Current State of Mortal Kombat

[Jion_Wansu]

Alright, I know many of you don't wanna hear this and I don't want to believe it either, but the sad truth is that Mortal Kombat as a franchise is dead! Sure, Midway will rehash, resell storylines and try to make each subsequent Mortal Kombat game like a Virtua Street Tekken Calibur game. Mortal Kombat was good, Mortal Kombat 2 was Mortal Kombat times 10, after Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 the gameplay went downhill and it's just not as fun anymore as it used to be. Sure, I love the MK storyline, I think the storyline for MK beats the other fighting game franchises' storyline hands down!!! It's a phenomenon like Star Wars and such!

However, we all know that you can only go so far with storyline alone. There's a reason why games like the Tekken, Street Fighter, and King of Fighters franchises have withstood the sands of time; their replay value, fierce competition, tight knit fighting game community, such as having tournaments at the local, national, and international levels, and a loyal fan base.

For example, I've mentioned at a local fighting game tournament that we should hold Mortal Kombat Armageddon or at least an Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 tournament and people would rather play Fists of The North Star, Guilty Gear Accent Core, Soul Calibur 3, Virtua Fighter 5, etc. The response I usually get it, "It's Mortal Kombat" after I say "why can't we have a side tournament for Armageddon or one of the old school MK games".

In closing, the other fighting game developers better not follow the footsteps of Midway with their Mortal Kombat or they will lose their base too, notabley Capcom. Even loyal Street Fighter fans and hard core SF tournament players are pissed off at Capcom with their rehashing of every possible previous SF game ever made. Where is Street Fighter 4?

What does everyone here from SRK think?

[Hanzo_Hasashi]

Nah. I think the MK comp scene is resurging again. At least UMK3. Just go to www.ultimatemk.com and see how UMK3 was in EVO2k7. Sure it was a side tourney but it serves to gain the recognition the game needs. Espect more UMK3 appereances in future tourneys.

Also, the MK scenes in south america for example are growing up. Visit www.mkkompetitive.com.ve (Venezuela), www.proplayerx.com (Colombia).

Both are in spanish but has english sections as well.

As a franchise, well all my hopes of having a nice, new, worth competing MK game went down after deception. I have actually 20% faith in MK 8 to be at least interesting. MK DA was a good step for me but it seems like they fell the staircase and ended into the bottom.

A wifi rehash of umk3 or even mk2 for the DS would be good for spicing up comp.

[Tigerboi]

UMK3 was the most well received game in the series if I'm not mistaken.That and uh.....

MK has died as a scene becuase of lack of development talent. IMO there hasn't been a good game SINCE UMK3.


And I'm not understanding the comparison between midway and capcom that you made.

[4649]

i think Shaolin Monks is slept on

[FlyMike]

Yea best storyline. But MK ran itself into the ground. Height of success was prob MK2. Resurgence started with MKDA, which was good, but something didn't fit right. MKD began the horrible, slow, laggy, 3D brokeness. MKA was a last attempt that provided bittersweet fanservice. MKSM definitely was slept on, but was perhaps MK's most quality game.

Ahhhhhh MK. We can still have the memories though can't we?

[FMJaguar]

Thread title edited.

In addition, They say MK is being rebuilt, so I don't think anything we know about the series now is really as important as whatever information comes out about the next game.

Everyone knew that the current arc lacked a lot, and we'll have to see which direction they take in the new series before really commenting on it.

[Shadow Ace 50]

Shaolin Monks 2 please

[SaBrE]

shaolin monks was hella good. other than mk2 and umk3, its the only game named mk thats good

[Ephidel]

I still think there's hope, I also played shaolin monks and thought it was pretty good.

Also mk2 online gets support from what I know.

[Choujuu]

All of the 3D games have really paled in comparion to the gameplay of 2 and Ultimate. The sites that Hanzo mentioned are helping to unite a growing scene which I think will just continue to grow. Will it ever eclipse something like Super Turbo or Third Strike? I doubt it but played 2 or Ultimate at a high level is a beautiful thing.

[Wellman]

I was one of the ones that had hope for the series after MK:DA but Deception was just...

But the series isn't dead, last I heard it was one of the few original properties keeping Midway itself a float.

Am I the only one that dug MK Trilogy?

[DragonSama]

right now MK2 on the PS3 is seeing a pretty decent scene growing aorund it. I've played quite a few matches and overall the game is pretty good and had very little lag (that I saw anyway).

[Choujuu]

Am I the only one that dug MK Trilogy?

Trilogy was my game of choice in the series (following by 2 and Ultimate)... I wish it would get a rebirth on the DS with wifi

[Shade]

While you all may not like the last couple entries in the MK series, it sure as hell has a fanbase. MK is no where near dead. Sure, it's gonna need to keep reinventing itself in order to stay fresh, but this applies to everything, Street Fighter included.


The last game I played, and enjoyed with Mortal Kombat in the title, was Shaolin Monks, personally. But that isn't even a fighting game.

[Vic Viper]

Hmmm, I'd like to see UMK3 be held at EVO2K7 this year in Vegas!!!

If it happens, they'll probably have to use the MAME version since:

-The one on MK: Armageddon Collector's Edition won't save unlocked characters.
-XBox 360 version doesn't have button configuration.

I wonder if MK2 on the "PS Triple" isn't the Midway Arcade Treasures 2 version, with the stupid Start Button glitch: Can't random select or fight Smoke.

[Xero Kaiser]

Just because a game isn't being played at some tournament most people have never heard of doesn't mean it's dead. As a franchise, Mortal Kombat's doing just fine.

[Choujuu]

-The one on MK: Armageddon Collector's Edition won't save unlocked characters.


That one also doesnt allow for button config... whoever did the game dropped the ball with those two things.

[Shade]

Just because a game isn't being played at some tournament most people have never heard of doesn't mean it's dead. As a franchise, Mortal Kombat's doing just fine.

Agreed. Shoryukenoobs judge a fighting games popularity on whether or not it makes it to EVO. :rofl:

[Eduardo24]

MK isn´t "dead". It still outsells better fighters anyway:rofl:.

[gridman]

Am I the only one that dug MK Trilogy?

I loved trilogy even though it had massive glitches. Sucks I cant find my original copy of it.

[Brutal-R]

I wonder if MK2 on the "PS Triple" isn't the Midway Arcade Treasures 2 version, with the stupid Start Button glitch: Can't random select or fight Smoke.

Nah. Select is pause and Start does what it should i.e random select, fight smoke etc

[Sonichuman]

You never know maybe Mk will get close to the glory that it used to be. Some people may have said armageddon was a let down but I for one foudn the game fun and it can be played on a high level and still remain so. One of the reasons I'm saying this is because Ed boon actually STARTED listening to what some people had to say. To me..that's a start and provided me with more hope. people asked for some type of wake up game and despite people complaining about it the fact that he listened and actually put it in still remains. I say if we want mortal kombat to return to some sort of greatness then we are going to have to grab Ed Boon by the throat and raise him up off the ground against the wall like a school yard bully. What would you guys like to see fixed/added/done better in the next version since it's going to be done from the ground up?

[Hanzo_Hasashi]

One of the reasons I'm saying this is because Ed boon actually STARTED listening to what some people had to say.

Well they actually did that. You can say it by looking at the changes through MK3 to UMK3. Kabal, Sub, Jax, and other toned down stuff just helped to make a better game.

[tl613]

I loved MK2 and UM3 but I agree it went downhill with the 3-D versions. MK just seems like a summer blockbuster movie to me...all flash but no substance, rushed out to make a quick buck.

For MKA I enjoyed the adventure mode thing more than the actual fighting game. I hate that it feels like 2-D with sidestepping as opposed to more fluid 3-D fighters like Tekken and Virtua Fighter.

It's good to hear Boon is starting to listen to what the fans want, but I still feel he is one of those people that think as long as it sells, who cares.

[Ephidel]

Am I the only one that dug MK Trilogy?

No sir, I love MK Trilogy to death. I also like its aggressive meter.

[Sonichuman]

It's good to hear Boon is starting to listen to what the fans want, but I still feel he is one of those people that think as long as it sells, who cares.

That seems to be one of the problems that mortal kombat has. Since it appeals more to the casual crowd than the hardcore and there's more in the casual pool than the hardcore in terms of $. The dilemma being how do we make this game available to both sides and appease them while still retaining our own sense of style and not become a complete copy cat to a different game. I'm really interested to see what they are gonna do with the Unreal Engine for the next game and exact how far 'from the ground up' this game is going to be and if they're going to just copy a formula that's already been done like making it more similiar to tekken in terms of moves.

[4Play]

For MKA I enjoyed the adventure mode thing more than the actual fighting game.


Actually for me MK Deception conquest mode is better than MK:A. I loved going around all the realms doing random missions and finding fighters and fighting them in different places. Mk trilogy is alright. It was my first Mk and I enjoyed it.

[Ninja Wallace]

You never know maybe Mk will get close to the glory that it used to be. Some people may have said armageddon was a let down but I for one foudn the game fun and it can be played on a high level and still remain so.

MKs is only good if you don't care about gameplay and just like flashy games with a lot of blood. Also, there's no such thing as high-level play in MKA. http://youtube.com/watch?v=Thk9UyboY7E
And all the MK games have those. Even the 2D ones.

[Sonichuman]

MKs is only good if you don't care about gameplay and just like flashy games with a lot of blood. Also, there's no such thing as high-level play in MKA. http://youtube.com/watch?v=Thk9UyboY7E
And all the MK games have those. Even the 2D ones.

wow....lol nice job midway...*sigh* are you sure that's a true infinite in terms of Asherah couldn't use any of her 3 get out of jail free cards she hadn't used yet? And just because a game has infinites doesn't mean it can't be played at a higher level than casual...do I need to name any games? Pretty sure i don't. If that is a true infinite and she cant get out of that then this should just be one of the things that should be brought to Midway's attention to make sure that the next game doesn't have the same problem.

[jae hoon]

MK has been dead for a decade.

[Rairu]

Even the Mortal Kombats that were 'good' were pretty awful. The series has always been sort of a joke. If it wasn't for the gimmicky blood and fatalities we probably never would have even seen a MK2.

[Tigerboi]

Even the Mortal Kombats that were 'good' were pretty awful. The series has always been sort of a joke. If it wasn't for the gimmicky blood and fatalities we probably never would have even seen a MK2.

.....you know, now that I think about it, you're right.

[Frank the Tank]

As long as Ed Boon is in charge and John Tobias is not involved, the series will continue to suck mad balls. MK:DA had potential, but they went the wrong direction. Besides, only a true fucktard would make more than one game with PROJECTILES AND SIDESTEPPING.

[Hanzo_Hasashi]

Even the Mortal Kombats that were 'good' were pretty awful. The series has always been sort of a joke. If it wasn't for the gimmicky blood and fatalities we probably never would have even seen a MK2.
Well man, with no offense and respecting your opinion, UMK is a very good and underrated game. Its balanced, have a good cat and variety in the characters, has offensive and defensive options (not much if compared to GG or 3S of course) but particulary, one of the things that UMK have is that 85% of the cast have good chances of winning when playing at high level.

If you havent played, give it a try. Im sure you will like it.

[Tigerboi]

As long as Ed Boon is in charge and John Tobias is not involved, the series will continue to suck mad balls. MK:DA had potential, but they went the wrong direction. Besides, only a true ****tard would make more than one game with PROJECTILES AND SIDESTEPPING.

That isn't as bad as COMBO BREAKERS AND PARRIES.

Or.

JUGGLES AND AIRCOMBOS.

[Jion_Wansu]

Here's some true high-level MK play and ownage!!!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bGbOeO5etTI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cquVTF02YY8&NR=1

[Bob Poundmax]

Quite frankly, it ticks me off that people dont give Mortal Kombat 2 credit for being(one of) the first games with air combos......

[BlodiaVulcan5]

MK isn't dead. it's the people who are controlling the franchise are milking it hard. Armegeddon's air combo system is just awkward.

we need a proper fighting game. :/ Hand it over to Bandai please (j/k).

[Son Them All]

Boon doesn't know how to make a good fighting game. Virtually all the of the broke FIXING in the early games was curtesy of Tobias. Until Boon steps down as the head, the series will never be good. Watch any of the behind the scenes extras in the new 3D games. Boon just comes up with bad ideas that he implements, and not the other way around. There's no good ideas comin from Boon that were just excecuted poorly.

David Jaffee lead MK game plzkthx /pipedream.

[Phoenix Wright]

MK Trilogy for XBL PLEASE

[Shade]

So, we have some non MK fans. That's cool. However, you can't simply write off a franchise, because you aren't a fan of it. lol That's just silly. Fact is, it's not dead.

Anyway, I always liked the MK mythos, and character designs. They have always been top-tier, in my book. Weeaboo, but awesome weaboo.

Shaolin Monks, and Deception (didn't play Armageddon's yet) are the high points in the series (recent games). Great cast, fewest bugs, great presentation, and hella extras. All plus' in my book. Shaolin Monks is possibly one of the greatest PS2 titles made, yet.

[Sonichuman]

As long as Ed Boon is in charge and John Tobias is not involved, the series will continue to suck mad balls. MK:DA had potential, but they went the wrong direction. Besides, only a true fucktard would make more than one game with PROJECTILES AND SIDESTEPPING.

So the people at namco are fucktards for having devil jin and jinpachi? Projectiles in a 3d environment are not impossible. Scorpion has a relatively fast moving projectile but for the love of god you better make sure that spear hits or you are guaranteed a raping 75% of the time. Overall projectile speed could be increased as well and a friend of mine suggested a small amount of tracking on a few of them. I think Shang Tsung had something along the lines of this with his 3d fireballs. Why not give every character some type of move that tracks side stepping in some way?

[{PFH}-Lake]

MK Trilogy was fun till you vs experts and there infinite combo bs . UMK3 is still fun and still play it once in a while.

[Jion_Wansu]

Wonder if this will revive the Mortal Kombat franchise... Did any of you guys go to the Comicon and play the demo?


http://www.mortalkombatonline.com/content/News/read.cds?article=1096

[Bacardi]

thread necromancy should be a capitol offense

[KING]

OMG he revived a year-old thread. fail.

[Vegit814]

Until the Mortal Kombat series gets a new director/planner we won't be seeing any respectable changes anytime soon.

[Redmyst]

Good stuff in those videos. I had no idea that MK2 and Trilogy had that much stuff in there, I might have to poke around with that.

Anyway, several things need to happen. First and foremost that ass hat needs to step down and hand the franchise over to Tobias. Secondly, damage scaling NEEDS to take put in or gravity to make infinites harder. Also limiting some special attacks in combos would be helpful.

This is just what I think needs to happen to make it a better fighting game.

[rogueyoshi]

thread necromancy should be a capitol offense

OMG he revived a year-old thread. fail.
does it help that its his own thread?

[DietSoap]

Wonder if this will revive the Mortal Kombat franchise... Did any of you guys go to the Comicon and play the demo?


http://www.mortalkombatonline.com/content/News/read.cds?article=1096

Test Your Might, which has been known to be what happens when two characters go running through each other, both players have to mash all four attack buttons as fast possible to maximize or minimize the damage being dealt to the victim. :shake: :rofl:

So, overall this game in my opinion is truly shaping up to be another great installment of Mortal Kombat. Wait what!? :rofl:

[FatalFuryD]

I loved 2D MK. 3D MK had great ideas but they never get balanced out. I'm seriously starting to wonder if these guys even have a pro testing team. If fans of 2D MK don't mind a different angle, other games that play very much like 2D MK and are solid are street fighter 2 the movie the game(console version), Virtua Fighter 2(2D version for Sega Genesis), and Advanced Variable Geo/AVG2 for ps1.

[MUSOLINI]

MK is gay, the designs where the gayest ever. the moves where the shittiest ever in a game, the story is more shit than the worst fighter anybody else can name. there was only 1 decent mk game ever, and that was 2. some wanna make it sound like it was really good, nah it was decent. best mk for sure, but thats not saying shit. something i dont understand is why anybody would want to play anything shitty with the mk title in it.

[Rioting Soul]

So, new topic:

How would you fix/change MK?

-Rewind the battle system all the way back to MK2 and build from there.
-Get rid of the stupid knockdown that happens to characters because they did a combo that lasted too long.
-If a character is put in the hit stun where they are stumbling backwards then they will be juggled if they are comboed by the following attack(except for sweeps).
-Some attacks can be jump canceled(jab, crouching jab, maybe uppercuts, some specials).
-More character individuality for normal attacks.
-Better throws(ST).
-Jumping attacks keep their momentum when they make contact instead of fall straight down.
-SF-style crossup jump ins. MK-style guard means you don't have to block the other way, but you still get the frame adv and cross up inertia on the opponent.
-More damage scaling.
-Take out the special move limiter that keeps you from doing things like Scorpion- spear, spear in combos(read below)
-To help prevent infinites, I'd have a small meter below each health meter that would start to fill for each hit(spears and freeze included) you receive in a combo. If a certain attack is used more than once in a combo then the meter fills more for that attack and will exponentially do so for each use. Once the meter is filled then the opponent will be knocked down or reset if they were in the air. Would-be infinites/100%s become CCs/VCs in that they have a time limit. Once the combo ends(either because the meter became full or the player just stopped comboing), the meter begins to decrease slowly. Since the meter decreases slowly, big combos will be impossible if attempted so soon after you did a big combo earlier.
-Normal attacks can be canceled into specials.
-Normals still do chip(I like that).
-The game lets you know if you performed a reversal, if you won by chip damage and if you blocked the wrong way when you got hit(high/low).
-Projectiles cancel each other out instead of pass through.
-Jax's Gotcha is an SNK-style command grab(can grab out of hit stun but not block stun).
-If your combo meter is filled enough(meaning you got comboed), you can use the meter to cancel normals into other normals or guard; specials into other specials or guard. Each cancel decreases your meter. So the pro is more combo/pressure potential while the con is that you make yourself open to longer combos.
-Start button pauses the game.
-Either 2D gameplay or make attacks specifically to beat sidestep(radial attacks/swiping attacks/homing attacks/tracking attacks/faster teleport attacks)

[FatalFuryD]

MK is gay, the designs where the gayest ever. the moves where the shittiest ever in a game, the story is more shit than the worst fighter anybody else can name. there was only 1 decent mk game ever, and that was 2. some wanna make it sound like it was really good, nah it was decent. best mk for sure, but thats not saying shit. something i dont understand is why anybody would want to play anything shitty with the mk title in it.

It is pretty bad visually(lol jelly blood), but the insane free juggle system is like fukken crack. I mean the 2D ones though.

[jimmy1200]

i like mka. why? because its just fun to play with my boy and drink some beer, and not really care about learning infinites, or exploits. i could, because im a fight gamer, but i dont feel like it for this game. i just want to enjoy basic shit, and ripping off limbs.

why so serious with mk? mk is one game i expect to not be on tekkens level, and i dont care. i cant wait for mk vs dc, that shit looks mad fun.

sometimes you just gotta chill and enjoy the shit for what it is.

[kmasera]

mortal kombat has always sucked and will continue to suck until the end of time

[Mizuki]

Just like my shit, it stinks, it's mushy, and went down the toilet a long time ago.

[Bounce]

I don't think the series is dead, the story is better then SF, at least continuity wise.

For the system:

Going back to MK2 is a good start, the auto combo system was then dark ages of fighters for me as it was a measure of playing aggressive dance dance revolution.

Character animations........Let me say this again Character Animations, watching the trailer of MK8 all character motions look the same until they do a special move. While Midway is NOTORIOUS for taking short cuts graphically, better animations would aid in creating a more competitive base.

I like Rioting Souls idea of a Combo meter, but the meter should decrease like the Run meter did for continuity sake.

For style switching, some thing that I thought was a good idea, just really done badly. Give the system to a few characters and attach the subsystem to block button. It would add a level of depth.

If the game is going to be 3D, add a parry system. Not like DOA but more like Tekken 6 and VF. It is subtle and not the mainstay of the system, but competitively it is a method of punishing those who only have one strategy.

[Ki Shima]

i would actually think that mortal kombat should ditch this 2D/3D bullshit cos it isnt cutting it, it should never be 2D again, and i know im hurting peoples feelings but this game could be the forerunner of fighting game innovation. its going down the pan because it keeps trying to play in a pond with very young and very talented fishes. MK is an OLD fish that people keep buying, being an innovative fighting game would set a new trend that is actually safe to step in. because its not doing this its obvious its about the money. fighting games are dying because to someone who doesnt follow all fighting games cant see the differences in these games, there isnt much different


the arcades are not only dead because of consoles its also dead because of us

[True Grave]

Eh Mortal Kombat....its a lot like Sega.

It once did great way back when and showed promise, but in more recent times has done so laughably bad its not even funny. The only exception is Shaolin Monks, that gem came out of nowhere and was Great!

A Good MK title? Yup the midway guys certainly couldn't let that trend continue.....never saw another title like that since.

[Slangin Smilez]

Mk Was A Beast Game When It Came Out..But I Do Gotta Agree Its All Downhill Now
BTW:
Anyone Figure Out How To Do Liu Kangs Hidden Fireball Fatality..As Seen In The Background On The Pit 2?? Lol

[CLK]

My first fighting game was MK1. I really liked it. Mortal Kombat 2 was very good too, too bad Mileena and Jax were too powerful (although there is always the character that can level with him/her). I found MK3 laughable, I never played UMK3 (I was playing too much in the arcades and made the commitment to stop wasting time and money there and give more time to my other important things). MK4 was bad as a fighting game, but fun as a 3D novelty. As some poeople have said, gameplay went downhill afterwards. I also agree that new MK's are just to make more money. Just add a lot of fatalities and gore and forget gameplay.
What worries me is that some people just trash the game:

1-Never having played it. I never dug street fighter series, but, a couple of months ago I said, well, let's try it. And after having played third strike I really liked it. I can see the art, and the skill required to play it. But I had to put down my stupid paradigm first.
2-Watching some combos on youtube and saying that the game is broken. Do you really think, albeit some exceptions, that those are really doable in a serious match between 2 good players?
3-Don't give arguments, or they do but, again, from other sources and never having played it.

I really think the first 2D ones required skill (block a flying kick and uppercut in a serious match), a lot of years ago I played here in my country and there were a lot of skilled people, and that's why I liked them as fighting games.

[KING]

let the Japanese make an MK title.




solved.