I think the more games go by, the more we see the dev team find reasons to keep a substantial portion of what they deem to be the core of the series; the MK1 and 2 cast.

Sure, some names come and go from one title to the next and they do have their favoritesfrom MK3 and beyond, but if they’re telling a story, they’re using a substantial part of the core, even when some of them have virtually nothing to do with it.

To me, they’re still kinda stuck in this mindset where they think people only want them to play the hits, and judging by the reaction to D’vorah, I can’t say I blame them for having that impression.

I think they’re aware of the loud minority that want 3D era characters, a more balanced roster and perhaps a break from certain characters that feel like they’re in every game no matter what, but they’re more aware of the larger vocal majority and the massive silent majority that want their favorite core characters.

So they write what they can and do what they can to please as many as possible and for the smallest group, we’ll, they throw us a bone when they can.

Personally, I’d love it if some core characters got left out for a game or were just DLC totally unrelated to the story. Tanya and Bo Rai Cho should’ve been main roster in MKX. They were in the story and had decent roles. Kung Lao and Kitana? Not so much. To me, they would’ve been good DLC.

I’d love to see them create a story and have characters they want to use, but I do get why some make it in to each game. I just wish they’d find it in themselves to give a bit more love to the characters they created that they now practically disavow, because I think a lot of fans will like them and embrace them even if they miss one game with Jax or Sonya or whoever.

It’s not like they wouldn’t be back next game anyways, and who knows, maybe players find someone they like even more in a revamped Fujin, Sareena, Reiko, Havik, Li Mei, Mavado, Kai, Kira etc? Assuming they fit the story and NRS wants to use them. Or they just go from their main to their sub, who will almost assuredly be in the game.

I’m NOT just saying this as a 3D era advocate, I’m saying it as someone that doesn’t want to see them be quite so restricted by roughly 20% of the games they’ve created when they’ve done some great things, come up with some great ideas, and generated some compelling character concepts in the other 80%.

I just wish Netherrealm would stop introducing around 7-8 new characters a game only to drop all but a handful by the next game or two. It's quite frustrating.

why can't more people be like you?

finally someone who isn't super negative over something, i feel like this will be the end of their storyline that started from MK9, since it's the time bending thing and at this point anything can really happy it can end cheesy where everyone is living happily ever after like i've mentioned a few times, or it can end where they all died and this is the last game we might see the characters everyone loves so much about they make threads on how much they love them

but then i think if this is it what will happen to those 3d era people, if nrs at one time or another regrets a lot of those characters if they erase them completely will that really harm people? and when mk12 comes around it could be a completely new game with new characters more kids from people we love so much, no sub no scorpion (he is the poster boy he can stay as the poster don't need him in the game)

or i can be completely wrong and this is them erasing everything and we go back to only having the characters we had from mk1-3, or Kronika makes it a lot worse for everyone and in the future everyone is more savage than ever

all i know is i can not wait for this game to come out to see how everything unfolds but story mode is just a mode to me i don't fully follow it 100% i just want to fight and do fatalities on people, all i know is i wish it was pushed up from april and i can play it sooner waiting for april is too long

Truthfully MK12 could just be Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and 20 or so new characters, and I'd probably still buy it. But that's just me. Doubt Netherrealm would be that ballsy though.

Thank you! Regardless of the outcome, we all know we will play the game regardless!

yes and yet people will buy it but hate it

like why waste your money just cause its mk

you don't like it don't buy it and move on

I think we are going to get a lot of surprises. For them to tease the game in December with an April release... who knows what else they are hiding. That alone was a short time.

I like the 3D era rosters as well. Deadly Alliance was a nice mix up, and when Deception was released, only 6 returned from DA... 3 classics and 3 introduced from DA. It was a chance they took, and a smart one at that. MK 11 is taking the same risk, however, I think we will get more surprises along the way.

Scorpion, Kitana, and Cage are my top 3 so you can imagine how "thrilled" I was when MK3 came out. I mained Cyrax who was Scorpion's obvious replacement but it just wasn't the same. At the time people were spreading false rumors that Cyrax would probably be revealed to be a cyborg-Scorpion but thankfully UMK3 and later Trilogy were released to correct unpopular mistakes made with the base MK3 roster. Scorpion hasn't been left out since.

Buffing the hell out of Takeda is really their only hope of finding a suitable replacement but how do you replace the awesomeness and pure metal factor of a flaming skeleton ninja hellspawn? You just can't. Ask Cyrax. He failed at that already.

I wonder how different MK3 would have been if not for the Daniel Pesina incident.

The thing is, though, until MKX Deception was the fastest selling MK game of the series, and was praised for its roster.

Deception's success should've been a note that fans actually do like characters other than those from MK1&2. Hell, they knew Tanya's value and stated she almost made it into MK9. They still keep Kenshi and Bo' Rai Cho around, and Shinnok was the boss of MKX. Reiko was a prime figure in the MKX comic. They often allude to Havik, as well as Daegon, and Frost is now returning. That's eight characters righy there. Clearly, 3D era characters aren't that bad.

I wish they would actually utilize what they have instead of trying to make things as though it never happened.

I just can't wait to get my hands on the MK version of Miley Cyrus! It's like Justin Bieber and Miley had a child together and called her Cassie! Same looks, same clothes (alternate costume) and same behavior. And some people called NRS lazy and stupid to put a Ken clone in the game... LOL

MK has always made pop culture references. The series was built on them...

Ka-Tra

They always made GOOD pop culture references, Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus aren't GOOD, they are horrid.

My guess is Cyrax and Sektor would've been replaced with Scorpion and Reptile, and maybe they wouldn't have killed off Johnny Cage.

Idunno, they dropped the female ninjas as well as the males in that game, and it wouldn't have been too hard to replace an actor for a masked character. Sub-Zero was in, unmasked. So my guess is they were going for a refresh and didn't quite understand just how iconic to the franchise Scorpion and the whole ninja motif actually was.

The cyborgs were probably still going to be in, to give the game its new futuristic tone. Cage would likely be the only big change, possibly having to drop someone else off the roster to let him in. Or he'd take Smoke's spot on the select screen, and Smoke would be accessible using a code. Or they'd just make a 16-character select screen, I guess

A haircut is not a pop culture reference.

EDIT: Alright alright, I started thinking after I posted this, "Kate Gosselin, Jennifer Aniston, Kid & Play... Dammit..." ...Sometimes a haircut is a pop culture reference. But. Not in this context.

With Tobias distancing himself more and more, MK3 was overall a jarring shift from psuedo-Asian mysticism influences to more Sci-Fi influences. I mean you had some Sci-Fi in MK1 with Kano being a partial cyborg (in the loosest scientific/philosophical definition of a cyborg). Now in 3, you have Full Conversion Cyborg Ninjas confirmed modeled after a combo of Predator and Storm Troopers to replace classic Ninjas. You have Jax and Kabal joining Kano in the partial Cyborg category (again most basic definition of cyborg but I remember that Kabal's design was confirmed as also strongly influenced by the nomadic Tusken Raiders from Star Wars). A random Riot Cop, lol. More modern-Western stages and designs. Still a lot of Asian mystic elements but definitely less than MK1-2.

Just like the switch to 3D (and later back to 2.5D) and general art directions of MKX/11, some fans embraced the changes in 3 others hated it. I myself was so stoked for a new MK I even overlooked my IMMENSE disappointment at no Scorpion. I was SOOO happy for UMK3...