Has NRS silenced the Mortal Kombat 1 critics?

[TomShane]

This was such an obvious typo that you shouldn't have been confused in the first place, but then he corrects himself, and you still get it wrong. Hilarious.

Never change man, never change.

Actually no, it wasn't obvious. You yourself only got it now. So much for a gacha moment.

Taskmaster was written excelently, if you had actually taken writing classes you'd know that.

Taskmaster wasn't written right in this one. Making Taskmaster a brainwashed victim wasn't good at all. The gender swap and the mech suit are fine, but the brainwashing part ruined it. It was too far from what Taskmaster is supposed to be.

Jeez.

I said most players that dislike the game don’t even play it. Not that most players dislike the game.

Thanks for the explanation, although you could've been more accurate.

Well I meant being mad at others for not liking this game. For some reason it just eats some people up that others don’t like this game.

Guess what though? You can’t make me. I don’t like it.

I’m glad floyd revived some of you guys hope. Lord knows y’all needed one win after all the L’s this game has truly taken.

We are not mad at people don't like the game. We are mad at people that are want the game to fail and that actually makes them happy and are in denial when the game is successful in pure copium. Which is exactly what you're doing. MK1 being the best selling fighting game shows that the game never got any L's, only W's, Floyd is just one of them.

Just like you're in denial for all the success details I brought about the MCU. You're an internet parrot.

 

[Vulgar]

Well I meant being mad at others for not liking this game. For some reason it just eats some people up that others don’t like this game.

Guess what though? You can’t make me. I don’t like it.

I’m glad floyd revived some of you guys hope. Lord knows y’all needed one win after all the L’s this game has truly taken.

You've never tried it. You don't actually know that you won't like it.

Broccoli green so me no likey.

 

[Subby Z]

You've never tried it. You don't actually know that you won't like it.

Broccoli green so me no likey.

Vulgar give it up. I’ve played as Sub-Zero in every game and (to me) that’s always been Kuai Liang (I mean factually he’s been the main Sub-Zero since MK2 until this game) so yeah I just have no interest. The guy I play as in every game ain’t there.

The only other option is Jade and the way they butchered almost every character in this game I would really just prefer she sit out. Like I’m perfectly fine with Mk11 being my last memory of her haha. This game and what they did to the characters is THAT BAD to me. Other things matter besides gameplay. You have to separate those 2.

 

[zerosebaz]

Actually no, it wasn't obvious. You yourself only got it now. So much for a gacha moment.

No, you got it now, that is what makes it funny. You getting it wrong the first time was a bit silly, but it was just you being you. You getting it wrong the second time was what made it really funny.

Taskmaster wasn't written right in this one. Making Taskmaster a brainwashed victim wasn't good at all. The gender swap and the mech suit are fine, but the brainwashing part ruined it. It was too far from what Taskmaster is supposed to be.

Taskmaster was written excellently, and people loved her, that's why the movie was so successful, and why she is going to be now in Thunderbolts too.

 

[Juxtapose]

Man. I haven't thought of him in ages.

He's on the official Discord now, though he doesn't remember me.

You know I think Jux may have just solved it lol might be dead on.

Ha! It's funny, because a decade ago, MKF30 and I went over it on Ermac (his fav character) and the inconsistencies brought on by the then-canon Mortal Kombat X comics. TomShane brought up the exact same point I argued with MKF30 all those years ago (and brings it up again further in this thread). Coincidence ? Spoiler, it is, but still.

So I have noticed online fandoms are loud, but those fandoms are often very vocal online (because they’re chronically online) but aren’t actually the major part of the fanbase.

Yes, I agree as well. When I go offline and talk with people in general, opinions about franchises are typically more subdued.

Can you give me a link to where Ed Boon said that?

It was in an interview (video) about a decade ago where he was promoting Mortal Kombat X and the comics as the tie-in that shows what happened between Mortal Kombat (2011) and it. This was a bit before Mortal Kombat X launched. When Dom out-of-the-blue declared the comics not canon roughly in late 2020, it was a big surprise and was a very big discussion topic on the official Discord.

Does that mean Ed lied? Of course not. What it proves is that things change, even from key creatives on a project/franchise.

Also once again with the Mileena-Ermac example I brought, are you saying that how Ermac rejected Mileena in the comic is canon when the game's story clearly contradicts it?

It was canon as per NetherRealm Studios itself. Until it wasn't. The Story Modes themselves are full of contradictions and inconsistencies, so it's not a surprise. The only way to reconcile Ermac at the time was that he went back to Mileena's service during her rebellion, but then left her a second time. Since the comics are no longer canon, that's no longer an issue unless they're re-instated as canon again down the road.

I think develops should listen to fans with discretion.

Developers actually prioritize data over fan feedback, as I understand it. Which is very smart.

I actually took classes in writing, and I talked closely with professional writers who understand how writing works.

With all due respect, you also compared taking a writing course to 20 years of actual industry experience. Your perspectives are... interesting to say the least.

 

[Vulgar]

Vulgar give it up. I’ve played as Sub-Zero in every game and (to me) that’s always been Kuai Liang (I mean factually he’s been the main Sub-Zero since MK2 until this game) so yeah I just have no interest. The guy I play as in every game ain’t there.

The only other option is Jade and the way they butchered almost every character in this game I would really just prefer she sit out. Like I’m perfectly fine with Mk11 being my last memory of her haha. This game and what they did to the characters is THAT BAD to me. Other things matter besides gameplay. You have to separate those 2.

It's a video game. You play it. You can't talk about a video game - a thing you play - being bad without actually playing it. You wouldn't know.

Watch a movie if that's all you're interested in.

Wait, no, Sub Zero acts completely differently in those than he did in the Midway trilogy, so you'd definitely hate them.

Otherwise, you're a child that refuses their veggies because they're green.

Baby Z wants his Appy-sauce.

 

[Vulgar]

He's on the official Discord now, though he doesn't remember me.



Ha! It's funny, because a decade ago, MKF30 and I went over it on Ermac (his fav character) and the inconsistencies brought on by the then-canon Mortal Kombat X comics. TomShane brought up the exact same point I argued with MKF30 all those years ago (and brings it up again further in this thread). Coincidence ? Spoiler, it is, but still.



Yes, I agree as well. When I go offline and talk with people in general, opinions about franchises are typically more subdued.



It was in an interview (video) about a decade ago where he was promoting Mortal Kombat X and the comics as the tie-in that shows what happened between Mortal Kombat (2011) and it. This was a bit before Mortal Kombat X launched. When Dom out-of-the-blue declared the comics not canon roughly in late 2020, it was a big surprise and was a very big discussion topic on the official Discord.

Does that mean Ed lied? Of course not. What it proves is that things change, even from key creatives on a project/franchise.



It was canon as per NetherRealm Studios itself. Until it wasn't. The Story Modes themselves are full of contradictions and inconsistencies, so it's not a surprise. The only way to reconcile Ermac at the time was that he went back to Mileena's service during her rebellion, but then left her a second time. Since the comics are no longer canon, that's no longer an issue unless they're re-instated as canon again down the road.



Developers actually prioritize data over fan feedback, as I understand it. Which is very smart.



With all due respect, you also compared taking a writing course to 20 years of actual industry experience. Your perspectives are... interesting to say the least.

It's true. NRS has access to Hella analytics that we don't. They know what characters are used most online, win/loss rates, all kinds of stuff. I remember them mentioning it briefly in an old Kombat Kast.

 

[TomShane]

No, you got it now, that is what makes it funny. You getting it wrong the first time was a bit silly, but it was just you being you. You getting it wrong the second time was what made it really funny.




Taskmaster was written excellently, and people loved her, that's why the movie was so successful, and why she is going to be now in Thunderbolts too.

Well if she is gonna be Thunderbolts maybe someone managed to think of a new way to make it work, I can give them a chance of course. That doesn't mean Taskmaster in the first one was good.

And no, you got it wrong as well. He wasn't accurate at all.

Vulgar give it up. I’ve played as Sub-Zero in every game and (to me) that’s always been Kuai Liang (I mean factually he’s been the main Sub-Zero since MK2 until this game) so yeah I just have no interest. The guy I play as in every game ain’t there.

The only other option is Jade and the way they butchered almost every character in this game I would really just prefer she sit out. Like I’m perfectly fine with Mk11 being my last memory of her haha. This game and what they did to the characters is THAT BAD to me. Other things matter besides gameplay. You have to separate those 2.

Except that they didn't butcher anyone. Also Bi-Han was Sub-Zero in original MK1 and he was also Sub-Zero in MKM:SZ, and even in the MK9 story, he was Sub-Zero the beginning and only since the MK2 portion of it Kuai Liang was Sub-Zero, so if you pick Sub-Zero in MK9 in his alternate skin, that's Bi-Han, not Kuai Liang.

They did everything right, including gameplay.

It's true. NRS has access to Hella analytics that we don't. They know what characters are used most online, win/loss rates, all kinds of stuff. I remember them mentioning it briefly in an old Kombat Kast.

Ed Boon also said before MKX launch, in an interview with Angry Joe, that the reason that there's no Tag Team mode back from MK9 is that they got the data on how many people played Tag mode and it was only very few people. The data indeed doesn't lie.

 

[zerosebaz]

Well if she is gonna be Thunderbolts maybe someone managed to think of a new way to make it work, I can give them a chance of course. That doesn't mean Taskmaster in the first one was good.

And no, you got it wrong as well. He wasn't accurate at all.

It's not necessary to think of a new way to make her work, because she works perfectly already. She wasn't good on the first one, she was great.


No, only you got it wrong. And then you got it wrong again. He was inaccurate, made a typo and you didn't notice, no big deal. But then he was accurate and you still got it wrong. No big deal either, but pretty funny. Specially when you are lying about taking writing classes, which you obviously didn't.


Edit: "They did everything write, including gameplay." You should try to be more accurate.

 

[TomShane]

He's on the official Discord now, though he doesn't remember me.



Ha! It's funny, because a decade ago, MKF30 and I went over it on Ermac (his fav character) and the inconsistencies brought on by the then-canon Mortal Kombat X comics. TomShane brought up the exact same point I argued with MKF30 all those years ago (and brings it up again further in this thread). Coincidence ? Spoiler, it is, but still.



Yes, I agree as well. When I go offline and talk with people in general, opinions about franchises are typically more subdued.



It was in an interview (video) about a decade ago where he was promoting Mortal Kombat X and the comics as the tie-in that shows what happened between Mortal Kombat (2011) and it. This was a bit before Mortal Kombat X launched. When Dom out-of-the-blue declared the comics not canon roughly in late 2020, it was a big surprise and was a very big discussion topic on the official Discord.

Does that mean Ed lied? Of course not. What it proves is that things change, even from key creatives on a project/franchise.



It was canon as per NetherRealm Studios itself. Until it wasn't. The Story Modes themselves are full of contradictions and inconsistencies, so it's not a surprise. The only way to reconcile Ermac at the time was that he went back to Mileena's service during her rebellion, but then left her a second time. Since the comics are no longer canon, that's no longer an issue unless they're re-instated as canon again down the road.



Developers actually prioritize data over fan feedback, as I understand it. Which is very smart.



With all due respect, you also compared taking a writing course to 20 years of actual industry experience. Your perspectives are... interesting to say the least.

Yes I know that things are changed, just like how MK Vs. DC used to be non-canon but now it is (Dominic confirmed it in 2020) and how MK Shaolin Monks was originally meant to be canon but then after release it became not-canon. Perhaps Ed Boon didn't know all the details about story for SM. And like I said earlier, Shawn Kittlesen said he got full freedom with his story, so even if Ed Boon said it, he perhaps didn't know how far Kittlesen would take the story from the game's story.

Also MK stories in the games have no contradictions and inconsistences at all. And the while Mileena-Ermac thing in the comic shows that it doesn't fit the game's story at all. And no, Ermac didn't come back to Mileena, because in the game's story, when Ermac turned on Mileena, she was still the Empress and right after that fight that's when Kotal became the new emperor, while in the comic, Kotal Kahn was already the emperor throughout the whole story but Ermac was still with Mileena until the very end before he rejected her. So your explanation doesn't line up at all.

 

[TomShane]

It's not necessary to think of a new way to make her work, because she works perfectly already. She wasn't good on the first one, she was great.


No, only you got it wrong. And then you got it wrong again. He was inaccurate, made a typo and you didn't notice, no big deal. But then he was accurate and you still got it wrong. No big deal either, but pretty funny. Specially when you are lying about taking writing classes, which you obviously didn't.

I'm not lying, I did took these classes. You are the one who's lying, he wasn't accurate and you know it. And Taskmaster didn't work in Black Widow, but once again they can make it work the 2nd time. Just because you and I disagree on one thing doesn't mean I'm lying. I'm sure now you thinking that just because you don't like anything in NRS/WB games that means that Ed Boon never took classes in gaming development. And I'm sure you're lying about you not liking anything in them also, and just parroting what the other bashers re saying just like Subby.

Do you genially don't like them and you're not a parrot and you're not lying?

 

[zerosebaz]

I'm not lying, I did took these classes. You are the one who's lying, he wasn't accurate and you know it. And Taskmaster didn't work in Black Widow, but once again they can make it work the 2nd time. Just because you and I disagree on one thing doesn't mean I'm lying. I'm sure now you thinking that just because you don't like anything in NRS/WB games that means that Ed Boon never took classes in gaming development. And I'm sure you're lying about you not liking anything in them also, and just parroting what the other bashers re saying just like Subby.

Do you genially don't like them and you're not a parrot and you're not lying?

He was sufficiently accurate, you just made a worst typo than he did.
Was it very long ago? Did you pass them?
Because if you had passed them then you could see that what they did with Taskmaster is actually really really good.

See, there you go, saying I'm the one who lies, while lying again. Boon never took game development classes. But even without that, he still made and makes great things. You only lie.

 

[Juxtapose]

just like how MK Vs. DC used to be non-canon but now it is

You actually see a scene from it in a flashback in Mortal Kombat 11's story mode, which pre-date Dom even openly confirming it.

Also MK stories in the games have no contradictions and inconsistences at all.

Uhhh... you may want to go and play the Story Modes again. There's glaring inconsistencies. Looking solely at Mortal Kombat (2011), considering Dark Raiden sent his past memories to himself and time changes started with the beginning of the Shaolin Tournament, it makes no sense for Jade, Baraka, Nightwold, Lao, etc. to be present. It makes no sense for Mileena to be created in the Outworld tournament. It makes no sense for the Lin Kuei to be there helping Shang when Sub-Zero was originally sent to assassinate him. These are just a few, there's a host more in all the Story Modes.

And the while Mileena-Ermac thing in the comic shows that it doesn't fit the game's story at all. And no, Ermac didn't come back to Mileena, because in the game's story, when Ermac turned on Mileena, she was still the Empress and right after that fight that's when Kotal became the new emperor, while in the comic, Kotal Kahn was already the emperor throughout the whole story but Ermac was still with Mileena until the very end before he rejected her.

Yes, which is why it's an inconsistency. Yet another one that was canon for about half a decade.

Anyway, this has been fun. You clearly have some... interesting... perspectives on lots of things, and I hope you continue to enjoy the franchise.

Cheers.

 

[SaltShaker]

You actually see a scene from it in a flashback in Mortal Kombat 11's story mode, which pre-date Dom even openly confirming it.



Uhhh... you may want to go and play the Story Modes again. There's glaring inconsistencies. Looking solely at Mortal Kombat (2011), considering Dark Raiden sent his past memories to himself and time changes started with the beginning of the Shaolin Tournament, it makes no sense for Jade, Baraka, Nightwold, Lao, etc. to be present. It makes no sense for Mileena to be created in the Outworld tournament. It makes no sense for the Lin Kuei to be there helping Shang when Sub-Zero was originally sent to assassinate him. These are just a few, there's a host more in all the Story Modes.



Yes, which is why it's an inconsistency. Yet another one that was canon for about half a decade.

Anyway, this has been fun. You clearly have some... interesting... perspectives on lots of things, and I hope you continue to enjoy the franchise.

Cheers.

No contradictions and no inconsistencies at all across all games combined. Even the GOAT TV shows and GOAT movies have some inconsistencies, except MK, which doesn't even have a single one lol.

 

[Vulgar]

No contradictions and no inconsistencies at all across all games combined. Even the GOAT TV shows and GOAT movies have some inconsistencies, except MK, which doesn't even have a single one lol.

Honestly. I've completely lost track of this thread. I guess Black Widow was bad because Sub Zero isn't Kuai Liang anymore?

I don't fucking know anymore.

 

[SaltShaker]

Honestly. I've completely lost track of this thread. I guess Black Widow was bad because Sub Zero isn't Kuai Liang anymore?

I don't fucking know anymore.

Nah Black Widow actually was decent and underrated, and suffered from coming out in 2021's damaged year.

 

[Vulgar]

Nah Black Widow actually was decent and underrated, and suffered from coming out in 2021's damaged year.

I liked it a lot and agree with that assessment.

 

[TomShane]

He was sufficiently accurate, you just made a worst typo than he did.
Was it very long ago? Did you pass them?
Because if you had passed them then you could see that what they did with Taskmaster is actually really really good.

See, there you go, saying I'm the one who lies, while lying again. Boon never took game development classes. But even without that, he still made and makes great things. You only lie.

You saying I didn't pass them without any proof. I did pass them, with a score of 92 out of 100, and it was only 3 years ago, and it doesn't matter how long it was anyway. Yet you are the one who says that MK stories are bad when they were all amazing especially MK1. But because you say that just one character in just one movie (which was good overall BTW) was good, all the sudden you got better understand then me in writing and I'm lying, while you got no background or experience or education in writing to back you up.

And you didn't answer my question, do you really hate the MK games or are you just parroting just to get on the internet bandwagon just so you can be "one of the guys"? Are you for real and accurate (unlike how the other guy was) or are you lying?

 

[zerosebaz]

You saying I didn't pass them without any proof. I did pass them, with a score of 92 out of 100, and it was only 3 years ago, and it doesn't matter how long it was anyway. Yet you are the one who says that MK stories are bad when they were all amazing especially MK1. But because you say that just one character in just one movie (which was good overall BTW) was good, all the sudden you got better understand then me in writing and I'm lying, while you got no background or experience or education in writing to back you up.

And you didn't answer my question, do you really hate the MK games or are you just parroting just to get on the internet bandwagon just so you can be "one of the guys"? Are you for real and accurate (unlike how the other guy was) or are you lying?

Still complaining about someone else's inaccuracies while completely ignoring your own.
Completely ignoring the lie about Boon.
Claiming you pass a writing course and then saying MK stories were amazing, and saying Taskmaster was written poorly, when she was great (and the movie was bad, only Taskmaster was great). It really doesn't add up.
Did you actually get any writing gig thanks to your course?

And there you go again, lying, saying I hate the Mortal Kombat games. I never said any such things.

 

[TomShane]

Still complaining about someone else's inaccuracies while completely ignoring your own.
Completely ignoring the lie about Boon.
Claiming you pass a writing course and then saying MK stories were amazing, and saying Taskmaster was written poorly, when she was great (and the movie was bad, only Taskmaster was great). It really doesn't add up.
Did you actually get any writing gig thanks to your course?

And there you go again, lying, saying I hate the Mortal Kombat games. I never said any such things.

I'm not complaining about him, I only bring it up because you keep bringing it up.

And you do hate MK games, not only you bash the stories which were all amazing, but I took a quick look at your post history and you hated a whole bunch of stuff. Hating D'Vorah, hating Goro being pre-order DLC for MKX, hate Mileena's MKX design, and so on, and especially, hating the gender swap of Cyrax which is exactly what happened with Taskmaster in Black Widow, but you got no issue with that (I have an issue with Taskmaster not because of the gender swap but because her being brainwashed just doesn't fit the character at all). And of course your little comment to chrisisnice regarding Floyd, saying that "everything that NRS do is wrong". Or what you're gonna say now? That you were only sarcastic?

And you say that the Black Widow movie was bad and only Taskmaster was good, while Black Widow was very successful at the box office and other characters in the movie were awesome instead of Task, especially Red Guardian.

And while I didn't get to have any gig outside of the class yet, I still got the grade and knowledge with me.

So where is your writing class experience and grade? To say such stupid things about MK and Black Widow? I at least got something with me, you got nothing.

Oh and about Ed Boon, I just checked his history on Wikipedia, he got a degree in mathematics and computer science, which that's how he got the knowledge to work on games and pinball machines.

So you are a hypocrite AND you make nonsensical stuff AND you're lying.

Anyway, I'm done with you, got no more time for you.

 

[Trickywizard]

Well I meant being mad at others for not liking this game. For some reason it just eats some people up that others don’t like this game.

Guess what though? You can’t make me. I don’t like it.

I’m glad floyd revived some of you guys hope. Lord knows y’all needed one win after all the L’s this game has truly taken.

Not sure where you got that idea, I really don’t care if you like it or not lol.

Me I didn’t like sf6 but you will never see me going on forums to shit on the game I just never played it again.

 

[Vulgar]

I'm not complaining about him, I only bring it up because you keep bringing it up.

And you do hate MK games, not only you bash the stories which were all amazing, but I took a quick look at your post history and you hated a whole bunch of stuff. Hating D'Vorah, hating Goro being pre-order DLC for MKX, hate Mileena's MKX design, and so on, and especially, hating the gender swap of Cyrax which is exactly what happened with Taskmaster in Black Widow, but you got no issue with that (I have an issue with Taskmaster not because of the gender swap but because her being brainwashed just doesn't fit the character at all). And of course your little comment to chrisisnice regarding Floyd, saying that "everything that NRS do is wrong". Or what you're gonna say now? That you were only sarcastic?

And you say that the Black Widow movie was bad and only Taskmaster was good, while Black Widow was very successful at the box office and other characters in the movie were awesome instead of Task, especially Red Guardian.

And while I didn't get to have any gig outside of the class yet, I still got the grade and knowledge with me.

So where is your writing class experience and grade? To say such stupid things about MK and Black Widow? I at least got something with me, you got nothing.

Oh and about Ed Boon, I just checked his history on Wikipedia, he got a degree in mathematics and computer science, which that's how he got the knowledge to work on games and pinball machines.

So you are a hypocrite AND you make nonsensical stuff AND you're lying.

Anyway, I'm done with you, got no more time for you.

This man went into the post historyyyyy!!!


Noooooooooooooooo!!!

 

[zerosebaz]

I'm not complaining about him, I only bring it up because you keep bringing it up.

And you do hate MK games, not only you bash the stories which were all amazing, but I took a quick look at your post history and you hated a whole bunch of stuff. Hating D'Vorah, hating Goro being pre-order DLC for MKX, hate Mileena's MKX design, and so on, and especially, hating the gender swap of Cyrax which is exactly what happened with Taskmaster in Black Widow, but you got no issue with that (I have an issue with Taskmaster not because of the gender swap but because her being brainwashed just doesn't fit the character at all). And of course your little comment to chrisisnice regarding Floyd, saying that "everything that NRS do is wrong". Or what you're gonna say now? That you were only sarcastic?

And you say that the Black Widow movie was bad and only Taskmaster was good, while Black Widow was very successful at the box office and other characters in the movie were awesome instead of Task, especially Red Guardian.

And while I didn't get to have any gig outside of the class yet, I still got the grade and knowledge with me.

So where is your writing class experience and grade? To say such stupid things about MK and Black Widow? I at least got something with me, you got nothing.

Oh and about Ed Boon, I just checked his history on Wikipedia, he got a degree in mathematics and computer science, which that's how he got the knowledge to work on games and pinball machines.

So you are a hypocrite AND you make nonsensical stuff AND you're lying.

Anyway, I'm done with you, got no more time for you.

I'm not bringing him up, you keep bringing him up. Talking about people lacking accuracy, and meanwhile making lots of mistakes of your own, like saying I "Chrisisnice" Floyd.

And here you go lying again. I do not hate MK games, I do not bash the MK games with amazing story, I love Millena's MKX costumes, MKX actually has some of my favorite costumes, and see, the Taskmaster thing is great inspite of the genderswap, the brainwashpart is the best thing about it. It's so faithful to the character.
And see, things like you not being able to recognize such an obvious joke is what makes me think you could have never passed any sort of writing course. It doesn't have any sort of hidden meaning it's pretty evident. It makes me think you wouldn't be able to understand anything anything that's hidden between the lines, and if you can't do that, then how could you have passed a writing course?

And of course, the the movie was bad, but it was successful because of Taskmaster. She carried the movie on her shoulders, I wouldn't have been successful without her.

And Mathemathics and Computer Science, not gamedesing. Tobias didn't study gamedesing either.

You are the one being hypocrite, not making any sense, and lying here, not me.

And you are done with me? No, it's me that's done with you. Don't answer any further.

 

[ImperatrixSindel]

Hi! I haven't posted here in ages but I read the threads sometimes because they're still a trip. This one has been interesting! Interesting enough that I'm going to write a very long comment here, so please bear with me.

First of all, I just feel the need to note amid all the MCU debate in here that Agatha All Along was not a 'bomb' at all. It was a critical hit, was nominated for major industry awards (it's likely to be in contention in a few categories at the Emmys, even), and wildly outperformed Disney's expectations, especially given its low budget versus previous Disney+ Marvel shows. They seem to be flirting with the idea of renewing it, even though it was intended as a one-off miniseries. It's basically the definition of a success, especially in the age of streaming where it's hard to make money on anything in television anymore. This show about women that changed the races of a few minor Marvel characters and features a lesbian romance? It was good, and people liked it.

Point is, this is a great example of why the idea that diversity or 'wokeness' or whatever dogwhistle one wants to use is what makes a story unsuccessful is a childish notion. Somehow the same people who always bang that drum don't seem to have a problem with a genderswap or a race change or whatever else if it's in a piece of media they otherwise happen to like. It's just an easy scapegoat for something you didn't like to begin with.

If someone doesn't like MK1, it's not because Cyrax is a woman in it. They already didn't like MK1, and female Cyrax is a convenient thing for them to meme about -- because, frankly, online fandoms are full of losers who can't wait to dogpile on a woman for no reason, especially a Black one.

I understand people feeling an attachment to fictional characters and not wanting them to change too much, but I find the complete devotion to nostalgia a bit strange. Like, I don't really like how Sindel plays in MK1, so I play Tanya. In MK11 Sindel wasn't in the game at launch, so I mostly played Jade. There's always someone interesting to play. I can't imagine rejecting a game entirely because 'my character' is in it, but not in the way I prefer.

For instance, I was initially bummed about the evil Sindel retcon in MK11, because I am the type of weirdo who cares about story in a fighting game. But it was still Sindel, and I still had a ton of fun with her -- and after I gave it a chance, I came to find the evil version of Sindel really hilarious! I also realized that making her a bad guy probably gave her more of a unique lane in the franchise than having her be a royal heroine from Edenia when Kitana, Mileena, and Jade are always going to be more popular characters. (Case in point: she was good again in this game... and so they immediately killed her off to make room for Mileena's future story.)

If MK1 is a failure, it isn't because superfans of Mortal Kombat lore staged a protest on behalf of Hanzo Hasashi or boy Sektor. It's because WB wanted the game out in 2024, and the game clearly was not finished.

It's because casual fans -- casual meaning non-competitive; I read this forum, but I'm not very good at video games and I've never attempted to play them competitively -- expect things from Mortal Kombat as a franchise at this point that simply were not present in this release. We expect lots of fun stuff to unlock. We expect all the bells and whistles. We expect heavy customization in an NRS game at this point. I spent hours dressing up my silly little characters in IJ2 and MK11. I spent eons playing the stupid Towers of Time mode in MK11 because I enjoyed unlocking little widgets that barely even changed anything about the character's appearance. It was just fun to unlock things and feel like I was making the character really my own. It was fun to show off my version of the character online even if I was just going to get my ass beat.

MK1 is a failure for the same reason SFV was a failure: because it launched in an incomplete state and in today's market the first impression is everything. Like SFV did, I would argue MK1 has eventually become a very good game. I have had fun playing it, though I'm particularly bad at assist fighters and feel worse at this game than I have at any previous MK. But I still haven't played the Khaos Reigns story, which is frankly crazy to me when I used to champ at the bit for a new NRS game. The bad launch for MK1 really left a sour taste in my mouth on this one, and I don't think I'm alone in that.

Unfortunately, I think the only real move is for NRS to keep their head down and focus on making MK2/MK13/whatever a really complete package that wows on first impression. No matter how good SFV became over time, nobody was willing to say Street Fighter was 'back' until SF6 had a strong launch.

It's a shame, because I think MK1, as a total reboot with really beautiful graphics on a nextgen console, had real potential to be a big wow moment for this franchise. It just needed about six months to a year longer in the oven, and WB would not let that happen. I sympathize with Boon and company, who clearly cared a lot about making this work and ended up sabotaged because they aren't their own publisher.

Hope all is well! (Vulgar, you've been cracking me up in here ngl. Never stop.)

 

[Trickywizard]

I love MK1
Hate the woke gender swap on the cyborgs.
MKX Sektor was so much fun.