When Mortal Kombat first rebooted with the ninth entry, fans thought it would make the series more approachable with a more accessible storyline. This didn’t last long, as MK 11 introduced time travel and MK 1 decided to become a big multiverse story. It’s a storyline that fans have mixed opinions about, and most agree that it needs to stop soon.
Simply put, the franchise needs to make things more grounded. Grounded for Mortal Kombat, anyway.
Acting like the series has always been grounded is a lie, since we’ve seen characters with multiple arms, ninja blades, demon mouths, and more. This series was never about being the best fighter for the sake of inner strength, but to save the world from demons. The series was always going to be a bit out there, and that’s not inherently bad.
Fans also didn’t mind the time travel aspect of Mortal Kombat 9 since it made sense with Raiden and the Old Gods. It allowed for a more streamlined storyline that gave the game Terminator-like stakes everyone could understand. The references to older entries were also great for fans who had been with this series for a while.
It’s when the 11th game comes in that things get a bit messy. While the story is still fairly coherent, seeing everything get reset yet again was pretty annoying for fans who have been following these titles. FGC players also felt that the gameplay in 11 was simplified to make it more appealing, which also had mixed results with players who liked the crazy combos from MK X.
The multiverse aspect of Mortal Kombat 1 is when fans were finally sick of the story continuing. When the story started, fans enjoyed seeing Fire God Liu Kang interact with the new universe he created. Seeing twists with each character was fun, and it still felt like a jumping-on point for newer gamers.
But once the multiverse shenanigans with Shang Tsung came in, fans started to get sick of this trend. It’s no secret that multiverse stories have been popping up a lot lately, becoming central aspects in the MCU, Bayonetta, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and other forms of media. Seeing MK join that trend was annoying, especially since it didn’t lead to anything interesting aside from a more distinct role for Havik.
click to enlargeNow that Mortal Kombat 1 is ending with a whimper rather than a bang, it will be interesting to see how this series continues. Fans are hoping that the series finally tones things down and starts building up Liu Kang’s existing universe. You can’t feel bad for characters dying if they were just introduced, and MK1’s DLC story did that a lot.
Complaints about too many guest characters are also legitimate, but they never impact the story. At most, they get Arcade endings with some cool art and voice acting, but that’s it. We really think that MK should focus on its story since that’s the selling point for many.
Mortal Kombat needs to chill out and start world-building again. Fans don’t need a Shakespearean tale of tragedy; just a simple storyline of good vs evil will do.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Features and Mortal Kombat 1 page.