far as the good and the bad. Sure, there were quite a bit of story elements changed, but most of those details have faded over time and aren't even significant anymore.
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Having done a couple of the Smoke missions and fought Ermac, I'll post a litle bit more on my impressions.
The Ermac fight was actually really well done. In Ermac's original UMK3 ending (remember, his MKT ending was changed), it confirms that Ermac was in hiding since the first tournament. In this game, they show the specifics of that. Ermac was actually disguised as the statue from the Warrior Shrine that could have represented either Scorpion or Sub-Zero.
Ermac's taunts are also awesome. Everything he says is either "We" or "our" - a trend that started in MKD's Konquest Mode, actually, and continues here. A great touch, it's nice to see consistency here.
The only part about this battle I really didn't like was the fact the Warrior Shrine background is not where it was supposed to be. It should have been a part of Shang Tsung's Island, but instead it was part of Earth right behind the Wu Shi Academy. I think they should have arranged the levels a little better for this part.
All in all, though, a great little thing that can be done on the side, and it's actually a pretty challenging battle. I'm hearing rumors of more hidden areas such as an Ice background (like what I've seen in vs. mode) and The Pit II, but I'm staying away from guides and FAQ's and trying to "go it alone" on this one. I'm sure I'll run into those areas soon, and when I do, I'll post more impressions.
The Ermac fight was actually really well done. In Ermac's original UMK3 ending (remember, his MKT ending was changed), it confirms that Ermac was in hiding since the first tournament. In this game, they show the specifics of that. Ermac was actually disguised as the statue from the Warrior Shrine that could have represented either Scorpion or Sub-Zero.
Ermac's taunts are also awesome. Everything he says is either "We" or "our" - a trend that started in MKD's Konquest Mode, actually, and continues here. A great touch, it's nice to see consistency here.
The only part about this battle I really didn't like was the fact the Warrior Shrine background is not where it was supposed to be. It should have been a part of Shang Tsung's Island, but instead it was part of Earth right behind the Wu Shi Academy. I think they should have arranged the levels a little better for this part.
All in all, though, a great little thing that can be done on the side, and it's actually a pretty challenging battle. I'm hearing rumors of more hidden areas such as an Ice background (like what I've seen in vs. mode) and The Pit II, but I'm staying away from guides and FAQ's and trying to "go it alone" on this one. I'm sure I'll run into those areas soon, and when I do, I'll post more impressions.
im pretty sure that no one from midway has confirmed that Mytholigies is canon. so quanchi could've gotten it from shaokahn, which makes more sense to me anyway. They prolly just realized that they did some stupid stuff in the past and are tryin to fix it. i also wouldnt be suprised if they made another action game (after mk7 ofcourse) that describes Mk3/Mk4.
the only thing i was disapointed in was that this game didnt show too much extra than the original mk2 storywise. of course if midway decides to keep ithe story the way SM is, then it would be a successful story in my mind.
the only thing i was disapointed in was that this game didnt show too much extra than the original mk2 storywise. of course if midway decides to keep ithe story the way SM is, then it would be a successful story in my mind.
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