... well not like I used to be. I'll always be a fan of the classics (MK1 - MKT) and somewhat of the 3D era (MK4 - MKA). I feel like one of those fat Star Wars nerds who now only acknowledges the original trilogy. Well, I can't blame them! The 3D era is to me is how Star Wars fans view the prequel trilogy. So yeah, starting with MK9 we can call that the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
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This is the only MK site I have an account with... this place is unfortunately a pathetic shadow of its former self, so probably only 3 people at best will view this over the next 8 years, none of whom would even be employees of NRS. It's sad, really, what happened to MKO... but I've got no willingness to create an account on some active website like reddit or some shit, so here's my rant.
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Let’s break down why Mortal Kombat’s lore - especially since the 2011 reboot (MK9) - has gone completely off the rails, and why Mortal Kombat 1 (2023) feels like a bloated, lore-insulting multiverse mess.
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The Core Problem: Time Travel Broke Everything. MK9 starts the rot. Time travel reset the board, but only to re-tell old stories in worse ways. This rewrites history, kicking off a rebooted timeline. Characters die, come back, die again, turn evil, come back again... rinse and repeat. The original timeline was messy, yes, but it had linear progression. There was a clear arc from MK1 to Armageddon. Characters grew, betrayed, died, and evolved in a (mostly) coherent way. The stakes mattered, and fans could follow the journey.
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MKX & MK11: The Lore Gets Dumber. MKX introduces a "new generation" but doesn’t develop them well. MK11 Introduces Kronika, a time goddess, and fully jumps into multiverse/time-travel absurdity. Past versions of characters fight future versions and the story becomes a loop of contradictions, plot armor, and soft reboots.
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MK1 was supposed to be a clean slate with Fire God Liu Kang crafting a "peaceful" new era. But instead, we get yet another rebooted timeline, but still crammed with legacy characters. The “new era” collapses under the weight of decades of messy lore and no true commitment to character development or fresh stakes. Why care about this Sub-Zero when there are 5 more across timelines?
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As previously admitted, classic MK used to be messy, but at least it was charming. Now it’s a multiverse soup where nothing sticks and everything’s reversible. Characters exist to fight, die, reboot, and cameo.
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Most people want to point the finger at MK1 and I don't blame them, especially with those hideous character outfits... but MK9 was the real sin. MK9 wasn’t a rebirth. It was a panic button. It was riddled with cheap nostalgia. It just remixed old events instead of writing new consequences. It had character regression, not progression. Everyone went back to square one emotionally and morally. Raiden’s “visions” were a lazy plot device to force changes with no logic.
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So yeah, it wasn’t MK1 (2023) that broke the story. It was MK9 that broke its spine. MKX and MK11 were just dragging the limp body around while Kronika taped multiverse bandages over the mess.
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