I remembered when he had our first Playstation (PS1). Some of the games I had were Mortal Kombat Trilogy and Mortal Kombat 4 - both games that AGED BADLY. I did enjoy them (for a while) because I liked the lore of the Mortal Kombat franchise instead of the violence. I think that Mortal Kombat 11 got too focused on gore than gameplay. Now, I feel like writing about how MK4 really aged badly as well. Take note that I NEVER had a Sega Dreamcast (which died too soon). I guess Midway NEVER wanted to translate Mortal Kombat Gold to the PS2 and Xbox because it was SO BAD.
I was excited to see Mortal Kombat in 3D. I remembered playing it alongside Tekken 3. Shao Kahn was supposedly defeated and a fallen Elder God had shown up. It was an exciting concept but what did we get? A game that's going to ultimately AGE BADLY. The game still focused on high and low attacks. Weapons were added but they were NEAR USELESS. Sidestepping really was nothing more than an annoying maneuver that doesn't work. Sidestepping works in Tekken 3 onwards but not in Mortal Kombat as this game and the 3D era prove it.
Granted, there was so much limit to what Midway could use with the fifth-generation consoles. There was the Nintendo 64 (N64) and the PS1. The game's animated endings were a nice change BUT there was so much it could do. I think Tekken 3 still did better with content. The console versions had only two hidden characters with NO ENDINGS namely Goro (who was also the sub-boss) and Noob Saibot. Goro was playable yet the PS1 version made you fight Shinnok twice (which was probably due to coding constraints) while the N64 allowed a Goro vs. Goro fight. Why that happened is still beyond me. Goro was powerful but got boring (eventually).
I could talk about the Arcade Mode as well. Shinnok was introduced as the fallen Elder God that drove the Earth to centuries of darkness. However, what final battle did we get? Not only was Shinnok playable at the start - he was practically a JOKE. I guess memory constraints prevented Shinnok from doing his mimic moves. Shinnok could've been given the Mokujin/Inferno treatment. Instead, there was one and all he did was combos. It was a VERY DISAPPOINTING FINAL FIGHT.
How the first reboot game actually made me say Mortal Kombat 4 plain sucks
It's no secret that Mortal Kombat (2011) has become my favorite game of the series. I don't even play the first eight games anymore. Mortal Kombat (2011) really knew how to balance 3D graphics, 2D graphics though I still feel camera angles regarding fatalities in 3D can be a weakness. Until now, I felt that Mortal Kombat (2011) could've given us a classic-looking victory pose in 3D graphics instead of us seeing the camera revolve Tekken style. The camera works for Tekken but not for Mortal Kombat. Though, gameplay is still considerably WAY BETTER than the first eight games. I guess Netherrealm finally found the near-perfect formula even if the game's far from perfect.
What made me think Mortal Kombat (2011) is solid is all about gameplay. The implementation of just one fighting style per character together with following Tekken's one button per limb is GOOD. Having 3D graphics and 2D gameplay is what made it good. No sidestepping and all focused on 2D gameplay. Mortal Kombat (2011) finally made a video game lie become reality by allowing us to feed the defeated opponents to the Living Trees. It was also good to see an NPC version of Shang Tsung morph into other characters to brag about how powerful seventh-generation consoles are.
What made me think Mortal Kombat (2011) is solid is all about gameplay. The implementation of just one fighting style per character together with following Tekken's one button per limb is GOOD. Having 3D graphics and 2D gameplay is what made it good. No sidestepping and all focused on 2D gameplay. Mortal Kombat (2011) finally made a video game lie become reality by allowing us to feed the defeated opponents to the Living Trees. It was also good to see an NPC version of Shang Tsung morph into other characters to brag about how powerful seventh-generation consoles are.
How Mortal Kombat X even makes me forget Mortal Kombat 4 even existed
One can always argue that fifth-generation and eighth-generation powers are different. Some fifth-generation games are still worth replaying like the Street Fighter Alpha series or Tekken 3. Mortal Kombat doesn't fall into that category. I still think I can get over when our Mortal Kombat Trilogy disc BROKE. Right now, I do miss it but not too much. Mortal Kombat X surely managed to fix the mistakes of Mortal Kombat 4. It's a good thing that Netherrealm took advantage of the processors of the eighth-generation consoles to make Mortal Kombat X the way it is. Heck, even the game gives throwbacks such as the Fatality camera system which tends to focus on the mangled corpse than the opponent's victory pose, objects you can throw in some stages, Shinnok as the main antagonist, and Goro as a playable, depowered sub-boss.
I could always say the Story Mode is weak that Nostalgia Critic may gag reviewing it. I still think that Shinnok is highly underdeveloped since was imprisoned in his amulet for most of the duration. I still think the Cages defeating Shinnok is rather weird. Raiden should've been the guy to wrap up the ancient feud. Instead, Johnn Cage and Cassie Cage just get sudden boosts to beat Shinnok - something I feel is as ridiculous as Liu Kang's win in the original timeline or Hulk battering up Loki. Story is weak but the gameplay still manages to come out good.
Fortunately, I was able to get Mortal Kombat XL which was a compensation package. I wish I didn't pre-order Mortal Kombat 11 just to play as Shao Kahn. I feel like I should've just waited for the Ultimate though my gaming vibes have become more casual than casual. Goro returns and almost every mistake about him in Mortal Kombat 4 was FIXED. Goro's Tigrar Variation plays nearly similar to how he was in Mortal Kombat 4 such as spitting a fireball instead of launching one from his arm. It was fun to finally play as Goro balanced out (and I even have fun playing a depowered Jinpachi in Tekken Tag Tournament 2), get a Goro vs. Goro match (wrestling time), AND give Goro an ending he deserves. Goro did have an ending in the Gamecube version of Mortal Kombat Deception - a game no longer worth replaying in my books. Also, I never had a Gamecube either.
Fortunately, I was able to get Mortal Kombat XL which was a compensation package. I wish I didn't pre-order Mortal Kombat 11 just to play as Shao Kahn. I feel like I should've just waited for the Ultimate though my gaming vibes have become more casual than casual. Goro returns and almost every mistake about him in Mortal Kombat 4 was FIXED. Goro's Tigrar Variation plays nearly similar to how he was in Mortal Kombat 4 such as spitting a fireball instead of launching one from his arm. It was fun to finally play as Goro balanced out (and I even have fun playing a depowered Jinpachi in Tekken Tag Tournament 2), get a Goro vs. Goro match (wrestling time), AND give Goro an ending he deserves. Goro did have an ending in the Gamecube version of Mortal Kombat Deception - a game no longer worth replaying in my books. Also, I never had a Gamecube either.
Mortal Kombat XL has better characters for most of it. Maybe, one can argue that Kung Jin is forced diversification (since he's confirmed gay but I can't resist matching him up with Cassie since I'm no fan of LGBT romance, no offense) or that Ferra/Torr is a poor rip-off of Chang/Choi in King of Fighters. However, we have KANO over JAREK. JAREK was a weak Kano rip-off and I'm glad he's not around in MKXL. I still felt Kai could've been in this game but I guess the developers didn't like him. Tanya was given a better story involvement and was later made paid DLC (or readily available in complete edition). Shinnok was given a more unique moveset than he had in Mortal Kombat Armageddon. Shinnok was given an unplayable version called Corrupted Shinnok - an obvious tribute to Inferno from the Soul Calibur series.
I could still go ahead and bitch as to why CGI character endings are no longer there. I could still go ahead and bitch as to why Tekken 6 invested much in Scenario Campaign cutscenes AND still made CGI animated endings. The endings in Mortal Kombat X are animated paintings that feel like upgraded versions of the endings of the 1990s Killer Instinct entries. Yet, the game still becomes enjoyable in spite of those flaws. Mortal Kombat 4 had those better endings BUT the gameplay just SUCKED. I still think Mortal Kombat 4 should be thrown away to where it belong - TO THE NETHERREALM like how Shinnok fell into it at the end of the Arcade Mode!
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