xKhaoTik
The Ignore Button Is Free
It's been 6 years since NRS gave us their first game (from that studio). In those 6 years, we've received 4 games from them, and boy what a ride has it been lol.
I wanted to talk about the balance from then to now and how much BETTER it has gotten.
In 2011, MK9 came out. You literally couldn't compete unless you had a top 10 character on your side, and even with that, you most likely needed a top 5 character to win. The top 5 in that game was widely considered to be Kabal, Kenshi, Cyrax, Sonya and Freddy, with Kabal being in a tier of his own. Hella lopsided MUs with 7-3s, 8-2s, and even a potential 10-0. Very unbalanced, yet fun game and still loved by many to this day.
In 2013, IGAU came out. There were a bit more viable characters in this game and we even saw a non top tier character win a major (Hawkgirl). But with that, the top 5 were still very dominant in the game. Not quite sure if this was solidified but MMH, Aqua, Batgirl, Flash and Bane were in talks a lot, with MMH widely accepted as the best in the game. 7-3s across the bored but not as bad as MK9.
In 2015, MKX came out. The balance in this game was MUCH better compared to the others, and we saw a lot of characters placing and winning tournaments, from "low tier goro" to Alien. In the earlier days, there were some pretty dominant characters like Raiden, Tanya and Alien, but NRS changed all that and the last version of the game was one of NRS' most balanced piece of work yet. I don't even remember if a top 5 was set in stone but characters that were in that conversation were Kitana, Mileena, Shinnok, Scorpion and Jacqui. While those characters were indeed strong, they pale in comparison to what the original game was, and compared to the other top tiers in other NRS games. Were there 7-3s?
Finally, this year in 2017, we got I2. We've seen almost every character in some type of placing. We have sonic fox winning with captain cold who was considered to be a bad character. The dominant characters in the first game aren't as dominate in this game. It feels like just about everyone can compete. There isn't a top 5 yet but characters like Batman, Harley, Arrow, Starfire and Superman are in the mix. HARLEY AND ARROW. Those 2 characters being considered top 5 show how balanced this game is. I can think of a few 7-3s but the game is still young and that may change.
Basically, I just wanted to take time and appreciate NRS for their hard work over he years because we can clearly see how much it's paid off. Look at the top 5 in MK9, then look at the potential top 5 in this game and think about how big of a difference that is in terms of balance and gameplay. A little tweaks can still be done here and there but overall, it's a huge step in the right direction.
Thank you NRS for giving us such a great game. Looking forward to the next games to come.
Buff Ivy
I wanted to talk about the balance from then to now and how much BETTER it has gotten.
In 2011, MK9 came out. You literally couldn't compete unless you had a top 10 character on your side, and even with that, you most likely needed a top 5 character to win. The top 5 in that game was widely considered to be Kabal, Kenshi, Cyrax, Sonya and Freddy, with Kabal being in a tier of his own. Hella lopsided MUs with 7-3s, 8-2s, and even a potential 10-0. Very unbalanced, yet fun game and still loved by many to this day.
In 2013, IGAU came out. There were a bit more viable characters in this game and we even saw a non top tier character win a major (Hawkgirl). But with that, the top 5 were still very dominant in the game. Not quite sure if this was solidified but MMH, Aqua, Batgirl, Flash and Bane were in talks a lot, with MMH widely accepted as the best in the game. 7-3s across the bored but not as bad as MK9.
In 2015, MKX came out. The balance in this game was MUCH better compared to the others, and we saw a lot of characters placing and winning tournaments, from "low tier goro" to Alien. In the earlier days, there were some pretty dominant characters like Raiden, Tanya and Alien, but NRS changed all that and the last version of the game was one of NRS' most balanced piece of work yet. I don't even remember if a top 5 was set in stone but characters that were in that conversation were Kitana, Mileena, Shinnok, Scorpion and Jacqui. While those characters were indeed strong, they pale in comparison to what the original game was, and compared to the other top tiers in other NRS games. Were there 7-3s?
Finally, this year in 2017, we got I2. We've seen almost every character in some type of placing. We have sonic fox winning with captain cold who was considered to be a bad character. The dominant characters in the first game aren't as dominate in this game. It feels like just about everyone can compete. There isn't a top 5 yet but characters like Batman, Harley, Arrow, Starfire and Superman are in the mix. HARLEY AND ARROW. Those 2 characters being considered top 5 show how balanced this game is. I can think of a few 7-3s but the game is still young and that may change.
Basically, I just wanted to take time and appreciate NRS for their hard work over he years because we can clearly see how much it's paid off. Look at the top 5 in MK9, then look at the potential top 5 in this game and think about how big of a difference that is in terms of balance and gameplay. A little tweaks can still be done here and there but overall, it's a huge step in the right direction.
Thank you NRS for giving us such a great game. Looking forward to the next games to come.
Buff Ivy