DeLaGeezy Wrote:


MKX is really, really different then MK3 - I'll explain why:

- MK3's storyline was based on the planned and ancient resurrection of Outworld's lost forgotten queen, Sindel, on Earth. She is revived after 10,000 by a more powerful Shang Tsung and his Shadow Priests onto Earth in order force a merge between Earthrealm and Outworld. This sounds pretty mystical, dark, and apocalyptic.

- The story was based on Earth, but on a post-apocalyptic setting where all of Earth's human beings were stripped of their souls by Shao Kahn's power. What a strong statement to make from the beginning and it really sets the tone for the overall feel of the game. Everyone except those chosen by Raiden to defend Earthrealm from Shao Kahn. There is no room for soldiers, cops, generals, and random investigators from OIA. It was only Jax and Sonya - but they were already established characters that are obviously far from normal day-to-day humans.

- The series introduces a batch of new characters that were unique to each other, distinct, and each brought a new element to MK's story. It was a roster that took risks in MK3 - leaving out Kitana, Mileena, Scorpion, Reptile, and Baraka - characters that were either in MK1 or MK2. Of course, we then get UMK3 which introduces even more characters that all have compelling backstories like Ermac and Noob Saibot. MK3 had a perfect blend of new and old.

- MK3's artistic style was one of the best in the series. It was a perfect combination of fantasy, gritty, out-of-this-world, dark ambience, and a touch of realism. It was Earth - but with a touch of gothic, dark-style that also represented Outworld well. The game also had some of the most memorable tracks in all of MK's history. The Title Theme, Character Select Screen, The Temple, The Bank, The Street, and The Pit 3 are classic themes.

MKX?

- The presentation was shambolic. MKX's storyline was based on the American military trying to fend off Outworld beings from Earth, and fighting against an Elder God in Shinnok. How do you expect me to believe that Quan Chi, one of the most powerful sorcerers in the universe, cannot torture and kill anyone that does not have any sort of powers - like soldiers. There should be no match. I can go on and on about these examples. Shao Kahn in MK3 killed every single being on this damn Earth because he could and felt like it. You expect to believe that Shinnok, a former Elder God, and a now revived being could not instantly kill every soldier or being in his path with a snap of his finger?

MKX had the chance to be like MK3, but it absolutely failed. Too much realism. How can a 20-year old Cassie Cage have the ability to fight against an Elder God and not instantly die is beyond me. Sure, you need a "hero". Build them up. She is a generic soldier that happens to have some powers her dad has and that's about it. Sub-Zero is the master of ice, a cryomancer, and is one of the most powerful warriors in the universe. He can't defeat Shinnok, but Cassie can? Really?

- The roster was not deep at all and made 0 sense. And I was a believer about the roster from the get-go, but the execution was really bad. Cassie Cage, Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, Jax, and Jacquie Brigs. 5 characters based on two families - really? What point of having three Cage's make, and leaving out characters like Reiko or Fujin. Jax and Jacquie? The two EXACT same characters but one male/female? Over unique characters like a Noob Saibot, Nightwolf, Hotaru, Li Mei - with so many more that could have shined in this game. It's really sad.

- The shitting on characters to push these new characters makes me throw up. Ermac, Sub Zero, Quan Chi, Baraka, and others, can be easily defeated by kids? Without a scratch. With kids that have been training for just a little bit. Who don't have any supernatural abilities? MK's original heroes - like Liu Kang, Sub Zero, Kung Lao, and Raiden - are all super beings. Liu Kang controls fire and can morph into a freaking dragon. Kung Lao can teleport into a wind. Sub Zero is a cryomancer who is a complete master of ice. Raiden is a Thunder God reincarnated into a human form. But these new kids can save the world. Cassie has some sort of powers her dad has, Jacquie has metal armas, Kung Jin shoots arrows. Takeda had some good things going for him - trained by Scorpion and is the son of Kenshi - but it was not executed at all.

- MKX's art style was based on two color schemes - black and grey. There was no flare, no vibrant-feel, no popping colors that a game like MK2 or MK3 had. Everything looked the same. Everything looked military. Why? With MK being inspired by SO many different aspects of culture, different beings in the game, you'd think the game would be so vibrant. It isn't. Look at Bo Rai Cho's costume - more grey. Johnny Cage- grey. Blade - grey. Cassie - grey. Jacquie and Jax - grey. Kenshi - grey. Takeda - grey. Street Fighter does an amazing job in making all of it's characters pop - and don't give me that excuse that it's because SF is more anime-style.

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I like realism. But not when it completely overtakes a game like MK. MK is a fantasy game based on realms. It's not a game designed or with the purpose of being a military game. This is military game and it made me throw up. That's not MK. The only thing military that needs to be in MK is the sub-arcs and minor stories of the OIA, Black/Red Dragon. That's it. It can't be centralized on this shit.

When a game needs to derive from what made it great is a sign that things are only going to go downhill. I'm all about evolving and trying new things - as long as it stays true to the essence of it. MKX felt like a different title, a different series, that utilized the MK name to sell.

shrairyuwarrior Wrote:
OP you do realize the complaint against special forces doesn't work. The SF or OIA has been in nearly every MK game. Sonya in MK1. Jax in mk2 Sonya and Jax in mk3-DA. Armeggedden had them vs DC then the reboot 2011 and X. They're a staple l. And yes the kids were the heroes instead of the ShaoLin this time.

lastfighter89 Wrote:
According to some "fans", The MK franchise lost its touch/essence/identity with MK3 and expansions,when stages like Dead pool, the evil tower, the kombat tomb and the wastelands were replaced with the bank, the streets, the rooftop, the subway.

Mk3 was not a real Mk game because it lacked eastern inspired stages.
And lacked human ninjas and many characters from MK1&2.

The whining about MK has always been loud and annoying. As long ad fans complain, MK will sell.

frabn Wrote:



I can't help but notice you put "fans". So, people who feel that the bank and the streets were boring,, uninspired stages are not true Mortal Kombat fans?

Mortal Kombat has not lost its essence, it just has moved away from the familiarity of nostalgia. MKX was the first truly new direction for MK in almost a decade. While I hated the 3D era it at least kept with the idea of the martial arts cinema inspired stages.

MK9 took some of the most boring stages in the history of the game and made them interesting. The rooftop and streets were alive with activity...dragons, monsters, warfare...it was great. MK9 was a HUGE nostalgia handjob that most of us loved. MKX is the most significant departure from the Mortal Kombat nostalgia yet.

I agree, the "military" approach was far less Mortal Kombat than in previous games, because we've moved away from the Shaolin and now focus on the Special Forces, but I don't feel like it lost it's identity...it's just changing.

And NRS sold out? WB is part of the problem?

There would be NO Mortal Kombat at all anymore if it weren't for WB.

Midway was the problem. WB was the saving grace that allowed NRS to form their studio, give them a budget to work with, and not rush-out half-assed games with clunky looking characters, goofy and over-the-top silly bullshit and an overall feeling of being unfinished. The only "problem" with WB is the dlc model that all mega corporations do with gaming these days.

lastfighter89 Wrote:


No,I expressed awfully and you got it all wrong.
What I've tried to explain was how lunatic and pathetic were the complaints about MK3/UMK3, which is one of the best game in the series and one of the greatest fighting games of all time.

Aesthetically and artistically, MK X it's the new MK3.
A great, but unfairly under-appreciated gem. And part of this heat, is due to the urban/modern stages and the lack of eastern places/situations/characters, which is not true, unless Takeda and Kung Jin are not eastern enough for you.

You're a fan of something when actually like/support/enjoy that something.
The moment you start complaining about everything, it means either:
1) you don't like that something anymore;
2) you're a masochist.


That's the explanation of why I wrote "fans" in quotes.

Blade4693 Wrote:
I have to disagree a bit. Just because people don't like a few things about the new game or would change a few things doesn't mean they don't like it anymore. I probably sound like a broken record at this point but ill say it again, I have been a fan since I was child in the 90's, I have literally grown up with this series and will always support it but at the same time, I will openly admit that I do prefer the way Outworld used to be depicted.

The Wastelands and Kahn's Arena had a purple sky, now I don't need the sky to always be purple (They could easily make up a reason as to why it is sometimes and why it isn't at others) and idk if that's the case, or if they are retconning out the purple sky all together but I sure hope not. The way Outworld was depicted in the original timeline (and even in MK9) was a million times better than how it was in MKX, IMO.

Idk, just looking back at how it was in MK2, MK9, or even in the konquest of Deception, MKX's depiction of Outworld seems a lot less creative to me, almost like a step back.

I dont think that makes me any less of a fan though lol

Killamore Wrote:<
MK3 had a war between those normal guys and Shao Kahn's invading army. We never saw them because the story was mostly following other people, but I guarantee there were surviving solders shooting and killing Tarkatans. Oh, and Stryker. The most average joe you can get fighting those monsters.

Of course Quan Chi can't do that. He has never shown to have that much power. He couldn't do that to the very human/mortal Sub-Zero. Making Ice doesn't make you anymore resistant to magic than magic makes you resistant to weapons. Why can't a solider shooting guns kill something that a criminal with knives can?

Again, a guy who knew kung fu and shot fireballs killing Shao Kahn and Shinnok is fine, but a girl who had military training, advanced weaponry, and mystical energy can't? And don't tell me her being 3 or 4 years younger really makes a difference.

Jax and Jacquie both play very different roles in the story and have different gameplay. Cyrax and Sektor in MK3 had the same design, story, abilities, and purpose. The only difference between them was color and what kind of weapons they used.

What makes Kung Jin, who was trained by the White Lotus and had a bow/staff/flamethrower, less worthy of beating Baraka than Kung Lao, who was trained by the White Lotus and had a sharp hat. Ermac has to have been beaten by someone in MK3 and it was so uneventful it was never mentioned, but because the story mode in MKX does shows it he is being shit on? So, these characters can't lose to the new main characters, but can lose if it is never mentioned.

There was a lot I didn't like about MKX's story, but I think you are putting the early games on a pedestal if you don't think they had similar issues.

MindStrikes Wrote:
Yes they were part of MK, and it should always stay a part of MK, NOT making MK. And yes MK was about Shaolins, Ninjas, scorcerers, elder gods, realms, portals etc. Isn't it what made you interested in MK? Difference is Lui kang is a shaolin. A martial artist in a fighting game makes sense. CIA and FBI agnets in a fighting game is just lame. Besides that it fitted the setting of the game, more important, MK was build on it.

The stages, music, story, characters and how they were represented were all part of MK. and part of why many fans loved the series. Atleast it's for me.

It's not that we ask to have every MK the same, but atleast build on your basics.

lastfighter89 Wrote:


The whole "outworld's sky is not purple" thing was just a joke.
We don't if the sky has the same color everywhere.

DeLaGeezy Wrote:

Killamore Wrote:


It is ridiculous to believe that an automatic gun can't harm people that swords, knives, and punches can or that modern combat training is useless against people who got beat up by kung fu. Jax is a completely ordinary solider and in MKII he was fighting against these guys barehanded until he got he metal arms to get stronger. Sonya has no special powers but military training and tech. Kano has knives and a laser eye. So what really puts these guys in a class that Commander Bob can't get to? Why should demons, monsters, and magic users be destroyed by these guys, but eat through an army of people of the same race no problem?

Again, Cyrax and Sektor fill the exact same role. The not wanting to be a robot was Smoke's story. Both of them are just Lin Kuei assassins that were expanded in much later games. Jax and Jacqui have completely different stories, goals, and personalities. And that's just in MKX.

If Shinnok is so all powerful, then how did a mortal with all the same weaknesses as Cassie (with less actual experience with the other realms than Cassie since she has been around it her whole life) kick his ass? Are Elder Gods extremely flammable? Or was it the bicycle kick that negated all of his power?

There is no reason to believe that in a world where Johnny, Sonya, and Lui could fight and beat guys like Baraka, Ermac, and Goro that Kung Jin, Cassie, and Jacqui couldn't. And if Earthrealm's strongest are as strong as Outworld's and Neatherrealm's strongest, then our average solders can fight theirs. It's not shitting on anyone, it's just showing details of a linear story as opposed to everyone character's bullet points.

KungLaodoesntsuck Wrote:
MK still has over the top violence, gore, characters inspired from movies, and even some secret fights in the towers. I'd say that it still retains its essence.

And if we talk about the story direction, I agree with whoever said that really this is just a new direction. It's not like it completely abandoned all magic and mysticism. There's a fuckin' portal that opens up whenever it feels like it in the Refugee Camp, and there's still large beasts in Outworld as well. So the sky isn't purple anymore big deal.

Also, Earthrealm was completely caught off guard by the invasion in MK9. It makes sense that the world would want to beef up its security in case it happens again. So the SF actively defending Earthrealm doesn't bother me at all. Besides most of the good guys died last game anyway. There were a lot less defenders to begin with, so military support only seems logical.

It hasn't lost what made MK great, it's just changed focus.

DeLaGeezy Wrote:
Make me believe I am in a real Mortal Kombat game.

xysion Wrote:


Why? It is clear that nothing that anyone will write will convince you considering everyone seems to have their own definition of what the "essence" of Mortal Kombat is. It is a pointless back and forth conversation with no resolution since the crux of the argumant is open for debate.