The trailer for Mortal Kombat II is cheesy and silly, which is everything fans want from this movie. It also looks like an immediate upgrade from the first film by having Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage in the protagonist role, after fans didn’t gravitate towards Cole Young. While we are getting a classic collection later this year, we think it's more appropriate if they re-release Mortal Kombat 9.
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Although it’s technically a reboot of the first three games, it even launched as “Mortal Kombat” in 2011, many fans affectionately call it 9. Even NetherRealm Studios acknowledged this, calling the next entry Mortal Kombat X. Regardless of numbering, MK9 is a fan-favorite title to many, and we feel that a re-release to coincide with the second film would be fitting.
The Rise of Johnny Cage
While Johnny Cage has always had a prominent role in the series, Mortal Kombat 9 and subsequent entries emphasized his spot as a franchise mainstay. He survives the events of 9 and even has a child with Sonya Blade named Cassie Cage in MKX. It all started with this game, and re-releasing it in time for the new movie would help a lot.
Fans were pretty down when Mortal Kombat 9 was de-listed from most stores, with signs pointing to the use of Freddy Krueger as the main reason for its removal. It started the current trend of story-focused MK games, so not having it around makes the series feel incomplete. Now that Johnny Cage is front and center again, it's the best time to bring this game back.
Back to the Klassics
Some cynics might point out that the release of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection would make this re-release pointless, but it would actually enhance the series’ legacy, pun-fully intended.
Reliving the original tales and seeing a redux of them in Mortal Kombat 9 would make these games feel even more important than they already are. It’s why fans who play the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy are replaying the original game, because they want to appreciate the legacy of this classic story.
We also hate to say this, but the ninth game is also more visually appealing than the upcoming Legacy Kollection. This was a decent-looking game on the PS3 and Xbox 360, so it will remain that way when it gets a slightly prettier re-release.
Free from the Multiverse
Despite some time travel shenanigans, it will be nice to go back to Mortal Kombat 9 and realize how much simpler things used to be. The only complicated parts are Raiden trying to understand what his future self is trying to say, which is pretty frustrating. Everything else isn’t so messy.
click to enlargeThere was hope that Mortal Kombat 1 would have explored its new world more, but that all went out the window during its messy third act. Khaos Reigns didn’t make things any better, as it tried to make newer versions of the new characters we just met, which felt cheap and didn’t leave much of an impact.
Case in point, Mortal Kombat 9 deserves a re-release for modern platforms. Bring it to Switch, make a Switch 2 version, add Kratos as a PS5 exclusive, do whatever it takes to make this fighter available again on current-gen systems.
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