Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Reveal Trailer

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1314188797102428161

 

@Raider
never looked better-

 

While I understand how MK came to be and who these characters are based on, saying that guest characters have always been part of MK's legacy simply isn't true. Sure, they got their inspiration from the likes of Bruce Lee and Van Damme (just like fighters in Tekken and so many other fighting games) but how does that translate to them actually having been in the game? They haven't. MK characters were (and they developed even further into) their own characters despite of who they were inspired by.

Guests became a thing after MK9. You could argue that it became a thing when MKvsDC happened but it wasn't a thing prior to these games (at least for MK). And while I don't have a problem with one or two guests being added like in MK9, I do find it bothersome that we get 5 of them - a few totally illogical and bland ones at that - like Robocop, Terminator, and Joker. Characters who literally have ZERO to do with fighting games and are simply put in as promotional material for a new Batman movie or whatnot. We had people seriously asking and creating petitions for Shaggy from Scooby-Fuckin-Doo! Some were hoping for Pennywise (what?).

I hate how this trend is developing. I wouldn't be surprised if two games down the road half the roster consists of guest characters.

It's definitely more than MK just taking some "inspiration". Tobias and Boon have said as much in interviews: The original MK is as close as they could get to bringing action stars like Lee, Van Damme, Rothrock, and Dudikoff together to fight each other in a game. Were they literally "in the game"? No--although if Midway could've legally used their actual names and likenesses, they probably would've. But the bigger point is that the "guest character" concept was the game's whole original inspiration, regardless of when literal guest characters started being added.

Look at it another way. MK has never taken itself completely seriously. First and foremost it's always been a celebration of over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek, slightly goofy, old school movie violence. It's always felt a bit nostalgic in that respect, even from the first game. That's the main draw for lots and lots of fans. Things like a storyline and lore are just layers that have been added on top of that. You say characters like Robocop, Terminator, and Joker have zero to do with fighting games (whatever that honestly means) but they have EVERYTHING to do with celebrating that original and ongoing part of MK culture. No, they're not just money-grubbing promotional fluff. I'm as sure about this as you can be about anything in life: They will never, ever put in some deliberately derpy, non-violent guest like Shaggy, no matter how many assclowns ask for him. People who actually thought he might make it in clearly don't understand Mortal Kombat.

Anyway, I get why you feel the way you do. You have every right to like who you like, want who you want, and feel bitter if they don't make it in. You can try to advocate for fewer (or zero) guests if you like. But trying to argue that guests have "zero relevance" to MK is just a denial of what MK is and where it came from.

 

I feel that wholeheartedly. The reason I always loved Mortal Kombat as a kid wasn't because of the gore, it was because it was the game where ninjas could fight robots, gods, monsters, monks and all other kinds of crazy shit. Guest characters add to that original feeling greatly

 

Look at it another way. MK has never taken itself completely seriously. First and foremost it's always been a celebration of over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek, slightly goofy, old school movie violence. It's always felt a bit nostalgic in that respect, even from the first game. That's the main draw for lots and lots of fans. Things like a storyline and lore are just layers that have been added on top of that. You say characters like Robocop, Terminator, and Joker have zero to do with fighting games (whatever that honestly means) but they have EVERYTHING to do with celebrating that original and ongoing part of MK culture. No, they're not just money-grubbing promotional fluff. I'm as sure about this as you can be about anything in life: They will never, ever put in some deliberately derpy, non-violent guest like Shaggy, no matter how many assclowns ask for him. People who actually thought he might make it in clearly don't understand Mortal Kombat.

Anyway, I get why you feel the way you do. You have every right to like who you like, want who you want, and feel bitter if they don't make it in. You can try to advocate for fewer (or zero) guests if you like. But trying to argue that guests have "zero relevance" to MK is just a denial of what MK is and where it came from.

MK traditionalism is exactly WHY I prefer guest characters over the mainstay cast; they have so much more design freedom and are generally far more interesting to learn and play.

I'd also argue that adherence to nostalgia/tradition and refusal to take itself seriously are holding MK back from being a better fighting game franchise, but that's another conversation.

 

The idea of guests is fine - but I think it is context. I think the shitty 80s horror characters is overdonw and jarring. I think it would be better if there was other video game characters as guests - I think it works better than movie characters. Examples

WoW - Lich King / Sylannas
SC - Ivy / Voldo
SF - Ryu / Vega

 

So what do you think the next project from them will be? An MK adventure game??

I have no idea. NRS prides themselves on being unpredictable. Inj 3 seems likely based on their "pattern", but there are SEVERAL super hero games launching first round next generation, I assume if INJ3 was coming anytime soon it would have been announced by now. Also, we know there were Marvel talks at some point, could that be what they're working on now? Could that have something to do with Injustice? I don't know but I would like to see Injustice tabled in favor of (or crossed over with) Marvel, just to see NRS take a stab at it. I mean, Disney tanked MvC to promote the MCU, why not give it to a studio like NRS who could actually go somewhere with the movie universe designs.

Personaly, I wanted the ninja turtles game to be a thing really really bad but I'm willing to bet at this point, like MK is doing with action guests, we can expect the next Inj game to get a couple more third party comic characters. Would be pretty interesting to see them port spawn from MK to injustice and have him guest both games.

Point is you can't just ask Ed about an unnannounced game and expect anything. He's not even allowed to say they're in development anymore cause whatever it is, someone has already paid a billion dollars to get the rights to reveal it first. So the answer to any and all questions re: inj3 is always going to be nothing has been announced.

 

oh look, more fans who know what mk needs better than the people still making it 20 years later

 

MK traditionalism is exactly WHY I prefer guest characters over the mainstay cast; they have so much more design freedom and are generally far more interesting to learn and play.

I certainly wouldn't mind if NRS decided to shake things up in terms of traditional move sets and what not. I'm not a fan of the block button and wouldn't be sad to see it go. And it feels silly to stick rigidly to other certain traditions that lead to some moves having no use for a lot of the characters, like s3 and s4 having to be high kicks. I agree, NRS seems more willing to stretch the mold and explore possibilities with the guest characters.

I'd also argue that adherence to nostalgia/tradition and refusal to take itself seriously are holding MK back from being a better fighting game franchise, but that's another conversation.

Agreed that's a separate conversation, but it would be an interesting one if a new thread were started about it. If you're mostly talking about inputs and move sets, I agree like I said, though I'm not sure that will ever change, out of respect to the game's history. The Injustice franchise is NRS's way to branch out and experiment with different inputs and buttons.

If you're alluding to wanting big, sweeping changes that would make MK look and play less like MK and more like an anime fighter or modern tag-team game-- blech... a big hearty, no thank you.

 

Okay I'm confused. Do you ONLY need MK11 Aftermath to get the free upgrade to PS5 or Xbox X square rooted to infinity and beyond? Or do you need to pre order KP2 too?

 

I certainly wouldn't mind if NRS decided to shake things up in terms of traditional move sets and what not. I'm not a fan of the block button and wouldn't be sad to see it go. And it feels silly to stick rigidly to other certain traditions that lead to some moves having no use for a lot of the characters, like s3 and s4 having to be high kicks. I agree, NRS seems more willing to stretch the mold and explore possibilities with the guest characters.

I actually like the block button for their games. MKX was the first NRS game I put serious time into so when IJ2 came along with no block button I found it really jarring. Whatever though, I can adapt if they choose to go that route.

Agreed that's a separate conversation, but it would be an interesting one if a new thread were started about it. If you're mostly talking about inputs and move sets, I agree like I said, though I'm not sure that will ever change, out of respect to the game's history. The Injustice franchise is NRS's way to branch out and experiment with different inputs and buttons.

Move sets is part of it but it's definitely more encompassing than that. For the sake of brevity let's just distill it to the idea that I think the adherence to tradition/convention we see in the MK games really constrains their designs.

If you're alluding to wanting big, sweeping changes that would make MK look and play less like MK and more like an anime fighter or modern tag-team game-- blech... a big hearty, no thank you.

Big sweeping changes wouldn't work, I know - people love them some MK. I really just want to see the games be less degenerate.

 

Okay I'm confused. Do you ONLY need MK11 Aftermath to get the free upgrade to PS5 or Xbox X square rooted to infinity and beyond? Or do you need to pre order KP2 too?

They clarified it last night on the rainkast. Everybody gets the upgrade for free. As long as you play on the same account, you keep your unlocks too. If you pre-order Ultimate, you get KP1 and Aftermath free, and if you pre-order KP2 you get some skins.

 

You don't have to pre-order it to KP1 and Aftermath.