'We're going to do this, whether you're on board or not' - Ed Boon's team wasn't initially behind his idea to overhaul Mortal Kombat story modes - (Ev

[Pizza]

Am I the only one who thinks the MK11's story is absolutely dreadful with jaw droppingly mediocre writing?

You're not the only one.

 

[Nero2196]

You're not the only one.

Thank you. I thought I was going insane for being the only one who felt the story was a shocking pile of garbage with shameless plot holes.

They really need to move away from this 4 characters per fight template.

 

[projectzero00]

Am I the only one who thinks the MK11's story is absolutely dreadful with jaw droppingly mediocre writing?

I haven't purchased the Aftermath expansion yet but it blows my mind how people thought Mortal Wal-Mart Endgame had decent writing.

I think people are being waaay too harsh on the storyline. Yes there's some things they could improve upon, but you need to take into account there are so many limitations when writing a story mode for a fighting game. Realistically they have to write a well rounded plot for such an intricate universe that also doesn't revolve only around just a couple of protagonists but give the spotlight to 30-40 characters for at least a few minutes, and also not do any character injustice (cause fans can be toxic if their fav turns into just a lackey) and give them a full on personality, goals, motivations, relationships, etc. We're talking GoT level of complicated cast but x10 more intricate since they also need to create enough fights in between the plot for every character -which also makes sense plot-wise, and also order those in a way where each character has their own chapter.
I wasn't a huge fan of the whole multiverse idea with multiple versions of each character (current, younger self, revenant bleh) but it was a great way to tackle some of those limitations. So yeah there were some very obvious plot holes, but tbh they did a pretty damn good job considering how impossible the task is.

 

[Blazeglory88]

The NRS era story modes are always fun and exciting but the writing doesn't compare to what it once was when John Tobias was working on it. MK11's story is cinematic and fun, but the actual plot, the characters, the writing, kind of shit in comparison. With the current writers not really even knowing what they want, retconning their retcons (who killed Jerrod). Skarlet being a blood absorbing creation to a blood mage, Erron being immortal due to Shang to being a black dragon cowboy who's only in it 'for da thrilz', Kabal being bad-good now being good-bad. Sindel's entire character, which contradicts MK9's bio so don't go telling me that shit was planned from the start.

The story mode is what I found myself looking forward to the most in MK, all I ask for is consistency and better writing. Aftermath was fun if you turned your brain off, but not having to turn my brain completely off to enjoy the prior games storytelling was what made it engaging. I hope that when MK12 comes out or if they continue with story DLC we get something that doesn't slap old fans in the face, scrap established lore and rip off avengers but has stable continuity and some semblance of direction to it.

I had a feeling reading this when Ed said he pitched the idea of a story to people and they initially weren't excited, maybe that was a good sign that these people might not be a good choice to work on the game and hands should have been switched or moved around. Seeing as the story now is a complete and total mess of itself which they now end up having to retcon for a third time. It might be time to add some new meat to the studio, people who are actually excited and passionate to work on the franchise proper.

 

[Blazeglory88]

I think people are being waaay too harsh on the storyline. Yes there's some things they could improve upon, but you need to take into account there are so many limitations when writing a story mode for a fighting game. Realistically they have to write a well rounded plot for such an intricate universe that also doesn't revolve only around just a couple of protagonists but give the spotlight to 30-40 characters for at least a few minutes, and also not do any character injustice (cause fans can be toxic if their fav turns into just a lackey) and give them a full on personality, goals, motivations, relationships, etc. We're talking GoT level of complicated cast but x10 more intricate since they also need to create enough fights in between the plot for every character -which also makes sense plot-wise, and also order those in a way where each character has their own chapter.
I wasn't a huge fan of the whole multiverse idea with multiple versions of each character (current, younger self, revenant bleh) but it was a great way to tackle some of those limitations. So yeah there were some very obvious plot holes, but tbh they did a pretty damn good job considering how impossible the task is.

I think people are being fair with their criticisms considering I have seen fans lay out a better plot for the story themselves, complete with how the chapters would work and everything which just goes to show that the current writing staff either don't know much about what they're working with or don't care. And considering the amount of retconning and changes that have been going on as of late, I don't think they care about what the old fans think, and are actively alienating them to make way for new fans who are easier to please because they don't know the older games and how good the story actually was and could have been, and will accept whatever new thing is thrown at them because new and shiny product yum yum gimmie. Not saying that's you, more so the people on reddit.

Time travel and multiverse shenanigans was the dumbest thing they could have introduced, not only because it fucks with the natural established order with Titans being a thing, but because if they ever want to retcon something or take the story in a new direction separate from the previous game, they could just do that and it would be fine. Shaolin Monks is praised for being something new and refreshing and is also entirely contained in it's own story, no one complains about that games plot because it doesn't step on the established games toes. And look I get it, you are right in saying that it's complicated GoT level shit, with a lot of the characters motivations, goals and relationships to lay out, it's difficult. But if it's been done before and better, and if their story can be picked apart so easily as to see fans speculating of better ones, than yeah I believe they missed the mark and should hear about it.

 

[Lt. Boxy Angelman]

Mortal Kombat needs new story writers, and it needs them bad.

No one's expecting it to be an Oscar-worthy script, but the level of "fuck it, let's do whatever gets us to the end" this game went to is palpable. Shang Tsung was the one thing that carried Aftermath like Joe Pesci was the one thing worthwhile about Eight Heads In A Duffel Bag. It's a beautiful person with the brains of a foot, and they can do better. They HAVE done better. Injustice 2 was enjoyable and made relative sense. Same with MKX, in spite of all the attention on the Kombat Kids. This was the Godfather III of NRS story modes.

 

[Swindle]

Tell me more about these brains with feet...

 

[DeftMonk]

Mortal Kombat needs new story writers, and it needs them bad.

No one's expecting it to be an Oscar-worthy script, but the level of "fuck it, let's do whatever gets us to the end" this game went to is palpable. Shang Tsung was the one thing that carried Aftermath like Joe Pesci was the one thing worthwhile about Eight Heads In A Duffel Bag. It's a beautiful person with the brains of a foot, and they can do better. They HAVE done better. Injustice 2 was enjoyable and made relative sense. Same with MKX, in spite of all the attention on the Kombat Kids. This was the Godfather III of NRS story modes.

Godfather3? So like... the worst one of nrs story modes?

 

[lusca_bueno]

That's why I hope they will make a new action/adventure/rpg-like game where we travel through the different realms. A mix of MKD/MKA's Konquest modes and Shaolin Monks.

I'd be shocked if WB wasn't investing in a spin off game right now being in development. MK has grown so much and each game it seems outperforms the last, it's a great opportunity to introduce a new genre. Risk of alienating casuals from the fighting branch to the action adventure branch? Yes, but I think it would pay off HUGE in spite of that.

 

[projectzero00]

Mortal Kombat needs new story writers, and it needs them bad.

No one's expecting it to be an Oscar-worthy script, but the level of "fuck it, let's do whatever gets us to the end" this game went to is palpable. Shang Tsung was the one thing that carried Aftermath like Joe Pesci was the one thing worthwhile about Eight Heads In A Duffel Bag. It's a beautiful person with the brains of a foot, and they can do better. They HAVE done better. Injustice 2 was enjoyable and made relative sense. Same with MKX, in spite of all the attention on the Kombat Kids. This was the Godfather III of NRS story modes.

Damn didn't realise MK11 storymode was that hated. I don't know maybe my taste in story modes isn't that refined lol but tbh I didn't hate it shrug
There were things I hated in the past couple of games -mainly how it was so SF oriented and kinda lost its eerie, magical, dark sort of vibe but I do hope the next MK game they go back to their roots and ditch all that gun, pew pew bs.

 

[Roy Arkon]

Damn didn't realise MK11 storymode was that hated. I don't know maybe my taste in story modes isn't that refined lol but tbh I didn't hate it shrug
There were things I hated in the past couple of games -mainly how it was so SF oriented and kinda lost its eerie, magical, dark sort of vibe but I do hope the next MK game they go back to their roots and ditch all that gun, pew pew bs.

MK11's story isn't "hated" to that degree, it's only "hated" by those who just wanna complain for the sake of it, or because they just wanna get attention, or because they, just like you, have a very specific idea on what an MK story should be. But OBJECTIVLY, MK11's story is fantastic, and it's a well known fact. I don't care how many places you go on the internet to find people who bash it, because as I've said more then once already, the rest of the world exist outside of TYM and the internet, and even on the internet you will find numerous people to love the story of MK11 story, because it was amazing, just like every story mode from MKD's Konquest mode. Also you wanna talk about going "back to the roots"? MK always had both magical and dark, and also technology and real world elements cross all of it's games, with the exception being MK Mythologies. And it stopped being more focused on the magical and dark aspects of it already since MK3, with the story of Shao Kahn invading Earthrealm and almost all of the stages being located in modern-day places like the Subway, Bridge and Bank, and you had new characters such Stryker and Kabal, and of course the Lin Kuei Cyborg Ninjas, being introduced. So having the Lin Kuei, which is where Sub-Zero, Noob Saibot and Smoke came from, going Cyber, along with adding a gun-shooting cop and a hook swords mercenary was OK, but having the SF, which is what Sonya came from, being the main focus of the story (and still not the only focus, and there were of of course other dark and magical newcomers there like Kotal Kahn and D'Vorah) is bad? That is contradictory. And MKX was less magical based, but it was also a lot darker in comparison to MK9 or MK11 right now. Just look at the stages and presentation of the game.

And you sure as hell shouldn't listen to what @Lt. Boxy Angelman says. That's the same guy who keeps denying that MK11 is fantastic and successful despite both the sales and tourney numbers proving it all over the place. And he says now that the story modes in MKX and IJ2 were a lot better, and he also said in other places recently that MK11 isn't good because it's a combo heavy game like MKX, but were the fuck was he when everyone on TYM bashed MKX all over the place? OH WAIT! He was one of them too, he bashed the MKX story just like all of the bashers. And if you don't believe me, just look at this example:

https://testyourmight.com/threads/i-hope-nrs-resolves-all-these-subplots-theyve-accumulated.50519/page-2#post-1673515

That's because he, just like you, @Blazeglory88 and all of the NRS bashers that would love bash out of being "constructive" (except that it's not constructive, this is just being assholes), keeps the cycle of bashing over and over again. You are gonna complain over and over that the current game (whatever it's the gameplay, story, content etc; ) is bad and how only the previous games were better, and once the next game comes, you're gonna bash that game and praise the previous game that you kept bashing for years, as if Kronika had manipulated the Sands of Time to change history to make it seemed like none of you ever said that fucking bullshit. MK9 and IJ2 specifically got less bashing then IJ1, MKX and now MK11, admittedly, but they still fell to the bullshit that you, Boxy and the rest of the bashers are doing.

Every single story in the NRS era was fantastic in it's own way. Was it's plot centered around what some people might have expected or prefered to see? No, but that's not a bad thing at all, because the direction and execution was still incredible. The time travel aspect of it was amazing, and it sure as fuck wasn't done to restart the story just out of the need to be changed alone like it was after MK Armageddon. NRS did it because it the idea they came up with and they went all out with it, and there is no retcons here at all (like with the Sindel thing, it is twist, not a retcon, there is a difference) And they are all passionate about what they do. Just because they are going in a direction you don't like to see, doesn't mean it's not objectively, and it sure as fuck doesn't that they don't have passion for the series. The story is done for fans from all eras. And this is coming from a long time fan of MK since MK2 in the mid 90's (and yes @Blazeglory88 , those are facts for you).

The only thing that needs to be fixed here is the attitude of the internet people, like you, and you are the ones who need to go back to your roots, of being rational people. And MK12 might be indeed more magic based, but only because that this, just like with any NRS story, that was the idea that they decided to go with, and not because anything needed to be fixed. Period.

 

[Lt. Boxy Angelman]

MK11's story isn't "hated" to that degree, it's only "hated" by those who just wanna complain for the sake of it, or because they just wanna get attention, or because they, just like you, have a very specific idea on what an MK story should be. But OBJECTIVLY, MK11's story is fantastic, and it's a well known fact. I don't care how many places you go on the internet to find people who bash it, because as I've said more then once already, the rest of the world exist outside of TYM and the internet, and even on the internet you will find numerous people to love the story of MK11 story, because it was amazing, just like every story mode from MKD's Konquest mode. Also you wanna talk about going "back to the roots"? MK always had both magical and dark, and also technology and real world elements cross all of it's games, with the exception being MK Mythologies. And it stopped being more focused on the magical and dark aspects of it already since MK3, with the story of Shao Kahn invading Earthrealm and almost all of the stages being located in modern-day places like the Subway, Bridge and Bank, and you had new characters such Stryker and Kabal, and of course the Lin Kuei Cyborg Ninjas, being introduced. So having the Lin Kuei, which is where Sub-Zero, Noob Saibot and Smoke came from, going Cyber, along with adding a gun-shooting cop and a hook swords mercenary was OK, but having the SF, which is what Sonya came from, being the main focus of the story (and still not the only focus, and there were of of course other dark and magical newcomers there like Kotal Kahn and D'Vorah) is bad? That is contradictory. And MKX was less magical based, but it was also a lot darker in comparison to MK9 or MK11 right now. Just look at the stages and presentation of the game.

And you sure as hell shouldn't listen to what @Lt. Boxy Angelman says. That's the same guy who keeps denying that MK11 is fantastic and successful despite both the sales and tourney numbers proving it all over the place. And he says now that the story modes in MKX and IJ2 were a lot better, and he also said in other places recently that MK11 isn't good because it's a combo heavy game like MKX, but were the fuck was he when everyone on TYM bashed MKX all over the place? OH WAIT! He was one of them too, he bashed the MKX story just like all of the bashers. And if you don't believe me, just look at this example:

https://testyourmight.com/threads/i-hope-nrs-resolves-all-these-subplots-theyve-accumulated.50519/page-2#post-1673515

That's because he, just like you, @Blazeglory88 and all of the NRS bashers that would love bash out of being "constructive" (except that it's not constructive, this is just being assholes), keeps the cycle of bashing over and over again. You are gonna complain over and over that the current game (whatever it's the gameplay, story, content etc; ) is bad and how only the previous games were better, and once the next game comes, you're gonna bash that game and praise the previous game that you kept bashing for years, as if Kronika had manipulated the Sands of Time to change history to make it seemed like none of you ever said that fucking bullshit. MK9 and IJ2 specifically got less bashing then IJ1, MKX and now MK11, admittedly, but they still fell to the bullshit that you, Boxy and the rest of the bashers are doing.

Every single story in the NRS era was fantastic in it's own way. Was it's plot centered around what some people might have expected or prefered to see? No, but that's not a bad thing at all, because the direction and execution was still incredible. The time travel aspect of it was amazing, and it sure as fuck wasn't done to restart the story just out of the need to be changed alone like it was after MK Armageddon. NRS did it because it the idea they came up with and they went all out with it, and there is no retcons here at all (like with the Sindel thing, it is twist, not a retcon, there is a difference) And they are all passionate about what they do. Just because they are going in a direction you don't like to see, doesn't mean it's not objectively, and it sure as fuck doesn't that they don't have passion for the series. The story is done for fans from all eras. And this is coming from a long time fan of MK since MK2 in the mid 90's (and yes @Blazeglory88 , those are facts for you).

The only thing that needs to be fixed here is the attitude of the internet people, like you, and you are the ones who need to go back to your roots, of being rational people. And MK12 might be indeed more magic based, but only because that this, just like with any NRS story, that was the idea that they decided to go with, and not because anything needed to be fixed. Period.

And this proves... what?
Bruh. MK being a WB franchise means it's going to sell no matter what. Being one of the three most globally recognized fighters in history behind Street Fighter and Tekken AND the most easily accessible fighter out of all the big ones out right now, in its first year, in a time when streaming and sponsorship and all that jazz are at an all time high, means the numbers are going to be there no matter what right now. Doesn't change the fact that this game can be boring as all hell and the story is the most nonsensical and piece-meal story they've written since Armageddon. It just is.
And please don't put words in my mouth telling ME how I hate the game, when I've been saying every chance I get since last January that I've been waiting for Year One to end to see what they do to improve conditions and overall enjoyability. And even though Aftermath doubled down on the already awkward and mailed in time travel multiverse premise that literally retconned THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF MORTAL KOMBAT, I've also been adamant about putting over everything they've fixed and gotten right. I'm critical as fuck because I LOVE this franchise. It has been the closest fictional universe to my heart since I was a little kid. I've been writing a book for ten years now that's entirely devoted to martial arts and the end of the world and culminates in a tournament for the fate of reality, because I've been inspired my entire livelong life by MK.
You've been a fan since MKII? Cool, because I wrote my entire English research final in college on it, dove into everything from its original as the Jean Claude Van Damme Pit Fighter game, to Hillary Clinton and the creation of the ESRN, Tobias leaving the creative team, Midway going under, the transition from old-gen to new-gen with Deadly Alliance and all the martial arts research that went into it, which is one of the biggest reasons why the 3D era is still my favorite of all the eras, ANYTHING you could want to know about it. So, good to know we're on the same knowledgeable page. Please tell me something I don't know so I can understand why you're so sure I'm the one to call out about this, when anyone who actually knows me knows how much MK means to me and how much better I believe it can get. I want it to be Mortal fucking Kombat, not just another moneymaking IP that has all of the looks but lacks the original substance, and if me being so critical of such lackluster writing has you all up in your feels, that's a damn shame. Tourney numbers when there's no new release competition to go up against (not to mention it didn't even make the cut for EVO until EVO had to go online), and high sales numbers when you're under the umbrella of one of the biggest and most monolithic entertainment studios on the planet, mean precisely dick to me if you can't even put together a story that makes sense without tearing down all of the lore and history behind it.

And for the record, the reason MK9 and IJ2 got less bashing than MKX and IJ1 is because - wait for it - they had GREAT story modes.

Also for the record, the reason I was so upset with MKX was personal to me, because from the moment I saw the MK9 opening at the end of Armageddon, all the Challenge Tower art, the main online chatroom being named CHAOSREALM, Noob Saibot's ending, so forth and so on, I was CERTAIN that we were going to get some Deadly Alliance or Deception retelling in the next game. We didn't. We got Bo Rai Cho. I was not happy. Also I was real in the depths of the booze and the drugs and the chaos back then, and I was not my best self at all. So THAT, my MKX self and being mad I didn't get what I was hoping for, I apologize for 100% if I ever said any dumb shit, because on its own as the new MK4 to it's predecessor's MK1-3, it was solid, Tremor is one of the hands down best characters NRS has ever made, and I had a lot of fun, especially after Leatherface came out. Whatever hell I gave it, I walk back...outside of when they nuked all the armored launchers but didn't give the three characters who NEEDED them to survive - Balanced Kenshi, Lackey Torr, and Jax pretty much as a whole - any help to stay above water. That was dumb.

But MK11 has been weird to me since even before release, I will NEVER understand why they were so opaque about what the variations system was going to be until after the Beta, I CANNOT abide Kombat League and their refusal to give players who want to grind Ranked without having to tolerate garbage connections the means to do so, there's NO reason Johnny Cage should still be fundamentally flawed over a year after release with the same issue NRS hasn't been able to get right since Jax in MK9, and while I have no issue apologizing when I'm wrong, I will NNEEVVEERR apologize, to you or anyone else, for being critical of the game I love or the studio who makes it when it's obviously lacking in things it's previously knocked out of the park. I don't want Mortal Kombat to be the quarterback who gets the huge money deal and then never had another top tier season again. They can do better than retconning the retcon they just blew up the universe with and then leaving us hanging so they can read the room and side with whichever ending they think will sell better, like they've done with the thrown together at the last minute variation system because they couldn't balance open customization. We were better off when you had to put out your product without the safety net of being able to rewrite history later, no pun intended.

So yeah. That's my two cents.
If anyone else wants to try me for calling bullshit when I see it, I have all the time in the world.

 

[Nero2196]

Damn didn't realise MK11 storymode was that hated. I don't know maybe my taste in story modes isn't that refined lol but tbh I didn't hate it shrug
There were things I hated in the past couple of games -mainly how it was so SF oriented and kinda lost its eerie, magical, dark sort of vibe but I do hope the next MK game they go back to their roots and ditch all that gun, pew pew bs.

Out of curiosity, what kind of movies you watch and how often do you enjoy them? I think it's possible that you may have very low standards for what constitutes a good storyline.

A lot of people have already described to you in good detail as to why MK11's story is just so bad but I will add my two cents here. As I mentioned earlier, the plot holes here are downright shameless. These aren't just minor plot holes that require a bit of digging but major ones floating right in front of your eyes.

For example: How NRS completely massacred Sindel's storyline with their inferno garbage retcons. Who killed Jerrod? Shao Kahn says its him but wait it's Sindel who killed him! But oh no, it's actually D'vorah! At this point they might as well say that Epstein killed Jerrod.

Characters are abruptly dropped in the storyline, Kitana easily bests Shao Khan, insane stupidity of characters in cutscenes that ends up literally costing their lives, zero consistency in power levels, desperately trying to cash in on Avengers Endgame right down to its very atmosphere etc etc.

 

[Marlow]

I've enjoyed all of the MK cinematic story modes, while at the same time finding the writing extremely mediocre. There's a lot of dumb stuff, but it normally looks pretty great, and it's fun.

Some of it just might be limited by what it's seeking to accomplish though. Most stories/movies have a small collection of main characters. It's not easy to try and tell a story where you need to work in 12 or more different main characters over 12 chapters and still be able to find good resolution for all of those characters. But at the same time they can't really do a story mode where you only play as 1-4 different characters for 12 chapters.

 

[projectzero00]

Out of curiosity, what kind of movies you watch and how often do you enjoy them? I think it's possible that you may have very low standards for what constitutes a good storyline.

A lot of people have already described to you in good detail as to why MK11's story is just so bad but I will add my two cents here. As I mentioned earlier, the plot holes here are downright shameless. These aren't just minor plot holes that require a bit of digging but major ones floating right in front of your eyes.

For example: How NRS completely massacred Sindel's storyline with their inferno garbage retcons. Who killed Jerrod? Shao Kahn says its him but wait it's Sindel who killed him! But oh no, it's actually D'vorah! At this point they might as well say that Epstein killed Jerrod.

Characters are abruptly dropped in the storyline, Kitana easily bests Shao Khan, insane stupidity of characters in cutscenes that ends up literally costing their lives, zero consistency in power levels, desperately trying to cash in on Avengers Endgame right down to its very atmosphere etc etc.

As I said before, I enjoyed story mode. Did I think it was masterpiece? No. Did I think there was plot holes and things that could have been done better? Yes. I still enjoyed it tho, cause it's one of my favourite video game franchises and it's nice seeing MK characters brought to life.
No need to be an absolute dick about other people's tastes. Wtf does my taste in films have to do with this?
I'm glad to have a discussion with people about their opinions on story mode and what they disliked about it. However when you try to patronise others about your objective opinion on a bloody story mode, don't expect to be taken seriously. Ain't nobody got time for that

 

[lusca_bueno]

I enjoyed story mode a lot, and I don't get the moaning about Shao Kahn losing to Kitana. He was full of shit let's face it, even Shang Tsung said so, his voice was more feared than his hammer since a long time ago, the fact he had to resort to poisoning Onaga to steal his throne says a lot. Comparing a coward that all the time was running his mouth on the throne, to a woman that was trained since childhood for thousands of years to be a merciless assassin is pretty telling of the results. I would say the other MKs were more inconsistent is the portrayal of his power level considering the cheapness of his ascension to power rather than MK11. And even then, Liu Kang, an Earthrealmer with far less experience time in combat compared to Shao Kahn, mopped the floor with him.

Not to hate on him, love his design, love his whole story arc (and even the fact he articulated fear as power instead of his strength), but I don't know why it would bother people to see the shit as it is lol

 

[NeonGroovyGator]

Honestly I think the reason why MK9's story mode was so good was because they didn't have to add many new things. They already had a winning formula with popular and beloved characters. MKX and MK11 were significant drops in writing quality imo.
Like come on. Kronika surely is one of the worst villains in recent video game history. Which saddens me because I love myself a well written female villain, they dropped the ball massively. I'm not even complaining about "muh Kitana beat Shao Kahn" because power levels never have to make sense in MK, in fact, sometimes it's even better when they don't. It's just basic stuff like making a crappy villain and wasting the potential of several characters, like Cetrion, the first Elder God character, being her mom's little bitch and a lot of fan favorites returning to do absolutely nothing.
And for anyone saying people who dislike MK11's story just want to hate, you couldn't be more wrong. What aggravates me the most is that the story was bad and I know they can do much better, and they already have a fantastic universe to work on. I want to love NRS's story team's work, and sometimes they do great, like IJ2 and MK9, while sometimes doing poorly, like MKX/11.
If you like the story for this game, good for you. Don't go discrediting people who don't based on nothing but your own opinions.

 

[Lt. Boxy Angelman]

Look, I've seen hundreds and thousands like you through my entire life. People who think that just because they "loved" whatever pop culture franchise it is for so long, that they've learned so much about it's history and just because they dedicated so much into it, they understand those franchises better then those who actually work tirelessly and passionately on them day in day out for living. and then when someone calls them on their bullshit, they try to pull any excuses (like if what you're doing right now the excuses you make about having drug demons back in the MKX era), and also denying or ignoring any points that people giving them (like ignoring the tourney numbers in addition to the sales) to justify their "constructive criticism", just so they can go and keep spreading the bullshit all over everyone who actually realizes how great those franchises just for whatever reason they truly making those bullshit comments (getting attention, achieving an in-game agenda etc ).

No, the only bullshit here is what you and all of the bashers are doing and saying. If you really think MK11 is that bad and you had no intention other then just wanting NRS/WB to do better in the future, you and the rest won't take every single chance you can to keep posting the same bullshit comments over and over again. I myself can't stand what all of the Asian fighting game companies have done in recent years to their fighting games, as they keep butchering them in pretty much every single area, while NRS/WB only keep improving their games and make things better by not just having fantastic story modes and single player content across all of their games (MK9, IJ1, MKX, IJ2 and MK11, and yes all of the their story modes were as equally as excellent) but also improving the competitive aspect of them with gameplay, tutorials, balance, depth and of course the rollback netcode. I've played fighting games from various franchises through my whole life, but ever since MKX came out in 2015, the only 2 non-NRS fighting games I've bought were DBFZ and SC6, which have some excellent stuff in them each, but they can't even hold a candle to NRS/WB games in the vast majority of areas. And everyone that genuinely wanna play good fighting games knows that, otherwise, how is it that the sales of both SF5 and Tekken 7 in addition to any other fighting game except Smash Ultimate are nowhere to be close to what NRS/WB games have? Because those games were really bad at launch and both Capcom and Bamco tried to rely way to much on the offline scenes to carry their games for them. SF and Tekken are indeed sharing the spot with MK of being the top 3 most recognized fighting game franchises of all time, except that 1) MK is ABOVE them, not behind them, and 2) they used to have tons of sales too. SF2, Tekken 3, Tekken 5 etc sold tons and tons of copies, and both Capcom and Bamco are huge publishers in their own rights two, not just Midway back then or WB right now. but the recent entries of all Asian fighting game companies including both them (again only Smash is the exception here) are still behind. NRS/WB games outsell them all not just because they are WB published games, or because the exposure of E-Sports and streaming is in all time high, but because they OBJECTIVELY superior then all of them, and even Smash, the only game that managed to get more sales then NRS games like MKX which sold almost 11 million copies (and we don't even know the exact sales of MK11 yet, keep that in mind) is still behind MK11 in terms of several eras like presentation and once again the netcode.

But yet I don't go to every single possible website or YouTube video about those games and throwing bashing comments of them. I did it a few times, yes, but absolutely nowhere near the quantity and time that you and the rest of the NRS bashers do it on TYM or other MK/NRS related sites and videos against their games. So you know what I do? I just don't buy the games, because I lost pretty much all hope for those Asian fighting games, and the low sales of them proving that the actual play time and quantity of players that can be found for them after the hype for them is gone prove all of that for me. Because actions speak louder then words. Yes posting posts is technically an action, but it still false under the spectrum of talking, and since all you and the rest of the bashers are just keep talking no matter how unnecessary and factually false your comments are, all you is just hurt the games rather then helping them, or at best scenario, just proving to NRS/WB that they don't have to take your criticism seriously, because it's not legit criticism, this is, once again, fucking bullshit. I'm not wasting my time and effort on games and franchises that I don't like, even on the spectrum of just talking about them, so if something is that sucks, I don't do anything and I let the results of them speak for me, and I'm not ignoring any facts regarding them. THAT IS WHAT A TRUE FAN DOES.

And the stupidity is just keep coming. I mean, you and all of the bashers keep using the term "retcon" for every possible twist that you don't like, as if you don't even know what "retcon" actually means. You want to see a true fighting game retcon? Go and watch the two SC6 story modes (Soul Chronicle and Libra of Souls), that was a retcon. What MK11 does isn't retconning, it is giving new plot twists and events that come out of giving new ideas and directions to the MK series that are legitimacy amazing and go hand-to-hand with the lore of the series. The only time that NRS truly retconned something was the ending of MK Armageddon and Kano's origins as an Australian, and maybe couple of small, no-plot changing things here and there, and yes Ed Boon himself that did say that there might SOME inconsistencies in the plot, but those are only for the plots the early games, not the recent ones including MK11. Restarting timelines in itself isn't retconning as that Liu Kang that talks to the great Kung Lao at the end of MK11 Aftermath is the same Liu Kang from the previous timeline who remembers everything that happened there, and giving a twist to Sindel's true personality is not retconning just because you didn't expect that to be revealed about her 9 years ago with MK9. You're just throwing that word around, and once again, it is fucking bullshit.

MK11 is fantastic in all areas, and it's the best and greatest fighting game right now. If you can't accept that fact. That is entirely on you. I'm gonna keep supporting NRS/WB for doing the amazing work they do every single day, and I can only hope that now the offline scene is shut down due to COVID 19, that the Asian fighting companies will actually follow suit NRS/WB and actually make truly great fighting games like they used to do.

Bro, who hurt you?
Do you think if you defend the game hard enough that you'll get a job or an atta boy from Paulo?
Jesus Christ.

Also:
-To your "THAT'S WHAT A TRUE FAN DOES" line, I haven't bought Aftermath, nor do I intend to, so I'm literally doing EXACTLY what you claim real fans do to express themselves. First piece of their DLC other than Hellboy that I haven't picked up.
-This is literally the ONLY forum on the entire internet that I partake in. I don't use Reddit, I don't post in YouTube, I had a Discord for maybe a month and deleted, and I barely talk about MK on Facebook anymore, so I don't know where it is you think I'M out and about talking "bullshit" or what have you. This has been my only MK haven since 2011, and it's the only one I have any desire to be part of.
-I have given MK11 props on EVERYTHING they've gotten right, every chance I've gotten. The game is gorgeous, the netcode is superior as long as both players have a solid connection, the balance in the meta between the low and high tier is EASILY the smallest it's ever been in an NRS game, the armored 50/50's of yesteryear no longer exist, and nearly every major that was held before the pandemic that I watched was worth watching.

So I don't know who got your jimmies so rustled that you feel the need to lump me in with all the other people who bitch blindly for the sake of bitching blindly, like you're doing about me right now, but I'm happy to keep proving you wrong if you want to keep beating the drum, bub. I was feeling bad thinking I was being too harsh with my earlier statement, but clearly I wasn't being harsh enough, because you sound EXACTLY like the kind of person you're trying to paint me to be.

 

[Lt. Boxy Angelman]

Honestly I think the reason why MK9's story mode was so good was because they didn't have to add many new things. They already had a winning formula with popular and beloved characters. MKX and MK11 were significant drops in writing quality imo.
Like come on. Kronika surely is one of the worst villains in recent video game history. Which saddens me because I love myself a well written female villain, they dropped the ball massively. I'm not even complaining about "muh Kitana beat Shao Kahn" because power levels never have to make sense in MK, in fact, sometimes it's even better when they don't. It's just basic stuff like making a crappy villain and wasting the potential of several characters, like Cetrion, the first Elder God character, being her mom's little bitch and a lot of fan favorites returning to do absolutely nothing.
And for anyone saying people who dislike MK11's story just want to hate, you couldn't be more wrong. What aggravates me the most is that the story was bad and I know they can do much better, and they already have a fantastic universe to work on. I want to love NRS's story team's work, and sometimes they do great, like IJ2 and MK9, while sometimes doing poorly, like MKX/11.
If you like the story for this game, good for you. Don't go discrediting people who don't based on nothing but your own opinions.

Thank you, Gator. Cheers.

Shitty writing is shitty writing.
You can cry to the Moon til the cows come home about it, it doesn't change the facts.
We went from Deception, which literally created an entire half dozen realms to explore and learn about, to MK9 restarting the engines and providing maybe the best fighting game nostalgia experience ever made, to...hey, time is broken and literally nothing that's ever happened matters anymore.

But I'm a shitty fan, because I expect better from a studio that has more money than God but somehow can't write their way out of a paper bag. Give me a fucking break.

 

[NeonGroovyGator]

Thank you, Gator. Cheers.

Shitty writing is shitty writing.
You can cry to the Moon til the cows come home about it, it doesn't change the facts.
We went from Deception, which literally created an entire half dozen realms to explore and learn about, to MK9 restarting the engines and providing maybe the best fighting game nostalgia experience ever made, to...hey, time is broken and literally nothing that's ever happened matters anymore.

But I'm a shitty fan, because I expect better from a studio that has more money than God but somehow can't write their way out of a paper bag. Give me a fucking break.

Don't get me wrong, I still think they always knock it out of the park when it comes to production. MK has never looked as good as it does now, especially animations and faces. The fact that they did a follow up to the original story (not amazing but better than the base imo) surprised me positively too, even though it's paid and too expensive for my liking. And they do story better than any other fighting game (more due to the other games sucking in this department than anything else). And gameplay wise I really like this game too, probably more than you do.
I wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't know they can do better. But they can and I expect more than they did. Much more for the story. The fact that I can list a lot of things I like about the game and still find things to complain about doesn't mean I dislike the game or I want to hate. It means the exact opposite. If I have high expectations for them, it means I know they're capable of great things.
edit: and what you said about the balance... Honest to God this is the first NRS game where I feel like I can play anything. It's awesome.

 

[Lt. Boxy Angelman]

Don't get me wrong, I still think they always knock it out of the park when it comes to production. MK has never looked as good as it does now, especially animations and faces. The fact that they did a follow up to the original story (not amazing but better than the base imo) surprised me positively too, even though it's paid and too expensive for my liking. And they do story better than any other fighting game (more due to the other games sucking in this department than anything else). And gameplay wise I really like this game too, probably more than you do.
I wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't know they can do better. But they can and I expect more than they did. Much more for the story. The fact that I can list a lot of things I like about the game and still find things to complain about doesn't mean I dislike the game or I want to hate. It means the exact opposite. If I have high expectations for them, it means I know they're capable of great things.

EXACTLY.
The one thing that drives me INSANE: you know how much better the ending of initial Story Mode would've hit if it had ended with Shang, Fujin and Nightwolf coming out of the portal? Instead of "Fire God Liu and his magically recreated alternate dimension wifey are going to rewrite the entire universe we spent almost 30 years building, after we ALREADY did that once two games ago"?
But no. They save it for later so they can make the $40. Nope. Keep it. Maybe I'll buy Sheeva and the classic skins.

 

[EarlyReflections]

It's time for them to move on from the cinematic format, they proved they are the best of the best.
But now something new, worthier and more replayable must come. The once and done story mode is a lot of resources too..

Whatever happens, the writing needs improvement though. Last 2 games went downhill.

 

[Roy Arkon]

Honestly I think the reason why MK9's story mode was so good was because they didn't have to add many new things. They already had a winning formula with popular and beloved characters. MKX and MK11 were significant drops in writing quality imo.
Like come on. Kronika surely is one of the worst villains in recent video game history. Which saddens me because I love myself a well written female villain, they dropped the ball massively. I'm not even complaining about "muh Kitana beat Shao Kahn" because power levels never have to make sense in MK, in fact, sometimes it's even better when they don't. It's just basic stuff like making a crappy villain and wasting the potential of several characters, like Cetrion, the first Elder God character, being her mom's little bitch and a lot of fan favorites returning to do absolutely nothing.
And for anyone saying people who dislike MK11's story just want to hate, you couldn't be more wrong. What aggravates me the most is that the story was bad and I know they can do much better, and they already have a fantastic universe to work on. I want to love NRS's story team's work, and sometimes they do great, like IJ2 and MK9, while sometimes doing poorly, like MKX/11.
If you like the story for this game, good for you. Don't go discrediting people who don't based on nothing but your own opinions.

Except that the formula was the same for all of the games. So what "many new things" are you talking about? Just the characters? So just because MK9 was full of classic characters, automatically the story was amazing, and because there were more newcomers and in MKX and MK11, all of the sudden the quality of the writing was magically dropped? And you're saying that the returning characters in MK11 "didn't do anything" when that's actually more true to MK9 while in MKX and MK11 the majority of returning fan favorites such as Reptile, Baraka, Sheeva etc had more doing then what they did in MK9 or at least at the same level like with Jade for example?

Yeah, that's very logical.

And you wanna talk about bad video game villains? Then look no further then Ultron Sigma in MVCI as far as Fighting Game villains go. Korinka is an excellent villain, FACTS.

Also NRS/WB's story modes are fantastic on their own accord, and not just because the other companies fail with them. They are objectively fantastic.

And no, you listing a lot of good things doesn't excuse that you're listing the rest of the good things as bad when they clearly aren't. As I've said, I want all companies to do the best they can do, yet no other Fighting Game company can hold a candle to what NRS/WB do, and those are facts, which is why I don't buy any fighting game except NRS games almost exclusively. So I have high expectations too, yet I praises NRS/WB for all of the fantastic work they do, because that's exactly what they do, including their story modes. So no, you don't have high expectations from NRS/WB, you just want them to go in a very specific way and if it doesn't go that way, then you're bashing it. And we all know what

NRS/WB are already doing the best they can do, those "criticisms" of yours are not legit at all.

It's time for them to move on from the cinematic format, they proved they are the best of the best.
But now something new, worthier and more replayable must come. The once and done story mode is a lot of resources too..

Whatever happens, the writing needs improvement though. Last 2 games went downhill.

Nope, nothing needs improvement here. And the replay-ability doesn't have to come from story modes if they already making them as amazing as they are and the have replay-ability through other modes such as the Towers of Time. Of course MK12 might be different, maybe they will find a way to make it both cinematic and with a ton of replay-ability in the same mode and still make it just as amazing. Arc Sys and Bamco tried that with DBFZ and they failed miserably. Or maybe NRS will make two story modes with two different experiences, one fully cinematic and one Konquest style mode in the same game.

Whatever the case, their story modes are always worthy, more then any other company.

 

[Lt. Boxy Angelman]

Oh yes, the "job" card. Really original counter-point.

Also, you not buying the Aftermath update doesn't count. Because you still bought MK11 and the full KP1. And of course you're still coming to this site to keep talking spreading your bullshit around in every possible chance you can even if it's the only site you go to. So still do what a true fan SHOULDN'T do. I on the other hand didn't buy the actual base games for the majority of the Asian games (again except DBFZ and SC6). So no, you acting only now doesn't prove anything. And you giving props to MK11 on everything they've done right including the balance? Then how is it that you still keep bashing NRS whenever Jacqui Briggs is mentioned, let alone keeps jumping on the bullshit bandwagon that NRS actually are biased in favor of some characters and against the rest even though M2Dave and others have proved you otherwise? There is no way that they are biased if the balance in the meta between the chars is the smallest it's ever been. Either they are indeed biased and the balance differences are huge, or they aren't biased and the balance differences are super small. And it's clear that the latter one is the true one. You can't have it both ways, it can only be one of the two.



Except that MKA also had the concept of ending everything and MK9 also started a new timeline, yet you ignore MKA completely, putting MK9 as an example of excellent story modes and keep bashing MK11. And them starting a new timeline doesn't nothing that they did matters anymore, because everything they did from MK1 all the way until now matters.



Except that the ending of Liu Kang and Kitana (who Liu Kang didn't "recreate" but rather sent her from another point in the timeline. Like seriously, did you actually play the story mode or even just watched it?) is a part of the base story and it wasn't the canonical one anyway. And you keep bashing NRS for restarting the timeline again, but you still wish that Shang Tsung, Fujin and Nightwolf stopping Liu Kang would be the overall end of the story, even though it still would lead the story to restarting the timeline anyway.

You're keep contradicting yourself in every possible way and every chance you can just to justify your bitching. One bitching comment will contradict another bitching comment, and it goes on and on an on. You're a hypocrite.

The only thing that is shitty here is you, and you don't want NRS to get better, you don't care about them or the series, and you're not a true fan. You're not fooling anyone, except the other bitching bashes who just want to feel more powerful then they really are. I do want every company to be the best they can be, and this is why I buy NRS games almost exclusively right now, because those other companies can't hold a candle to them and I know THEY THE ARE ONES who can get better and to be just as good as NRS/WB.

That's the truth, and you know it.

...you do understand that at this point you're just putting more words in my mouth and making yourself look like a complete fanboy asshole, right? Because now this is just getting kinda embarrassing.

But hey, keep making things personal and getting bent out of shape because you picked the wrong person to try and make an example of. You keep trying to tell me what I supposedly know and getting butthurt because you got yourself stuck in an argument you can't win, and I'll keep making you look like a fool until you get it through your head.

There is a fundamental difference between recklessly bashing something and critiquing the parts of it that are below par in the hopes of it getting better. Which I am going to continue to do, every chance I get, about the widely-disliked story, Jacqui who an enormous part of the community is openly tired of dealing with, Cage's painful inconsistencies, NRS' past lack of transparency with their competitive fanbase, and everything else about MK11 that's been a problem. Whatever your personal qualms are that cause you to white knight over these issues in spite of the fact that arguably more than half of this forum feels exactly the same way that I do (and I encourage anyone who disagrees to feel free to do so because I don't presume the right to speak for others and put words in their mouths), I don't understand and I don't really care. I'll be damned to every Hell there is before I let someone speak that far out of pocket about HOW I FEEL AND WHO I AM and not put them riiiiiight back in their place. You want to play pretend that this game is as great as you want to believe it is and that I'm only here to bash it and make you look bad? Go for it. You're the one who's gotta live with it when you realize that this is a really stupid hill to die on, and that one of the main reasons forums like this exist in the first place is for the exact kind of rigorous debate and uncomfortable discussion about the reality of our game and playerbase. Not to do the Trump dance and pretend everything's peachy while we take shots at anyone who disagrees. You can get that shit all the way off my court.

 

[Roy Arkon]

...you do understand that at this point you're just putting more words in my mouth and making yourself look like a complete fanboy asshole, right? Because now this is just getting kinda embarrassing.

But hey, keep making things personal and getting bent out of shape because you picked the wrong person to try and make an example of. You keep trying to tell me what I supposedly know and getting butthurt because you got yourself stuck in an argument you can't win, and I'll keep making you look like a fool until you get it through your head.

There is a fundamental difference between recklessly bashing something and critiquing the parts of it that are below par in the hopes of it getting better. Which I am going to continue to do, every chance I get, about the widely-disliked story, Jacqui who an enormous part of the community is openly tired of dealing with, Cage's painful inconsistencies, NRS' past lack of transparency with their competitive fanbase, and everything else about MK11 that's been a problem. Whatever your personal qualms are that cause you to white knight over these issues in spite of the fact that arguably more than half of this forum feels exactly the same way that I do (and I encourage anyone who disagrees to feel free to do so because I don't presume the right to speak for others and put words in their mouths), I don't understand and I don't really care. I'll be damned to every Hell there is before I let someone speak that far out of pocket about HOW I FEEL AND WHO I AM and not put them riiiiiight back in their place. You want to play pretend that this game is as great as you want to believe it is and that I'm only here to bash it and make you look bad? Go for it. You're the one who's gotta live with it when you realize that this is a really stupid hill to die on, and that one of the main reasons forums like this exist in the first place is for the exact kind of rigorous debate and uncomfortable discussion about the reality of our game and playerbase. Not to do the Trump dance and pretend everything's peachy while we take shots at anyone who disagrees. You can get that shit all the way off my court.

All this talk and barks, yet no actual saying with counter points. You just proved without a shadow of a doubt that you're a hater and you're the problem here, because when push comes to shove, you can't back up your arguments, only bark.

Yeah, you're making me look bad. LMAO. I'm done with you.