What Happened, NRS?!

[molambo]

seems to be a lot of salt floating around these days with the game. i have to catch up and become mad too

 

[Juxtapose]

It takes much effort and time to explain what I liked and still like about the classic MK games. Let me try to explain in short.

The sound effects, the music, the mystical elements (occultism) more focus on eastern mythology, eastern inspired combatants, the characteristics, the stances, appearances of the characters, the lore, Shaw Brothers inspired stages, more fantasy elements like portals, chanting monks etc… it’s too much to sum it all up in here. Even the 3D era games shared that classic MK charm. Hence the reason why I like MK mythologies (many flaws but it nails the feels of MK)

Modern MK games have become something very different. Change is good, it is needed to stay relevant. But not how NRS does it. They even mocked about the purple sky in outworld. That’s only 1 example.. It’s not nostalgia for me and I’m sure many other fans think alike.

I absolutely loved the overall atmosphere and themes from the originals as well. Keep in mind though, it wasn't all Tobias. The music was all Forden and he's still there, the stages, especially the nifty Outworld stages were also someone else (they're name escapes me at the moment). Mortal Kombat 3 was also a huge shift away from the feel and style, going for a (then) more modern take on stages, music, and even character design (i.e. adding in cyborgs and tech).

 

[Onilordasmodeus]

Ah yes, the bold, new direction of checks notes re-imagining an old final boss from an older game.

The thing they did with Shang.

They LITERALLY didn't re-imagine Titan Shang in MK1. He was LITTERALLY the villain from the previous game. And re-imagining Onaga is just continuing on with what they did in MK1 with re-imagining ALL the characters. Lol

I get you are trying to troll, but no. If they are going to bring in a new villain or big boss, they need to lay the ground work.

• Shao Kahn was sort of hinted at in OG MK, where he debuted in MK2, then ran rampant in MK3.
• Shinnok was peppered all through out MK Trilogy, then was in MKMSZ, and was a boss in MK4.
• Onaga was hinted at in MKDA, then revealed in MKD. And in MKD they had a whole Konquest mode to build him up.

They stopped this practice in the modern games, rather relying on past work to do most of the heavy lifting with older characters, and then building up / resolving the character narratives of the heroes / villains within one story...where they promptly forget/erase everything from the previous game and do it all again.

It's stupid.

They literally took the build up from MK9 with Shinnok and threw it in the garbage to tell the Kombat Kids story. Like what?!

 

[Rude]

They LITERALLY didn't re-imagine Titan Shang in MK1. He was LITTERALLY the villain from the previous game. And re-imagining Onaga is just continuing on with what they did in MK1 with re-imagining ALL the characters. Lol

I get you are trying to troll, but no. If they are going to bring in a new villain or big boss, they need to lay the ground work.

• Shao Kahn was sort of hinted at in OG MK, where he debuted in MK2, then ran rampant in MK3.
• Shinnok was peppered all through out MK Trilogy, then was in MKMSZ, and was a boss in MK4.
• Onaga was hinted at in MKDA, then revealed in MKD. And in MKD they had a whole Konquest mode to build him up.

They stopped this practice in the modern games, rather relying on past work to do most of the heavy lifting with older characters, and then building up / resolving the character narratives of the heroes / villains within one story...where they promptly forget/erase everything from the previous game and do it all again.

It's stupid.

They literally took the build up from MK9 with Shinnok and threw it in the garbage to tell the Kombat Kids story. Like what?!

They didn't though. The game starts with Fujin and Raiden getting bodied by revenants controlled by Quan and Shinnok. Quan Cho and Shinnok were the primary drivers of the plot. MK has always added new characters, going all the way back to MK2.

So them adding the Kombat Kids was fine. Cassie has a pretty strong fanbase, as does Takeda. You might not like Jacqui or Kung Jin but not every new character is gonna stick. People didn't like Tsu Hao or Kobra either. That's life.

They did re-imagine Shang Tsung, just not Titan Shang.

And when they did bring in an all-new antagonist in MK11, everyone hated it and wanted old villains back. So...

 

[Rude]

I absolutely loved the overall atmosphere and themes from the originals as well. Keep in mind though, it wasn't all Tobias. The music was all Forden and he's still there, the stages, especially the nifty Outworld stages were also someone else (they're name escapes me at the moment). Mortal Kombat 3 was also a huge shift away from the feel and style, going for a (then) more modern take on stages, music, and even character design (i.e. adding in cyborgs and tech).

People that think that MK1-3 had a completely consistent tone are...misguided, to say the least.

 

[Juxtapose]

Shao Kahn was sort of hinted at in OG MK,

Interestingly, I don't believe this is actually the case, as Shao didn't exist until the development of Mortal Kombat II (and he was originally a Tarkatan, as all Outworlders were during the original design phase).

The development team didn't even expect they'd be making a sequel, and wanted to do some Star Wars game next.

People that think that MK1-3 had a completely consistent tone are...misguided, to say the least.

I'd say the general tone between the first and second game is there, but Mortal Kombat 3 was a big departure. It's complete change in tone and style was a big conversation point back in '95.

 

[Rude]

Interestingly, I don't believe this is actually the case, as Shao didn't exist until the development of Mortal Kombat II (and he was originally a Tarkatan, as all Outworlders were during the original design phase).

The development team didn't even expect they'd be making a sequel, and wanted to do some Star Wars game next.



I'd say the general tone between the first and second game is there, but Mortal Kombat 3 was a big departure. It's complete change in tone and style was a big conversation point back in '95.

Honestly, the devs just kind of did whatever they thought was cool. Pretty sure Kabal's design started as him having Buzzsaws for hands.

I'm almost positive there wasn't nearly as much thought put into the lore as people on thos site seem to think.

 

[Juxtapose]

Honestly, the devs just kind of did whatever they thought was cool. Pretty sure Kabal's design started as him having Buzzsaws for hands.

I'm almost positive there wasn't nearly as much thought put into the lore as people on thos site seem to think.

And what they did often was cool, especially as we were younger.

They also weren't trying to make Shakespeare. Again, nostalgia is playing a big part of how people are remembering things. Which is absolutely cool unto itself, I love nostalgia, but the reality is not everything is as we like to remember it, nor has everything aged as well as we'd like to think. Even recognizing that, it's still great fun to nostalgia trip.

 

[zerosebaz]

.

I'm almost positive there wasn't nearly as much thought put into the lore as people on thos site seem to think.

They definitely didn't. The original timeline has tons and tons of plotholes too.

 

[MateoFoShizzle]

Since this thread is active - is KL busted right now? Every match has been super laggy since the Desync “fix” patch.
Trying to figure out if it’s my internet or the servers themselves

 

[Onilordasmodeus]

They didn't though. The game starts with Fujin and Raiden getting bodied by revenants controlled by Quan and Shinnok. Quan Cho and Shinnok were the primary drivers of the plot. MK has always added new characters, going all the way back to MK2.

So them adding the Kombat Kids was fine. Cassie has a pretty strong fanbase, as does Takeda. You might not like Jacqui or Kung Jin but not every new character is gonna stick. People didn't like Tsu Hao or Kobra either. That's life.

They did re-imagine Shang Tsung, just not Titan Shang.

And when they did bring in an all-new antagonist in MK11, everyone hated it and wanted old villains back. So...

Off top, the re-imagined Shang in MK1 doesn't matter, nor do any of the other re-imagined characters. They played a VERY small part in the overall narrative of MK1. The only characters who mattered in the story of the new game were the Titan versions of all the old characters. I mean, the whole plot device that Shang and Quan were building up to in the main story was crushed and thrown away like a literal toy in the end.

But yeah, adding new characters is all fine and good. I love expanding the lore of MK. But that is not all that they did in MKX. The beginning of the MKX story was the literal end of a war. They SKIPPED the narrative and build up from MK9 there in order to tell a different and new story, one that had little, if nothing, to do with the previous game. Sure some consequences from MK9 were followed up on (specifically some character deaths), but to what end? What was the outcome of the MKX Story? What were the consequences? Oh yeah, Kronika. A completely new character with no build up at all, with her equally out of the blue daughter, and an MK Annihilation level of creativity making her Shinnok's Mom. Like....seriously?

Again, I have NO issue with new characters. Kronika could have been fine, but they executed her poorly. Bringing in new characters to be side characters to the main heroes and villains is great, but they run into trouble when they try to pull a Cole Young and shoehorned new characters into the spotlight. They need to let things happen organically.

And I think that is the thing that seemed most authentic about the OG games. The characters and stories seem to weave into themselves in an organic fashion. Sure there are plenty of issues you can point to with the OG narrative, but the issues in the modern games is next level.

And just so I can address it...

• The MKD Konquest was a prequel, telling the story of a new character yes, but more so telling Onaga's story, giving details about how he died, how he was resurrected, and how we ended up where we were.
• The MKA Konquest was sort of similar to MKD in that though it was a new character in the present, it also told the story of how we got where we were, and was a jump off point for the rest of the game.

The modern games don't do that at all.

 

[Onilordasmodeus]

Interestingly, I don't believe this is actually the case, as Shao didn't exist until the development of Mortal Kombat II (and he was originally a Tarkatan, as all Outworlders were during the original design phase).

The development team didn't even expect they'd be making a sequel, and wanted to do some Star Wars game next.

That is why I say sort of hinted at. I'm in the minority about this, but in the OG MK1 comic, it was said that Shang was cursed by "his god" or "his gods" (I can't remember) to age rapidly. While there can only be speculation at this point, I believe that the "god" they were hinting at was Shao Kahn. Shao was the one who trained Shang originally, and originally Shao was a divine being. Retcons, distortions, and just different narratives took us far from this, but yeah, Shao was officially THE guy set up to be the big bad from the OG MK2 comic on.

 

[Onilordasmodeus]

Honestly, the devs just kind of did whatever they thought was cool. Pretty sure Kabal's design started as him having Buzzsaws for hands.

I'm almost positive there wasn't nearly as much thought put into the lore as people on thos site seem to think.

I agree with this completely, which is why I believe the OG story had a more organic feel. They took what came before and built upon it, growing the narrative organically. That is not what they do now.

 

[Juxtapose]

That is why I say sort of hinted at. I'm in the minority about this, but in the OG MK1 comic, it was said that Shang was cursed by "his god" or "his gods" (I can't remember) to age rapidly. While there can only be speculation at this point, I believe that the "god" they were hinting at was Shao Kahn. Shao was the one who trained Shang originally, and originally Shao was a divine being. Retcons, distortions, and just different narratives took us far from this, but yeah, Shao was officially THE guy set up to be the big bad from the OG MK2 comic on.

That's an interesting point, it's been a long time since I read the original comics. I still think, while a cool thought, it's not actually Shao (certainly not the Shao we got) that they had in mind. I think they were keeping things general and generic (most of the dialogue in that comic was pretty basic, afterall) and in the games, they often mentioned things like "unbalancing the furies" or "the gods" and such. All very generic.


With respect to Mortal Kombat X, I wasn't big on the core story, but still think the Outworld civil war is the best and most interesting plot arc of the modern games.

I also know that they wanted to do new characters and a whole new roster for Mortal Kombat 8 (thus killing everyone in Armageddon), but that didn't happen. I really believe that they used Mortal Kombat X to try and test replacements for classic characters and see how that would do. I personally didn't have the issue that most people did with the "kombat kids," but I don't think replacing the classic characters is a good move.

I'm also in the minority here, I know, but I liked Kronika.

 

[Onilordasmodeus]

With respect to Mortal Kombat X, I wasn't big on the core story, but still think the Outworld civil war is the best and most interesting plot arc of the modern games.

it is too bad that the civil war plotline wasn't in the game. Lol! The comic was great, and I wish they had kept it going.

I also know that they wanted to do new characters and a whole new roster for Mortal Kombat 8 (thus killing everyone in Armageddon), but that didn't happen. I really believe that they used Mortal Kombat X to try and test replacements for classic characters and see how that would do. I personally didn't have the issue that most people did with the "kombat kids," but I don't think replacing the classic characters is a good move.

I can imagine them wanting to do a whole new roster after MKA, but yeah, the fanbase at large would riot if they did that. Bringing in new blood is great, but you have to do it organically. That being said, in my experience, I know of more failures to replace the core roster of an established series than successes. Personally, I'd rock with it if it was done right. I was one of those people personally excited/interested for the "new" MK movie, hoping they would do something interesting with this "Cole Young" character. That being said, I think they failed horribly.

 

[Juxtapose]

it is too bad that the civil war plotline wasn't in the game. Lol!

It was, but relatively briefly. I'd love to see more stories like that; more gritty and down to earth.

I can imagine them wanting to do a whole new roster after MKA, but yeah, the fanbase at large would riot if they did that. Bringing in new blood is great, but you have to do it organically. That being said, in my experience, I know of more failures to replace the core roster of an established series than successes. Personally, I'd rock with it if it was done right. I was one of those people personally excited/interested for the "new" MK movie, hoping they would do something interesting with this "Cole Young" character. That being said, I think they failed horribly.

Agreed.

 

[Rude]

I agree with this completely, which is why I believe the OG story had a more organic feel. They took what came before and built upon it, growing the narrative organically. That is not what they do now.

I disagree. A lot of what was in MKX built off what happened in 9.

 

[Onilordasmodeus]

I disagree. A lot of what was in MKX built off what happened in 9.

Nah. MKX took place after MK9, sure, but the overall story was disjointed and broken up over decades, it was interwoven with canon or non-canon material (who knows), and overall just wasn't much of an MK story. To me, MKX was seemingly a second attempt at rebooting the narrative, jumping us decades in to the future with a new band of characters.

During the lead up to MK1 I re-watched the the MK9 and MKX stories on a YouTube reaction channel with some MK newbies. It was huge reminder of how horrible the narrative of MKX was as it didn't explain a lot (again, using pre MK9 games to do the heavy lifting while also retconning as they went), and just threw new characters and concepts on screen, slapping the player across the face. It wasn't a good story, and IMO it was just made worse when Cassie took the spotlight at the end.

 

[Rude]

Nah. MKX took place after MK9, sure, but the overall story was disjointed and broken up over decades, it was interwoven with canon or non-canon material (who knows), and overall just wasn't much of an MK story. To me, MKX was seemingly a second attempt at rebooting the narrative, jumping us decades in to the future with a new band of characters.

During the lead up to MK1 I re-watched the the MK9 and MKX stories on a YouTube reaction channel with some MK newbies. It was huge reminder of how horrible the narrative of MKX was as it didn't explain a lot (again, using pre MK9 games to do the heavy lifting while also retconning as they went), and just threw new characters and concepts on screen, slapping the player across the face. It wasn't a good story, and IMO it was just made worse when Cassie took the spotlight at the end.

I disagree completely. The game used flashbacks, sure, but that doesn't mean it was disjointed. That says more about people's ability to follow non-linear narrative than anything in the story.

I think Cassie Cage stepping up and defeating Shinnok was both awesome and foreshadowed pretty well. As much as these ensemble narratives can have a main protag, Cassie is it for X. She rejects her father's advice in the beginning and insists on fighting her way. Sub Zero schools her and the others and by the end she embraces what Johnny was trying to tell her and bodies Shinnok with it.

Is it Faulkner-tier story telling? Fuck no. It's perfectly serviceable for a franchise that started as a Bloodsport, Enter The Dragon, and Big Trouble, Little China reference.

As far as "slapping new characters" goes, the story told you what you needed to know about them. Kotal is the Emperor of Outworld and kind of a jerk. Done. Erron Black is a mercenary that works for Kotal. Done. It was never complicated stuff.

Now, you may not personally like the new characters and that's totally fine, but to say that they are poorly characterized when Kung Jin gets a whole-ass flashback that explains why he takes Kotal wanting to execute a thief personally is just dishonest.

Honestly, Kung Jin by himself gets more development in a few scenes than say, Kabal did in all of MK9.

People need to really separate, "I don't personally like this story/trope" and, "this is objectively bad."

They're not the same.

 

[superbn0va]

I absolutely loved the overall atmosphere and themes from the originals as well. Keep in mind though, it wasn't all Tobias. The music was all Forden and he's still there, the stages, especially the nifty Outworld stages were also someone else (they're name escapes me at the moment). Mortal Kombat 3 was also a huge shift away from the feel and style, going for a (then) more modern take on stages, music, and even character design (i.e. adding in cyborgs and tech).

Early MK games used inspiration from all over the place. I think the actors like Pesina, Divizio etc all had input on the characters they played as. Their martial arts background complemented the characters very well.
Sure it wasn’t all and only Tobias, I know MK was a perfect blend of ppl at that time working on the projects. Maybe you ment Joshua Tsui? I think he also had some input on MK, he was close with Tobias at that time if I remember correctly. Tobias made up the core of the game’s story and characters. Ed Boon and Tobias working on MK together again would be a welcome start that could only do good for the series imo.
Dan Forden made the music and sfx, but his modern work is nowhere nearly as good. Makes me kinda think his older music was directed by the art director of MK at that time.

 

[Ptehu]

Nah. MKX took place after MK9, sure, but the overall story was disjointed and broken up over decades, it was interwoven with canon or non-canon material (who knows), and overall just wasn't much of an MK story. To me, MKX was seemingly a second attempt at rebooting the narrative, jumping us decades in to the future with a new band of characters.

I have to disagree here. MKX story was something that, on the level of assumptions, was supposed to be a HUGE step forward in a right direction. Getting rid of familiar faces, making humans age and get more "experienced", adding to the storyline some new plots (outworld war) and new faces.
It's just the execution that was quite poor. Avengers-Kombat kids on paper works perfectly as the new generation of fighters but making them already overpowered took away their development. Same thing with leaving Sonya, Johnny and - especially - Jax in the roster. NRS wanted to move forward and get the story rolling in a good direction but they were too afraid to bench fan favourites completely. As a result we got uninspired family drama with too many power-level inconsistencies.

At the same time MKX introduced a bunch of new characters that fits the climate perfectly: I assume that if we would have got Ferra/Torr in the 3D era, they would be fan favs and people would be begging for their return as they did for Ashrah, Li Mei and Kenshi (sidenote: even Kenshi was designed perfectly as an older sword-wielder in MKX). Erron, D'Vorah and Kotal were quite popular (aside of their roles in the story: Erron & Ferra/Torr - zero relevance, Kotal - punching bag, D'Vorah - they made her purposely a bitch to be hated on). If we add to that one of the best designs for Rain (sadly not in the roster) and returning Tanya, we really got ALMOST perfect mix of fan favs and new faces.

I was really happy when I first saw the hints about MKX story. Johnny's daughter, new Kahn, insectoids, narration that was built by MK comic (which occured to be way better than anything Cianciolo created, eventually)

All the time-jumps, you are describing were also a good decision - ON PAPER. Execution should be a bit better, but overall it has all the means to be the best MK story ever. With all the flaws of having the Chapter-based narration (turning fan favs into mindless jobbers) but still.

My opinion is, if they continue to MOVE FORWARD rather than focus on time-travelling back/retconing/restarting events once again - eventually it would benefit. Multiversal bullshit that is happening right now, serves the purpose of having the easy explanation for all the humans (that are unavoidably aging and will die eventually) being part of the game/roster AGAIN.

I really look forward for them to take a step forward again, this time without holding themselves back. Sadly, as we know from the expansion story leak - that is not going to happen and it will still be retelling the same story over and over, just with some tweaks here and there. And I don't think MK2 is coming in the forseeable future. I have the feeling that they are planning to build THE MORTAL KOMBAT from out of this game and we will get all bunch of DLCs and further support with the concept of "game as a service" that is getting more and more popular just to suck the money out of casuals like me and you.

 

[Onilordasmodeus]

I disagree completely. The game used flashbacks, sure, but that doesn't mean it was disjointed. That says more about people's ability to follow non-linear narrative than anything in the story.

Maybe...but next time you get the chance, really watch the MKX story and take note of all the times they DON'T tell you what is going on, but expect you to know because you were supposed to do the homework.

I think Cassie Cage stepping up and defeating Shinnok was both awesome and foreshadowed pretty well. As much as these ensemble narratives can have a main protag, Cassie is it for X. She rejects her father's advice in the beginning and insists on fighting her way. Sub Zero schools her and the others and by the end she embraces what Johnny was trying to tell her and bodies Shinnok with it.

Is it Faulkner-tier story telling? Fuck no. It's perfectly serviceable for a franchise that started as a Bloodsport, Enter The Dragon, and Big Trouble, Little China reference.

No. Johnny fighting BASE Shinnok, essentially catching him off guard, but holding him back was perfectly fine. Raiden getting the upper hand in that fight with Johnny's assistance and using the Amulet to trap Shinnok was perfectly fine. Cassie...fighting a Jinsei amped Shinnok WITH his Amulet...alone...is ridiculous. There is no foreshadowing there, just poor power scaling / decision making.

As far as "slapping new characters" goes, the story told you what you needed to know about them. Kotal is the Emperor of Outworld and kind of a jerk. Done. Erron Black is a mercenary that works for Kotal. Done. It was never complicated stuff.

Now, you may not personally like the new characters and that's totally fine, but to say that they are poorly characterized when Kung Jin gets a whole-ass flashback that explains why he takes Kotal wanting to execute a thief personally is just dishonest.

Honestly, Kung Jin by himself gets more development in a few scenes than say, Kabal did in all of MK9.

People need to really separate, "I don't personally like this story/trope" and, "this is objectively bad."

They're not the same.

Again, expanding the MK universe, in my opinion, is never a bad thing generally. I genuinely love EVERY MK character, yes, even Hsu Hao, and I am SUPER excited about the Movado Kameo that is supposed to be coming for MK1. That being said, MKX did a horrible job introducing characters, concepts, and just the general narrative over all.

You should go back and play/watch the MKX story, especially after having played MK1, and just take note of how they introduced the characters in the new game vs in MKX. It's not a problem with the characters per say, it is objectively how they executed the narrative.

• Kotal really didn't get much of an intro, he was just there. They explained how/why he became Emperor, but not who he was or where he came from. MKX reduced him to "Not Shao Kahn" and then had him loose to Kung Jin.
• Erron Black, a 19th century cowboy/mercenary (WTF?), just appeared. He works (is stuck?) in outworld...but also worked with Kano in the black dragon?
• Kung Jin, like a few other characters in the story, did have his own chapter, but none of that explains him going to Outworld, and defeating the Emperor?

Some characters were objectively done great! Sub and Scorp separately were awesome, along with their dynamic together. Tekada and his family drama (though that too relied a lot on the comic). Hell, even though I think they went WAY over board with the Cage family plot throughout, generally it was executed well. That being said though, the overall story was just told poorly, inconsistently written/power scaled, and relied too heavily on lore NOT presented within it (referring primarily to the comic) or the previous game (referring to some of the character relationships, skills, and powers). They objectively focused too heavily on the new hero characters, and not enough on the established ones, the villains, or the overall plot.

 

[Rude]

Maybe...but next time you get the chance, really watch the MKX story and take note of all the times they DON'T tell you what is going on, but expect you to know because you were supposed to do the homework.


No. Johnny fighting BASE Shinnok, essentially catching him off guard, but holding him back was perfectly fine. Raiden getting the upper hand in that fight with Johnny's assistance and using the Amulet to trap Shinnok was perfectly fine. Cassie...fighting a Jinsei amped Shinnok WITH his Amulet...alone...is ridiculous. There is no foreshadowing there, just poor power scaling / decision making.


Again, expanding the MK universe, in my opinion, is never a bad thing generally. I genuinely love EVERY MK character, yes, even Hsu Hao, and I am SUPER excited about the Movado Kameo that is supposed to be coming for MK1. That being said, MKX did a horrible job introducing characters, concepts, and just the general narrative over all.

You should go back and play/watch the MKX story, especially after having played MK1, and just take note of how they introduced the characters in the new game vs in MKX. It's not a problem with the characters per say, it is objectively how they executed the narrative.

• Kotal really didn't get much of an intro, he was just there. They explained how/why he became Emperor, but not who he was or where he came from. MKX reduced him to "Not Shao Kahn" and then had him loose to Kung Jin.
• Erron Black, a 19th century cowboy/mercenary (WTF?), just appeared. He works (is stuck?) in outworld...but also worked with Kano in the black dragon?
• Kung Jin, like a few other characters in the story, did have his own chapter, but none of that explains him going to Outworld, and defeating the Emperor?

Some characters were objectively done great! Sub and Scorp separately were awesome, along with their dynamic together. Tekada and his family drama (though that too relied a lot on the comic). Hell, even though I think they went WAY over board with the Cage family plot throughout, generally it was executed well. That being said though, the overall story was just told poorly, inconsistently written/power scaled, and relied too heavily on lore NOT presented within it (referring primarily to the comic) or the previous game (referring to some of the character relationships, skills, and powers). They objectively focused too heavily on the new hero characters, and not enough on the established ones, the villains, or the overall plot.

First you complain that characters don't get enough development, then you complain that The Cage Family - arguably the most fleshed out group in the story - got too much development. Sigh. Also yeah, Cassie v Shinnok was foreshadowed. They had a whole ass conversation about green energy that you didn't pay attention to at the very beginning. What the...

They did explain Kung Jin going to Outworld. It was an assignment given to him and the other Kombat Kids.

Also....talking about "power level" inconsistencies is some anime brain rot. If you can buy that Stryker - a guy with a gun, that's his whole deal, he uses guns and grenades - can fight Kintaro and not die instantly then I don't see what the problem is. The main protagonist overcoming overwhelming odds and defeating the main antagonist is a staple in all kinds of story telling.

Erron didn't just "appear." He's a mercenary that works for Kotal Kahn. That's all you needed to know for his role to work. He's a goon. A henchman. Same for Ferra/Torr. Again, none of this is as complicated as you make it out to be.

Honestly, a lot of these are just cinema sins ding tier, nit-picking complaints and scrutiny that the vast majority of FG stories wouldn't stand up to.

You could go back to the original Midway Trilogy and find tons of this stuff. If every character got the amount of backstory and development you wanted, story mode would be 7 hours long and no one would play it.

It's an ensemble story (all of the modern MKs are) and we're not dealing with scrolling text boxes anymore. Stuff is gonna get cut for time so that Story Mode is actually playable.

I think you're looking for something that MK was never trying to be.

 

[Juxtapose]

That says more about people's ability to follow non-linear narrative than anything in the story.

In fairness, there actually are date inconsistencies in some of the flashbacks. It was consistent for about half of the game, then flashback dates given were at variance. Made things a smidge confusing if you were trying to more actively piece dates together.

People need to really separate, "I don't personally like this story/trope" and, "this is objectively bad."

They're not the same.

This isn't just the case with storytelling, it's with most everything people complain on about games today. People constantly use hyperbole and sensationalism when they criticize (or even praise) a game's story, mechanics, presentations, etc. when the reality is their comments are more a reflection of their emotional and subjective reactions as opposed to objective assessments. Most things people say are "trash" aren't. They're usually not top tier, but their far from a dumpster fire.

I think the actors like Pesina, Divizio etc all had input on the characters they played as. Their martial arts background complemented the characters very well.

You are correct, they absolutely did. It was quite the collaborative effort from all reports I've seen. Which makes sense since the developers were working with actors.

Maybe you ment Joshua Tsui?

Regrettably, I have never met any of the development team from past or present Mortal Kombat games. Back when I was blogging and heavily involved in the Xbox community, I was hopping that would be the case at various events, but it never happened. Living in a country outside of the US and only going to events here made the chances lesser as well, of course.

/power scaled,

I want to put forth again that people need to stop obsessing about "power levels." We see real-world examples of underdogs winning in fighting games, sports, corporate battles, friendly rivalries, etc. A character's "power level" is not absolute and does not mean immediate victory.

 

[Juxtapose]

Another thing I'd like to point out with story telling in general, and I first really noticed this back in 2010, is an overall shift in tone.

I'm from Gen X, as I've mentioned in other threads (for those unaware, that's the generation that came after baby boomers but before millennials) and I grew up with stories for games, tv, movies, novels, etc. being dark and gritty, and while they had humour, said humour was usually tongue-in-cheek or dark/morbid humour. The original Mortal Kombat trilogy, for example, has all of these elements.

In 2010, I first really noticed a generally tonal change with StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. The Campaign immediately had a far liter tone than the gritty military sci-fi of it's predecessor, and it clearly was going for a take on Firefly/Serenity. It also had you start on a world that 4 years earlier was glassed by the Protoss, and yet somehow was sound and fine and completely colonized again.

I then began to see that shift in other games, including one's praised for their storytelling. Mass Effect 2 had this, and had a different tone from the darker original title. So did BioShock 2. This trend continued with future games, including Diablo III, Mortal Kombat (2011), Mass Effect 3, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and a host of others that I'm forgetting at the moment.

For whatever reason (a new generation of developers being given the reigns, a societal shift, influence from other media, etc.) the way stories were told were no longer the same. Instead of getting upset or complaining about it, I decided to not take it so seriously and to ask myself this one question: can I enjoy what's in-front of me now? Is it fun? Does it diminish the previous titles that I enjoyed when I was younger?

I found I could enjoy them even if they had become cheesier and light hearted simply because I was looking to have fun, not to complain.

Perhaps everyone needs to take a step back when looking at things today as I did 14 years ago. Or, if you truly can't get behind something, perhaps it's time to move on.