MKDA would have looked more like Tao Feng. In fact the two really could have merged into one almost seamlessly. The graphics were identical, the action on the 3-D plane was almost identical, the mystical elements to the characters would have really shone through.

JT made characters' stories matter, an integral part of his game and i think that a lot of MK fans here long for that.

If JT had never left, we would never have the Deadly Alliance or Onaga.

At times I'm glad he left, but then again I'm not. There were so many easily forgettable characters in MKD. But I have to admit that I thought the majority of MK3's new characters were garbage too.....

The only time I wish JT stepped in was around Armageddon so we would have avoided this time traveling cluster fuck and saved the MK franchise (story wise).

Let's not forget Tobias's last game, MK4, was the worst one story-wise.

Granted that the reason for that, or at least part of the reason, could be that he was spread too thin making Mythologies and later Special Forces to devote his full attention to it. But he may have also been just plain burned out, running out of ideas for new characters and directions for the story to go and such..

There is a documentary called the History of Mortal Kombat narrated by someone that said Special Forces burned John out because of some conflicts between him and Midway and trying to make the game good (Yes, I know it was terrible).

I think he came back for MK vs DC to write the mini comic book that came with the Collector's Edition or was it the art?

I love those videos, the only problem is the first episode/video's sound is so messed up, you can barley hear the narrator in it because they have the music so loud.

Not to mention that it's just one of those Stephen Hawking-like narrator recordings rather than an actual human being narrating the MK history series

Tobias didn't write the MKvsDCU comic, Vogel did. Tobias did the artwork.

Also you can find out more about why Tobias left Midway straight from the source, in his interview with The On Blast Show, episode 19. I believe it can be found on Youtube.

Here's the links to the The Blast Show's Interview with John Tobias.

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzSPtos75W8

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXY6EVdsby8

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCk6K5svkjc

Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeHCqM058Zw

Better and extended lore. Better story telling. Better fleshed out characters. Pherhaps more adventure games within the MK universe. MK: Special forces would been better, if not excellent. Tao feng would never been made, pherhaps some of the character designs would be used for MK. (iron monk could work well in MK)

And most important, the REBOOT would never been made

IMO, MK would been better if he not left. Especially if youre fan of the old mythologies, ninjas, scorcerer's, elder gods, oriental themed stages, chanting monks etc.. All these elements i loved from MK would still be in the series. Elements that made me love Mortal Kombat.

Sorry for bumping old thread.

The saga would be very different today if he were John Tobias. I do not think that his departure was good for the series, on the contrary. With Tobias we will have a more elaborate story and characters. Hopefully someday join NRS, it would be sensational news.

All of that stuff started taking a backseat with MK3 under Tobias, with all of its heavy urban and sci-fi elements, and comic book inspired character design. Mythologies got back into it a bit but MK4 still featured 90's action figure looking characters and Special Forces followed not long after.

Those qualities you talk about all came back in full force for Deadly Alliance. New characters like Bo' Rai Cho and Kenshi fit perfectly into the old MK1 archetypal roles, and old characters finally dropped spandex and BMX gear in favour of practical and thoughtful outfits. There was a ton of Asian inspiration in that game.





I don't think MK is any better or worse for Tobias leaving. I really enjoy what came from the 3D era.

Well Shao Kahn wouldn't have died in the intro to Deadly Alliance because, well, he was already considered to be dead.

It wasn't until Deadly Alliance that Edenia was confirmed to be a separate realm from Outworld. Much like the MK films, Outworld IS Edenia after Shao Kahn overtook it and desecrated it. So the Dragon King would not have been a concept.

In the Mk4 prequel comics written by Tobias, this is also clear, as many of Shao Kahn's allies are sentenced for helping out Shao Kahn. There is no clarity than Edenia was freed and they captured Shao Kahn's warriors. It was just that Shao Kahn was killed, and Kitana was working under Sindel to rebuild their kingdom back as Edenia. Even the Shokan and Centaurs seem to live in the same realm as Kitana, as she tries to bring diplomacy between them without mention of inter-realm travel. Even MK Shaolin Monks carries over this concept. John Vogel is the first writer to conceive them as two separate places.

It is also shown in an interview with John Tobias you can find on Youtube from "The On Blast Show" someplace that his concept for Reiko was very spot on with many of the rumors from the early 2000's. Reiko WAS supposed to be some kind of reincarnated Shao Kahn who was lurking in the shadows and trying to regain power. That was Tobias's concept for him and the purpose of his MK4 ending.

So a few things:

1. Reiko would be Shao Kahn, so that would have taken a different route
2. There would be no more Outworld unless Edenia was undone
3. No Dragon King

So the stories would have definitely been different in MKDA and Deception.

Ed Boon's eyebrows would be wayyyyyyy different.

I think that had John Tobias stayed with the MK team, we would have more focus on the mythology and characters. I'm sure he would have wanted to do more with classic characters like Liu Kang and Shang Tsung.

I wonder about this sometimes. Tobias is responsible for a lot of foundational stuff in MK lore. But some of my favorite story moments are in the DA-D era after he left. He was also responsible for some of the worst story choices in the series (MK4/Special Forces).

Overall I'm pretty happy with the direction the series took after him. But who knows what would have happened had he stayed? I don't thing Tobias even works in the game industry anymore-- which would seem to indicate he hasn't had much success outside MK. I mean did you guys play Tao Feng? That game was abysmal.