Trini_Bwoi
Noob
Starting with MK vs DC in 2008, NRS has been producing a cutscene-fight-cutscene-fight style of story mode. It also looks like this mode will return in MK1 according to the FAQ:
Now I have generally enjoyed them, but after several games (MK vs DC, MK9, INJ1, MKX, INJ2, MK11 and now MK1) and 2 console generations later, I think the format has become incredibly stale. More importantly however, is I don't think the format is conducive to good story telling in the first place. Here are all the issues I have with this kind of cinematic story mode:
1) Too hero focused
The story mode generally follows the perspective of the heroes, with 12 or so chapters where you play as a hero in each chapter. As such, villains or evil-aligned characters have notoriously been given the shaft. Now MK has always had its jobbers, but things are taken to new heights in their story mode, as a character's whole purpose is to show up somewhere, talk a little shit and proceed to get their ass kicked, often several times throughout the story. And that is terrible. The evil characters are arguably more interesting in MK than the good characters so the story mode is doing a massive disservice to them. Would villain-focused chapters help? Personally I don't think it would, which brings me to the 2nd issue.
2) Too fight focused
The story mode is structured in way that requires constant fights. Between the 12 chapters, and 4-5 fights per chapter, it is a struggle to have an interesting plot where 12 characters somehow need to get into ~50 fights. You can tell that the largest driving force in story mode is how to set up the next fight as opposed to tell a good story. That's why you get things like Kung Lao's chapter in MK11, where the "story" is that there are enemies detected in Wu Shi Academy, so he goes there with Liu Kang and fights Scorpion, fights Jade, fights his revenant and finally fights Geras who was stealing vials of life force. But oh no, Kronika shows up and takes the vials anyway! End of chapter. Was this important, did it matter? The answer is no, it was just a contrieved reason for the Kung Lao chapter to have its 4 fights. The funny thing is despite being known for violence, MK's plot is at its best when it's about forming allegiances, deceiving and double-crossing, discovering truths and seeking power. A better story mode format would reflect that.
3) Too focused in a single narrative
Ah, this is probably the biggest issue with the cinematic story mode. The plot tends to be focused on a singular narrative (ex. stopping Kronika), and everyone involved gets swept up into it for the most part. Thus, character sub-plots have slowly died away. There is no room for characters to have their own goals and motivations outside of this overarching plot. One of the coolest things about arcade endings in the old games is when they weren't about (hypothetically) defeating the big bad but instead focused on developing the character. Some of the best plot points and character relationships (Scorpion/Quan Chi/Sub-Zero in MK4, Reptile/Nitara/Cyrax in MKDA, Baraka/Mileena in MKD for example) are only tangentially related to the overall plot if at all. I would go so far as to say I'd prefer a story mode format that prioritized developing individual characters and relationships over advancing an overall plot and I'm not sure the cinematic story mode can achieve that.
Another issue with the single narrative story mode is you end up with a really sparse timeline of events for each character as the story transitions from chapter to chapter, whereas focusing on characters and their subplots you'd get a really dense timeline because things can overlap.
4) Too conclusive
Now it just may be me but I miss the era of speculating which endings are canon. That's barely a thing anymore because the cinematic story mode is seen as the be all end all for all things canon. Story modes need not be this way. The interesting thing with MKD Konquest was despite it being the most in depth story mode to date, even that thing had an open-ended ending and the told you to play arcade mode to find out what happens, thus leaving the door open for speculation.
I think I would prefer a story mode that "sets the stage" so to speak, and the arcade endings are still the primary source of canon for how things ultimately unfold, but that might be an unpopular opinion.
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Overall I'm pretty disappointed that Netherrealm's "genre-defining" Story Mode is apparently returning and I think it's time to move onto something better, something that can better flesh out the world and its characters. The cutscene-gameplay format just does not lend itself well to that. There is that rumour that there is another mode that is yet to be announced. Honestly I would prefer if NRS finally put a nail in this cinematic story mode and put all those resources into a Konquest/Krypt like mode.
Now I have generally enjoyed them, but after several games (MK vs DC, MK9, INJ1, MKX, INJ2, MK11 and now MK1) and 2 console generations later, I think the format has become incredibly stale. More importantly however, is I don't think the format is conducive to good story telling in the first place. Here are all the issues I have with this kind of cinematic story mode:
1) Too hero focused
The story mode generally follows the perspective of the heroes, with 12 or so chapters where you play as a hero in each chapter. As such, villains or evil-aligned characters have notoriously been given the shaft. Now MK has always had its jobbers, but things are taken to new heights in their story mode, as a character's whole purpose is to show up somewhere, talk a little shit and proceed to get their ass kicked, often several times throughout the story. And that is terrible. The evil characters are arguably more interesting in MK than the good characters so the story mode is doing a massive disservice to them. Would villain-focused chapters help? Personally I don't think it would, which brings me to the 2nd issue.
2) Too fight focused
The story mode is structured in way that requires constant fights. Between the 12 chapters, and 4-5 fights per chapter, it is a struggle to have an interesting plot where 12 characters somehow need to get into ~50 fights. You can tell that the largest driving force in story mode is how to set up the next fight as opposed to tell a good story. That's why you get things like Kung Lao's chapter in MK11, where the "story" is that there are enemies detected in Wu Shi Academy, so he goes there with Liu Kang and fights Scorpion, fights Jade, fights his revenant and finally fights Geras who was stealing vials of life force. But oh no, Kronika shows up and takes the vials anyway! End of chapter. Was this important, did it matter? The answer is no, it was just a contrieved reason for the Kung Lao chapter to have its 4 fights. The funny thing is despite being known for violence, MK's plot is at its best when it's about forming allegiances, deceiving and double-crossing, discovering truths and seeking power. A better story mode format would reflect that.
3) Too focused in a single narrative
Ah, this is probably the biggest issue with the cinematic story mode. The plot tends to be focused on a singular narrative (ex. stopping Kronika), and everyone involved gets swept up into it for the most part. Thus, character sub-plots have slowly died away. There is no room for characters to have their own goals and motivations outside of this overarching plot. One of the coolest things about arcade endings in the old games is when they weren't about (hypothetically) defeating the big bad but instead focused on developing the character. Some of the best plot points and character relationships (Scorpion/Quan Chi/Sub-Zero in MK4, Reptile/Nitara/Cyrax in MKDA, Baraka/Mileena in MKD for example) are only tangentially related to the overall plot if at all. I would go so far as to say I'd prefer a story mode format that prioritized developing individual characters and relationships over advancing an overall plot and I'm not sure the cinematic story mode can achieve that.
Another issue with the single narrative story mode is you end up with a really sparse timeline of events for each character as the story transitions from chapter to chapter, whereas focusing on characters and their subplots you'd get a really dense timeline because things can overlap.
4) Too conclusive
Now it just may be me but I miss the era of speculating which endings are canon. That's barely a thing anymore because the cinematic story mode is seen as the be all end all for all things canon. Story modes need not be this way. The interesting thing with MKD Konquest was despite it being the most in depth story mode to date, even that thing had an open-ended ending and the told you to play arcade mode to find out what happens, thus leaving the door open for speculation.
I think I would prefer a story mode that "sets the stage" so to speak, and the arcade endings are still the primary source of canon for how things ultimately unfold, but that might be an unpopular opinion.
---
Overall I'm pretty disappointed that Netherrealm's "genre-defining" Story Mode is apparently returning and I think it's time to move onto something better, something that can better flesh out the world and its characters. The cutscene-gameplay format just does not lend itself well to that. There is that rumour that there is another mode that is yet to be announced. Honestly I would prefer if NRS finally put a nail in this cinematic story mode and put all those resources into a Konquest/Krypt like mode.
