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If balance, mechanics, and depth are your priorities, why do you play MK?

ZeroSymbolic

W.A.S.P.
Thread Title is self explanatory. Those are the qualities that most of the threads on site revolve around, so I think this is a fair question. I want to emphasize that it’s not meant to be backhanded or upsetting, my aim is to generate a legit discussion.

If balance, depth, and mechanics are your priorities, why would you be playing an NRS product when products like Virtua Fighter, Guilty Gear, etc are available?

NRS has a style over substance legacy. These other offerings have a legacy of depth and balance. Virtual fighter 5 is considered to this day to be the deepest and most balanced 3D fighter of all time. Yet that game is extinct.

Do fighting game players really value the things they say that they do, or is there much more to be said about package and presentation than we let on?

I’m not always great at articulating myself online, what I’m getting at here is that full all it’s mechanical shortcomings we are all still here rather than elsewhere. Are we loyalists? Are we hopeful? Are we in denial? ... or do we genuinely like this because of some other charms. If so I’d like to discuss those charms rather than the relentless complaining. If we can’t talk about anything good then shouldn’t we be playing something else?
 
Because actually peiple care about fun, and this game is filled with fun.
The lore, technical aspects like grafics, sound, the characters....jesus man they elevated mk in a level that the 90s kid inside me could not imagine, and man we are greateful for that.

This is not only about nostalgia, though. The new generation recognize their effort and talent too.

I agree though that comoetitively is not wirth your time and I have an opinion that this vibe is just killing the fun aura of the game. "You have to compete", " you have to play tot", "You have to go to the krypt at 2 pm to receive x costume ir gear", "you have to you have to...."....this is just bullshit and ia killing the game for me....but.....as a game is soooooo incredibly well done that is difficult to ignore their effort and talent.

I'm just not playing online anymore and I'm having fun. I recommend people to do the same.

Obs: The ideia of fatalities and the extension of it (brutalities) is so...so cool....this is mk exclusive and it ia so fun man.....again....the game is fun af.
 

Arqwart

D'Vorah for KP2 copium
I like block button and preset combos. MK has a good middle ground of grounded and over the top gameplay without veering too far either way (except MKX). Also, I've been in love with the series since UMK3 on the Xbox Live Arcade years and years ago.

This also happens to be my favorite MK of all time with its Elder God Tier cast, fantastic balance (for an NRS game), and solid gameplay.
 
Because it's the most well crafted fighting game NRS has made that is the closest thing to resembling the experience of other fighters you listed.
I've often seen people respond to issues with this game as "well it's MK so it's not meant to be competitive/balanced/high level/whatever" which is the biggest cop out statement anyone could come up with to diminish everything great about this game and that's super unfair. It's a common attitude that only hinders progress every single time someone repeats it.

We're here because we like MK, yes, but I'm here for example because I think this game in particular is brilliant and is a real beacon of hope for the series in terms of being a fighting game that I personally consider better than any previous MK title by a lot.

I don't know of another fighting game that has attempted stamina bars as meters and introduced something like krushing blows; two brand new mechanics to the genre that I feel are so far successful; that's fucking huge.

KBs need tweaks but the feature itself is really interesting and different. I've always had my qualms with NRS fighters but this one as really impressed me and NRS has always been good at taking risks, which I applaud them for even if I didn't always like how their games turned out.

In other words, I think MK11 is legit and that's why I'm here. They're finally getting some meaty substance along with their style and I want this game to get better and better.
 

MKF30

Fujin and Ermac for MK 11
I think you need to find a a good balance between everything if you're a developer making a FG, I've noticed FG's that are often considered "well balanced" tend to be boring af or bland. While games perhaps less balanced are rather popular and more fun. Not saying utterly broken but just less balanced. VF while I will always give this series credit for paving the way for games like Tekken and DOA, tends to be rather boring when you compare it to fighters like MK, SF, Smash etc could be due to the more developed characters in those games, the awesome story in NRS games and of course Smash having a ton of iconic characters over the decades of gaming. Who knows. That's not to say there are no MK's not balanced or balanced enough to play competitively. Obviously, UMK3, MK 9, MK X and MK 11 are more than balanced enough to play seriously or casually if that's your thing. That's not to say I wouldn't redo some things in them, in MK 11 especially since that's the latest.

There's also single player modes to consider too, I think for this reason especially is one big reason why NRS games sell well. Story, side modes, offline modes, tower modes, missions etc, etc are all very important. As to why I play MK simply because I've loved it since MK 1, I've played and own every MK the good ones, average games, bad games and mediocre. I'm not a poser who jumps on the "MK is in now ship" like some people out there, I have always supported MK through the ups, downs and meh times as a fan of the series lore, characters, game style, darker theme and unique story that makes it stand out from the rest in the genre. I mean the past 3 MK games alone(not even counting Injustice here) from NRS have sold easily better than any other FG franchise easily. I just looked up MK 11's numbers, just says it's the second best selling game this year but I can't find it's numbers has to be at least 11 to 12 million minimum, probably more though if I had to guess.
 

ZeroSymbolic

W.A.S.P.
Consensus is so far that it's fun. I'd agree with that, but what makes it fun? For me it's Kano. I love that you got a guy like that in a game in this day and age.
 

GLoRToR

Positive Poster!
Consensus is so far that it's fun. I'd agree with that, but what makes it fun? For me it's Kano. I love that you got a guy like that in a game in this day and age.
It's fun because of diversity, design, and ease of use most of the time.
Games like Virtua Fighter are balanced but hard as hell with Fake Difficulty barriers like 1f links and the like.

I think MK11 is very close to being balanced we just need the very few dumb iWin buttons squashed like Kabal's b1 or Erron's b2.
The developers seem to love certain characters and hate some others, where some characters have the same thing as others but much worse, weaker unsafe etc.

I think MK11 would be fun if no character was hated by the devs and left in the dirt.
 

Demon_0

RIP Akira Toriyama
Because MK11 has balance, mechanics, and depth. Not to mention footsies.

And I'd take a 2D fighter over a 3D fighter anyday.
 

CrimsonShadow

Administrator and Community Engineer
Administrator
I really need y’all to realize this game has all of those things & that you actually just want to play other games. Go play those other games! Have fun! Stop being an anchor lmao, hell I still play IJ2 every now & then cuz I love it a ton.
Exactly! I can understand someone not liking a game (no one is going to like every game), but I've never seen people try so hard to ruin other people's fun.

But the truth is, that if most people went to play other games, they'd just complain about those games too for various reasons. It's easy to have a "grass is greener" mentality when you aren't actually aware how 'unfair' certain mechanics are in other titles. The mythical perfect fighting game does not exist. Whatever you play, there's some stuff you just have to suck up and deal with.