Mortal Kombat 9 (and website countdown)

[The Legend Killer]

Looks slow and no better than any of the past three letdowns they've bastardized the MK name with. Sad that some think blood and violence equates to a good game, especially with the new Marvel vs Capcom coming out.

The MK franchise was never about fast paced action (please play Mortal Kombat 1 and 2). Mortal Kombat was always clever when it came to getting gamers attention. The violence though is what got it about 90% of it's recognition. When the first one came out, we saw violence like never before, then you add in someone like Sub Zero or Scorpion, and you got a fuckin masterpiece. Then the 2nd one came out, and they introduced us to Liu Kangs dragon fatality, and Shao Kahn, plus, more violence than the first one had, and it became a bigger success. Then the 3rd one came out, and gave us even MORE violence, and then introduced us to Motaro, and gave us fast paced action and a combo system, and became and even bigger success. Now, didn't you notice that alot of gamers say MK4 is when it went downhill? They had the same people, but just added a 3D element, and kept the violence about the same as the 3rd one, and it was a huge success, but, not like it's earlier ones.

Then the next ones started coming out, and it just turned into a big shit storm. (strangely though, I did enjoy Sub Zero Mythologies. It's not a great game, but, it's not as bad as people claim). MK lost it's formula in the later games. They gave us new characters, but, none of them were anything widely memorable, and please notice, the violence was way down. Ask 100 MK gamers what their most memorable fatalities are, and I guarantee you'll get the over the top ones. Among the top ones would more than likely be, "Sub Zero freezing his opponent then ripping his spine out. Kano ripping out his opponents heart. Scorpion taking off his mask and setting his opponent on fire. Falling into "The Pit". Liu Kang turning into a dragon and biting off his opponents torso". I guarantee those ones will be a huge chunk of your answers. Please notice it's all the over the top ones (well, maybe not Scorpions, but, his was just awesome, and practically everybody loves Scorpion). MK without the violence is like a Zelda game with no Link. You have to ask yourself, "why the hell did they make this!?" The violence is almost a character in it's own! Hell, remember in MK4 you could unlock "Meat"? You want a fun fighting game with fast paced action, Street Fighter is where you want to be, you want a fun fighting game with psycho violence, Mortal Kombat is where you wanna be!

 

[straight_edge76]

I love MK... I really do, but Street Fighter>> MK IMO.

 

[He who knows more than Nation]

Thanks for the history lesson, I was already quite aware. I owned and played both. What are you talking about it not being about fast paced action? Dude, MK was the fastest moving fighter on the set back in the day. The only Street Fighter that came out around the same time that compares is SF II Hyper Fighting. SF didn't start to speed up until Alpha and by then MK 3 had added the run ability and you could literally kill someone in 15 seconds with mad combos. Sure, the violence was it's calling card, but what kept it appealing and in competition with the hardcore fighting fans (which was probably the largest genre specific fanbase of the mid 90's) against the the superior 2d fighters on the market was it's fast paced action.

Everything you say is indeed true about the hidden secrets and appeal to gamers. The best of the series was MK II and the one where they added two different fighting style for the fighters, Armageddon or Annihilation, cant remember, was the last hurrah for the franchise. From what I've seen on this new one, they should have just left it where it was.

I love MK... I really do, but Street Fighter>> MK IMO.

That's how I feel. SF is just superior in every aspect. I'm too old to be sold on a gimmick like guts and gore, if it's a good fighter, I'll play it, except Tekken, there isn't a more over rated gaming franchise in the history of the gaming industry than Tekken.

 

[The Legend Killer]

I didn't say it didn't have speed, I said it wasn't known for it's speed. It's just like the actual Mortal Kombat storyline. It's there, and it's actually a really interesting story once you read all the details of everything (takes a long time, but damn is it good!), but, not many people note the game for it. 1 was slow, 2 was faster, but, no combos or running, but once they got to 3, damn it was fast, and it made it that much more enjoyable. But, it's gimmick has always, and will always be about the violence in it. The franchise lost it's appeal because it got away from it's roots. How it happened? That's beyond my knowledge. My guess, they just got carried away with fancy graphics and flashy moves. They tried to create a gimmick for a gimmick, and that just doesn't work. Armageddon was a huge step in the right direction, but, it was still a little gimmicky. This new one is them going back to their roots and saying, "Well, 1 2 and 3 were the best, so, let's remake them in 3D." And funny you mention Street Fighter being better. MK VS SF is the crossover game that should have been created. How many times have you heard someone ask, "I wonder who would win between Sub Zero and Ryu?" MK VS DC was a fucking stupid idea. I'm not a huge Street Fighter fan, I just enjoy the old SNES ones, but, it's still an enjoyable game. Tekken.... eh. Depends on my mood! If you want a good game, check out Bushido Blade on PlayStation. Very nice under-rated game.

 

[He who knows more than Nation]

^^^Bushido Blade was the shit! The MK story was awesome, I used to love buying the games and before I'd play the game I'd spend 20 minutes reading each character's bio. I fell off after part four and there were too many characters to keep up with.

 

[The Legend Killer]

^^^Bushido Blade was the shit! The MK story was awesome, I used to love buying the games and before I'd play the game I'd spend 20 minutes reading each character's bio. I fell off after part four and there were too many characters to keep up with.

Yeah, it's an extremely complex storyline. I forgot where it was, but, I saw this history guide somewhere that has a detailed outline of EVERYTHING. It's amazing how everything falls in together. From the arenas to the characters. Hell, even just the character prototypes themselves are interesting. For example, Sektor and Cyrax being called "Ketchup and Mustard". Or, Ermac originally being a glitch in the original Mortal Kombat that turned Scorpion into a red ninja and being an Error Macro, hence the name Ermac.

 

[straight_edge76]

^^^Bushido Blade was the shit! The MK story was awesome, I used to love buying the games and before I'd play the game I'd spend 20 minutes reading each character's bio. I fell off after part four and there were too many characters to keep up with.

I was the exact same way. What made fighting franchises like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter so great was the difference in character stories. But, unlike Street Fighter it seemed like Mortal Kombat added way to many characters to keep track of, like I said previously, in the last 3-4 games the majority of the newer characters blew, I still think that some of the original characters like Sub-Zero and Johnny Cage are the best, fuck all the newer guys (for the most part) MK 1-3 characters are where it's at.

edit- and on Tekken? Yeah, it's overrated, I used to be really into it back in like 2002-2003, but the controls are way to simplistic and the whole OMFG 3D!!! Shit wore out fast. 2D fighters kick all the 3D fighers asses.

 

[The Legend Killer]

I was the exact same way. What made fighting franchises like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter so great was the difference in character stories. But, unlike Street Fighter it seemed like Mortal Kombat added way to many characters to keep track of, like I said previously, in the last 3-4 games the majority of the newer characters blew, I still think that some of the original characters like Sub-Zero and Johnny Cage are the best, fuck all the newer guys (for the most part) MK 1-3 characters are where it's at.

edit- and on Tekken? Yeah, it's overrated, I used to be really into it back in like 2002-2003, but the controls are way to simplistic and the whole OMFG 3D!!! Shit wore out fast. 2D fighters kick all the 3D fighers asses.

Yeah, the funny part about MK adding too damn many characters started at the same point as when majority of gamers say "the franchise started falling apart". I think the only characters MK really needs is Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Liu Kang, Rayden, Johnny Cage, Cyrax, Sektor, Smoke, Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, Goro, Motaro, Kitana, Jaxx, Kano, Kabal, Sonya, and Reptile. Everybody else can fuck off. Fortunatley, the new MK is centered around MK 1, 2, and 3. The 3D was cool for a little bit, but, only on MK4. It added a little something. 3D gaming was new, the ending stories were epic, and it made the levels a little more interesting. But, once the focus left the actual game and became more of making more cool 3D effects, that's when it went downhill. I think the only time Mortal Kombat should ever be full 3D is in a game like Shaolin Monks.

 

[straight_edge76]

I was also a huge fan of Smoke lol. But you are right, those are the only necessary characters IMO, they rest can go away for all I care. 3D and classic fighters like MK and Street Fighter just dont mesh, what made them great was the side scrolling style (but the cell-shaded SF4 is pretty awesome) shit like Tekken and Soul Calibur are not nearly as classic and will never be as good as MK or Street Fighter, and with the new Marvel VS Capcom game due out next year I am really excited to get back to some good ol' fighting games. Street Fighter 4 was cool, but other than that I dont remember the last time I was super excited for a fighting game (except DC vs MK, but that was a fail lol)

 

[Hometown Kid]

Sub-Zero will always always be the best MK character. I don't know why they felt the need to change his character look a half dozen times. :/ Also, the MK team have a habit of randomly leaving off their most popular guys for some reason. MK3 they decided to ditch Scorpion, and in Deadly Alliance they freaking killed Liu Kang. Man, both of those times sucked.

I'm waiting for them to leave off Sub-Zero in a future installment.

 

[straight_edge76]

If Sub-Zero gets left off of a Mortal Kombat game I'll riot. He is IMO what makes those games, dropping Scorpion and Lui Kang was bad enough if there is no Sub-Zero (attire changes and all lol) I would totally ditch MK all together.

 

[TombstoneCity1387]

I actually really liked Sub-Zero's attire from MK: Deception
View attachment 972

 

[Italian Outsider]

If Sub-Zero gets left off of a Mortal Kombat game I'll riot. He is IMO what makes those games, dropping Scorpion and Lui Kang was bad enough if there is no Sub-Zero (attire changes and all lol) I would totally ditch MK all together.

Not going to happen. Never again.

 

[The Legend Killer]

I could kind of see wanting to change some of the characters looks as the game progresses, but, depends on who and what. For example, Reptile was cool a ninja, but the idea of making him look like an actual reptile was cool, but, they should have made a better design. Sub Zero did look cool in Deception, but, I still prefer the Lin Kuei Sub Zero, or the unmasked one. That reminds me, I had an idea for a new MK character and a fatality a few years ago. I never came up with a name for him, but, his overall look would be Motaros centaur body with Goro/Kintaros upper body. For his finisher, he rears back on his back legs, kicks his front legs into the torso, uses his upper arms and front leg strength to rip the body in half, and use the lower arms to grab the other fighter by the guts/circuits, and slam them to the ground. What do you think?

 

[TombstoneCity1387]

I think that...

View attachment 978