It's one thing that Mortal Kombat had copied a lot of stuff from the Tekken series. The creators did copy the 3D gameplay which DID NOT WORK as expected. Eventually, the series went for 2D gameplay while copying the one-button per limb system from Tekken. Now, it's time to really take a look at how Mortal Kombat copied from Marvel vs. Capcom in some way. Take note that Tekken also copied from several older games such as Street Fighter and obviously Virtua Fighter.
So let's get straight to all of what, SHALL WE?
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe has to be the blatant one. The popularity of the Marvel vs. Capcom series (which started with X-Men vs. Street Fighter) just couldn't be stopped, right? I remembered how this game came out and I heard the game wasn't good. I guess I wasn't much of a DC Universe fan and I would've preferred Mortal Kombat vs. Marvel Universe instead. Though, Disney buying Marvel and Warner Bros. later owning DC Comics came in. This was before Midway got bankrupt and was absorbed into the Warner Bros. Studios.
The game is often criticized for its T-rating. It did do away with the 3D era Mortal Kombat's use of multiple fighting styles. Instead, there were two punches and two kicks, which I think were one button per limb like in the Tekken series. The series still kept the 3D gameplay even if Mortal Kombat is better off staying in 2D.
I think the game barely learned what made Marvel vs. Capcom a hit. If any game needed Tag Team Mode - it's PRETTY MUCH THIS GAME and NOT Mortal Kombat (2011). They did introduce the unplayable SNK-type boss in Dark Kahn - a fusion between Shao Kahn and Darkseid. Later, Marvel vs. Capcom copied the idea and created Ultron Sigma for Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite. The game tried to be a crossover WITHOUT giving a real crossover battle.
I think this game deserved to flunk. The game tried to complicate the gameplay mechanics with too much fluff. For instance, there was close combat and several test-your-might scenes that slowed down gameplay. If you ask me, playing the original Marvel vs. Capcom games in arcade-perfect format is FAR MORE PREFERABLE than this garbage that Midway made.
Mortal Kombat (2011) did manage to bring in Super Meters (taken from the Street Fighter series) while introducing a modified tag team mechanic
The game that reinvented it all and it contained some apologies for the mess that was MK vs. DC. The game did manage to fix almost everything wrong by returning to a 2D fighting game, by actually returning to its bloody roots, the Joker fatality was given an upgrade (and later, Joker did get bloody fatalities in Mortal Kombat 11), and it gave what I'd call its biggest apology ever. It's all about giving Tag team Mode - something that I believe was badly needed in MK vs. DC. Now, it's time to really time to get it into the game.
I played the Tag Team Mode and I heard that professional players hated it. I guess it can get rather broke at times. The Tag Team mechanics prolonged things a bit by having you still fight two rounds instead of the usual singular round. It's because unlike in Tekken Tag Tournament - the mechanics required you to beat both fighters rather than just one fighter out to win the round. It also balanced things from older Marvel vs. Capcom games by making assists require ONE METER of the Super Bar. It did help stop the spamming which was common in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter or in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. There were tag team combos that can be experimented on as well.
MK using the Super Meter from the Street Fighter series was also another. What kinda disappointed me is how easy it is to pull X-Ray moves by just pressing block + change stance together instead of memorizing a specific command. The x-ray moves are supposedly the Super Moves of the series so why not give varying inputs? There were also the enhanced moves which were obviously taken from the Street Fighter III series. The combo breakers are obviously taken from Killer Instinct.
Unlike Marvel vs. Capcom, cheesy attacks like Team Hyper Combos aren't included. Maybe, I should be glad that Team Hyper Combos no longer exists in MVCI because of how cheesy they can get. I still think that MK (2011) is still more fun than what lackluster Marvel vs. Capcom 3 had to offer in the seventh-generation consoles.
Mortal Kombat 1's Kameo SystemThe upcoming game makes it no secret that they copied from MVC all over again. If you remembered MVC1 then you may remember the Special Assist third partner. I remembered how they a limited usage such as using only up to a certain number of times. Thor did a lightning attack. Psylocke did a depowered Psi-Thrust. Devilot did an explosion which was rather hard to aim. Arthur threw lances. Here, the Kameo Fighter system actually makes you treat other MK characters in almost the same way.
The Kameo Fighters serve as Special Assist partners. I'm disappointed to see Goro getting demoted as a special assist partner instead of a main character. Some 3D-era characters are returning such as Darrius and Ashrah. These characters are summoned to help you on the battlefield. More interesting is how Kameo fighters can perform a fatality in place of the regular character. It's really clearly modifying a forgotten element from MVC1.
I guess Netherrealm isn't shying away from blatantly copying Capcom's older series as many times as possible. Liu Kang himself goes from a Bruce Lee-inspired character into becoming a Chinese Ryu is way too obvious. Liu Kang ends up being friends (and rivals) with Kung Lao - his frequent training partner. Shao Kahn is practically the General Bison of the series. Sonya would later copy Street Fighter II V's look for Cammy AND that use of a killer string. Sub-Zero's enhanced ice beam clearly copies Iceman's Ice Beam from X-Men: Children of the Atom. Goro having a spin attack is obviously copied from Zangief.
Maybe, the Kameo Fighter system might be more balanced than I think. It's because the Kameo system looks like it can be easily spammed. Hopefully, Netherrealm Studios will make sure to that for the sake of the competitive field.
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