9.95
Noob
MK Past and Present: My Reaction to the current state of the game.
"The term jumping the shark alludes to a specific scene in a 1977 episode of the TV series Happy Days when the popular character Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli literally jumps over a shark while water skiing. The scene was so preposterous that many believed it to be an ill-conceived attempt at reviving the declining ratings of the flagging show. The phrase has become a colloquialism used by U.S. TV critics and fans to denote the point at which the characters or plot of a TV series veer into a ridiculous, out-of-the-ordinary storyline. Such a show is typically deemed to have passed its peak. Once a show has "jumped the shark" fans sense a noticeable decline in quality or feel the show has undergone too many changes to retain its original appeal.
Jump-the-shark moments may be scenes like the one described above that finally convince viewers that the show has fundamentally and permanently strayed from its original premise. In those cases they are viewed as a desperate and futile attempt to keep a series fresh in the face of declining ratings." - Wikipedia definition of "Jump The Shark"
Mortal Kombat, has, officially jumped the shark. I say this now, even though my feeling is that the game has gone through a considerable decline since the inception of the fully 3D Mortal Kombat games(MKDA through MKA). Though these games are Mortal Kombat by name, they are, by no means, Mortal Kombat by gameplay. The storylines from MKDA through MKA were, however, very intoxicating and gave me some excellent backstory and mythos to read about the game and the characters. Story, unfortunately, is never enough to carry a game on its own. MKDA through MKD did, however have some level of merit, though I have never, and will never play them, as they competed with some of today's higher quality 3D fighters such as Tekken, Soul Caliber, DOA, and Virtua Fighter. They were, however, STILL not Mortal Kombat, they were simply generic, mediocre 3D fighting games with Mortal Kombat characters thrown in for the sake of selling a game with the name Mortal Kombat on it. Any Tekken/DOA/SC/VF fighter could have easily been dropped into them, or MK character dropped into the aforementioned games, and they would have felt and played as if they belonged there. THIS IS NOT MORTAL KOMBAT.
I was never a fan of Mortal Kombat 4. Something about it felt clunky and wrong to me, however, I will always recognize it as a true Mortal Kombat game. It has, even though it may be smaller, a hardcore following, and some very high level gameplay. Watch some of the MKK Venezuela videos and you will see that. Even though I never really liked Mortal Kombat 4, it still retained the ESSENCE of Mortal Kombat. Everything that was, and is, Mortal Kombat was in that game. MKDA-MKA simply do not have what even Mortal Kombat 4 has. They do not feel like Mortal Kombat, they do not play like Mortal Kombat. They do not have the essence of Mortal Kombat. MK vs. DCU only further removes it from this.
Now, I realize that Boon and Co. are trying to be daring and brave by constantly re-envisioning and cleaning the slate with Mortal Kombat. I even respect them trying to be innovative and come up with something new, something NOBODY has brought to the table before. They failed miserably, since MKDA-MKA are no more than generic, mediocre clones of current 3D fighters. I have no doubt that MK vs. DCU will be more of the same. My question about being brave is, why? Mortal Kombat had been very successful on it's own merit up to Mortal Kombat 4. Each game had seen it's own level of change, some re-envisioning, that kept the core gameplay intact, yet changed it, wheter slightly or drastically, and kept the game evolving. Mortal Kombat was very straight forward, and Mortal Kombat 2 added the cross-up kicks and punches. Mortal Kombat 3/Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 completely revolutionized gameplay with the addition of the run button. This forever changed the gameplay as it was now an aggressive game and no longer a turtler's game. Mortal Kombat 4 introduced the 2.5D gameplay, added a dodge manuever, weapons, and the ability to throw objects. Mortal Kombat evolved, yet retained enough core gameplay to keep it Mortal Kombat.
Remember the days of, "which is better, Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat"? The arcades, for a very long time, were packed with people looking to play the newest Street Fighter and the newest Mortal Kombat, and that question was always thrown around. The very reason Mortal Kombat was even considered in that debate was because of how different it is. A BLOCK BUTTON? TAP MOVES INSTEAD OF CIRCULAR OR CHARGE MOVES? Lets face it, Mortal Kombat was different enough from other games(mainly Street Fighter) to stand on its own. It had it's own gameplay, it's own fighting system, and the developers were not afraid to be different in creating a game that did not follow the Street Fighter blueprint. Now, let me say, I think it's very easy to answer that question. I love Mortal Kombat, especially Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Street Fighter, however, is the better game. It's core gameplay has been unchanged for 17 years! Street Fighter has seen 2d, 2.5d(the EX games), and the newest game, Street Fighter 4 is going to be 2.5d. One of the most popular, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, made a huge change by adding in the parry system and even removing all of its well known and well established characters save for Ken, Ryu, Akuma, and Chun-Li. In all of these games, there have been changes and tweaks to the game and fighting system, but in all of them, the core gameplay, the ESSENSE of Street Fighter has remained. Even the crossover games, X-Men vs. Street Fighter through Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, the core gameplay that made Street Fighter so popular has remained intact. The same cannot be said for Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat made a name for itself by BEING different. Now it's no longer different. Mortal Kombat is now the same as any mediocre, boring 3d fighter on the market. Nothing is new, nothing you say is innovative hasn't already been brought to the table by some other game.
So why, Midway, and why, Mr. Boon, do you feel the need to completely change Mortal Kombat so often? Your biggest rival, Capcom and Street Fighter, has managed to retain the core gameplay and essence of its flagship fighting game, yet you continue to disappoint, and disgust hardcore Mortal Kombat fans such as myself with these abominations you call games. You have not re-invented the wheel by making Mortal Kombat 3d. You have not been innovative by making a crossover. The DC game should have been the side game, with Mortal Kombat characters thrown in for fun.
Ed Boon, you have abandoned all your faithful fans in order to be "innovative", yet you have have done the exact opposite. You should be proud of being different back when Mortal Kombat was Mortal Kombat. Instead, you have turned your back on us. You have made Mortal Kombat jump the shark.
Thank you to all the faithful Mortal Kombat fans, the TRUE Mortal Kombat fans who have kept the real Mortal Kombat scene alive.
-Chiro
"The term jumping the shark alludes to a specific scene in a 1977 episode of the TV series Happy Days when the popular character Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli literally jumps over a shark while water skiing. The scene was so preposterous that many believed it to be an ill-conceived attempt at reviving the declining ratings of the flagging show. The phrase has become a colloquialism used by U.S. TV critics and fans to denote the point at which the characters or plot of a TV series veer into a ridiculous, out-of-the-ordinary storyline. Such a show is typically deemed to have passed its peak. Once a show has "jumped the shark" fans sense a noticeable decline in quality or feel the show has undergone too many changes to retain its original appeal.
Jump-the-shark moments may be scenes like the one described above that finally convince viewers that the show has fundamentally and permanently strayed from its original premise. In those cases they are viewed as a desperate and futile attempt to keep a series fresh in the face of declining ratings." - Wikipedia definition of "Jump The Shark"
Mortal Kombat, has, officially jumped the shark. I say this now, even though my feeling is that the game has gone through a considerable decline since the inception of the fully 3D Mortal Kombat games(MKDA through MKA). Though these games are Mortal Kombat by name, they are, by no means, Mortal Kombat by gameplay. The storylines from MKDA through MKA were, however, very intoxicating and gave me some excellent backstory and mythos to read about the game and the characters. Story, unfortunately, is never enough to carry a game on its own. MKDA through MKD did, however have some level of merit, though I have never, and will never play them, as they competed with some of today's higher quality 3D fighters such as Tekken, Soul Caliber, DOA, and Virtua Fighter. They were, however, STILL not Mortal Kombat, they were simply generic, mediocre 3D fighting games with Mortal Kombat characters thrown in for the sake of selling a game with the name Mortal Kombat on it. Any Tekken/DOA/SC/VF fighter could have easily been dropped into them, or MK character dropped into the aforementioned games, and they would have felt and played as if they belonged there. THIS IS NOT MORTAL KOMBAT.
I was never a fan of Mortal Kombat 4. Something about it felt clunky and wrong to me, however, I will always recognize it as a true Mortal Kombat game. It has, even though it may be smaller, a hardcore following, and some very high level gameplay. Watch some of the MKK Venezuela videos and you will see that. Even though I never really liked Mortal Kombat 4, it still retained the ESSENCE of Mortal Kombat. Everything that was, and is, Mortal Kombat was in that game. MKDA-MKA simply do not have what even Mortal Kombat 4 has. They do not feel like Mortal Kombat, they do not play like Mortal Kombat. They do not have the essence of Mortal Kombat. MK vs. DCU only further removes it from this.
Now, I realize that Boon and Co. are trying to be daring and brave by constantly re-envisioning and cleaning the slate with Mortal Kombat. I even respect them trying to be innovative and come up with something new, something NOBODY has brought to the table before. They failed miserably, since MKDA-MKA are no more than generic, mediocre clones of current 3D fighters. I have no doubt that MK vs. DCU will be more of the same. My question about being brave is, why? Mortal Kombat had been very successful on it's own merit up to Mortal Kombat 4. Each game had seen it's own level of change, some re-envisioning, that kept the core gameplay intact, yet changed it, wheter slightly or drastically, and kept the game evolving. Mortal Kombat was very straight forward, and Mortal Kombat 2 added the cross-up kicks and punches. Mortal Kombat 3/Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 completely revolutionized gameplay with the addition of the run button. This forever changed the gameplay as it was now an aggressive game and no longer a turtler's game. Mortal Kombat 4 introduced the 2.5D gameplay, added a dodge manuever, weapons, and the ability to throw objects. Mortal Kombat evolved, yet retained enough core gameplay to keep it Mortal Kombat.
Remember the days of, "which is better, Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat"? The arcades, for a very long time, were packed with people looking to play the newest Street Fighter and the newest Mortal Kombat, and that question was always thrown around. The very reason Mortal Kombat was even considered in that debate was because of how different it is. A BLOCK BUTTON? TAP MOVES INSTEAD OF CIRCULAR OR CHARGE MOVES? Lets face it, Mortal Kombat was different enough from other games(mainly Street Fighter) to stand on its own. It had it's own gameplay, it's own fighting system, and the developers were not afraid to be different in creating a game that did not follow the Street Fighter blueprint. Now, let me say, I think it's very easy to answer that question. I love Mortal Kombat, especially Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Street Fighter, however, is the better game. It's core gameplay has been unchanged for 17 years! Street Fighter has seen 2d, 2.5d(the EX games), and the newest game, Street Fighter 4 is going to be 2.5d. One of the most popular, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, made a huge change by adding in the parry system and even removing all of its well known and well established characters save for Ken, Ryu, Akuma, and Chun-Li. In all of these games, there have been changes and tweaks to the game and fighting system, but in all of them, the core gameplay, the ESSENSE of Street Fighter has remained. Even the crossover games, X-Men vs. Street Fighter through Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, the core gameplay that made Street Fighter so popular has remained intact. The same cannot be said for Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat made a name for itself by BEING different. Now it's no longer different. Mortal Kombat is now the same as any mediocre, boring 3d fighter on the market. Nothing is new, nothing you say is innovative hasn't already been brought to the table by some other game.
So why, Midway, and why, Mr. Boon, do you feel the need to completely change Mortal Kombat so often? Your biggest rival, Capcom and Street Fighter, has managed to retain the core gameplay and essence of its flagship fighting game, yet you continue to disappoint, and disgust hardcore Mortal Kombat fans such as myself with these abominations you call games. You have not re-invented the wheel by making Mortal Kombat 3d. You have not been innovative by making a crossover. The DC game should have been the side game, with Mortal Kombat characters thrown in for fun.
Ed Boon, you have abandoned all your faithful fans in order to be "innovative", yet you have have done the exact opposite. You should be proud of being different back when Mortal Kombat was Mortal Kombat. Instead, you have turned your back on us. You have made Mortal Kombat jump the shark.
Thank you to all the faithful Mortal Kombat fans, the TRUE Mortal Kombat fans who have kept the real Mortal Kombat scene alive.
-Chiro
