The Ultimate Lessons Mortal Kombat 1 Should Have Learned from Past Games

Highlights

Mortal Kombat 1 has been well-received by fans for its fresh gameplay, graphics, and characters, living up to the promise of a new era for the franchise.

The story mode in Mortal Kombat 1 could have been enhanced by drawing inspiration from previous games and introducing fresh elements for the future.

The existing structure of the story mode in Mortal Kombat often restricts scenarios and primarily emphasizes the "good guys," relegating villainous characters to mere targets. It would have been more engaging to enable players to select their own characters and delve into a more distinct and enigmatic narrative.

The highly anticipated 12th installment of the Mortal Kombat franchise, Mortal Kombat 1, has recently been released to a mostly positive response from fans. The game has received praise for its innovative gameplay, stunning graphics, captivating presentation, and diverse cast of characters. In many respects, it delivers on the promise of introducing a new era for the long-standing franchise, which has been in existence for 30 years. Even the story mode has been well received, although it is also somewhat disappointing for fans. If Mortal Kombat 1 had taken cues from previous games, the story mode could have greatly benefited from some improvements.

NetherRealm Studios has been widely acclaimed for their cinematic story modes, which were first introduced in 2008's Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. This format treats the story mode like a movie, where players follow a specific character in each chapter and engage in battles as that character, interspersed with cutscenes. Each chapter focuses on a different character and includes a set number of fights that players must win. With six games utilizing this structure, Mortal Kombat 1 should have been an opportunity to learn from the past and innovate for the future.

Mortal Kombat 1's New Story Mode Failed to Iterate Enough

NetherRealm Studios' story modes are now considered classics, having been around for a significant amount of time. Each installment has brought something unique to the table, contributing to an overall incredible gaming experience. However, there are a few downsides as well. One issue arises from the necessity of every character having a certain number of fights, which sometimes leads to forced scenarios. These include instances like a minor argument between friends escalating into a brutal Mortal Kombat fight.

Although this problem was most apparent in the early games with the current story mode structure, it still persists to some extent even in MK1. It's worth noting that the writers and developers have made efforts to improve the motivation behind the fights in story mode. However, due to the chapter-based structure, this issue remains somewhat unavoidable.

The issue with the current NetherRealm story modes is that they often only focus on the "good guys", leaving fan-favorite villainous characters to be used as mere punching bags. However, this has been improved in MK1 as more villains now join forces with the heroes and receive a more balanced focus.

In the past Mortal Kombat games, players had the freedom to choose any character from the roster as their avatar and achieve victory. Before the current story mode, the main source of a character's plot came from the Tower/Arcade Ladder endings. Mortal Kombat 1 could have adopted a less linear and more mysterious story structure, allowing players to choose their characters and embark on a unique story centered around them, encountering other characters along the way.

Looking back at the history of Mortal Kombat, each installment has showcased various innovative and intriguing storytelling techniques. One notable example is the Konquest Mode featured in Mortal Kombat: Deception. This fully interactive 3D action-adventure game allowed players to assume the role of Shujinko, a young martial artist, as he embarked on a journey through the Mortal Kombat realms. Along the way, Shujinko received training from the franchise's main characters and gradually unraveled the enigma surrounding the Dragon King. This gripping narrative tied seamlessly into the Tower endings and the overall plot of the game.

A similar action-adventure story mode, known as the World Tour Mode in Street Fighter 6, has recently been introduced. It would have been interesting to see the inclusion of this mode in Mortal Kombat 1, perhaps as a replacement for the cinematic story mode and invasions. Alternatively, the game could have drawn inspiration from the success of Konquest Mode to create a more immersive and nonlinear story experience, aligning with the reboot nature of the game.

Mortal Kombat 1 is available now on PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.