Mortal Kombat 1: Finish Him!

[thebobmaster]

After quite a bit of rumors/leaks, and teasing earlier this week, Netherrealm Studios has officially announced Mortal Kombat 1, the next game in the Mortal Kombat series. Given how big the series is, I thought a proper post for discussion would be a good idea.

As for my thoughts, love the idea of a timeline reboot, and I especially am interested to see where they go with the story, and the implication that, for example, Kitana and Mileena are going to be more like sisters in this timeline than bitter rivals, along with a much darker Liu Kang Elder God than I expected. Don't like Shang Tsung being pre-order DLC, and it's surprisingly late to announce MK 1 officially with only 4 months leading up to the actual release, which makes me a bit concerned.

Also, the title makes sense in context, because of the timeline reboot, but it is terrible for marketing.

 

[Xprimentyl]

... it's surprisingly late to announce MK 1 officially with only 4 months leading up to the actual release, which makes me a bit concerned.

Optimist: If anything, it should build confidence that with such a short lead time between trailer and release date, things must be fairly well buttoned up by now.

Pessimist: They're probably 6 months behind, in the thick of crunch, and the game will be a buggy, unplayable mess when they shit it out 4 months.

Realist: It's Mortal Kombat... AGAIN.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

I promise* that I will buy the game if Liu Kang says, just once. "I must consult with the Elder Gods".

* Promise not valid anywhere.

 

[Drathnoxis]

What's the point of rebooting Mortal Kombat? Isn't every game pretty much the same anyway?

 

[thebobmaster]

What's the point of rebooting Mortal Kombat? Isn't every game pretty much the same anyway?

There actually is a fair bit of lore to Mortal Kombat, and this allows for a fresh start to that lore.

 

[BrawlMan]

Don't like Shang Tsung being pre-order DLC, and it's surprisingly late to announce MK 1 officially with only 4 months leading up to the actual release, which makes me a bit concerned

This has been a problem since MKX. Goro was a pre-order there, and Tsung was pre-order before in MK11.

​

I don't care much for MK anymore, but I am happy to see the franchise still going strong and the top selling fighting game franchise. It's come a long way. Here's hoping got a good amount of bonus modes, because Konquest Mode ain't coming back. Street Fighter VI is already offering all these bonus modes at launch, so NetherRealm better step up their game.

 

[FakeSympathy]

I wonder if this means no one except Liu Kamg has no memories of their past lives? If so, poor Liu has to work on Kitana all over again

 

[thebobmaster]

This has been a problem since MKX. Goro was a pre-order there, and Tsung was pre-order before in MK11.

​

I don't care much for MK anymore, but I am happy to see the franchise still going strong and the top selling fighting game franchise. It's come a long way. Here's hoping got a good amount of bonus modes, because Konquest Mode ain't coming back. Street Fighter VI is already offering all these bonus modes at launch, so NetherRealm better step up their game.

MK 11 has a couple of great bonus modes in The Krypt and the Towers of Time, so I expect that to be not an issue with MK 1. And I'm aware of the pre-order thing, what annoys me more is my reaction to it. Damn it, it's doing EXACTLY what NRS wants it to do to me.

 

[BrawlMan]

MK 11 has a couple of great bonus modes in The Krypt and the Towers of Time, so I expect that to be not an issue with MK 1. And I'm aware of the pre-order thing, what annoys me more is my reaction to it. Damn it, it's doing EXACTLY what NRS wants it to do to me.

I know where you're coming from. A similar thing happened with me when getting the Deluxe Edition of RE2Remake and DMC5. They costed $70, and were full of pre-order costumes and bonuses that would have been unlockables back in the PS2 or 360-PS3 days. The saving grace was that most of it wasn't my actual money, and me trading in games I didn't care for anymore or lost interests. If you can help it, do not pre-order it. Or at the very least, start trading games you don't care about anymore or are one and dones.

 

[thebobmaster]

I'd have to buy it digital, is the issue. My PS5 is the digital-only version. Not my choice, but when it's a gift, you don't complain. I am telling myself not to pre-order it, and to wait for the inevitable GOTY/Complete edition...but man, it's hard on this one, because I love MK.

ETA: I have been informed that Shang Tsung will be available as paid DLC after launch, pre-ordering just gets you him for free. I now feel a whole lot better holding off for the GOTY edition.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

This has been a problem since MKX. Goro was a pre-order there, and Tsung was pre-order before in MK11.

​

I don't care much for MK anymore, but I am happy to see the franchise still going strong and the top selling fighting game franchise. It's come a long way. Here's hoping got a good amount of bonus modes, because Konquest Mode ain't coming back. Street Fighter VI is already offering all these bonus modes at launch, so NetherRealm better step up their game.

MK has always been chock full of content since the last reboot, with the Krypts getting increasingly elaborate in design and size. MK11 was basically Shang Tsing’s whole island to explore and unlock.

The biggest ? will be on WB, and if they can keep their heads out their asses with the monetization bs. They were teetering on the wire last time around, so it’s up to the fans to keep them in check from the get go now. History would show that Ed has to have that in mind, so hopefully he’s doing what he can to launch smoothly. There’s too much riding on this not to.


Also,


Really looking forward to some gameplay footage. This will undoubtedly be UE5 so I’d probably need a newer GPU or PS5 by this fall.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I don’t do Twitter much anymore but this might end up containing some useful info tomorrow AM -



Let’s just say I’m liking the new designs pretty much across the board.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

MK 11 has a couple of great bonus modes in The Krypt and the Towers of Time, so I expect that to be not an issue with MK 1. And I'm aware of the pre-order thing, what annoys me more is my reaction to it. Damn it, it's doing EXACTLY what NRS wants it to do to me.

Spoiler: This?

 

[chozo_hybrid]

I'm looking forward to it, but agree locking Shang Tsung to dlc is a bit of a dick move since the trailer implies he's the main baddie? Anyways, hope they do some cool new stuff and maybe make it so when playing local, player 2 can use my custom loadouts if they're still doing them!

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

The trailer is already at 191k thumbs up on the official MK channel, whereas the WB channel is at like 10% of that lol. Regardless it would indicate that fans are still hungry for more MK.

 

[FakeSympathy]

Pre-order issue aside, I also have issues with the title itself. I get that "1" is symbolic of many things; Maybe it's referring to everything being reset square 1, or Liu Kang's new one world, or there's only one god in this new timeline.

But now the future generation won't know the difference unless they do a bit of research. It will just make things confusing. In fact, something similar happened to me not to long ago, when I was discussing FF series with someone, and when we were talking about FF3, I was talking about the actual FF3 while they were talking about FF6 that was released as FF3 on NA.

IDK, feels like they could've given a different title like MK New World, MK Fire and Lightning, MK Peace and Khaos, MK Age of Kalamity, MK Rebirth, MK A Real Reborn, MK Revengence, etc.

Also, maybe they meant to say early access to Shang Tsung or have him purchasable later? Why would they make him the main bad guy and not be playable?

 

[CriticalGaming]

Pre-order issue aside, I also have issues with the title itself. I get that "1" is symbolic of many things; Maybe it's referring to everything being reset square 1, or Liu Kang's new one world, or there's only one god in this new timeline.

But now the future generation won't know the difference unless they do a bit of research. It will just make things confusing. In fact, something similar happened to me not to long ago, when I was discussing FF series with someone, and when we were talking about FF3, I was talking about the actual FF3 while they were talking about FF6 that was released as FF3 on NA.

IDK, feels like they could've given a different title like MK New World, MK Fire and Lightning, MK Peace and Khaos, MK Age of Kalamity, MK Rebirth, MK A Real Reborn, MK Revengence, etc.

Also, maybe they meant to say early access to Shang Tsung or have him purchasable later? Why would they make him the main bad guy and not be playable?

There is some point to be made about that. But also....can the original MK be played anywhere? Is it reasonable to think that someone looking at images from the original MK and this new MK1 and not be able to tell which game is which? If the answer to either question is no, then I don't think it's that big of an issue.

 

[BrawlMan]

also....can the original MK be played anywhere?

Yes. Steam, the Xbox live arcade collection, IOS,Arcade 1up, and other compilation packs. That still doesn't solve the issue. When somebody says Mortal Kombat, they are going to ask which one. You forgot there are three games now that have just Mortal Kombat on it. The original, Mortal Kombat 9, and now Mortal Kombat 1.

 

[FakeSympathy]

There is some point to be made about that. But also....can the original MK be played anywhere? Is it reasonable to think that someone looking at images from the original MK and this new MK1 and not be able to tell which game is which? If the answer to either question is no, then I don't think it's that big of an issue.

Fair point. But I think it will be rather annoying to say "MK1 1992" or "MK1 2023" when we are verbally talking about and distinguishing the two games

 

[CriticalGaming]

Fair point. But I think it will be rather annoying to say "MK1 1992" or "MK1 2023" when we are verbally talking about and distinguishing the two games

But why? The original game doesn't have a 1 on it. The rebooted MK9 doesn't have a 1 on it either.

The original can just be called "the original" while this one is called MK1.