Legion Quest
Noob
MK9 - Best Fighting Game Ever
Okay, I know some people are going to complain that I'm a fanboy, but no, I'm not. I grew up on Street Fighter 2 since elementary school and at that time I preferred SF2 to MK. However, having not played any fighting games since the PS1 days of MK, Tekken, and SFX, and a couple months ago trying SF4 (I know the game's been out for some time, but I thought I'd never get back into fighting games), I decided to try out MK9. Here is my opinion on the game. I mention all the strong points and a couple of minor problems.
First off, the game is excellent. It has the perfect balance of simplicity and difficulty/complexity. Unlike earlier MK's, this one has degrees of complexity that make you feel you are playing a more competitive fighter, while avoiding the complexity that allows some FG players to fill with excessive pride when talking about "technicality" and "sophistication."
Anyway, off the bat, I love the fact the game has a tag team mode built in. It makes it feel like you own both SF and MvC on the same disc (of course with MK9 game mechanics). Sometimes I feel like playing 1v1 and other times I feel like playing tag team. Tag team forces you to try new characters as well as discover new combos and tactics that you wouldn't try otherwise. I HOPE that the MK group keeps the tag team mode in all future MK installments.
Strong points:
1* 2 levels of attacks for normals: I personally find 3 levels of attacks as found in some FG to be unnecessary complexity. I know some FG buffs will say "but it adds degrees of complexity to the game that make it more interesting." I don't know, but the claim of some FG buffs that they keep into consideration 100's of possibilities during each microsecond of a match, is a claim that I find far-fetched.
2* 1 degree of special attacks: I never liked in some fighting games how special moves will have 3 degrees of attack. Like a slow and weak fireball, a moderate one, and a fast and powerful fireball. True, this might add a degree of complexity to the mechanics of the game, but is compexity always something praiseworthy? The game's mechanics are good enough to be competetive now (EVO2011) as well as simple enough to be enjoyed by friends who don't play daily.
3* Combo breakers: I think this adds to the games mechanics a fun and intelligent device. Although maybe if the combo breakers required just 1 bar instead of 2 and maybe enhanced moves would require 2?
4* Visible damage: I think it is beautiful that you actually see your character or your opponent's character change as he gets more and more damaged. Maybe other fighters will learn from MK. It's also good how the stage gets filled with blood as the match carries on.
5* Tag team mode: This was an excellent inclusion to the game. I also like the fact that tag assists require meter, making the game less chaotic than MvC. Also, the swapped out character doesn't regenerate health. I always thought this added unnecessary complexity.
6* Online mode: Great for any FG. The only problem is the netcode is kind of slow and laggy.
7* Character variety: MK beats SF in the fact that different character special moves feel and look so different. They don't all appear like clones of the oldest character in the game. Even if just graphically, projectiles are interpreted as having different origins or offer different effects. Scorpion's projectile pulls his opponent towards him. Sub-zero freezes you. Ermac has a telekinetic projectile. Kitana has her weapons. Nightwolf, etc. In SF, almost all characters seem to have the same "hadokenish" projectile, with some kind of "shoryukenish" uppercut attack, and some kind of kick attack. There are too many Ryu clones. I know some SF fans will say "it's true they look similar, but the characters can't be played the same." I still feel they're projectiles and move sets are so similar it kind of makes the game boring. When I play Ken or Sakura, I know they are 2 different characters that can't be played the same, but still, their move sets look way too different. Can you say that about Lui Kang and Kung Lao?
8* X-ray moves: Excellent idea with simple implementation.
9* Character don't return to original position after round ends: I love the fact that after the round ends, you continue from the same spot you end at. It both makes the match feel more fluid and gives both players a chance to start a round from an alternate position. I know that some right handed players prefer the left side of the screen (and left handed players sometimes prefer the right side of the screen). I would add to this the fact that meter gets carried over from previous rounds. I think that's great.
Minor issues:
x1 Character looks: I think there are too many male and female ninja characters. I wish more non-ninja characters would be introduced. In this regards, SF characters don't look too similar (although their move sets are similar looking). I know Scorpion's ninja costume is different from Sub-zero's, but they are still both ninja looking. Also, there are the robotic looking ninjas. I hope in the future installment, we'll see more characters that look like they are from different parts of the world. Maybe a samurai looking warrior. I also wish there were some sexy good gal characters. Sonya is kind of boring.
x2 Online mode slow
x3 Bosses kind of cheap
x4 2 fighters with the same costume in a match: This happens occasionally. The computer opponent is wearing the same costume as one of your fighters (both are the same character). The problem obviously is sometimes you can end up losing track of who you are.
Ideas for MK10:
* If fatalities could be incorporated into the actual fight rather than a post-match move. I know this would make pulling them off harder, but it would also make your opponent feel wasted any time done correctly - kind of like when you end a SF fight with an Ultra combo (except that Ultra combos can be pulled of anytime during the fight but we want fatalities only for the end of the fight that don't necessarily save you from losing a fight). I don't know how this could properly be implemented, maybe a special move that can be pulled of at the end of a short combo when your opponent has less than 10% of his health left?
Okay, I know some people are going to complain that I'm a fanboy, but no, I'm not. I grew up on Street Fighter 2 since elementary school and at that time I preferred SF2 to MK. However, having not played any fighting games since the PS1 days of MK, Tekken, and SFX, and a couple months ago trying SF4 (I know the game's been out for some time, but I thought I'd never get back into fighting games), I decided to try out MK9. Here is my opinion on the game. I mention all the strong points and a couple of minor problems.
First off, the game is excellent. It has the perfect balance of simplicity and difficulty/complexity. Unlike earlier MK's, this one has degrees of complexity that make you feel you are playing a more competitive fighter, while avoiding the complexity that allows some FG players to fill with excessive pride when talking about "technicality" and "sophistication."
Anyway, off the bat, I love the fact the game has a tag team mode built in. It makes it feel like you own both SF and MvC on the same disc (of course with MK9 game mechanics). Sometimes I feel like playing 1v1 and other times I feel like playing tag team. Tag team forces you to try new characters as well as discover new combos and tactics that you wouldn't try otherwise. I HOPE that the MK group keeps the tag team mode in all future MK installments.
Strong points:
1* 2 levels of attacks for normals: I personally find 3 levels of attacks as found in some FG to be unnecessary complexity. I know some FG buffs will say "but it adds degrees of complexity to the game that make it more interesting." I don't know, but the claim of some FG buffs that they keep into consideration 100's of possibilities during each microsecond of a match, is a claim that I find far-fetched.
2* 1 degree of special attacks: I never liked in some fighting games how special moves will have 3 degrees of attack. Like a slow and weak fireball, a moderate one, and a fast and powerful fireball. True, this might add a degree of complexity to the mechanics of the game, but is compexity always something praiseworthy? The game's mechanics are good enough to be competetive now (EVO2011) as well as simple enough to be enjoyed by friends who don't play daily.
3* Combo breakers: I think this adds to the games mechanics a fun and intelligent device. Although maybe if the combo breakers required just 1 bar instead of 2 and maybe enhanced moves would require 2?
4* Visible damage: I think it is beautiful that you actually see your character or your opponent's character change as he gets more and more damaged. Maybe other fighters will learn from MK. It's also good how the stage gets filled with blood as the match carries on.
5* Tag team mode: This was an excellent inclusion to the game. I also like the fact that tag assists require meter, making the game less chaotic than MvC. Also, the swapped out character doesn't regenerate health. I always thought this added unnecessary complexity.
6* Online mode: Great for any FG. The only problem is the netcode is kind of slow and laggy.
7* Character variety: MK beats SF in the fact that different character special moves feel and look so different. They don't all appear like clones of the oldest character in the game. Even if just graphically, projectiles are interpreted as having different origins or offer different effects. Scorpion's projectile pulls his opponent towards him. Sub-zero freezes you. Ermac has a telekinetic projectile. Kitana has her weapons. Nightwolf, etc. In SF, almost all characters seem to have the same "hadokenish" projectile, with some kind of "shoryukenish" uppercut attack, and some kind of kick attack. There are too many Ryu clones. I know some SF fans will say "it's true they look similar, but the characters can't be played the same." I still feel they're projectiles and move sets are so similar it kind of makes the game boring. When I play Ken or Sakura, I know they are 2 different characters that can't be played the same, but still, their move sets look way too different. Can you say that about Lui Kang and Kung Lao?
8* X-ray moves: Excellent idea with simple implementation.
9* Character don't return to original position after round ends: I love the fact that after the round ends, you continue from the same spot you end at. It both makes the match feel more fluid and gives both players a chance to start a round from an alternate position. I know that some right handed players prefer the left side of the screen (and left handed players sometimes prefer the right side of the screen). I would add to this the fact that meter gets carried over from previous rounds. I think that's great.
Minor issues:
x1 Character looks: I think there are too many male and female ninja characters. I wish more non-ninja characters would be introduced. In this regards, SF characters don't look too similar (although their move sets are similar looking). I know Scorpion's ninja costume is different from Sub-zero's, but they are still both ninja looking. Also, there are the robotic looking ninjas. I hope in the future installment, we'll see more characters that look like they are from different parts of the world. Maybe a samurai looking warrior. I also wish there were some sexy good gal characters. Sonya is kind of boring.
x2 Online mode slow
x3 Bosses kind of cheap
x4 2 fighters with the same costume in a match: This happens occasionally. The computer opponent is wearing the same costume as one of your fighters (both are the same character). The problem obviously is sometimes you can end up losing track of who you are.
Ideas for MK10:
* If fatalities could be incorporated into the actual fight rather than a post-match move. I know this would make pulling them off harder, but it would also make your opponent feel wasted any time done correctly - kind of like when you end a SF fight with an Ultra combo (except that Ultra combos can be pulled of anytime during the fight but we want fatalities only for the end of the fight that don't necessarily save you from losing a fight). I don't know how this could properly be implemented, maybe a special move that can be pulled of at the end of a short combo when your opponent has less than 10% of his health left?
