I agree...older Subzero becoming a cyborg is a great way to keep one human Sub and one cyborg character. Great way to place new characters in the game that are actually not new to us. Human Smoke with new moves, Cyberzero with new moves. Maybe even a female cyber ninja somewhere. I can't see Noob Saibot being a cyber though. Too close of a look to Smoke.

Part of the reimagining of the story will probably involve MK3 invasion of Earth being prevented by Raiden's knowledge somehow. Any thoughts?

Except they already HAVE a way of separating the two brothers and Noob Saibot the shadow-demon is a way cooler character than either Subbie would be as a cyborg.

Hsu Hao's already a cyborg.

Dir yeah I think I would know after covering him in the debate thread...

I'm only teasing everyone...

Oh, I got the joke. I just like being a buzzkill. Hence the tongue sticking out.

Seriously, though. Only the Lin Kuei makes Cyberninjas and only Sektor, Cyrax, Smoke, and the two Sub-Zeroes/Noob are Lin Kuei. So there's not a lot of ways you can take "someone else will become a cyberninja" and they're all horrible ideas.

Lissen. Guyz. Come on, plz.
MKSF is set b4 MK1, so... we don't know wat happened. Meb Lin Quei were hunten all tha rogue agents, like the Sub-Zero in Mk3, but also they got Tremor. So obv Tremor iz the cyber ninja even tho ther not ninjaz. But confirmed. Chillax. Hiz like Cyrax, but evry1 pretend hiz brown.

God dammit, this is exactly what the South Park episodes were about with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg changing up their movies. We liked how the story was dammit. I don't mind a few changes here and there to improve the past story and answer plotholes (the equivalent of clearing up who shot first Han or Greedo) but leave the freakin fundamentals the same such as Liu Kang winning the tournament.

I know it's premature to say this, but I think once you start getting into time traveling stories (I'm aware it's not literally time traveling) then your story has got to the jumping the shark point.

Haha, Boon raping Scorpion... CLASSIC!!!

Time travel? Really?

Please don't fuck it up Boon.

This is a great idea that ties into what a lot of people want.
For starters, it's a sequel to MK Armageddon. Yes, it pulls a Terminator and a protagonist tries to correct the mistakes of the past via time-travel, but it's taking what has happened up until now and is using it to make a new story.
It also satisfies those who've been wanting to play an updated MK1/2/3 variation, which were pretty popular in the past and people want to play again on the current generation consoles. Plus, with SF4 heralding a return to 2-D fighting, it's a perfect time to return this game to that style as well and bring back the more well-known MK characters.
This also satiates the ones who wanted/expected the latest MK game to be a reboot and erase the horrendous, complicated story that came with MKA.

Actually, there are some things that can be fixed that would prevent a lot of MKDA-MKA events from occurring.
For starters, the good guys can actually kill Shao Kahn instead of "defeating" him; this would prevent the Deadly Alliance from killing his clone in MKDA and forcing Kahn into hiding, leaving everyone with the false sense of security that he's dead when in reality, he wins back the trust of Goro. If Liu Kang (or someone else who has no qualms killing a super villain) does the deed, that would prevent the continuing war between Edenia and Outworld, and would leave the Shokan and the Edenians as allies, and maybe have the Centaurians and Shokan keep their truce. It would also make everyone forget about the magical Satyr story they had in MKA.
Another thing they could change that could lead to a better future is kill Shang Tsung; you eliminate half the Deadly Alliance now, then Quan Chi won't be as huge a threat in the future either. Also, by killing Kahn and Shang Tsung, they eliminate the whole MKA Shang Tsung biography point that states that all of Kahn's warriors are bound to him, even in their deaths, which means that the bad guys can't be resurrected so easily again.
Another interesting change could be Blaze not becoming enslaved in MK2, leaving nobody to guard the last Dragon Embryo, or as another twist, somebody else captured in his place...
With Raiden's knowledge of the future, he can warn Sub-Zero and Smoke about what will happen to them and stop them from even bothering to warn the Lin Kuei; no confrontation with the Lin Kuei equals no loss of their humanity, and leaves Smoke human. Yes, I know people hate the idea of Smoke not being a tragic character, but to be honest, I hated the idea of him being every bad guy's bitch ever since MK3, so if he stays human, maybe his story can take a more interesting direction. Seriously, aside from being a tragic character, Smoke has no story, so let's flesh him out already.
Speaking of old characters getting new directions, what about Liu Kang being hesitant to kill? All he ever does is defeat his enemies, but the problem is that he leaves them alive. What if Raiden, his most trusted guardian and mentor, tells him he must kill his enemies to save the future, and Liu Kang is conflicted to go against his Monk beliefs? For once, Liu Kang can have a dilemma and a challenge to his boy-scout nature, especially since the only cool thing he has ever done for the story was die.
Another change to the future that'd make it better would be Scorpion knowing right away who was responsible for the death of his family and clan. Seriously, let's give him closure and Quan Chi's address. This also avoids the botched attempt at making him the Elder God's Champion who did a lousy job at fulfilling his mission. This could also allow him to remain as the current Sub-Zero's protector instead of creating a huge mess with that story in MK4, and keeping him from serving Quan Chi.
Khameleon can become more prominent in Reptile's story. If she can convince him to stop serving Shao Kahn for the sake of their race, he won't de-evolve, won't go crazy, and maybe won't wind up becoming a vessel for Onaga in the future.
Another possibility; Raiden clues in Smoke and Subby about Sektor's Tekunin clan, and they have to eliminate him, otherwise he takes over Japan like he did in MKTE.
Raiden can also inform the guards protecting Shinnok's Amulet; considering only Fujin survived the attacks, Raiden warning them that the amulet they're protecting is a fake would allow them to prepare for battle, and maybe give us a chance to use more Gods in future games, or at least make them more important in future stories.
Johnny Cage, knowing of his impending death/horrible movie contract can either change his career, or better yet, improve himself and his fighting abilities so that he isn't a throw-away comedy relief character.
Sonya and Jax can be warned about the Red Dragon clan and about trusting Hsu Hao, who destroyed the OIA after he gained their trust.
So this reboot/remake can create a lot of different possibilities for new and existing story lines.

Jesus....way to bring in the moment of clarity Jerrod.

ok then....lol

*whistles and walks away*

what he said.^(dammit, pred got his message in before mine. i meant, what jerrod said)


but yeah, I'm pumped up for this new re-telling of the story. Honestly, I believe the storyline right now has already burned itself out. I mean seriously, all the characters just got done raping eachother. having the story change like this can really bring up some new sequels with deeper storylines.

its kinda like Dragon Ball Z. The first episodes were ok because they were not that strong and the fights were really good, but then it got to the point where anyone could blow up a universe with the blink of the eye and everybody gets the whole "what the fuck is the point in this bullshit anyways if they can just blow up the universe in the blink of an eye"? And then the series ended with a crappy fart.

but I think this will be really good for the series.

new storylines
new characters
new endings
new a whole lot of other stuff

Its funny that you mention the Terminator Series. The Terminator series at least Terminator 1,2, and 3 was NOT about correcting past mistakes. All three films were about preserving the timeline. Conner and Skynet can't not exist without one another from a timeline point of view. Notice Kyle knows John's father dies before the war, thus hinting that the fact " future events" already happened. His overall goal and the goal of the T-800 in T2 were to keep the timeline safe, because humans already won the war.

I just dislike that fact the any of the past MK games are null and pointless. The storyline is apart of why MK was great. I've read many posts saying " Mortal Kombat's story was / is complex, too convoluted, so on and so on, yet I haven't read ONE post explaining what was wrong out right. Granted some parts were dull, but is that a real reason to go back in time? Everything I’ve read on ideas sounds like bad fan fiction.
I keep on seeing that” such and such is played out and tired, it is good to go back and revisit old storylines that for the most part has been wrapped up nearly 10 years ago”. I hope I am not the only one seeing the hypocrisy in this. So the new “new” is now the old?

Also I've been reading how " wouldn't be cool to explain such and such. Why is it "cool" to now go back and go into near pointless footnotes from MK past? Mean does it really matter who exactly puts the scar on Sub-Zero face?
Why does MK's past have to be a mistake from a storyline point of view? The greatest moments in storytelling are when the good guys lose or who are near defeat, only to come out better than before. The MK team for the past 2 games have been playing it safe, depending on nostalgia to be the overall backbone of the game (Deception had more of a MK3 theme, and of course MK A , MK in general). It seems a bit weak that they trying to resell MK1- MK3. Those games were great for their time, but now it seems old to be remotely retelling these stories.
I know I am ranting, but I am hating the new trend for this newer generation, of rebooting, retelling old stories, instead of applying all around new ideas to a series and progressing. In my opinion the next logical step of any series is to go forward, not backwards. The MK should have been trying to completely out due all past Mortal Kombat games , repacking the presentation of MK1-MK3 , to me is the wrong step.
If the MK team really wanted to do a Mortal Kombat 1 , 2 , and the MK3 series justice, they should have created a whole new take in terms of direction , at the same time taking the aspects of what they thought were the best parts of the game and apply that that is new.

I know the MK team is better than this. I've been so jaded in MK. To go back now seem like there is no reason to go forward.

I was thinking more along the lines of "The Wonder Years", but, whatever.

Thanks to Jerrod for putting the entire thing into perspective. This has potential to be an awesome nod to the earlier games while setting up a new direction for future games. I'm interested to see where it all leads.

On a side note, I feel bad for Boon and Co. If they try something new, they're not staying true to the series. If they do the same old thing, they're not doing enough to advance the series. If they do both then everyone is pissed. I have a respect for the tight rope act they have to endure with each new entry.

Prediction time!

Early on in the story mode, one of the Shokans is beaten by one of the Earth fighters (doesn't matter who). If the fight happened on Earth, the body could be recovered by the Lin Kuei and automated. RoboGoro has to happen.

I think that would work better for Kintaro since he has less of a story throughout the games. It would be interesting to see. lol

Technically the Lin Kuei are not the only ones to make cyberninjas/cyborgs. The Special Forces do aswell...al la Jax for example. Also,I don't know much on the topic of Kano but you could consider him a cyborg so whomever made his face cybernetic could also play a role in who becomes a cyborg...I am just going to say the Black Dragon Clan to substitute that thought. Also,I was thinking...would Kabal be considered a cyborg?

Kabal uses a respirator or breathing apiratus or whatever you want to call it. I don't think that quite counts as a cyborg. That's like saying someone who uses an air tank while diving is a cyborg. At least that's how I see it. Some consider any form of machinery helping you live is considered as qualifying as a cyborg. It's kind of a fine line I would guess.

Yes, you are right, I completely forgot about the events of Terminator 3 leading to the confirmation that the timeline was meant to be preserved. Bad analogy on my part.
Of course, I still stand by my post. I liked how the story was, up until it was sent to Hell in MKD and forgotten in MKA. A lot of the stories were great, but some of them didn't get the same kind of polished treatment like Sub-Zero. Just look at Shao Kahn's clone story in MKD, or the immediate deaths and returns of Liu Kang, Sonya, Kitana, Jax, Kung Lao and Johnny Cage. It was ballsy to kill them all, but to bring them back right away cheapened their deaths and made their deaths inconsequential to the whole mythos. It doesn't help that they already retconned Johnny Cage's first death, and replaced it with him actually dying in a movie or something ridiculous instead. Heroes losing is great, but not when it's done poorly.
Another thing is that a rewrite can allow "pointless" characters to shine when they didn't. Look at Rain for example, who we now know is the illegitimate son of an Outworld God. How cool would it be if he went from being a two-game wonder to a significant hero/villain thanks to his heritage? What about Stryker? Nobody likes him, but why should they? He's not important either when he's just written off as some random cop guy.
Most of us here aren't nit-pickers asking for specific details on insignificant things like how Sub-Zero got one scar, but are more like me, who want to see other characters shine, or their old favourites grow in a more substantial way.

I guess you have a point...but technically Kabal would be a good choice to become a cyborg logically. In the post before this I forgot about Motaro...his tail was cybernetic right? Don't ask me the origins of that but he is and should be considered a cyborg too.

Dearly miscalculated. It will be this, as it always has been.

Option C.

Nope. There's nothing that states that his tail is cybernetic. He comes from a realm where there isn't that kind of technology. It's most likely just armour and he has the natural ability of shooting energy balls from his tail (no different from Sonya's Energy Rings, or Kahn's Emerald Blasts).

Jerrod you make a lot of good points. There are a lot of good things that could come from this if done right by Boon. We could have our beloved characters become more in depth, and even the ones who haven't gotten a ton of attention can now mean something more and get a new chance to shine. We've actually already started to get a hint of it in that cast listing leak. Here's an example:

In the list it detailed the basics of the stories for both Cyrax and Sektor. In MK3, we looked at them relatively the same in terms of what they are all about. Now we have a chance to see them better fleshed out and differed from one another. In the leak it stated Cyrax was all for serving the Lin Kuei, but he wasn't nearly as dedicated to the Automation and whatnot, nor is he liking where things are going. He is depicted as having more of a humane side than Sektor does. Sektor is 100% for it and is a pure war machine. Sure we figured these things out a few games later, but this time they can go back and actually flesh these out a lot more and make 2 characters that back in the day we only saw a difference in armor color and name, but this go around they are very different in personality, morals, and goals.

I bring that up because we can apply the same thing to other 2nd and 3rd tier characters that don't get the fan's attention as much as they could/should. As Jerrod said, Rain could be something special now, as well as Stryker, and Ermac etc. Guys that can be explored a lot more this time.

Not to mention...it's kind of like the best of both worlds. We get to find out what happens after MK:A, at the same time we will be able to rewrite history in a way, and start over again. With the story going in an alternate direction due to fixes and changes etc. we won't be arriving at the same destination that is the mess of MK:A. The MK Team is basically saying that the mess of MK:A in our minds story wise, is an actual mess in MK because Raiden realizes there were mistakes made and he is going to try and fix them so MK:A won't have to happen.

It makes a lot of sense story wise, and it's gonna give us the awesomeness that is MK1-MK3 again. I wouldn't be surprised if they continue upon this in the next game and introduce other characters from MK4-MK:D and just rewrite what their place is in MK, and give some of them a chance to shine as well.

It's the best that could happen if you ask me. So much potential. It's as much of a new start we can get, without having to erase everything and all the characters we love.

No, he's not. I've read this man's posts for some six years now. He's put more thought into the series than most of us combined.