It would have been better if they actually gave a shit.

Probably would have gotten rid of the character-centric chapter format. Example: the first chapter centered on Johnny Cage as he spearheaded the assault on Shinnok.

I would have just kept switching perspective as needed. At the beginning, you play as Johnny for two matches as he takes down Scorpion.

Then you use Sonya when she wakes up from the plane crash.

When the scene switches to Raiden and Fujin cleaning house, you play as Raiden for a match or two against the Revenant Kombatants. Then maybe Kenshi as he holds Quan Chi back.

When the chapter's over, we play as Johnny again as he faces Shinnok down.

It would have been less user-friendly, but not enough to really screw up the game in any meaningful way. Most importantly it would have been more chaotic, emphasizing the bloody, interdimensional mayhem that Mortal Kombat is all about.

Not so much focus on the Special Forces and their little squad. Maybe its just me, but they are literally the most least interesting characters in the entire MK Universe lol we have all these crazy unique characters from different realms with all these different powers and abilities and they focus on them...

I still love MKX and I don't even dislike the SF characters, but I just didn't find them all that interesting, like I didn't care what happened to them in the story at all.

Exactly my thoughts: character based chapters and way too much focus on Special Forces. It felt like a freaking US navy invasion of an alien world (Avatar ring a bell?). There was not enough fantasy and asian influence. Even Shinnok's presence felt off. To me it also felt all over the place and predictable. However, I don't think they can ever do a great job since they will completely change the story for the next game.

Fujin, Sareena, Li Mei, Frost, and Bo Rai Cho having a chapter in story mode and being playable.

MKX is such a fantastic fighting game.

However, in terms of story, MKX fell short by miles. I can't believe how shitty the story ended up being. I was so excited for the story mode in MKX and it let me down big time. Every MK game has had an incredible story. MKX didn't follow that tradition because NRS tried to appeal to new fans. I don't see how they can redeem themselves in terms of story. Johnny kicking Subzero's & Scorpions ass? Cassie defeating Shinnok? My lord.

I'll try and make my complaints as realistic as possible, knowing full well NRS love their chapter based narrative and I doubt no matter how much we complain it won't be going anywhere anytime soon. So, with that noted;

- 4 more chapters. 12 total was too short.

- Certain main characters not having chapters was a big missed opportunity, namely Liu Kang, Kenshi, Kung Lao and Kitana. Having a perspective of how bad-ass Shinnok is and how much shit he was wrecking in Earthrealm would've greatly amplified the overall threat he posed to the heroes. Seeing that through the eyes of the revenants would've been an interesting take. Also, having Kenshi get a chapter might have greatly added to he and Takeda's family dynamic, making their encounter in Takeda's chapter more emotionally charged without falling flat and feeling very sudden.

- The whole Cage family 'mysterious magical power' bullshit wasn't earned, neither was Cassie just taking several punches and then taking out a Fallen Elder God. The power should've been better explained and Cassie's battle with Shinnok should've been more brutal and thus more deserving of a victory when the final blow was delivered. After all, you don't challenge a heavy weight to a fight and leave the ring with a sprained wrist. You get the shit beat out of you.

Basically my issues as well. Especially the former, in general they should in general give more "villains" chapters.

I HATE IT, when MK doesn't include romance!

If they did, they would've shown scenes with Liu and Kitana talking about how their lives were broken by Raiden.

As for Takeda & Jacqui... guess they make a good couple.

Anyways....

The fight scenes for the new SF were too short. I mean Cassie could've fought with Liu Kang taking out his aggression on her for her parents letting him die by Raiden's hands. And Kung Jin would've fought his cousin while outside.

Yes, there were tons of things they could've added for dramatic effect yet were mysteriously missing in action. The things they didn't choose to include that seem obvious to us are mind-numbing thinking back on it now.

Character Development!!!

For me the story mode was good, at the beggining, i couldn ́t wait to see more interactions between characters, and for the first time ever, the evil ones. The newcomers just didn ́t have the proper development, even when they where the most part of the story mode.

I mean, Cassie got her ass kicked the entire Story and at the end suddenly beats Corrupted Shinnok?? This didn ́t look like a natural progresion.

Dedicating 5 consecutives fights for a character its maybe a missed oportunity. That made look like Jacqui, Takeda and even sub zero just fillers chapters, jacqui and sub zero even been in a single stage.

Story mode is a big adtition to MK, but i think its time to really take it to another level. I was hopping that at least they include some modifiers in certain matches, minigames not QTE, maybe even puzzles, and finally a BAD GUYS STORY MODE.

Maybe with its own ending in order to keep us guessing a little more until the next game.

Ya know what would've been nice?

- Sub-Zero & Scorpion fighting side by side!

- When facing the revenants... Kung Jin would've fought his cousin and Sub-Zero would join them as he fights Smoke.

- Nightwolf, Stryker & Kabal still looked normal. They could've looked something hellish. Let's say Nightwolf had his alternate MKD look (the mohawk). Kabal's respirator would've looked similar to the one in his 2011 ending.

- There should've been a scene between Liu and Kitana where they share their pain with each other on how Raiden let them die.

- They would've had a LOT of reunions between the heroes alive and dead.

Eh, I would have cut the entire second half of the story and expanded on the first half. Had the story focused entirely on the Outworld civil war, I think it would have been more satisfying. D'vorah, for example, could have been revealed as a traitor at the end as opposed to the middle, setting it up to continue the second half of the story in the next game, where it could get as much attention as the first. Regardless of the outcome of Mileena's uprising, it should have been climatic. To be honest, I don't even think Shinnok should have been involved at all. If they hadn't dramatically revealed him at the end of MK9, I would say it could have been done at the end of MKX and the NEXT game be more about that...

That is to say nothing about HOW the storytelling could be improved though, it's just my opinion that they should have developed the civil war plot more instead of cramming two separate stories into one small package, 'cause the entertainment value significantly drops off after Mileena eats it (badumtsssss)...

They can stop pretending to be doing a great job.. how is that for a start ?

Fighting games shouldn't have story modes. You can't possibly take em seriously. VF is the greatest fighter of all time and there is no story mode and the characters have more personalities in their win pose/fighting style and backgrounds. What we love about Sub Zero and Scorpion ? It's their design and text bios made in MK1-3, if their input MK9/X is the only thing I knew about em, I wouldn't have bothered. The average gamer out there loves Sub Zero because he looks great (MK1 based) Shoots ice (MK1's feat) Rips spines (Again MK1) then a deeper gamer loves him because he has 2 versions (MK2) and then another one loves him because he is half American/Chinese (MK3). Honestly that's more than enough.

I even liked the 3D era stories more. Sure the material is similar to later games , but it left room for imagination and I would have never imagined the MK characters in the power ranger way that has been there in MK9/X.

Story mode is a costly little thing and I don't see it staying nor that it's needed anyway.

well thats very questionable. I think the lack of an actual story development is what left figthing games behind other ones every year and what give them a limited amount of replayability. Thats why figthing games need to make a big jump, and many are experimentig with this: Story mode, Character custumization, unlockables, seasonals dlcs and yes patches, all to keep the game as fresh as posible but even this can upset the fans because like you point, every has 2 sides.

For me Mortal Kombat has always been more than a figthing game, Thats why even now MK is considered one of the best games of the year. But returning to story mode:

Its incredible to see true interactions betwen characters. SF hasn ́t really give that IN game, only for some endings that don ́t necesary fill plot holes. Everybody imagines things for their favorite charcter, but to tell a story its necesary a tru character development, its very diferent to read that you character struggled making a desicion, that his anger make him defeat an army, than actually withnes the progresion of the character.

Story mode, for me, its a must in futre MKs, but needs to go beyond MK9 and MKX. Don ́t giving us a linear story. Maybe 2 story modes (evil guys/bad guys) with their unique ending and maybe a little bit more. that could be complemented with arcade endings making us use our imagination with the posibilities.