"Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance" Is A Junk Game That Paved Way For Better Things But Felt It Still Got Junked Anyway

Okay, just be ready for my PERSONAL BIASES just like how I dislike Power Rangers and certain entries of the Super Sentai franchise. At this point, I could talk about the controversial Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (MKDA) game which I called a junk game.The game itself got praised during its initial release (even if it did kill off Liu Kang) though it had a couple of characters that Netherrealm hates. Those characters were later killed in the Mortal Kombat X (MKX) comics such as the non-playable sub-boss Moloch (killed by Kitana), Hsu Hao (killed by NOT SURPRISINGLY Scorpion), and Mavado (killed by Jacqui Briggs). Some characters are still respected such as Kenshi himself became a paid DLC for Mortal Kombat (2011) or MK9 and we had Bo Rai Cho returning for MKX as paid DLC and Frost as an unlockable in Mortal Kombat 11. 

I could rant on and on about how MKDA was a junk game. Yet, the game can be viewed as an experimental ground for new stuff. In fact, for all the dislike I have towards the game because of Liu Kang's sudden death as shock value, I felt there was some interesting lore. For example, I think the Red Dragon as a rival to the more popular Black Dragon is one. I think the Red Dragon just cemented why Kano and the Black Dragon are the better villains. Hsu Hao gets hated so much that he makes a cameo as a HEAD in Mortal Kombat 11 (MK11) in Erron Black's bag. The concept of the Red Dragon was somewhat integrated into Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks (MKSM) when rivalries fed you energy at the Wastelands while searching for Goro.

The game added new stuff some were removed and others aren't. The most obvious is the use of the "Change Stance" and the introduction of Tekken's dial-a-combo. People had to memorize those short strings and figure out how to link them. The game went to 3D which was done for the next three consecutive titles namely Mortal Kombat Deception (MKD), Mortal Kombat Armageddon (MKA), and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Univers (MK vs. DC). The game did go a bit backward by having only one fatality per character (a throwback to the first game) AND NO STAGE FATALITIES. Moloch was made abnormally difficult. I still prefer fighting Onaga over Moloch. Onaga wasn't that hard compared to how Moloch was truly that terrifyingly imbalanced. Moloch got easier in MKA since he was also a playable character in that game.

How I felt MKDA got junked eventually

MKDA still gets some references later on. I mean, the select a fighter screen of MK9 clearly mirrors that of MKDA. I guess developers still felt MKDA was an important stepping stone. Though, MK9 went back to its 2D roots while still keeping a 3D camera (like how Tekken was in its first two games). Styles like the multiple fighting styles were removed since MK vs. DC which is a GOOD THING. I got quickly tired of it after playing more of Tekken 5. Tekken should stay in 3D and Mortal Kombat should be in 2D gaming. The game made a few references such as how Shang Tsung and Quan Chi were made into the endurance match before Kintaro in the Story Mode. However, both of them were easily defeated while Raiden was overpowered by them in the original timeline. I guess it shows Netherrealm was now looking at MKDA as an Old Shame. It seems MKDA has a Creator Backlash of sorts from what can be seen in the reboot era.

The MKX's comic book storyline really shows it all. I mentioned it earlier characters were killed in the comic book. I think Hsu Hao's death is probably the most obvious. Ed Boon's favorite character is Scorpion and Hsu Hao is his most hated. It's only normal Hsu Hao gets killed by Scorpion of all people. Cassie and Jacqui (who were probably popular enough to enter MK11) killed Mavado. Moloch is later killed by Kitana. These events really tell me how the Creator Backlash is going on. I've had my own Old Shames which I've deleted. Though, for some reason, Kenshi manages to survive that backlash. I think Bo Rai Cho is still a cool character though. Besides, I wish Bo Rai Cho had a remake of his fatality in MKX. 

What was interesting is during the MK11 upgrade. Sure, I'm really not happy having to pay that much for MK11 Aftermath. I'm still grumbling that Netherrealm didn't make the bonus ending the true ending. I didn't like the way Aftermath unfolded either. What would be rather interesting is to see the stage fatalities that were added. The meathooks were made a reality in the Dead Pool in a very gory way. Meanwhile, the Tournament Stage has the weirdest stage fatality ever - to CRUSH YOUR OPPONENT WITH THE ARCADE! 

If one observes closely - there are arcade versions of games that never got arcade releases. The winning opponent crushes the character with an arcade cabinet. What didn't surprise me is that the arcade machine used to finish the job is the MKDA arcade machine. It seems Netherrealm Studios has a vast backlash back when they were still Midway. It didn't matter which side you did the Stage Fatality inputs - it always was the MKDA arcade machine. I guess Netherrealm finally acknowledges that it's being junked. It's not even surprising it's near the MKX arcade machine in this stage. Besides, if I had to get rid of one game - it would be MKDA. I guess the Creator Backlash must be THAT STRONG huh?