While I love the MK lore that was created in the 90s/00s, I believe you’re not giving the current trilogy (MK9,X,11) its due. These games have direction, as in the presentation of the lore is fantastic. It can be discussed in the confines of the ‘story’ rather than what we believe sounds cool. By that I mean, “Scorpion as a Champion of the Elder Gods,” sounds great, but is there any presentation that truly lives up to the fact? I don’t believe there is.
Again, I’m not of the variety that chooses sides, rather I believe the writers of MK have been very good (in particular for a fighting game franchise) as they craft worlds and lore that are unique. The current crop of writers tells their stories around the idea of what I call, cinematic action presentation (CAP). Essentially, they weave in the fight around the story in a seamless fashion. What we get is an unparallel presentation in a fighting game. Which in turn carries a certain gravitas that the older MK video games hinted at, but rarely followed through. For instance, the look of the 90s and 3D MKs is very dark, yet the tone is all over the place. Sometimes a very important moment would turn into comedy gold (This comes to mind—
), but when reading on the significance of that moment you, the reader, add the layer of drama in which the scene should have.
Now, let's discuss the moment in which Scorpion kills Quan Chi in MKX. When viewing that sequence and moment, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the very moment in MK4 that plays like a joke but is of serious consequence. Why do you say? Because it treats the previous iterations and stories as it should, with dramatic weight. Within that sequence plays a flashback with Scorpion and Sub-Zero, which I believe is beautifully done, recalling the hardships these characters have gone through. This is weaved in with the literal fights in the game, hence, cinematic action presentation. It’s seamless.
Basically, what I’m trying to say is the current crop of writers/directors are better at
telling their stories (warts and all), but that is not to discredit the older MKs as the lore and concepts were mostly created back then. Are the current stories perfect? By no means, but were the older MKs perfect? I doubt you would die on that hill.
