Simple, no more character specific chapters because it's a self-inflicted handicap that oversimplified characterizations & character dynamics for no reason. They want to have their cake & eat it too by shoehorned in a story content for 4 games into 1 game. They want their big multiverse shtick, yet they also want grounded conflicts at the same time failing in both of them. In mk1, it started as a conspiracy in outworld & ended in a multiverse level armaggedon. In the battle of the realms, it was grounded in its stakes focusing on the mortal kombat tournament in outworld yet in the last 10 minutes it turned into a universal kaiju battle between the one being shinnok & elder gods fusing with liu kang
There have been many videos of people saying Mortal Kombat should stick to their roots, I honestly see both sides. Yes gritty, Dark authenticity of MK should definitely return but the new twist of MK1 is actually needed as well, I think they are going full circle and if they do they should stick to it no more timeline mix ups
They need to stop chasing for trends Go back to the horror roots Remix lore and do then better Basically alot of things I want to see Onaga and Blaze as the best villians in the games I want Noob Saibot to be the guy from before and make him both intimidating and creepy I just want my things back
Onaga and restoring the revenants should’ve been the central plots for MK11…and I’ll never forgive NRS for literally removing Dark Raiden from the timeline
Even before Khaos Reigns I was so damn hyped and pumped for MK1 to be a meaningful reboot, where we get God Liu Kang as a different influence but we can re-start the franchise and stick to a lower stakes reboot. Nope. MK1 launches and it's immediately revealed that Kronika is around and we're still doing trite, garbage multiverse garbage.
Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance's and Deception's opening cutscenes alone had more drama, tension, epicness and shock value than all of the entire recent MK story lines.
It definitely does. I really wish they would have continued with the political intrigue framing of MKX, as there was a great opportunity to make some cool lore there.
Honestly, I really liked the story of the NRS games...until final act of MK1. Why? Because it ruined Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending? If you've played Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, then you'll noticed that the game had the option where you could decide who would ultimately rule the New Era: Fire God Liu Kang or Shang Tsung. In Liu Kang's ending, he defeats Shang Tsung and creates his New Era and peace and prosperity, leading to the events of MK1. In Shang Tsung's ending, he absorbs Fire God Liu Kang's soul, becomes a Titan, creates his New Era, and launches a conquest against all the realms; it then ends with Raiden and Fujin telling Titan Shang Tsung that Earthrealm, Outworld, and Netherrealm had been conquered, and that Chaosrealm and Orderrealm (which had hardly been explored since Deception by the way) were next. You get the picture? The ending hinted at the possibility of a "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" kind of game where Chaosrealm and Orderrealm are the last line of resistance, and the only hope left in stopping Titan Shang Tsung's tyranny. And, in all honesty, that would've been the PERFECT game! (Just have Tecmo-Koei/Omega Force make the game in the style of Dynasty Warriors, create some brand new Chaosrealm/Orderrealm-originated Kombatants, have them fight with/against the Klassic Kombatants we know and love, and the game is complete.) But then, MK1 revealed that not only did BOTH Fire God Liu Kang and Titan Shang Tsung both create their own universes...but that Titan Shang Tsung is now eyeing to conquer Liu Kang's universe. Basically, if they weren't got going to continue Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending, then NRS should NOT have pretended that there WERE (OR, at the very least, they should've left Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending open to the imagination). This means that my "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" dream game will never be made because we obviously know how it's going to end: Titan Shang Tsung conquers Chaosrealm and Orderrealm then sets his sights on Liu Kang's universe (and YES, by the way: I'm saying "universe", NOT "timeline"). Why couldn't Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending just end with Raiden and Fujin saying that ALL realms (including Chaosrealm and Orderrealm) were now under Titan Shang Tsung's control (annihilate all hope in Titan Shang Tsung being stopped). THEN the multiverse concept would've made a LITTLE bit more sense. Instead, Titan Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending led to NOTHING. And THAT felt like the BIGGEST missed opportunity in Mortal Kombat history to me (especially considering how little popularity Mortal Kombat has in Japan).
Yeah their lack of commitment to their own story arcs definitely hurts the series! I’ve over the multiverse thing…just a cheap out for their own story flubs🤦🏻♂️
Tobias leaving really impacted the story. He added additional elements that made each "pallet swap" its own thing. Jade wasn't just a combination of Kitana and Mileena: She was trusted by Kitana before Shao Khan.
Tobias left before the 3D era (DA-D-A) if my memory is correct, so I am curious how much different the new characters would be if he had stayed on. That era of MK4-Deception has the best lore the series has ever seen, but you can definitely see a dip in characterization after Tobias left.
@@therayldeal6683 I remember John Tobias left in the middle of the development of Mortal Kombat Special Forces. The reason the game was released half finished because Ed Boon expedited the development after John left. There is another thing, Joe Leiberman (as in the US Senetor that created the ERSB) had a hand in the development of Mortal Kombat Special Forces, the 3d Era, and especially Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. People never mention it but yes, the government was meddling in Mortal Kombat. That's why John Tobias left. If you wonder why the characterization took a dip, Joe Leiberman is the reason.
@@therayldeal6683 True. But Lieberman was doing this long before 9/11. The Friendships in Mortal Kombat 2 were made specifically for Joe Lieberman after he made the ESRB. Yes, they became a staple that showed up in only 3 games, but Ed Boon did it to pacify Lieberman. Yet, he still meddled in Mortal Kombat 4 and onward.
MK1 should have followed the story of the Great Kung Lao and his fight to championship in the very first MK tournament. And instead of dying to Goro in the second one he sacrifices himself to kill Titan Shang Tsung after it is found out he lives and is set to destroy realms and merge timelines. But nope...
I had thought it was going to be the Great Kung Lao because of the post credit scene in Mk11. I would have preferred if it were that with a host of brand new characters because at least then the rewriting and retconning could serve to create something truly special in the long run.
Yah, I initially had this as my idea for the M1K plot as well, I did actually include Shang Tsung as a "Both endings are canon" sort of twist, where in his timeline he of course won, and then realized that Liu won as well and had nothing left to do but ruin his timeline. The game would have had Great Kung Lao and Kai as main characters, with a variant of Cassie, Takeda and Nightwolf all coming from Shang Tsungs timeline to help save Liu's, and that timeline saw Cassie accidently killing Jacqui with her green power, which is why she doesn't use it as readily as Johnny, and Nightwolf would be a younger female from Nightwolf's ending in MK11, with Takeda being conflicted due to Jacqui being killed by Cassie. My idea was to also bring in branching stories, where you could use whomever was on your team in whatever fights, so if say, Kai, Cassie and Nightwolf went somewhere, they could all fight, rather than the Chapter system, you'd have a choice in who you wanted to use at those moments, and even points where the bad guys where beating good guys, you could choose to play as them and pick from their group. Because one major issue with the MK format of story telling is that whoever youre forced to use win every time, and then gets weak later. There was meant to be a few twists, but the main thing was that Shang Tsung would have gone to Outworld as a prophet and would have aided Shao Kahn in merging Realms so he could get the power of the One Being in both timelines, and the merger would break the balance and end everything. Goro would have been made into Onaga as a punishment for losing to Great Kung Lao, and preventing Kahn from taking Earthrealm 1000 years earlier, and this would have been why Liu Kang figured he could leave them alone, because Goro lost in a fair battle and vowed that he and his people would never again fight Kung Lao to honor him. Yah, I also had it so that Liu could turn back time, but he couldn't/didn't want to directly alter everything, so he chose to train the Great Kung Lao thinking that Earthrealm at least could be saved, believing that going much farther back would possibly cause issues a lot farther down the line. Most of the cast would have been MK1-3, but the DA/D cast would have been present..
They should have made a video game adaptation of the Mortal Kombat: Conquest 1998 TV series instead and hire the cast to voice their characters. We would have also gotten back popular MK characters such as Raiden, Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Reptile, Noob Saibot, Rain, Smoke, Kitana, Mileena, Reiko, Goro and Quan-Chi. Liu Kang would have just replaced Kronika with no interference in the lives of mortals.
NRS has so much potential to create a good Mortal Kombat story, but for some strange reason that we will never understand, they decide not to do it. NRS needs to understand that Mortal Kombat needs to be Mortal Kombat and not a Marvel spin-off
The Marvel-ization of loads of media (it's not just MK that's fallen prey to this) is insane. I can't wait for someone to do a full culture research into the progression of the MCU and its impact on films, books, and movies sometime down the line.
Honestly, I really liked the story of the NRS games...until the final act of MK1. Why? Because it ruined Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending. If you've played Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, then you'll noticed that the game had the option where you could decide who would ultimately rule the New Era: Fire God Liu Kang or Shang Tsung. In Liu Kang's ending, he defeats Shang Tsung and creates his New Era and peace and prosperity, leading to the events of MK1. In Shang Tsung's ending, he absorbs Fire God Liu Kang's soul, becomes a Titan, creates his New Era, and launches a conquest against all the realms; it then ends with Raiden and Fujin telling Titan Shang Tsung that Earthrealm, Outworld, and Netherrealm had been conquered, and that Chaosrealm and Orderrealm (which had hardly been explored since Deception by the way) were next. You get the picture? The ending hinted at the possibility of a "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" kind of game where Chaosrealm and Orderrealm are the last line of resistance, and the only hope left in stopping Titan Shang Tsung's tyranny. And, in all honesty, that would've been the PERFECT game! (Just have Tecmo-Koei/Omega Force make the game in the style of Dynasty Warriors, create some brand new Chaosrealm/Orderrealm-originated Kombatants, have them fight with/against the Klassic Kombatants we know and love, and the game is complete.) But then, MK1 revealed that not only did BOTH Fire God Liu Kang and Titan Shang Tsung both create their own universes...but that Titan Shang Tsung is now eyeing to conquer Liu Kang's universe. Basically, if they weren't got going to continue Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending, then NRS should NOT have pretended that there WERE (OR, at the very least, they should've left Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending open to the imagination). This means that my "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" dream game will never be made because we obviously know how it's going to end: Titan Shang Tsung conquers Chaosrealm and Orderrealm then sets his sights on Liu Kang's universe (and YES, by the way: I'm saying "universe", NOT "timeline"). Why couldn't Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending just end with Raiden and Fujin saying that ALL realms (including Chaosrealm and Orderrealm) were now under Titan Shang Tsung's control (annihilate all hope in Titan Shang Tsung being stopped). THEN the multiverse concept would've made a LITTLE bit more sense. Instead, Titan Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending led to NOTHING. And THAT felt like the BIGGEST missed opportunity in Mortal Kombat history to me (especially considering how little popularity Mortal Kombat has in Japan).
Makes me miss Deadly Alliance, Deception and even Armageddon era. Those era had Mysteries, intrigue and deep lore because of the main focus on the realms itself rather than the Heroes doing superhero things.
You can thank John Vogel for the lore in the 3D era, he did an amazing job and is an unsung hero of the franchise. He simply doesn’t get enough recognition. He was one of the OG MK midway developers since the first game and had done a decent job of the lore after Tobias left. The guys at NRS that do the lore now are just incompetent trend chasers with no imagination.
@@rajdeepsingh3159 Exactly. Even a twit like ke could write better than Dominic and kittlesen. And I'm not a writer, even though I'm trying to learn how to write stuff.
I think the worst part about NRS story telling is inconsistency and the chapter system. Making the main roster jobbers instead of using lesser known characters is super lame.
I say let the fans play as the villains especially shao Kahn have more heroes live with Kahn defeating them have lui Kang and Raiden fight him lose then have him begin the merger the deities intervene empower Raiden and lose he realizes Lui Kang can beat Him and convinces the deities to give their power to Lui Kang they defeat Shao Kahn and imprison or kill him he has a backup plan for either outcome which allows him to return
I wouldn't even want them to just fight lesser known characters. I think the Soul Calibur II system, where new skins are put over the fighting style of available characters, is the best way to approach this. Midway did that with Deception too, with Monster and the Seidan guardsmen.
If they made character models and movesets for ppl like Kobra, ppl would just complain they aren't playable. And if they used a Main roster spot on them ppl would complain it's a wasted spot because he's a generic minor character. It's a lose lose. The term jobber is stupid. It's a fight, someone has to lose and it'll obviously be the villain
One thing i miss about midway mortal kombat was characters could have their own arcs that were interesting but didn't impact the major story. You had Ashra hunting ermac because she thought she could purify her soul out of the netherrealm because a evil blade was telling her. You had scorpion seeking revenge on the elder gods for half assing their deal to revive his clan. You had sub zero leading the lin kui and hoping to reform frost because he got attached over their bond of her being his student. I could go on, but having all these plot points for characters with their own goals felt so cool now nrs can't add a character that isnt a guest without tieing them to the main story even if the motivation and involvement doesnt make sense.
This is one of the major benefits a Konquest mode like the one in Deception provides. Deception did so much to flesh out the differing motivations for both heroes and villains.
The writing is really poor. Im shocked that their entire team is okay with the story they put out. Its very basic and surface level. I hoped MK would grow up with us, but its still very much 90s. They desperately need a competent writer.
fr like for example frost she can easily have one of the best character development in the franchise but they just keep her the same way she is like why
Honestly, I really liked the story of the NRS games...until final act of MK1. Why? Because it ruined Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending? If you've played Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, then you'll noticed that the game had the option where you could decide who would ultimately rule the New Era: Fire God Liu Kang or Shang Tsung. In Liu Kang's ending, he defeats Shang Tsung and creates his New Era and peace and prosperity, leading to the events of MK1. In Shang Tsung's ending, he absorbs Fire God Liu Kang's soul, becomes a Titan, creates his New Era, and launches a conquest against all the realms; it then ends with Raiden and Fujin telling Titan Shang Tsung that Earthrealm, Outworld, and Netherrealm had been conquered, and that Chaosrealm and Orderrealm (which had hardly been explored since Deception by the way) were next. You get the picture? The ending hinted at the possibility of a "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" kind of game where Chaosrealm and Orderrealm are the last line of resistance, and the only hope left in stopping Titan Shang Tsung's tyranny. And, in all honesty, that would've been the PERFECT game! (Just have Tecmo-Koei/Omega Force make the game in the style of Dynasty Warriors, create some brand new Chaosrealm/Orderrealm-originated Kombatants, have them fight with/against the Klassic Kombatants we know and love, and the game is complete.) But then, MK1 revealed that not only did BOTH Fire God Liu Kang and Titan Shang Tsung both create their own universes...but that Titan Shang Tsung is now eyeing to conquer Liu Kang's universe. Basically, if they weren't got going to continue Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending, then NRS should NOT have pretended that there WERE (OR, at the very least, they should've left Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending open to the imagination). This means that my "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" dream game will never be made because we obviously know how it's going to end: Titan Shang Tsung conquers Chaosrealm and Orderrealm then sets his sights on Liu Kang's universe (and YES, by the way: I'm saying "universe", NOT "timeline"). Why couldn't Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending just end with Raiden and Fujin saying that ALL realms (including Chaosrealm and Orderrealm) were now under Titan Shang Tsung's control (annihilate all hope in Titan Shang Tsung being stopped). THEN the multiverse concept would've made a LITTLE bit more sense. Instead, Titan Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending led to NOTHING. And THAT felt like the BIGGEST missed opportunity in Mortal Kombat history to me (especially considering how little popularity Mortal Kombat has in Japan).
the whole thing is very childish. it's like a kid who just saw avengers endgame and thought it would be awesome if their action figures had a multiverse plot
5:19 This is honestly my least favorite part about the newer Mortal Kombat games. is that they're solely hero focused at this point The old games like the 3D era especially focused a lot more on the villains than it did the heroes and they were a lot better as a result
I totally hate how much they've been delaying the Armageddon and Onaga's appearance, same as how they almost never acknowledge Taven or his brother when they are quintessencial to MK's Midway lore, it's ridiculous
Yeah. And I hate also how characters, like Kronika (who was NEVER mentioned in previous games) and her race, which are Titans, were integrated into the franchise. Their integration broke the lore and power-level of some being (like are Titans more powerful than Blaze or what). And what happened to the One Being (original god-like being, from whom Elder Gods after defeating it created all Realms in Mortal Kombat)? It began being barely mentioned. And also Kronika’s motivations? So in her twisted mind Armageddon from Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (MK9 established that Shao Kahn won) is the very “good” ending. Basically, Kronika is just like MK version of Zovaal (aka Jailer) from Warcraft, whose existence also pissed off many fans due to his bland motivations and retcons that it was his actions even during Warcraft 3 (yeah, like he created Frostmourne and Helm of the Damnation).
@@Ultriac301 I agree with you. Armageddon was definitely, clearly impacted by the fact that Midway was shutting down. The project probably would have been more focused with a more direct story follow-up if it weren't for that.
Better sound tracks. The 3D era had a darker tone to it as well. Mk4 has such a creepy vibe to it. Even the endings just feel hopeless and empty. Deadly alliance kind of had that same feeling for me. But deception is where they peaked for me. I spent so many hours in Konquest trying to find out every possible secret. Plus, it introduced one of sub zeros' best skins, in my opinion.
Glad you liked it, but the Sindel massacre scene was where I checked out of MK9 and NRS's storytelling completely. Half of my favorite characters get wiped like absolute chumps, and where it would make sense for Kitana to be the one to stand up to her mother and redeem her, that gets sniped by Nightwolf- who has absolutely nothing to do with Sindel- because the game's rigid chapter structure dictated it was his turn.
It might have been better if Kitana was the sole survivor of the massacre, but I actually think that section should have been Sindel's chapter. That would have justified all of the death way more and would have created a better emotional connection between what is happening in the game and what the player is doing. The chapter system is incredibly flawed though, and it would be better if it didn't exist.
Yeah that scene really pissed me off. And it was the same feeling with MKX where Johnny is taking on revenant Sub-Zero and Scorpion at the same time. Both those scenes were just done in such bad taste.
The weird thing is with that one-character-per-chapter structure gets subverted for the Shao Khan fight in Kung Lao's chapter. They could've totally let Kitana do it but nah
To me MK got away from being a fighting games to being a RP with fighting games elements. Street Fighter got it right with their franchise by adding new characters to existing characters.
I would love to see rosters showing that blend. The roster in Mk1 is probably that game's best aspect, and if the story and lore utilized them well, I think we'd have a better appreciation for the returning characters.
Remember when we all thought mk1 was gonna be an actual reboot? They fr could've just had it so liu kang create his new time line, but to set it in motion he has to whip himself from existence or whatever bs, and then boom we get a fresh re-telling of the mk story with the changes they made to the characters, given alot of fans aren't familiar with that story, and those who are, get something still fresh and new But nope, we just get a shitty continuation of 11 disguised as a reboot
I would have been just fine with that new story too. I would still be a bit disappointed that the promises of MKX weren't delivered, but at least it could be separate from MK11.
Honestly I don't even think them ignoring the 3d era characters is the issue at all even though I enjoy seeing them as a fan of that era. I just think that not only is this stuff really uninteresting and kinda mediocre writing but I feel like mk has a lack of identity. It's just marvel bs with shock gore that I don't even find fun anymore. Back in the day it felt like some 80's cheesy, but somehow still creepy, action horror movie. It was both fun and creepy/disturbing (at the time). It was even kinda moody with the stage design and WAY better osts. Why have none of the modern games even really had a soundtrack?? Nowadays I don't even know what this shit is or why it exists which is one of the worst things I can say about a piece of art/media. The fatalities are basically the only piece of its identity it has left and I have to say I don't really enjoy them anymore. They're KINDA fun but I think it gets weirdly close to this gore porn level when it comes to most of them. It's subjective so I can't speak for everyone ofc. I was hoping mk1 was going to be a true reboot but it wasn't. It was actually kind of the opposite of a reboot. It double downed on most of the bs they've been doing this whole time (though the gameplay is a step up from 11 it doesn't even get close to X). At this point I'm out and I'm not buying any more games until they make a HUGE change but considering we just got the "reboot" I don't think that's happening. I apologize for this terribly written rant but my inner child is upset that this franchise I loved so much as a kid is just kinda dead to me now lol
@@therayldeal6683 Sure I can see that. I think I'm speaking more from a (now) casual fan or almost an outsiders perspective because I keep losing interest like an hour into the story modes so I can't comment on that as much.
@@azumashinobi1559 That's fair. If I didn't have this TH-cam channel, I wouldn't have spent any time at all thinking about Mk11 and Mk1(2) because of how bad the story and lore in them are.
I whole heartedly agree with you. The moment they tried to do this time manipulation, and multiverse bs was when they truly lost it. Nothing seems to even have stakes anymore and now they just do gore for the gore, wasting precious time and resources for stuff they’re just gonna reset by the end of the story.
Without watching, I'd just say it's because nothing (Except Johnny Cage's character) really leads anywhere. Liu Kang is made increasingly evil just to replaced by his blank, heroic counterpart (a good personality and portrayal, but not a good arc), as is Raiden, none of the villains have any truly personal interactions that go anywhere memorable save Liu Kang and Raiden, and Kronika erases whatever could be by a soft reset. They're three games, but not a trilogy.
Got into the franchise because of MK9, and I've enjoyed each game so far. That said, seeing the perspective of prior game fans articulate their problems with the franchise helps me say why MK11 (and 12) aren't good story-wise. Fun games, poor story.
Honestly, I really liked the story of the NRS games...until final act of MK1. Why? Because it ruined Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending? If you've played Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, then you'll noticed that the game had the option where you could decide who would ultimately rule the New Era: Fire God Liu Kang or Shang Tsung. In Liu Kang's ending, he defeats Shang Tsung and creates his New Era and peace and prosperity, leading to the events of MK1. In Shang Tsung's ending, he absorbs Fire God Liu Kang's soul, becomes a Titan, creates his New Era, and launches a conquest against all the realms; it then ends with Raiden and Fujin telling Titan Shang Tsung that Earthrealm, Outworld, and Netherrealm had been conquered, and that Chaosrealm and Orderrealm (which had hardly been explored since Deception by the way) were next. You get the picture? The ending hinted at the possibility of a "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" kind of game where Chaosrealm and Orderrealm are the last line of resistance, and the only hope left in stopping Titan Shang Tsung's tyranny. And, in all honesty, that would've been the PERFECT game! (Just have Tecmo-Koei/Omega Force make the game in the style of Dynasty Warriors, create some brand new Chaosrealm/Orderrealm-originated Kombatants, have them fight with/against the Klassic Kombatants we know and love, and the game is complete.) But then, MK1 revealed that not only did BOTH Fire God Liu Kang and Titan Shang Tsung both create their own universes...but that Titan Shang Tsung is now eyeing to conquer Liu Kang's universe. Basically, if they weren't got going to continue Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending, then NRS should NOT have pretended that there WERE (OR, at the very least, they should've left Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending open to the imagination). This means that my "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" dream game will never be made because we obviously know how it's going to end: Titan Shang Tsung conquers Chaosrealm and Orderrealm then sets his sights on Liu Kang's universe (and YES, by the way: I'm saying "universe", NOT "timeline"). Why couldn't Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending just end with Raiden and Fujin saying that ALL realms (including Chaosrealm and Orderrealm) were now under Titan Shang Tsung's control (annihilate all hope in Titan Shang Tsung being stopped). THEN the multiverse concept would've made a LITTLE bit more sense. Instead, Titan Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending led to NOTHING. And THAT felt like the BIGGEST missed opportunity in Mortal Kombat history to me (especially considering how little popularity Mortal Kombat has in Japan).
@@IDHLEB Well, I'm sorry for doing that, but I haven't seen ONE TH-cam video and/or comment (replies don't count) that says something like, "Canonizing both Aftermath endings ruins any chance of Shang Tsung's ending getting a 'What if...?' follow-up spin-off game." And on top of that, Rayl Deal Games neither hearted, liked, nor even replied to my comment.
The concept of killing off the characters and then reviving the characters in MK9 reminds me of Happy Tree Friends where the animals get killed in every episode and after an episode or two, they came back. Same can be said about South Park with the character “Kenny McCormick”.
For me Mortal Kombat already has such a rich history that I didn't want them constantly introducing new characters instead they should've elevated some fan favorites like they did with Johnny Cage. Dark Raiden and Liu Kang could've made great main antagonists. Bi Han could be a great main protagonist
I think it’s important to introduce new characters in fighting game franchises, but I do agree that other characters need the same character development treatment that Cage and Raiden get.
For me personally, The Midway Era will forever be the definitive version of the series. Sure there were duds, and sometimes it was camp, but atleast they expanded the lore of the series. We got so much history in those games and yes even some of the spin offs. The NRS era have some good things going for it, but like what happened to the other realms, the elder gods, Onaga, chaosrealm, seido, the black and red dragon armies, the tekunin, etc.? NRS just seems focused on guest characters, generic plot beats, gender swaps, and a boring multiverse story that’s just there to follow the trend of media being about multiverses. John Tobias left and the story got worse with all the retcons.
John Tobias left MK before Deadly Alliance and Deception, so while it may be possible that some of those things were based on his ideas, I've never heard anything about him being the mastermind behind the Onaga plot and expansion of the lore back then. NRS really has fed into this hate for the 3D era over the course of the 2010s, which is totally undeserved.
Dark Raiden invading Outworld & Kotal Khan invoking The Mortal Kombat would have been a cool concept for a Game, (although i don't like Cassie k*lling Shujinko) then it means Onaga was around, imagine if Onaga resurrected but instead of as a Villain he returns to save Outworld? (as is implied that Onaga was a benevolent ruler before Shao Khan betrayed him)
Not every ending is canon in every game, so they weren't locked into Cassie killing Shujinko. I would like to see Onaga show up that way as well. I'm interested to see why and when he became obsessed with becoming the One Being.
@@Darth-vade123No I mean Hsu Hao In his ending He doesn't even get up top on the pyramid he just immediately gets killed by the shockwave lol Your speaking of another character named Jarek
I dont like how they're bringing useless dlc characters instead of actual kombatants or that mk is becoming like marvel with all these alternate timelines
I like a good, occasional guest character, but I would much prefer more MK characters so that the story and lore of the series can be expanded on more.
"He must win" should have been a long term story about Taven. Perhaps Dark Raiden foolishly killed Taven as he was beating Blaze and this allowed Shao Kahn to steal the victory. Then the lead up from MKX to the end of MK1 could have led to Taven winning at the Pyramid of Argus and bringing true peace to the realms. But yeah, they did timeline shenanigans in 3/4 of their games. At the very least they could have brutally killed the majority of their characters so that timeline reboots made some sort of sense. I think originally in the arcade era lore they needed the Mortal Kombat Tournament to balance out order and chaos energies, so if most of the good guys or most of the bad guys had died in MKX, Kronika's appearance would have made sense to fix this balance in MK11. It would have been cool to see Dark Raiden violently oppose Kronika and anyone who agrees with her so that player choice and morality would play a factor in who the final boss would be.
MK 11 could’ve had 3 great parts: Part 1: fighting the revenants and emotional ending with killing revenant Liu Kang. Part 2: Dark Raiden has to be stopped because he’s gone too far (almost like an Injustice Superman). Part 3: Kronika pops as a surprise villain and somehow a plot device is used to save the revives corrupted version of previous heroes. Better yet, in part 3, give that role to Cetrion and eliminate Kronika altogether. Elder Gods have been elusive so far and then let our first real introduction being a (another) rogue Elder God. Then rewind time to figure out more about when the Elder Gods became corrupt…set up MK1 as the Great Kung Lao tutored by Fire God Liu Kang somehow to go across the realms like Shujinko to learn more about the Elder Gods…have Havik become the antagonist instead of Titan Shang Tsung, and then Onaga as the DLC boss that was a backup plan for Havik if he were to lose (or regardless just to cause more chaos) Enormous fan service and no changes in plots
Loved everything about mk9, everything about mkx other than the cages beating a god, and felt they had a lay up with dark raiden…. Just for them to erase him 10 mins into mk11 :///
@ I had never been more excited for a game story than to see how evil raiden would constantly de-escalate situations and become crazier. There was so much potential. Even for enemies to ally together to take him down or something. Damn bro….
@@Thedrewster9194 It really would have been so cool to see him devolve into a tyrant over the course of the game, and I would have loved to see him as either the final boss or a sub-boss building into a grander conflict. I even hate it when base-roster characters are also bosses, but I would have accepted it in this case.
The dark kung fu mythology vibe they had going on from Mk1992 all the way through Deception was super great. They need to recapture that type of storytelling again.
Honestly, I really liked the story of the NRS games...until final act of MK1. Why? Because it ruined Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending? If you've played Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, then you'll noticed that the game had the option where you could decide who would ultimately rule the New Era: Fire God Liu Kang or Shang Tsung. In Liu Kang's ending, he defeats Shang Tsung and creates his New Era and peace and prosperity, leading to the events of MK1. In Shang Tsung's ending, he absorbs Fire God Liu Kang's soul, becomes a Titan, creates his New Era, and launches a conquest against all the realms; it then ends with Raiden and Fujin telling Titan Shang Tsung that Earthrealm, Outworld, and Netherrealm had been conquered, and that Chaosrealm and Orderrealm (which had hardly been explored since Deception by the way) were next. You get the picture? The ending hinted at the possibility of a "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" kind of game where Chaosrealm and Orderrealm are the last line of resistance, and the only hope left in stopping Titan Shang Tsung's tyranny. And, in all honesty, that would've been the PERFECT game! (Just have Tecmo-Koei/Omega Force make the game in the style of Dynasty Warriors, create some brand new Chaosrealm/Orderrealm-originated Kombatants, have them fight with/against the Klassic Kombatants we know and love, and the game is complete.) But then, MK1 revealed that not only did BOTH Fire God Liu Kang and Titan Shang Tsung both create their own universes...but that Titan Shang Tsung is now eyeing to conquer Liu Kang's universe. Basically, if they weren't got going to continue Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending, then NRS should NOT have pretended that there WERE (OR, at the very least, they should've left Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending open to the imagination). This means that my "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" dream game will never be made because we obviously know how it's going to end: Titan Shang Tsung conquers Chaosrealm and Orderrealm then sets his sights on Liu Kang's universe (and YES, by the way: I'm saying "universe", NOT "timeline"). Why couldn't Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending just end with Raiden and Fujin saying that ALL realms (including Chaosrealm and Orderrealm) were now under Titan Shang Tsung's control (annihilate all hope in Titan Shang Tsung being stopped). THEN the multiverse concept would've made a LITTLE bit more sense. Instead, Titan Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending led to NOTHING. And THAT felt like the BIGGEST missed opportunity in Mortal Kombat history to me (especially considering how little popularity Mortal Kombat has in Japan).
There's something I didn't understand quite right in MK1. Are Edenia and Outworld supposed to be the same thing now? Does Chaosrealm still exist? Literally there was only ONE Chaosrealm playable character in the games and they decided to retcon that smh...
Edenia and Outworld are one thing for sure, and Seido (Orderrealm) does seem to just be part of Outworld too. It's a terrible retcon imo, as the multiple realms was one of the cooler, more unique things about Mortal Kombat.
@@therayldeal6683 Agree. And the way how the butchered Bi-Han (transforming him into arrogant and assholish jackass, while in original games he was a morally gray anti-heroic character with his flaws, but still has a human-like personality (like Scorpion from the same games)). Heck, OG Bi-Han actually respected his younger brother, Kuai Liang (at least before he was transformed into Noob Saibot), even though both of them have different personalities.
Look, I live in Chicago. I am tempted to print the thumbnail of this video on paper, and tape it on the netherealm studios sign and entrance, so all workers can see this video. If u give me the green light, I will help do it, bringing awareness to this video
MK11 is so frustrating as a story because it wasted so much potential with a gimmick MK never needed. In a universe with with a variety of crazy magical characters from sorcerers to gods, time travel just doesn't work as well as it would in other media. The wasted story potential of the cold war between the realms hurts my lore loving heart because I can only think of all the cool storylines they could've set up. For example since they couldn't bring back the revenants through Quan Chi, if they really wanted to do so this would've been the perfect opportunity to bring back Ashrah!! They could've teamed up with her on an adventure to uncorrupt the king and queen of the Netherrealm, Liu Kang and Kitana. We also could've gotten some side plots like the 3D era such as Rain and Tanya on the run after their failed rebellion with Mileena. Being a fan of this franchises lore nowadays is such a chore....
Time travel rarely works as a storytelling element. I can count on one hand the number of times it's been good. Mortal Kombat had such a unique world and would have been perfect for that type of political intrigue story.
As a fan since the original arcade release I disagree that hating the 3D era was in retrospect. A lot of fans including myself absolutely hated the design choices in the 3D era, especially the new characters. Seemed to me that it made a lot of new fans but the og fans were 50\50.
I hate the cliffhangers and bait switchs. Mk9 ends with a tease for the netherrealm wars, but we only see the very end of in chapter 1, then shinnok fks off till the end of the story. Mkx ends with a tease for dark Raiden and he gets erased in one chapter. We get a tease for the the great Kung Lao, but he never appers in mk1, even though he was supposed to be Liu Kang's champion. Like, why Raiden? All you've done is switch Liu Kang and Raiden's roles, that was your big change for the soft reboot? It's practically false advertisement at this point. Being sold a lie, while Ed Boon changes his mind for 100th fking time.
Each one of the NRS Mortal Kombat game's stories are a pretty cool standalone 4 hour movie that you can enjoy, but when taken as a whole, as part of a franchise, yea it cracks faster than character's bodies in Sub Zero's fatalities
Multiverse concept kills everything. The lore, the importance of the actual characters, the tensions, the shock of a character's deaths, and even if the entire universe is destroyed...its not a big deal because there are 10000 other versions of it out there.
So.. MK9 reset the timeline, and MK11 did it again? And because of MK11s ending, EVERY CHARACTER'S ENDING is canon? I guess that explains the whole "war of the universes" thing in MK1(12)
Yep! Time travel is tricky to work with all the time, but if you're going to use it, just do it once. Back to the Future 1-3 and The Butterfly Effect are the only two stories I can think of that use time travel more than once to the benefit of the storytelling.
While I suck at the 2000 era 3D entries and didn’t grow up with. I honestly prefer elements from them when compared to the modern NRS era. Such as the 3D entries having more interesting background lore alongside the spooky atmosphere and the soundtracks are arguably probably some of the best in this series. While the graphics and gameplay are a bit rough around the edges when compared to the NRS entries. I’m also surprised NRS never brought back Onaga as a playable character. Granted I know story wise he would of been hurt but it still would of been nice same with my boy Daegon Armageddon’s major baddie for its Konquest mode.
@@seasonembrace3624 I think loads of 3D-era characters are fantastic. I think the reason they are so hated is partially ignorance (like the actual definition - lacking knowledge of) and the fact that they really only had 1 game to shine in. Armageddon legit has writing issues because of the fact that loads of the writers didn't even know anything about MK (has to do with Midway's money problems during the game's development). Deadly Alliance and Deception had great lore writing all in all. I've been wanting someone on YT to finally say that, but since no one is, I'll just do it myself.
@@therayldeal6683 Yeah Armageddon was subject to unfortunate events due to time & budget crunch which certainly hurt the quality of it's story telling and is the reason there was a lot of recycling of the character designs. I personally like Armageddon it's not my favorite entry but I still had fun playing it. Due to it's extra feature's like character creation & Motor Kombat and especially the Konquest. But yeah...not one of MK's strongest entries but I can tell Midway tried to rap things up with this series with the issues they were facing.
Deception will ALWAYS be my favorite MK. MK9 was a great revival of the franchise. Didn't fully like MKX but the horrible MK11 made me appreciate it even more. MK 11 was so bad I almost gave up on the franchise entirely. MK1 ended up being worse to me though,I was surprisingly bored by it to a point where I actually put it down midway through. I hope they can get things back on track because the future isn't looking too bright for Mortal Kombat.
It's a shame because Mortal Kombat is genuinely one of my favorite gaming franchises. I really do hope they can figure this one because Mk1 really is that bad narratively.
@ Same. I will always love MK but they need to turn it around before it's too late. The current story is hust not good,and I don't think they realize it.
@@BeasleySays NRS truly does need a whole new writing team for sure. BTW, you'll want to tune back in for my Mortal Kombat Games Ranked video dropping the first week of December if you're a Deception fan. I'd be curious to see if you agree with my take on the game (it's positive, but I have specific things I say about the game in the video).
While I have always thought that MK was a terrible fighting game, I always loved the characters, and story. The fact that they have rebooted it for a second time withing less than half a dozen games just tells me that the story, and characters don't matter, anymore, so now we're just left with a terrible fighting game. Maybe they'll reboot it all over again in a year, or two.
I've always found MK to be a fun fighter, and I especially love hitting the lab and coming up with cool combos on my own. It's definitely not the most competitive fighter on the market, but I also don't care about playing online.
@therayldeal6683 I had a lot of fun with the original trilogy just goofing off with my brother, and friends, but it's always felt like its lost something ever since moving to 3D that it's never really gotten back. Could just be nostalgia talking though XD
I personally feel like there was too much focus on the kombat kids and the special forces after MK9. Earth realm should’ve taken a bit of a backseat. Having a mix of 3D era characters and new characters for MKX’s roster would’ve been iconic. They could’ve probably gotten another more direct sequel out of that story before pivoting to Kronika where it would’ve made more sense to bring back the old generation again. We needed a story showing Dark Raiden and Earthrealm as the opposition this time. I hated the fact that they had old versions of characters and human versions who ended up being just zombies in the story it was trash and pointless. They refuse to switch up the roster.
Awesome video. Please create your video on why the 3D era receives so much hate. I became a hard core fan during this era. The lore was on another level
That video is coming in February! I've got some finishing touches to put on it (I work ahead, so there are other videos I've promised that will release first), and it'll be a little over thirty minutes long.
I remember in particular after playing through the MK11 story the first time, I immediately thought that the whole thing probably sounded neat in concept but that it shouldn't have gone past the first stages of early development. Like it really has no replay value and is wasted. And the fact that they did it again for MK1 has really made me drop off of my investment in the MK story tbh. Even though the 3D era storyline got kinda convoluted and by the end needed a reboot, at least the original ideas were good and the story had some edge to it
I have always appreciated and loved those games. I finally have the hardware and software to share my thoughts though. I have a dedicated video about the 3D era in the works that'll be coming out in either January or February of next year.
@therayldeal6683 Trust me I feel ya, it's just a weird sentiment that's been brewing where people will downplay Armageddon and Deception's importantance forgetting that most of the world building of MK as we know it now started there y'know? And it's gone mostly forgotten which felt strange to me.
Having played every era of the game, the "modern" era is probably not as interesting because the focus goes everywhere when it doesn’t need to. We're exploring timeline warps in MK9, then special forces stuff in MK10, then a whole multiverse in MK11. At least with Deadly Alliance-to-Armageddon, we saw how the story shifted focus from one set of characters to another because of related events (ie. Kang dies in Deadly Alliance, Raiden finds more champions to help counter the Deadly Alliance, leads to Onaga and Armageddon, etc). It wasn't ground-breaking in storytelling, BUT it followed a decent pattern of narrative while also going into detail of the different realms and their dynamic with the whole Armageddon prophecy. Given how it was introduced, I would have figured that MK9 would actually conclude the 3D era story in hindsight.
@therayldeal6683 Thank you! I had high hopes for the franchise after MK9 brought MK back to the modern gaming scene, but besides a few returning characters, Spawn as DLC, and them exploring the world building in MK1, I just feel there's been a lot more that could have been done. Like could you imagine an MK9-style game but set during the time period of Deadly Alliance-to-Armageddon? Would've been great. Sad it came to be like this, so I do thank you for clarifying where the direction went with the whole franchise as a whole in this video.
@@expychristian I was so hoping that Mk11 would be that Realm war plot and that Mk12 would then move to bring Onaga back into the franchise. I'm glad you liked the video!
@therayldeal6683 CAN you imagine? Aw man I feel they're gonna have to tape back together their own story before Onaga can be properly introduced, let alone a bunch of other characters that somehow didn't make a return recently. Knowing that they already did the whole Armageddon "choose your ending" thing for the story mode in MK1 makes a following realm war story a bit redundant. Especially if every ending is considered Canon. There's just no reasonable build up for even an average, large scale war arc. We didn't even get that in Khaos Reigns, despite the trailers.
I was hoping to see onaga return too. Deception was the first fighting game campaign I invested in. I still remember staying up till 5 am training with raiden trying to learn that 26 button combo to complete his training! I loved deception so I felt let down as well Onaga didn’t return.
I 100% agree with you. The story started out quite good, and while I wasn't a big fan of many character backstory rewrites (Havik, Nitara, General Shao), I was excited to see where the story was going to go. Titan Shang Tsung is just a terrible idea and one I speculate is rooted in Boon's attempt to make a live service MK game [in a review leading up to Mk11 (I can't remember which), Boon talked about wanting to make a live service game].
Mortal kombat 9 would have been resolved in 3 secod if raiden said "Shoa Khan must win" instead of just saying "He" its almost like is trying to troll is past self
I don't think that would have worked actually since it would imply that Earthrealm needed to lose the tournament from the first game. There wasn't enough time for him to say, "Shao Khan must win after you beat him in the Outworld tournament because the Elder Gods will intervene if he tries to merge the realms without winning in Mortal Kombat." All that is important information for context.
@@therayldeal6683 Or maybe this shorter version: Shao must die. Due to Shao Kahn's death by the Elder Gods by breaking the rules of Mortal Kombat being what prevented the Armageddon.
I've got some videos I've already promised that need to be made first (such as my Animality ranking dropping in a couple of weeks) and others that I have been working on for awhile, but I've officially put it on my release schedule. It should be out fairly early on into 2025! I put out at least 1 new Mortal Kombat video every month, and beyond that, I have at least 1 variety gaming video every single week. I'm looking forward to running across you again in future comment sections!
Deadly Alliance and Deception sold very well and revitalized the franchise. Armageddon was decent but not as successful or popular as the two previous installments.
@@Ultriac301 Yep! The 3D era doesn't deserve the hate it gets because its first two installments were legit great. MK7 may have been better too if the series didn't need a hasty conclusion because of Midway's money troubles.
The complaint about the 3D era characters not being the same as their original counterparts is a little very flimsy considering the entire game is built on “all of these characters are completely reimagined”. Khaos Reigns is absolute dogshit though.
I don't think that aspect makes the valid argument flimsy, as the alternate versions of several other properties still share core character identities with their other versions (in Marvel, DC, retellings of classic stories like The Odyssey). Changing their personalities changes the character, leaving the question, "why not just make new characters at that point?" It's kind of a feature of human cultural history to not like reimagined versions of beloved characters that are no longer even remotely similar to their original incarnation. It's only when a reimagining is better than the original (such as with Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury or Disney's retelling of certain fairy tales) that people are okay with it.
I've wondered lately how a new MK would do if it had a crossed style of Shaolin Monks and Deception's conquest mode. Have a story focused on 1-3 characters with cutscenes showing other fights around you and playing out the bigger story. You can have the villains get victories against your friends without having to play as them or have it happen off screen. I dunno, might be hard to out something like that together but I think it'd be fresh and open the opportunity to explore the other realms that MK doesn't ever show like Orderrealm or Dreamrealm. It would also be something fresh to MK instead of the chapter story system they've used since MKvDC
Something like that could be really cool! Shujinko would be a great character for a campaign like that since his story is a long (chronologically wise) running one and realm-spanning. Because of how he copies moves, it could be cool to customize his move set with a combination of every other character's.
@@therayldeal6683 Giving him that diversity to make him suit your play style (and cosmetics, as well) would be so sick. More or less just make it a revamped Konquest from Deception but with combat like Monks. Save the big names for boss battles
They had SO many good ingredients, and just completely chose not to cook. It’d be one thing if the story commitment issues led to good decisions, but nope. They went out of their way to set up amazing plot ideas (Dark Raiden, Revenants as enemy leaders, great Kung Lao) and then yanked it away. Thats what REALLY pisses me off more than anything.
DA, Deception, and Armageddon had some of the best storyline writing and content of all of the other MK games EXCEPT for 9 which flipped the script VERY well. It’s a shame the gameplay was horrendous to slog through.
I was really hoping mk1 was its own thing, a new era which they imply. But instead of that it just continues the same plots from mk11 like a sequel, not a reboot (which i saw stupid since the pure number in the title implies a new saga). By just knowing kronika was mentioned and the confirmation of “all the endings were canon” i knew this was awful storywriting.
That is the biggest irony about all of this is the fact that Warner Brothers failed twice trying to mimic marvel. First time with DCEUN next time with Mortal Kombat
I’ll be honest but when it comes to MK1 and the new changes I find it confusing when folks ask “ why aren’t the characters in the new mk1 timeline like how they were in the older time lines”
It's because they aren't the same character, but NRS wants the fanservice and audience interest afforded by reusing the old characters. Save for Liu Kang, why aren't the characters all new? This would have been the perfect opportunity to do so. It would be different if this were a non-canon What-if. Mk1's story would have been much better if it were Liu Kang alongside 25 new characters than these terrible rewrites of beloved ones. With a brand new story, separate from the old chronologies completely, I could make my peace with that and find something new to love. As it stands, it is a bastardization of what used to be great.
I do agree with the villains thing, the villains often get heavily shit on, cuz my god Baraka gets bullied so much even tho he's basically the leader of all Tarkatans
I'm working on my 3D-era video, and this is a point I expand on further there. Stay tuned (should be coming up late Jan - early Feb next year) if you want to see!
The problem with the current Eras (aka 2nd Timeline and New Era) are its inconsistencies with older Eras (not to mention that they are considered soft-reboots, not full-fledged reboots). And plus butchering some characters from older games (most infamous ones are Sindel in Mortal Kombat 11, where she was transformed from sympathetic and tragic queen of Edenia (who also loved her husband, Jerrod, and daughter, Kitana, more than anything) into a heartless monster that willingly join to Shao Kahn’s Army, and Bi-Han in Mortal Kombat 1, who transformed from morally gray anti-heroic character into a heartless already Noob Saibot-like monster).
I would say that Shao Kahn and Havik need to be added to that list post Aftermath (for Shao Kahn) and Khaos Reigns (for Havik). The two you've mentioned are absolutely poorly rewritten.
Great video. I just recently got into MK lore, and 3d era is honestly awesome, especially Deception's Konquest. If new Dark Raiden got so mad about order, he could make an alliance with Hotaru or something. If only...
That would have been a sick way to introduce Hotaru and Havik into the NRS era. I'm working on the video I mentioned about the unreasonable hate the 3D-era get. It'll definitely coming out either in January or February of next year.
@@therayldeal6683 Steer Fighter 6 eventually brought Konquest back. Haven't finished it yet, but it's interesting, and new characters get there quest lines in updates. I really hoped for some new locations in MK 11 Krypt, but we never got anything like it. Shame.
I like MK1’s story. It just says, “screw it, let’s be goofy.” It’s not technically a straight-up, outright comedy, but it embraces pulpy silliness in a way I couldn’t help but respect. Plus, I like its take on Ermac, who is my favorite character, thanks largely to his story in Deception and Armageddon. The PS2 era was definitely the height of MK storytelling.
Mortal kombat got too fancy for its own good… it didn’t need timelines and time travel as a whole and definitely didn’t need a thousand characters either… time travel sucks in fighting games… 🤷🏽♂️ should have kept it about fighting and the amount of mythical in mortal kombat 3 was already pushing the limits of what was needed to keep Mortal kombat alive…. They could have stayed with tournament of earth realm and outer realm would have been enough to keep this story alive for years to come!
The Deadly Alliance - Deception era of the lore is legit MK's best lore era. I agree that time travel wasn't needed for Mk11 forward, but characters need to die in Mortal Kombat, and when they do, they need to be replaced by newer ones. Refusing that change is one of the major issues with NRS' stewardship of the series.
Blame Mk9 for Timelines and time Travel then. Prior to that game we had no Time travel in Mk. In fact there was a Cancelled Sequel to Mk Armaggeddon and people even said The story didnt need a Reboot
@@therayldeal6683 definitely agree with characters needing to die and move on but that can be done with time travel or not… just gets messy when you start throwing everything into one game…
@@CGoldmill-dz4gk Time travel definitely wasn't needed at all, and I would have preferred just a new continuity at the time MK9 came out. From a business side, they definitely had to reboot considering the development process of 7th generation games. They just could have done so without retroactively harming the Midway era.
Why Infinity War and Endgame worked. It felt like the culmination of everything that the Infinity Saga was building up to, ten years of storytelling and the culmination of the time we spent with the characters and amount of buildup. This is why Infinity War's ending was so heartbreaking that we lost the battle and that Thanos actually won. With Endgame, it was the heroes coming back from their defeat to undo the snap, revive the heroes and the countless lives lost, and take the bastard out. Which made Endgame feel all that much more satisfying.
Imagine this in a game: a Mortal Kombat/Battle Royale/Tournament between the six main realms of MK deception. Pure GOLD. Introduce some new Chaosrealm and Orderrealm characters and you got yourself a story right there
Before I even finish this thw problem is that NRS is afraid of actually changing anything. They'll always tailor events around things that have already happened as some sort of nostalgia bait because they're clearly not confident in doing anything original. Not including extra media outside of the video games, we've experienced the first Mortal Kombat tournament 4 times. The cyber initiative has happened 3 times, and that story has still NEVER been fully explored. Shao Kahn has invaded 3 times. Liu Kang has died 3 times, Armageddon has been done twice but the story of it has been rehashed 3 different times. Mortal Kombat X while being really fun, didn't have the best story. Yet the ending still showed promise of what was to come. They could've done something with genuinely threatening remnants and Dark Raiden but they drop it fucking immediately, and would go on to shaft Dark Raiden twice. Kronika was the nail in the coffin for any creativity MK had. If time travel isn't established in the very beginning, there's literally like NO story where it works and is a satisfying plot element. So introducing it in a series that had already been kicking over 20 years was a sign they already had nothing left to offer creatively.
I didn't like mk9 story but it could've been salvage but it just got worse and worse now we got multi verses, plain good guy vs bad guys, inaccurate Character lore, and like you said no commitment among other things. The midway timeline had more than just the main good vs bad story going on, it has many side stories with other characters, we didn't have a moron shao Kahn, no contradictory sindel, etc etc
Terrible new characters didnt help at all. Kotal kahn had so much potential but got treated like a joke, and the sheer amount of plot armour the kombat kids had was ridiculous. Erron black was the only one I liked even if he was just used as a jobber
I agree with you. I think MKX's plot would have been better if one of the Kombat Kids died to create some emotional weight. Two would have been fine as well. Kotal Kahn shouldn't have been made so irrelevant in MKX. I think he fares a little better MK11 since at least it makes sense he'd lose to Shao Kahn and his relationship with Jade isn't too shabby. The jobification of characters is one of the major issues with NRS MK that Deception didn't have. Like I say in the video, they should have just made alternate skins for the characters that could essentially make them function as random enemies to fight instead of the characters themselves, which should be more on par with each other power-wise.
I’m still happy to have avoided the ps2 mk games. For me I could never leave playing mk trilogy. I remember giving up with the series when I was broke playing mk sub zero mythologies. It certainly didn’t help watching the mk 4 trailer on it once in a while. But I remember years later, how hype was Shaolin monks when it showed trailers on tv. I’m a fan of ps2 games but I was busy with a lot of Kung fu movies including mk the first one and replaying mk trilogy so many times and just not getting around with mk 4, further cemented my lack of faith in the 3d games because damn I can’t be the only one thinking every character just looks different game after game like 4, deadly alliance, deception and the list goes on.
MK4 is definitely this transition game between the arcade era and the 3D era. It has more in common gameplay and storytelling-wise with the arcade-era, but technologically, it created a framework for the 3D-era engine.
Its clear they are just ripping off the mcu and forcing changes that make no fucking sense. They literally made shao kahn use trump lines to paint him as the bad guy, dont even get me started on cyrana from wakanda and sektora the explorer. The franchise is clearly dying and considering they collaborated with sweet baby inc, it’s good that the game is dismal and barely has 3000 active players. The mortal kombat we grew up with and loved is dead and unless the series is given to someone else its going to stay dead.
I love that bit about elder gods being impossible to kill right before 11 where they all die. And Cetrion who herself is an elder god dies. Even Kronika who should be above all of them dies. Don’t make up rules and than proceed to completely ignore them.
The thing that really pissed me off during the New Era of MKX and MK11 is that they didn’t reintroduce 3D era characters into the fold. A lot of the new characters they made could’ve easily been the 3D era characters Erron Black: A gunslinger mercenary for hire from EarthRealm. Easily could’ve been Jarek D’Vorah: An OutWorld outcast who will do almost anything to ensure her species survival. Nitara Kung Jin: A streetwise Shaolin Monk new recruit. Could’ve been Kai Takeda: A ninja in training whose sensei is one of old guard. Frost
To be honest i know that Mortal Kombat 9 was a sequel to Mortal Kombat Armageddon since it was a reboot of the franchise and i wish it could've had more like additional storytelling to Mortal Kombat 9 for a sequel.. Mortal Kombat X also felt like incomplete because I knew in my point of view Netherrealm Studios should've had a DLC part 2 Storytelling after the events of the storymode and maybe could've saved a handful of revenants which were allies and wish they could've done something more.. Now Mortal Kombat 11 was fine and good same with aftermath as well but also they should've made a part 3 DLC story continuation after the events of the aftermath and i would've loved to seen what Netherrealm Studios could've done with the Great Kung Lao since Fire God Liu Kang chosen him as his Champion.. To be honest I've would've given backstories for the old timeline and 3D era timeline characters and had them a redesign but more interesting and cooler than ever before..
What do you think of NRS' MK story? What do you think could be done to improve it moving forward? Let's discuss it in the comments below!
Simple, no more character specific chapters because it's a self-inflicted handicap that oversimplified characterizations & character dynamics for no reason. They want to have their cake & eat it too by shoehorned in a story content for 4 games into 1 game. They want their big multiverse shtick, yet they also want grounded conflicts at the same time failing in both of them. In mk1, it started as a conspiracy in outworld & ended in a multiverse level armaggedon.
In the battle of the realms, it was grounded in its stakes focusing on the mortal kombat tournament in outworld yet in the last 10 minutes it turned into a universal kaiju battle between the one being shinnok & elder gods fusing with liu kang
There have been many videos of people saying Mortal Kombat should stick to their roots, I honestly see both sides. Yes gritty, Dark authenticity of MK should definitely return but the new twist of MK1 is actually needed as well, I think they are going full circle and if they do they should stick to it no more timeline mix ups
They need to stop chasing for trends
Go back to the horror roots
Remix lore and do then better
Basically alot of things
I want to see Onaga and Blaze as the best villians in the games
I want Noob Saibot to be the guy from before and make him both intimidating and creepy
I just want my things back
I doubt that will happen, they only return only to be killed again.
They only brought back only to be dead again.
Onaga and restoring the revenants should’ve been the central plots for MK11…and I’ll never forgive NRS for literally removing Dark Raiden from the timeline
I agree 100%
He was so badass and we got like 5 minutes of him lol
Ngl I despise kronika as a whole and wasting the revenats and dark raiden piss me off
I second this
Nah, In fact kronika can be seen as fair and just when compared to the absolute bias tyrant Titan liu has come to be
Ngl I think it’s a cool concept but never explored deeply enough
Worst and laziest character design in all of Mortal Kombat
I third this
After Khaos Reigns I hope to never hear the word “timeline” spoken by a character in story mode again.
Truth!
Preach I’m tired of it
Too bad, you're gonna hear it multiple times
@@fantapro23
Unless they kill off the franchise.
Even before Khaos Reigns I was so damn hyped and pumped for MK1 to be a meaningful reboot, where we get God Liu Kang as a different influence but we can re-start the franchise and stick to a lower stakes reboot. Nope. MK1 launches and it's immediately revealed that Kronika is around and we're still doing trite, garbage multiverse garbage.
Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance's and Deception's opening cutscenes alone had more drama, tension, epicness and shock value than all of the entire recent MK story lines.
I agree 100%. They convey so much lore and story in such a confined space too.
The game sucked dick though
I completely agree. They rarely commit to the endings and decisions they made for the characters, and it hurts the series
It definitely does. I really wish they would have continued with the political intrigue framing of MKX, as there was a great opportunity to make some cool lore there.
Honestly, I really liked the story of the NRS games...until final act of MK1. Why? Because it ruined Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending?
If you've played Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, then you'll noticed that the game had the option where you could decide who would ultimately rule the New Era: Fire God Liu Kang or Shang Tsung.
In Liu Kang's ending, he defeats Shang Tsung and creates his New Era and peace and prosperity, leading to the events of MK1.
In Shang Tsung's ending, he absorbs Fire God Liu Kang's soul, becomes a Titan, creates his New Era, and launches a conquest against all the realms; it then ends with Raiden and Fujin telling Titan Shang Tsung that Earthrealm, Outworld, and Netherrealm had been conquered, and that Chaosrealm and Orderrealm (which had hardly been explored since Deception by the way) were next.
You get the picture? The ending hinted at the possibility of a "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" kind of game where Chaosrealm and Orderrealm are the last line of resistance, and the only hope left in stopping Titan Shang Tsung's tyranny. And, in all honesty, that would've been the PERFECT game! (Just have Tecmo-Koei/Omega Force make the game in the style of Dynasty Warriors, create some brand new Chaosrealm/Orderrealm-originated Kombatants, have them fight with/against the Klassic Kombatants we know and love, and the game is complete.)
But then, MK1 revealed that not only did BOTH Fire God Liu Kang and Titan Shang Tsung both create their own universes...but that Titan Shang Tsung is now eyeing to conquer Liu Kang's universe.
Basically, if they weren't got going to continue Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending, then NRS should NOT have pretended that there WERE (OR, at the very least, they should've left Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending open to the imagination). This means that my "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" dream game will never be made because we obviously know how it's going to end: Titan Shang Tsung conquers Chaosrealm and Orderrealm then sets his sights on Liu Kang's universe (and YES, by the way: I'm saying "universe", NOT "timeline").
Why couldn't Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending just end with Raiden and Fujin saying that ALL realms (including Chaosrealm and Orderrealm) were now under Titan Shang Tsung's control (annihilate all hope in Titan Shang Tsung being stopped). THEN the multiverse concept would've made a LITTLE bit more sense. Instead, Titan Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending led to NOTHING. And THAT felt like the BIGGEST missed opportunity in Mortal Kombat history to me (especially considering how little popularity Mortal Kombat has in Japan).
Yeah their lack of commitment to their own story arcs definitely hurts the series! I’ve over the multiverse thing…just a cheap out for their own story flubs🤦🏻♂️
Tobias leaving really impacted the story. He added additional elements that made each "pallet swap" its own thing. Jade wasn't just a combination of Kitana and Mileena: She was trusted by Kitana before Shao Khan.
Tobias left before the 3D era (DA-D-A) if my memory is correct, so I am curious how much different the new characters would be if he had stayed on. That era of MK4-Deception has the best lore the series has ever seen, but you can definitely see a dip in characterization after Tobias left.
@@therayldeal6683 I remember John Tobias left in the middle of the development of Mortal Kombat Special Forces. The reason the game was released half finished because Ed Boon expedited the development after John left. There is another thing, Joe Leiberman (as in the US Senetor that created the ERSB) had a hand in the development of Mortal Kombat Special Forces, the 3d Era, and especially Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. People never mention it but yes, the government was meddling in Mortal Kombat. That's why John Tobias left. If you wonder why the characterization took a dip, Joe Leiberman is the reason.
@@RVMan985 The government meddled in loads of video game projects post 9/11.
@@therayldeal6683 True. But Lieberman was doing this long before 9/11. The Friendships in Mortal Kombat 2 were made specifically for Joe Lieberman after he made the ESRB. Yes, they became a staple that showed up in only 3 games, but Ed Boon did it to pacify Lieberman. Yet, he still meddled in Mortal Kombat 4 and onward.
They fled from the asian lore and made it inspired more about grecoroman themes
MK1 should have followed the story of the Great Kung Lao and his fight to championship in the very first MK tournament. And instead of dying to Goro in the second one he sacrifices himself to kill Titan Shang Tsung after it is found out he lives and is set to destroy realms and merge timelines.
But nope...
I had thought it was going to be the Great Kung Lao because of the post credit scene in Mk11. I would have preferred if it were that with a host of brand new characters because at least then the rewriting and retconning could serve to create something truly special in the long run.
Yah, I initially had this as my idea for the M1K plot as well, I did actually include Shang Tsung as a "Both endings are canon" sort of twist, where in his timeline he of course won, and then realized that Liu won as well and had nothing left to do but ruin his timeline. The game would have had Great Kung Lao and Kai as main characters, with a variant of Cassie, Takeda and Nightwolf all coming from Shang Tsungs timeline to help save Liu's, and that timeline saw Cassie accidently killing Jacqui with her green power, which is why she doesn't use it as readily as Johnny, and Nightwolf would be a younger female from Nightwolf's ending in MK11, with Takeda being conflicted due to Jacqui being killed by Cassie. My idea was to also bring in branching stories, where you could use whomever was on your team in whatever fights, so if say, Kai, Cassie and Nightwolf went somewhere, they could all fight, rather than the Chapter system, you'd have a choice in who you wanted to use at those moments, and even points where the bad guys where beating good guys, you could choose to play as them and pick from their group. Because one major issue with the MK format of story telling is that whoever youre forced to use win every time, and then gets weak later. There was meant to be a few twists, but the main thing was that Shang Tsung would have gone to Outworld as a prophet and would have aided Shao Kahn in merging Realms so he could get the power of the One Being in both timelines, and the merger would break the balance and end everything. Goro would have been made into Onaga as a punishment for losing to Great Kung Lao, and preventing Kahn from taking Earthrealm 1000 years earlier, and this would have been why Liu Kang figured he could leave them alone, because Goro lost in a fair battle and vowed that he and his people would never again fight Kung Lao to honor him. Yah, I also had it so that Liu could turn back time, but he couldn't/didn't want to directly alter everything, so he chose to train the Great Kung Lao thinking that Earthrealm at least could be saved, believing that going much farther back would possibly cause issues a lot farther down the line. Most of the cast would have been MK1-3, but the DA/D cast would have been present..
They should have made a video game adaptation of the Mortal Kombat: Conquest 1998 TV series instead and hire the cast to voice their characters. We would have also gotten back popular MK characters such as Raiden, Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Reptile, Noob Saibot, Rain, Smoke, Kitana, Mileena, Reiko, Goro and Quan-Chi. Liu Kang would have just replaced Kronika with no interference in the lives of mortals.
And Kung Lao friends from conquest Tasha other guy@@Ultriac301
Imagine how bad Is a game that random comments in TH-cam videos have better ideas for the story
NRS has so much potential to create a good Mortal Kombat story, but for some strange reason that we will never understand, they decide not to do it. NRS needs to understand that Mortal Kombat needs to be Mortal Kombat and not a Marvel spin-off
The Marvel-ization of loads of media (it's not just MK that's fallen prey to this) is insane. I can't wait for someone to do a full culture research into the progression of the MCU and its impact on films, books, and movies sometime down the line.
Guest characters where fun in XL but they've gotten way out of hand
Honestly, I really liked the story of the NRS games...until the final act of MK1. Why? Because it ruined Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending.
If you've played Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, then you'll noticed that the game had the option where you could decide who would ultimately rule the New Era: Fire God Liu Kang or Shang Tsung.
In Liu Kang's ending, he defeats Shang Tsung and creates his New Era and peace and prosperity, leading to the events of MK1.
In Shang Tsung's ending, he absorbs Fire God Liu Kang's soul, becomes a Titan, creates his New Era, and launches a conquest against all the realms; it then ends with Raiden and Fujin telling Titan Shang Tsung that Earthrealm, Outworld, and Netherrealm had been conquered, and that Chaosrealm and Orderrealm (which had hardly been explored since Deception by the way) were next.
You get the picture? The ending hinted at the possibility of a "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" kind of game where Chaosrealm and Orderrealm are the last line of resistance, and the only hope left in stopping Titan Shang Tsung's tyranny. And, in all honesty, that would've been the PERFECT game! (Just have Tecmo-Koei/Omega Force make the game in the style of Dynasty Warriors, create some brand new Chaosrealm/Orderrealm-originated Kombatants, have them fight with/against the Klassic Kombatants we know and love, and the game is complete.)
But then, MK1 revealed that not only did BOTH Fire God Liu Kang and Titan Shang Tsung both create their own universes...but that Titan Shang Tsung is now eyeing to conquer Liu Kang's universe.
Basically, if they weren't got going to continue Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending, then NRS should NOT have pretended that there WERE (OR, at the very least, they should've left Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending open to the imagination). This means that my "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" dream game will never be made because we obviously know how it's going to end: Titan Shang Tsung conquers Chaosrealm and Orderrealm then sets his sights on Liu Kang's universe (and YES, by the way: I'm saying "universe", NOT "timeline").
Why couldn't Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending just end with Raiden and Fujin saying that ALL realms (including Chaosrealm and Orderrealm) were now under Titan Shang Tsung's control (annihilate all hope in Titan Shang Tsung being stopped). THEN the multiverse concept would've made a LITTLE bit more sense. Instead, Titan Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending led to NOTHING. And THAT felt like the BIGGEST missed opportunity in Mortal Kombat history to me (especially considering how little popularity Mortal Kombat has in Japan).
I personally blame WB and MK vs. DC for what the series has become in recent years.
We need to bring back the nrs saga. They should undo the reboot from mk 11 in the next mortal Kombat
Makes me miss Deadly Alliance, Deception and even Armageddon era. Those era had Mysteries, intrigue and deep lore because of the main focus on the realms itself rather than the Heroes doing superhero things.
That's a good way of putting that. The lore-centered storytelling really changed the vibe of that era.
You can thank John Vogel for the lore in the 3D era, he did an amazing job and is an unsung hero of the franchise. He simply doesn’t get enough recognition.
He was one of the OG MK midway developers since the first game and had done a decent job of the lore after Tobias left.
The guys at NRS that do the lore now are just incompetent trend chasers with no imagination.
@@rajdeepsingh3159
Exactly.
Even a twit like ke could write better than Dominic and kittlesen.
And I'm not a writer, even though I'm trying to learn how to write stuff.
I think the worst part about NRS story telling is inconsistency and the chapter system. Making the main roster jobbers instead of using lesser known characters is super lame.
I say let the fans play as the villains especially shao Kahn have more heroes live with Kahn defeating them have lui Kang and Raiden fight him lose then have him begin the merger the deities intervene empower Raiden and lose he realizes Lui Kang can beat Him and convinces the deities to give their power to Lui Kang they defeat Shao Kahn and imprison or kill him he has a backup plan for either outcome which allows him to return
@@Darth-vade123Very nice idea.
I wouldn't even want them to just fight lesser known characters. I think the Soul Calibur II system, where new skins are put over the fighting style of available characters, is the best way to approach this. Midway did that with Deception too, with Monster and the Seidan guardsmen.
If they made character models and movesets for ppl like Kobra, ppl would just complain they aren't playable. And if they used a Main roster spot on them ppl would complain it's a wasted spot because he's a generic minor character. It's a lose lose. The term jobber is stupid. It's a fight, someone has to lose and it'll obviously be the villain
@@Ultriac301 indeed while in the game he is overall good there are a few changes that would make him Midway level
One thing i miss about midway mortal kombat was characters could have their own arcs that were interesting but didn't impact the major story. You had Ashra hunting ermac because she thought she could purify her soul out of the netherrealm because a evil blade was telling her. You had scorpion seeking revenge on the elder gods for half assing their deal to revive his clan. You had sub zero leading the lin kui and hoping to reform frost because he got attached over their bond of her being his student. I could go on, but having all these plot points for characters with their own goals felt so cool now nrs can't add a character that isnt a guest without tieing them to the main story even if the motivation and involvement doesnt make sense.
This is one of the major benefits a Konquest mode like the one in Deception provides. Deception did so much to flesh out the differing motivations for both heroes and villains.
oh yes. this. every random char needs to be presented like they are in the center of all realms. cringe.
Yes! It fleshed out the worldbuilding at it was great!
The writing is really poor. Im shocked that their entire team is okay with the story they put out. Its very basic and surface level. I hoped MK would grow up with us, but its still very much 90s. They desperately need a competent writer.
It wishes it was in 90s
This pure post-2016 modern garbage writing
fr like for example frost she can easily have one of the best character development in the franchise but they just keep her the same way she is like why
Honestly, I really liked the story of the NRS games...until final act of MK1. Why? Because it ruined Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending?
If you've played Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, then you'll noticed that the game had the option where you could decide who would ultimately rule the New Era: Fire God Liu Kang or Shang Tsung.
In Liu Kang's ending, he defeats Shang Tsung and creates his New Era and peace and prosperity, leading to the events of MK1.
In Shang Tsung's ending, he absorbs Fire God Liu Kang's soul, becomes a Titan, creates his New Era, and launches a conquest against all the realms; it then ends with Raiden and Fujin telling Titan Shang Tsung that Earthrealm, Outworld, and Netherrealm had been conquered, and that Chaosrealm and Orderrealm (which had hardly been explored since Deception by the way) were next.
You get the picture? The ending hinted at the possibility of a "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" kind of game where Chaosrealm and Orderrealm are the last line of resistance, and the only hope left in stopping Titan Shang Tsung's tyranny. And, in all honesty, that would've been the PERFECT game! (Just have Tecmo-Koei/Omega Force make the game in the style of Dynasty Warriors, create some brand new Chaosrealm/Orderrealm-originated Kombatants, have them fight with/against the Klassic Kombatants we know and love, and the game is complete.)
But then, MK1 revealed that not only did BOTH Fire God Liu Kang and Titan Shang Tsung both create their own universes...but that Titan Shang Tsung is now eyeing to conquer Liu Kang's universe.
Basically, if they weren't got going to continue Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending, then NRS should NOT have pretended that there WERE (OR, at the very least, they should've left Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending open to the imagination). This means that my "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" dream game will never be made because we obviously know how it's going to end: Titan Shang Tsung conquers Chaosrealm and Orderrealm then sets his sights on Liu Kang's universe (and YES, by the way: I'm saying "universe", NOT "timeline").
Why couldn't Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending just end with Raiden and Fujin saying that ALL realms (including Chaosrealm and Orderrealm) were now under Titan Shang Tsung's control (annihilate all hope in Titan Shang Tsung being stopped). THEN the multiverse concept would've made a LITTLE bit more sense. Instead, Titan Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending led to NOTHING. And THAT felt like the BIGGEST missed opportunity in Mortal Kombat history to me (especially considering how little popularity Mortal Kombat has in Japan).
the whole thing is very childish. it's like a kid who just saw avengers endgame and thought it would be awesome if their action figures had a multiverse plot
@@MrWii000 you put more time and care into your reply than NRS did with Khaos Reigns
5:19 This is honestly my least favorite part about the newer Mortal Kombat games. is that they're solely hero focused at this point The old games like the 3D era especially focused a lot more on the villains than it did the heroes and they were a lot better as a result
You are 100% correct, my dude.
🎯🎯🎯
I totally hate how much they've been delaying the Armageddon and Onaga's appearance, same as how they almost never acknowledge Taven or his brother when they are quintessencial to MK's Midway lore, it's ridiculous
I would throw Shujinko in there as well, as he and Onaga are so intertwined they are inseparable imo.
Yeah. And I hate also how characters, like Kronika (who was NEVER mentioned in previous games) and her race, which are Titans, were integrated into the franchise. Their integration broke the lore and power-level of some being (like are Titans more powerful than Blaze or what). And what happened to the One Being (original god-like being, from whom Elder Gods after defeating it created all Realms in Mortal Kombat)? It began being barely mentioned. And also Kronika’s motivations? So in her twisted mind Armageddon from Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (MK9 established that Shao Kahn won) is the very “good” ending. Basically, Kronika is just like MK version of Zovaal (aka Jailer) from Warcraft, whose existence also pissed off many fans due to his bland motivations and retcons that it was his actions even during Warcraft 3 (yeah, like he created Frostmourne and Helm of the Damnation).
I miss the 3D era so much. Easily the best period of MK (story wise) ever.
The story peaked at Deception/Unchained but i love Armageddon as well.
@@Ultriac301 I agree with you. Armageddon was definitely, clearly impacted by the fact that Midway was shutting down. The project probably would have been more focused with a more direct story follow-up if it weren't for that.
Better sound tracks. The 3D era had a darker tone to it as well. Mk4 has such a creepy vibe to it. Even the endings just feel hopeless and empty. Deadly alliance kind of had that same feeling for me. But deception is where they peaked for me. I spent so many hours in Konquest trying to find out every possible secret. Plus, it introduced one of sub zeros' best skins, in my opinion.
12:20 Steppenwolf?! 😀
It feels like the MCU now. No stakes.
Glad you liked it, but the Sindel massacre scene was where I checked out of MK9 and NRS's storytelling completely. Half of my favorite characters get wiped like absolute chumps, and where it would make sense for Kitana to be the one to stand up to her mother and redeem her, that gets sniped by Nightwolf- who has absolutely nothing to do with Sindel- because the game's rigid chapter structure dictated it was his turn.
It might have been better if Kitana was the sole survivor of the massacre, but I actually think that section should have been Sindel's chapter. That would have justified all of the death way more and would have created a better emotional connection between what is happening in the game and what the player is doing. The chapter system is incredibly flawed though, and it would be better if it didn't exist.
Yeah that scene really pissed me off. And it was the same feeling with MKX where Johnny is taking on revenant Sub-Zero and Scorpion at the same time. Both those scenes were just done in such bad taste.
The weird thing is with that one-character-per-chapter structure gets subverted for the Shao Khan fight in Kung Lao's chapter. They could've totally let Kitana do it but nah
@@nicocchi That's a good point.
@@celoniousalgar2760what do you take Jonny for the f dude has power of the God's
yessss the 3d hate always felt so forced despite always being talked about in a positive way 💀 like pls make the vid on the hate
Deadly alliance to armageddon was peak storytelling
more interesting than NRS-ERA MK GAMES
To me MK got away from being a fighting games to being a RP with fighting games elements. Street Fighter got it right with their franchise by adding new characters to existing characters.
I would love to see rosters showing that blend. The roster in Mk1 is probably that game's best aspect, and if the story and lore utilized them well, I think we'd have a better appreciation for the returning characters.
Remember when we all thought mk1 was gonna be an actual reboot? They fr could've just had it so liu kang create his new time line, but to set it in motion he has to whip himself from existence or whatever bs, and then boom we get a fresh re-telling of the mk story with the changes they made to the characters, given alot of fans aren't familiar with that story, and those who are, get something still fresh and new
But nope, we just get a shitty continuation of 11 disguised as a reboot
I would have been just fine with that new story too. I would still be a bit disappointed that the promises of MKX weren't delivered, but at least it could be separate from MK11.
Honestly I don't even think them ignoring the 3d era characters is the issue at all even though I enjoy seeing them as a fan of that era. I just think that not only is this stuff really uninteresting and kinda mediocre writing but I feel like mk has a lack of identity. It's just marvel bs with shock gore that I don't even find fun anymore.
Back in the day it felt like some 80's cheesy, but somehow still creepy, action horror movie. It was both fun and creepy/disturbing (at the time). It was even kinda moody with the stage design and WAY better osts. Why have none of the modern games even really had a soundtrack??
Nowadays I don't even know what this shit is or why it exists which is one of the worst things I can say about a piece of art/media. The fatalities are basically the only piece of its identity it has left and I have to say I don't really enjoy them anymore. They're KINDA fun but I think it gets weirdly close to this gore porn level when it comes to most of them. It's subjective so I can't speak for everyone ofc.
I was hoping mk1 was going to be a true reboot but it wasn't. It was actually kind of the opposite of a reboot. It double downed on most of the bs they've been doing this whole time (though the gameplay is a step up from 11 it doesn't even get close to X). At this point I'm out and I'm not buying any more games until they make a HUGE change but considering we just got the "reboot" I don't think that's happening.
I apologize for this terribly written rant but my inner child is upset that this franchise I loved so much as a kid is just kinda dead to me now lol
Bad writing is definitely the boiled down root of the issue, but that writing is prompted by a stubborn refusal to leave the arcade-era behind.
@@therayldeal6683 Sure I can see that. I think I'm speaking more from a (now) casual fan or almost an outsiders perspective because I keep losing interest like an hour into the story modes so I can't comment on that as much.
@@azumashinobi1559 That's fair. If I didn't have this TH-cam channel, I wouldn't have spent any time at all thinking about Mk11 and Mk1(2) because of how bad the story and lore in them are.
I whole heartedly agree with you. The moment they tried to do this time manipulation, and multiverse bs was when they truly lost it. Nothing seems to even have stakes anymore and now they just do gore for the gore, wasting precious time and resources for stuff they’re just gonna reset by the end of the story.
Without watching, I'd just say it's because nothing (Except Johnny Cage's character) really leads anywhere. Liu Kang is made increasingly evil just to replaced by his blank, heroic counterpart (a good personality and portrayal, but not a good arc), as is Raiden, none of the villains have any truly personal interactions that go anywhere memorable save Liu Kang and Raiden, and Kronika erases whatever could be by a soft reset.
They're three games, but not a trilogy.
The refusal to commit to anything is a serious issue, yes.
The REAL reason is that Ed Boon is not a storyteller, he doesn't understand about caracters.
He just the salesman to me
Got into the franchise because of MK9, and I've enjoyed each game so far. That said, seeing the perspective of prior game fans articulate their problems with the franchise helps me say why MK11 (and 12) aren't good story-wise. Fun games, poor story.
Honestly, I really liked the story of the NRS games...until final act of MK1. Why? Because it ruined Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending?
If you've played Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, then you'll noticed that the game had the option where you could decide who would ultimately rule the New Era: Fire God Liu Kang or Shang Tsung.
In Liu Kang's ending, he defeats Shang Tsung and creates his New Era and peace and prosperity, leading to the events of MK1.
In Shang Tsung's ending, he absorbs Fire God Liu Kang's soul, becomes a Titan, creates his New Era, and launches a conquest against all the realms; it then ends with Raiden and Fujin telling Titan Shang Tsung that Earthrealm, Outworld, and Netherrealm had been conquered, and that Chaosrealm and Orderrealm (which had hardly been explored since Deception by the way) were next.
You get the picture? The ending hinted at the possibility of a "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" kind of game where Chaosrealm and Orderrealm are the last line of resistance, and the only hope left in stopping Titan Shang Tsung's tyranny. And, in all honesty, that would've been the PERFECT game! (Just have Tecmo-Koei/Omega Force make the game in the style of Dynasty Warriors, create some brand new Chaosrealm/Orderrealm-originated Kombatants, have them fight with/against the Klassic Kombatants we know and love, and the game is complete.)
But then, MK1 revealed that not only did BOTH Fire God Liu Kang and Titan Shang Tsung both create their own universes...but that Titan Shang Tsung is now eyeing to conquer Liu Kang's universe.
Basically, if they weren't got going to continue Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending, then NRS should NOT have pretended that there WERE (OR, at the very least, they should've left Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending open to the imagination). This means that my "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" dream game will never be made because we obviously know how it's going to end: Titan Shang Tsung conquers Chaosrealm and Orderrealm then sets his sights on Liu Kang's universe (and YES, by the way: I'm saying "universe", NOT "timeline").
Why couldn't Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending just end with Raiden and Fujin saying that ALL realms (including Chaosrealm and Orderrealm) were now under Titan Shang Tsung's control (annihilate all hope in Titan Shang Tsung being stopped). THEN the multiverse concept would've made a LITTLE bit more sense. Instead, Titan Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending led to NOTHING. And THAT felt like the BIGGEST missed opportunity in Mortal Kombat history to me (especially considering how little popularity Mortal Kombat has in Japan).
@@MrWii000why are you copy-pasting your comment everywhere? You don't have to spam to get your point across.
@@IDHLEB Well, I'm sorry for doing that, but I haven't seen ONE TH-cam video and/or comment (replies don't count) that says something like, "Canonizing both Aftermath endings ruins any chance of Shang Tsung's ending getting a 'What if...?' follow-up spin-off game." And on top of that, Rayl Deal Games neither hearted, liked, nor even replied to my comment.
The concept of killing off the characters and then reviving the characters in MK9 reminds me of Happy Tree Friends where the animals get killed in every episode and after an episode or two, they came back. Same can be said about South Park with the character “Kenny McCormick”.
Another reboot is needed...for all employees of nrs
For me Mortal Kombat already has such a rich history that I didn't want them constantly introducing new characters instead they should've elevated some fan favorites like they did with Johnny Cage. Dark Raiden and Liu Kang could've made great main antagonists. Bi Han could be a great main protagonist
I think it’s important to introduce new characters in fighting game franchises, but I do agree that other characters need the same character development treatment that Cage and Raiden get.
For me personally, The Midway Era will forever be the definitive version of the series. Sure there were duds, and sometimes it was camp, but atleast they expanded the lore of the series. We got so much history in those games and yes even some of the spin offs. The NRS era have some good things going for it, but like what happened to the other realms, the elder gods, Onaga, chaosrealm, seido, the black and red dragon armies, the tekunin, etc.? NRS just seems focused on guest characters, generic plot beats, gender swaps, and a boring multiverse story that’s just there to follow the trend of media being about multiverses. John Tobias left and the story got worse with all the retcons.
John Tobias left MK before Deadly Alliance and Deception, so while it may be possible that some of those things were based on his ideas, I've never heard anything about him being the mastermind behind the Onaga plot and expansion of the lore back then. NRS really has fed into this hate for the 3D era over the course of the 2010s, which is totally undeserved.
Dark Raiden invading Outworld & Kotal Khan invoking The Mortal Kombat would have been a cool concept for a Game, (although i don't like Cassie k*lling Shujinko) then it means Onaga was around, imagine if Onaga resurrected but instead of as a Villain he returns to save Outworld? (as is implied that Onaga was a benevolent ruler before Shao Khan betrayed him)
Not every ending is canon in every game, so they weren't locked into Cassie killing Shujinko. I would like to see Onaga show up that way as well. I'm interested to see why and when he became obsessed with becoming the One Being.
@@therayldeal6683I heard they had plans to bring him in the next game but u seen how tht goes
Ngl I want Hsu hao back
.....Get out.
He died the first chapter
@@Darth-vade123 He's really funny
In Armageddon he dies sp quickly It's hilarious
And I want to see that again honestly
@@Exeternal_Beyonder_Of_Doomsday is he the guy who tried to throw s character off a cliff and ended up committing suicide 🤣
@@Darth-vade123No I mean Hsu Hao
In his ending
He doesn't even get up top on the pyramid he just immediately gets killed by the shockwave lol
Your speaking of another character named Jarek
I dont like how they're bringing useless dlc characters instead of actual kombatants or that mk is becoming like marvel with all these alternate timelines
I like a good, occasional guest character, but I would much prefer more MK characters so that the story and lore of the series can be expanded on more.
Omg yes. I have no idea who decided to start bringing random ass nonMK characters in, but they need to be dismissed.
once it's clear the studio doesn't care about the long term story, the audience has no reason to care either
Agreed 100%, which is a shame because I genuinely liked MK's story until 11.
2:24 Striker punching Meliena always cracked me up.
😆 I do love that moment!
@@therayldeal6683 New York's finest.
Hands rated E for everyone.
"He must win" should have been a long term story about Taven. Perhaps Dark Raiden foolishly killed Taven as he was beating Blaze and this allowed Shao Kahn to steal the victory.
Then the lead up from MKX to the end of MK1 could have led to Taven winning at the Pyramid of Argus and bringing true peace to the realms.
But yeah, they did timeline shenanigans in 3/4 of their games. At the very least they could have brutally killed the majority of their characters so that timeline reboots made some sort of sense. I think originally in the arcade era lore they needed the Mortal Kombat Tournament to balance out order and chaos energies, so if most of the good guys or most of the bad guys had died in MKX, Kronika's appearance would have made sense to fix this balance in MK11. It would have been cool to see Dark Raiden violently oppose Kronika and anyone who agrees with her so that player choice and morality would play a factor in who the final boss would be.
You've got a lot of great ideas here. The Taven idea could have been a great way to work in the late Midway era into the NRS era.
MK 11 could’ve had 3 great parts: Part 1: fighting the revenants and emotional ending with killing revenant Liu Kang.
Part 2: Dark Raiden has to be stopped because he’s gone too far (almost like an Injustice Superman).
Part 3: Kronika pops as a surprise villain and somehow a plot device is used to save the revives corrupted version of previous heroes.
Better yet, in part 3, give that role to Cetrion and eliminate Kronika altogether. Elder Gods have been elusive so far and then let our first real introduction being a (another) rogue Elder God. Then rewind time to figure out more about when the Elder Gods became corrupt…set up MK1 as the Great Kung Lao tutored by Fire God Liu Kang somehow to go across the realms like Shujinko to learn more about the Elder Gods…have Havik become the antagonist instead of Titan Shang Tsung, and then Onaga as the DLC boss that was a backup plan for Havik if he were to lose (or regardless just to cause more chaos)
Enormous fan service and no changes in plots
Ed boon chose mk11 according to the writer they had several pitches but boon wanted time travel.
Do you know which writer said this? Was it in an interview? I'd very much like to listen/read what they have to say!
@@therayldeal6683jts on history behind the warrior channel
@@therayldeal6683 it keeps deleting my comment but its on TH-cam
@@therayldeal6683 Shawn kittleson is the writer
@@schemar17 I'll need to check that out!
Loved everything about mk9, everything about mkx other than the cages beating a god, and felt they had a lay up with dark raiden…. Just for them to erase him 10 mins into mk11 :///
That's one of the biggest story fumbles I've ever seen in all of gaming.
@ I had never been more excited for a game story than to see how evil raiden would constantly de-escalate situations and become crazier. There was so much potential. Even for enemies to ally together to take him down or something. Damn bro….
@@Thedrewster9194 It really would have been so cool to see him devolve into a tyrant over the course of the game, and I would have loved to see him as either the final boss or a sub-boss building into a grander conflict. I even hate it when base-roster characters are also bosses, but I would have accepted it in this case.
Always LOVED how they made that random background guy not only a playable character...but a Final Boss!!!
It was honestly pretty fun to see 😆
I just much preferred the vibe of dark kung fu fantasy and modern fantasy than this mcu-ified fictional grandeur they're going for these days.
The dark kung fu mythology vibe they had going on from Mk1992 all the way through Deception was super great. They need to recapture that type of storytelling again.
Honestly, I really liked the story of the NRS games...until final act of MK1. Why? Because it ruined Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending?
If you've played Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, then you'll noticed that the game had the option where you could decide who would ultimately rule the New Era: Fire God Liu Kang or Shang Tsung.
In Liu Kang's ending, he defeats Shang Tsung and creates his New Era and peace and prosperity, leading to the events of MK1.
In Shang Tsung's ending, he absorbs Fire God Liu Kang's soul, becomes a Titan, creates his New Era, and launches a conquest against all the realms; it then ends with Raiden and Fujin telling Titan Shang Tsung that Earthrealm, Outworld, and Netherrealm had been conquered, and that Chaosrealm and Orderrealm (which had hardly been explored since Deception by the way) were next.
You get the picture? The ending hinted at the possibility of a "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" kind of game where Chaosrealm and Orderrealm are the last line of resistance, and the only hope left in stopping Titan Shang Tsung's tyranny. And, in all honesty, that would've been the PERFECT game! (Just have Tecmo-Koei/Omega Force make the game in the style of Dynasty Warriors, create some brand new Chaosrealm/Orderrealm-originated Kombatants, have them fight with/against the Klassic Kombatants we know and love, and the game is complete.)
But then, MK1 revealed that not only did BOTH Fire God Liu Kang and Titan Shang Tsung both create their own universes...but that Titan Shang Tsung is now eyeing to conquer Liu Kang's universe.
Basically, if they weren't got going to continue Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending, then NRS should NOT have pretended that there WERE (OR, at the very least, they should've left Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending open to the imagination). This means that my "What if Shang Tsung won in 'Aftermath'?" dream game will never be made because we obviously know how it's going to end: Titan Shang Tsung conquers Chaosrealm and Orderrealm then sets his sights on Liu Kang's universe (and YES, by the way: I'm saying "universe", NOT "timeline").
Why couldn't Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending just end with Raiden and Fujin saying that ALL realms (including Chaosrealm and Orderrealm) were now under Titan Shang Tsung's control (annihilate all hope in Titan Shang Tsung being stopped). THEN the multiverse concept would've made a LITTLE bit more sense. Instead, Titan Shang Tsung's Aftermath ending led to NOTHING. And THAT felt like the BIGGEST missed opportunity in Mortal Kombat history to me (especially considering how little popularity Mortal Kombat has in Japan).
There's something I didn't understand quite right in MK1. Are Edenia and Outworld supposed to be the same thing now? Does Chaosrealm still exist? Literally there was only ONE Chaosrealm playable character in the games and they decided to retcon that smh...
Edenia and Outworld are one thing for sure, and Seido (Orderrealm) does seem to just be part of Outworld too. It's a terrible retcon imo, as the multiple realms was one of the cooler, more unique things about Mortal Kombat.
@@therayldeal6683 Agree. And the way how the butchered Bi-Han (transforming him into arrogant and assholish jackass, while in original games he was a morally gray anti-heroic character with his flaws, but still has a human-like personality (like Scorpion from the same games)). Heck, OG Bi-Han actually respected his younger brother, Kuai Liang (at least before he was transformed into Noob Saibot), even though both of them have different personalities.
Look, I live in Chicago. I am tempted to print the thumbnail of this video on paper, and tape it on the netherealm studios sign and entrance, so all workers can see this video. If u give me the green light, I will help do it, bringing awareness to this video
You're free to do whatever you want.
MK11 is so frustrating as a story because it wasted so much potential with a gimmick MK never needed. In a universe with with a variety of crazy magical characters from sorcerers to gods, time travel just doesn't work as well as it would in other media.
The wasted story potential of the cold war between the realms hurts my lore loving heart because I can only think of all the cool storylines they could've set up. For example since they couldn't bring back the revenants through Quan Chi, if they really wanted to do so this would've been the perfect opportunity to bring back Ashrah!! They could've teamed up with her on an adventure to uncorrupt the king and queen of the Netherrealm, Liu Kang and Kitana. We also could've gotten some side plots like the 3D era such as Rain and Tanya on the run after their failed rebellion with Mileena.
Being a fan of this franchises lore nowadays is such a chore....
Time travel rarely works as a storytelling element. I can count on one hand the number of times it's been good. Mortal Kombat had such a unique world and would have been perfect for that type of political intrigue story.
19:29 thank you for putting respect on Dairou's name, a underrated character.
As a fan since the original arcade release I disagree that hating the 3D era was in retrospect. A lot of fans including myself absolutely hated the design choices in the 3D era, especially the new characters. Seemed to me that it made a lot of new fans but the og fans were 50\50.
I hate the cliffhangers and bait switchs. Mk9 ends with a tease for the netherrealm wars, but we only see the very end of in chapter 1, then shinnok fks off till the end of the story. Mkx ends with a tease for dark Raiden and he gets erased in one chapter. We get a tease for the the great Kung Lao, but he never appers in mk1, even though he was supposed to be Liu Kang's champion. Like, why Raiden? All you've done is switch Liu Kang and Raiden's roles, that was your big change for the soft reboot? It's practically false advertisement at this point. Being sold a lie, while Ed Boon changes his mind for 100th fking time.
Each one of the NRS Mortal Kombat game's stories are a pretty cool standalone 4 hour movie that you can enjoy, but when taken as a whole, as part of a franchise, yea it cracks faster than character's bodies in Sub Zero's fatalities
Multiverse concept kills everything. The lore, the importance of the actual characters, the tensions, the shock of a character's deaths, and even if the entire universe is destroyed...its not a big deal because there are 10000 other versions of it out there.
i thought my computer was falling when you did this transition cause i was watching this at night 19:19
🤣 Sorry for the scare 😆
@@therayldeal6683 its okay lol
So.. MK9 reset the timeline, and MK11 did it again?
And because of MK11s ending, EVERY CHARACTER'S ENDING is canon? I guess that explains the whole "war of the universes" thing in MK1(12)
Yep! Time travel is tricky to work with all the time, but if you're going to use it, just do it once. Back to the Future 1-3 and The Butterfly Effect are the only two stories I can think of that use time travel more than once to the benefit of the storytelling.
I've had some ideas for Kobra myself. Yeah, I do think a video about the excessive hate of the 3D era characters is love overdue.
It's on my editing docket! I've got some videos I need to put out first, but I have it currently slated for early-ish 2025!
While I suck at the 2000 era 3D entries and didn’t grow up with. I honestly prefer elements from them when compared to the modern NRS era. Such as the 3D entries having more interesting background lore alongside the spooky atmosphere and the soundtracks are arguably probably some of the best in this series. While the graphics and gameplay are a bit rough around the edges when compared to the NRS entries. I’m also surprised NRS never brought back Onaga as a playable character. Granted I know story wise he would of been hurt but it still would of been nice same with my boy Daegon Armageddon’s major baddie for its Konquest mode.
I love the vibes of that era so much too, and that's one of the main things modern MK is missing.
@@therayldeal6683 I also think a lot of the 3D reps look cool. Like the 3 boss character's Moloch alongside Blaze & especially Onaga as examples.
@@seasonembrace3624 I think loads of 3D-era characters are fantastic. I think the reason they are so hated is partially ignorance (like the actual definition - lacking knowledge of) and the fact that they really only had 1 game to shine in. Armageddon legit has writing issues because of the fact that loads of the writers didn't even know anything about MK (has to do with Midway's money problems during the game's development). Deadly Alliance and Deception had great lore writing all in all. I've been wanting someone on YT to finally say that, but since no one is, I'll just do it myself.
@@therayldeal6683 Yeah Armageddon was subject to unfortunate events due to time & budget crunch which certainly hurt the quality of it's story telling and is the reason there was a lot of recycling of the character designs. I personally like Armageddon it's not my favorite entry but I still had fun playing it. Due to it's extra feature's like character creation & Motor Kombat and especially the Konquest. But yeah...not one of MK's strongest entries but I can tell Midway tried to rap things up with this series with the issues they were facing.
Deception will ALWAYS be my favorite MK. MK9 was a great revival of the franchise. Didn't fully like MKX but the horrible MK11 made me appreciate it even more. MK 11 was so bad I almost gave up on the franchise entirely. MK1 ended up being worse to me though,I was surprisingly bored by it to a point where I actually put it down midway through. I hope they can get things back on track because the future isn't looking too bright for Mortal Kombat.
It's a shame because Mortal Kombat is genuinely one of my favorite gaming franchises. I really do hope they can figure this one because Mk1 really is that bad narratively.
@ Same. I will always love MK but they need to turn it around before it's too late. The current story is hust not good,and I don't think they realize it.
@@BeasleySays NRS truly does need a whole new writing team for sure.
BTW, you'll want to tune back in for my Mortal Kombat Games Ranked video dropping the first week of December if you're a Deception fan. I'd be curious to see if you agree with my take on the game (it's positive, but I have specific things I say about the game in the video).
While I have always thought that MK was a terrible fighting game, I always loved the characters, and story.
The fact that they have rebooted it for a second time withing less than half a dozen games just tells me that the story, and characters don't matter, anymore, so now we're just left with a terrible fighting game.
Maybe they'll reboot it all over again in a year, or two.
I've always found MK to be a fun fighter, and I especially love hitting the lab and coming up with cool combos on my own. It's definitely not the most competitive fighter on the market, but I also don't care about playing online.
@therayldeal6683 I had a lot of fun with the original trilogy just goofing off with my brother, and friends, but it's always felt like its lost something ever since moving to 3D that it's never really gotten back. Could just be nostalgia talking though XD
MK9 was the last real MK
Mkx was goated, dont disrespect mkx
I personally feel like there was too much focus on the kombat kids and the special forces after MK9. Earth realm should’ve taken a bit of a backseat. Having a mix of 3D era characters and new characters for MKX’s roster would’ve been iconic. They could’ve probably gotten another more direct sequel out of that story before pivoting to Kronika where it would’ve made more sense to bring back the old generation again. We needed a story showing Dark Raiden and Earthrealm as the opposition this time. I hated the fact that they had old versions of characters and human versions who ended up being just zombies in the story it was trash and pointless. They refuse to switch up the roster.
Fighting games need rosters to feel fresh imo. I would have loved a mix of 3D-era, arcade-era, and new characters. That would have been peak.
Awesome video. Please create your video on why the 3D era receives so much hate. I became a hard core fan during this era. The lore was on another level
That video is coming in February! I've got some finishing touches to put on it (I work ahead, so there are other videos I've promised that will release first), and it'll be a little over thirty minutes long.
I remember in particular after playing through the MK11 story the first time, I immediately thought that the whole thing probably sounded neat in concept but that it shouldn't have gone past the first stages of early development. Like it really has no replay value and is wasted. And the fact that they did it again for MK1 has really made me drop off of my investment in the MK story tbh.
Even though the 3D era storyline got kinda convoluted and by the end needed a reboot, at least the original ideas were good and the story had some edge to it
With a little bit of cleaning up, the story could have been as well defined as the lore from the 3D era.
Finally people who appreciate Mortal Kombat Deception and Armageddon and understands what we lost after MK10
I have always appreciated and loved those games. I finally have the hardware and software to share my thoughts though. I have a dedicated video about the 3D era in the works that'll be coming out in either January or February of next year.
@therayldeal6683 Trust me I feel ya, it's just a weird sentiment that's been brewing where people will downplay Armageddon and Deception's importantance forgetting that most of the world building of MK as we know it now started there y'know? And it's gone mostly forgotten which felt strange to me.
agreed Dairou as Havik is stupid n makes 0 sense.
Having played every era of the game, the "modern" era is probably not as interesting because the focus goes everywhere when it doesn’t need to. We're exploring timeline warps in MK9, then special forces stuff in MK10, then a whole multiverse in MK11.
At least with Deadly Alliance-to-Armageddon, we saw how the story shifted focus from one set of characters to another because of related events (ie. Kang dies in Deadly Alliance, Raiden finds more champions to help counter the Deadly Alliance, leads to Onaga and Armageddon, etc).
It wasn't ground-breaking in storytelling, BUT it followed a decent pattern of narrative while also going into detail of the different realms and their dynamic with the whole Armageddon prophecy. Given how it was introduced, I would have figured that MK9 would actually conclude the 3D era story in hindsight.
You make some fine points!
@therayldeal6683 Thank you! I had high hopes for the franchise after MK9 brought MK back to the modern gaming scene, but besides a few returning characters, Spawn as DLC, and them exploring the world building in MK1, I just feel there's been a lot more that could have been done. Like could you imagine an MK9-style game but set during the time period of Deadly Alliance-to-Armageddon? Would've been great.
Sad it came to be like this, so I do thank you for clarifying where the direction went with the whole franchise as a whole in this video.
@@expychristian I was so hoping that Mk11 would be that Realm war plot and that Mk12 would then move to bring Onaga back into the franchise.
I'm glad you liked the video!
@therayldeal6683 CAN you imagine? Aw man I feel they're gonna have to tape back together their own story before Onaga can be properly introduced, let alone a bunch of other characters that somehow didn't make a return recently.
Knowing that they already did the whole Armageddon "choose your ending" thing for the story mode in MK1 makes a following realm war story a bit redundant. Especially if every ending is considered Canon. There's just no reasonable build up for even an average, large scale war arc. We didn't even get that in Khaos Reigns, despite the trailers.
You can really see how WB took more control from the Netherrealm team between MKX and MK11.
Whether it was them or a love of superhero media from the Injustice teams is hard to say.
I was hoping to see onaga return too. Deception was the first fighting game campaign I invested in. I still remember staying up till 5 am training with raiden trying to learn that 26 button combo to complete his training! I loved deception so I felt let down as well Onaga didn’t return.
Onaga is a great villain and needs to return!
@ still top 3 favorite character of all time.
For me it’s
1:Baraka
2:Onaga
3:Sub-Zero
This excludes all “extra” characters from other franchises.
MK1 started out ok with a brand new story only to be utterly ruined by the arrival of Titan Shang Tsung
I 100% agree with you. The story started out quite good, and while I wasn't a big fan of many character backstory rewrites (Havik, Nitara, General Shao), I was excited to see where the story was going to go. Titan Shang Tsung is just a terrible idea and one I speculate is rooted in Boon's attempt to make a live service MK game [in a review leading up to Mk11 (I can't remember which), Boon talked about wanting to make a live service game].
Mortal kombat 9 would have been resolved in 3 secod if raiden said "Shoa Khan must win" instead of just saying "He" its almost like is trying to troll is past self
I don't think that would have worked actually since it would imply that Earthrealm needed to lose the tournament from the first game. There wasn't enough time for him to say, "Shao Khan must win after you beat him in the Outworld tournament because the Elder Gods will intervene if he tries to merge the realms without winning in Mortal Kombat." All that is important information for context.
@@therayldeal6683 What if Dark Raiden said: "Shao Kahn must be punished"
@@andrewsgomes That may have been better, but he really only had time for 3 syllables.
@@therayldeal6683 Or maybe this shorter version: Shao must die.
Due to Shao Kahn's death by the Elder Gods by breaking the rules of Mortal Kombat being what prevented the Armageddon.
Yes please make a video about the 3D era and the ridiculous hate it gets. 🙏
I've got some videos I've already promised that need to be made first (such as my Animality ranking dropping in a couple of weeks) and others that I have been working on for awhile, but I've officially put it on my release schedule. It should be out fairly early on into 2025!
I put out at least 1 new Mortal Kombat video every month, and beyond that, I have at least 1 variety gaming video every single week. I'm looking forward to running across you again in future comment sections!
Deadly Alliance and Deception sold very well and revitalized the franchise. Armageddon was decent but not as successful or popular as the two previous installments.
@@Ultriac301 Yep! The 3D era doesn't deserve the hate it gets because its first two installments were legit great. MK7 may have been better too if the series didn't need a hasty conclusion because of Midway's money troubles.
The complaint about the 3D era characters not being the same as their original counterparts is a little very flimsy considering the entire game is built on “all of these characters are completely reimagined”. Khaos Reigns is absolute dogshit though.
I don't think that aspect makes the valid argument flimsy, as the alternate versions of several other properties still share core character identities with their other versions (in Marvel, DC, retellings of classic stories like The Odyssey). Changing their personalities changes the character, leaving the question, "why not just make new characters at that point?"
It's kind of a feature of human cultural history to not like reimagined versions of beloved characters that are no longer even remotely similar to their original incarnation. It's only when a reimagining is better than the original (such as with Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury or Disney's retelling of certain fairy tales) that people are okay with it.
I've wondered lately how a new MK would do if it had a crossed style of Shaolin Monks and Deception's conquest mode.
Have a story focused on 1-3 characters with cutscenes showing other fights around you and playing out the bigger story. You can have the villains get victories against your friends without having to play as them or have it happen off screen.
I dunno, might be hard to out something like that together but I think it'd be fresh and open the opportunity to explore the other realms that MK doesn't ever show like Orderrealm or Dreamrealm. It would also be something fresh to MK instead of the chapter story system they've used since MKvDC
Something like that could be really cool! Shujinko would be a great character for a campaign like that since his story is a long (chronologically wise) running one and realm-spanning. Because of how he copies moves, it could be cool to customize his move set with a combination of every other character's.
@@therayldeal6683 Giving him that diversity to make him suit your play style (and cosmetics, as well) would be so sick. More or less just make it a revamped Konquest from Deception but with combat like Monks. Save the big names for boss battles
They had SO many good ingredients, and just completely chose not to cook. It’d be one thing if the story commitment issues led to good decisions, but nope. They went out of their way to set up amazing plot ideas (Dark Raiden, Revenants as enemy leaders, great Kung Lao) and then yanked it away. Thats what REALLY pisses me off more than anything.
Pivoting can be fine if the pivot leads to somewhere interesting for sure.
DA, Deception, and Armageddon had some of the best storyline writing and content of all of the other MK games EXCEPT for 9 which flipped the script VERY well. It’s a shame the gameplay was horrendous to slog through.
Really miss the tone of the old games. They were like kung fu horror. Now it feels like the R-rated superhero trend.
I was really hoping mk1 was its own thing, a new era which they imply. But instead of that it just continues the same plots from mk11 like a sequel, not a reboot (which i saw stupid since the pure number in the title implies a new saga). By just knowing kronika was mentioned and the confirmation of “all the endings were canon” i knew this was awful storywriting.
Pretty good video, I love it
What you say about NRS-era Mortal Kombat is on point, I honestly don’t recognize Mortal Kombat anymore
That is the biggest irony about all of this is the fact that Warner Brothers failed twice trying to mimic marvel. First time with DCEUN next time with Mortal Kombat
I’ll be honest but when it comes to MK1 and the new changes I find it confusing when folks ask “ why aren’t the characters in the new mk1 timeline like how they were in the older time lines”
It's because they aren't the same character, but NRS wants the fanservice and audience interest afforded by reusing the old characters. Save for Liu Kang, why aren't the characters all new? This would have been the perfect opportunity to do so. It would be different if this were a non-canon What-if.
Mk1's story would have been much better if it were Liu Kang alongside 25 new characters than these terrible rewrites of beloved ones. With a brand new story, separate from the old chronologies completely, I could make my peace with that and find something new to love. As it stands, it is a bastardization of what used to be great.
MORTAL KOMBAT (BORN 1992- DIED MK9)
Anything after that is not mortal kombat, just a agenda driven project
not sure what agenda mkx has but whatever you say
Mkx was good tf
@@AmyCherryLMAO it had the agenda to kill old characters and replace them with kombat kids. that, of course, failed miserably.
@@zoltanz288 I don't think that was an agenda with the game either, as the roster is still mostly arcade-era characters.
The best way 2 sum up Netherrealm MK is “Wasted potential.”
Two words: CHARACTER CHAPTER.
Character Chapter definitely is an outdated way of approaching these plots.
I do agree with the villains thing, the villains often get heavily shit on, cuz my god Baraka gets bullied so much even tho he's basically the leader of all Tarkatans
I'm working on my 3D-era video, and this is a point I expand on further there. Stay tuned (should be coming up late Jan - early Feb next year) if you want to see!
The problem with the current Eras (aka 2nd Timeline and New Era) are its inconsistencies with older Eras (not to mention that they are considered soft-reboots, not full-fledged reboots). And plus butchering some characters from older games (most infamous ones are Sindel in Mortal Kombat 11, where she was transformed from sympathetic and tragic queen of Edenia (who also loved her husband, Jerrod, and daughter, Kitana, more than anything) into a heartless monster that willingly join to Shao Kahn’s Army, and Bi-Han in Mortal Kombat 1, who transformed from morally gray anti-heroic character into a heartless already Noob Saibot-like monster).
I would say that Shao Kahn and Havik need to be added to that list post Aftermath (for Shao Kahn) and Khaos Reigns (for Havik). The two you've mentioned are absolutely poorly rewritten.
Great video. I just recently got into MK lore, and 3d era is honestly awesome, especially Deception's Konquest. If new Dark Raiden got so mad about order, he could make an alliance with Hotaru or something. If only...
That would have been a sick way to introduce Hotaru and Havik into the NRS era.
I'm working on the video I mentioned about the unreasonable hate the 3D-era get. It'll definitely coming out either in January or February of next year.
@@therayldeal6683 Steer Fighter 6 eventually brought Konquest back. Haven't finished it yet, but it's interesting, and new characters get there quest lines in updates. I really hoped for some new locations in MK 11 Krypt, but we never got anything like it. Shame.
I like MK1’s story. It just says, “screw it, let’s be goofy.”
It’s not technically a straight-up, outright comedy, but it embraces pulpy silliness in a way I couldn’t help but respect. Plus, I like its take on Ermac, who is my favorite character, thanks largely to his story in Deception and Armageddon.
The PS2 era was definitely the height of MK storytelling.
I would love for them to harness the storytelling of the PS2 era and combine in with the better gameplay of MKX. That would be my dream MK game.
Mortal kombat got too fancy for its own good… it didn’t need timelines and time travel as a whole and definitely didn’t need a thousand characters either… time travel sucks in fighting games… 🤷🏽♂️ should have kept it about fighting and the amount of mythical in mortal kombat 3 was already pushing the limits of what was needed to keep
Mortal kombat alive…. They could have stayed with tournament of earth realm and outer realm would have been enough to keep this story alive for years to come!
The Deadly Alliance - Deception era of the lore is legit MK's best lore era. I agree that time travel wasn't needed for Mk11 forward, but characters need to die in Mortal Kombat, and when they do, they need to be replaced by newer ones. Refusing that change is one of the major issues with NRS' stewardship of the series.
Blame Mk9 for Timelines and time Travel then. Prior to that game we had no Time travel in Mk. In fact there was a Cancelled Sequel to Mk Armaggeddon and people even said The story didnt need a Reboot
@@therayldeal6683 definitely agree with characters needing to die and move on but that can be done with time travel or not… just gets messy when you start throwing everything into one game…
@@CGoldmill-dz4gk Time travel definitely wasn't needed at all, and I would have preferred just a new continuity at the time MK9 came out. From a business side, they definitely had to reboot considering the development process of 7th generation games. They just could have done so without retroactively harming the Midway era.
Why Infinity War and Endgame worked. It felt like the culmination of everything that the Infinity Saga was building up to, ten years of storytelling and the culmination of the time we spent with the characters and amount of buildup. This is why Infinity War's ending was so heartbreaking that we lost the battle and that Thanos actually won. With Endgame, it was the heroes coming back from their defeat to undo the snap, revive the heroes and the countless lives lost, and take the bastard out. Which made Endgame feel all that much more satisfying.
nrs mortal kombat whole story is literally teasing something and showing something so fcking different lollll
LOL That's the most concise and best way of describing it
Imagine this in a game: a Mortal Kombat/Battle Royale/Tournament between the six main realms of MK deception. Pure GOLD. Introduce some new Chaosrealm and Orderrealm characters and you got yourself a story right there
That's legitimately what I was kinda hoping Mk11 or 12 would be.
Before I even finish this thw problem is that NRS is afraid of actually changing anything. They'll always tailor events around things that have already happened as some sort of nostalgia bait because they're clearly not confident in doing anything original.
Not including extra media outside of the video games, we've experienced the first Mortal Kombat tournament 4 times.
The cyber initiative has happened 3 times, and that story has still NEVER been fully explored. Shao Kahn has invaded 3 times. Liu Kang has died 3 times, Armageddon has been done twice but the story of it has been rehashed 3 different times.
Mortal Kombat X while being really fun, didn't have the best story. Yet the ending still showed promise of what was to come. They could've done something with genuinely threatening remnants and Dark Raiden but they drop it fucking immediately, and would go on to shaft Dark Raiden twice.
Kronika was the nail in the coffin for any creativity MK had. If time travel isn't established in the very beginning, there's literally like NO story where it works and is a satisfying plot element.
So introducing it in a series that had already been kicking over 20 years was a sign they already had nothing left to offer creatively.
I didn't like mk9 story but it could've been salvage but it just got worse and worse now we got multi verses, plain good guy vs bad guys, inaccurate Character lore, and like you said no commitment among other things. The midway timeline had more than just the main good vs bad story going on, it has many side stories with other characters, we didn't have a moron shao Kahn, no contradictory sindel, etc etc
Terrible new characters didnt help at all. Kotal kahn had so much potential but got treated like a joke, and the sheer amount of plot armour the kombat kids had was ridiculous. Erron black was the only one I liked even if he was just used as a jobber
I agree with you. I think MKX's plot would have been better if one of the Kombat Kids died to create some emotional weight. Two would have been fine as well. Kotal Kahn shouldn't have been made so irrelevant in MKX. I think he fares a little better MK11 since at least it makes sense he'd lose to Shao Kahn and his relationship with Jade isn't too shabby. The jobification of characters is one of the major issues with NRS MK that Deception didn't have. Like I say in the video, they should have just made alternate skins for the characters that could essentially make them function as random enemies to fight instead of the characters themselves, which should be more on par with each other power-wise.
I’m still happy to have avoided the ps2 mk games. For me I could never leave playing mk trilogy. I remember giving up with the series when I was broke playing mk sub zero mythologies. It certainly didn’t help watching the mk 4 trailer on it once in a while. But I remember years later, how hype was Shaolin monks when it showed trailers on tv. I’m a fan of ps2 games but I was busy with a lot of Kung fu movies including mk the first one and replaying mk trilogy so many times and just not getting around with mk 4, further cemented my lack of faith in the 3d games because damn I can’t be the only one thinking every character just looks different game after game like 4, deadly alliance, deception and the list goes on.
MK4 is definitely this transition game between the arcade era and the 3D era. It has more in common gameplay and storytelling-wise with the arcade-era, but technologically, it created a framework for the 3D-era engine.
Its clear they are just ripping off the mcu and forcing changes that make no fucking sense. They literally made shao kahn use trump lines to paint him as the bad guy, dont even get me started on cyrana from wakanda and sektora the explorer. The franchise is clearly dying and considering they collaborated with sweet baby inc, it’s good that the game is dismal and barely has 3000 active players. The mortal kombat we grew up with and loved is dead and unless the series is given to someone else its going to stay dead.
I hate the whole multiverse crap and genderswap of characters. Its so uninteresting.
Can we just get goro or onaga as a main villain for a story???
I would love for Onaga to be the main villain in a game!
I love that bit about elder gods being impossible to kill right before 11 where they all die. And Cetrion who herself is an elder god dies. Even Kronika who should be above all of them dies.
Don’t make up rules and than proceed to completely ignore them.
The thing that really pissed me off during the New Era of MKX and MK11 is that they didn’t reintroduce 3D era characters into the fold. A lot of the new characters they made could’ve easily been the 3D era characters
Erron Black: A gunslinger mercenary for hire from EarthRealm. Easily could’ve been Jarek
D’Vorah: An OutWorld outcast who will do almost anything to ensure her species survival. Nitara
Kung Jin: A streetwise Shaolin Monk new recruit. Could’ve been Kai
Takeda: A ninja in training whose sensei is one of old guard. Frost
To be honest i know that Mortal Kombat 9 was a sequel to Mortal Kombat Armageddon since it was a reboot of the franchise and i wish it could've had more like additional storytelling to Mortal Kombat 9 for a sequel.. Mortal Kombat X also felt like incomplete because I knew in my point of view Netherrealm Studios should've had a DLC part 2 Storytelling after the events of the storymode and maybe could've saved a handful of revenants which were allies and wish they could've done something more.. Now Mortal Kombat 11 was fine and good same with aftermath as well but also they should've made a part 3 DLC story continuation after the events of the aftermath and i would've loved to seen what Netherrealm Studios could've done with the Great Kung Lao since Fire God Liu Kang chosen him as his Champion.. To be honest I've would've given backstories for the old timeline and 3D era timeline characters and had them a redesign but more interesting and cooler than ever before..
That would have been a better direction for Mk1 to go in.
@@therayldeal6683 oh yes most definitely right there.
When I played the story mode of this game for the first time, I felt enormous nostalgia.
There's only one 3D era character I can respect dissing unreasonably. Hsu Hao.
Really liked your song choice at the end. Falling cliffs is probably my favorite map
Falling Cliffs is legit my favorite stage in all of Mortal Kombat.