"Mortal Kombat XL" Managed To Fix "Mortal Kombat 4/Gold" (And Not Really)

 

Mortal Kombat 4 is often considered to be a low-tier game. MK4 was disliked presumably due to it not knowing WHAT TO DO. The dodge mechanic is utterly slow and near-useless. The final boss fight with Shinnok was underwhelming -- especially with Goro from the home versions. MK4 came out in 1997 while Mortal Kombat X came out in 2015. I remember getting a refund when the PS3 version was CANCELLED. Apparently, when John Vogel (?) said to save up some money because NetherRealm had something special -- Mortal Kombat XL wa that compensation package. Sure, not all costumes were included and I NEVER unlocked the costume I coveted the most -- REVENANT LIU KANG! 

Given the difference between 1995's fifth generation console (PS1) and the eighth generation console (PS4) would mean, "Hey let's revisit this and GIVE IT AN UPGRADE!" NetherRealm Studios revisited Mortal Kombat Trilogy and made the huge wonder Mortal Kombat (2011). It was time to visit MK4 again and try to improve on the formula in many ways.

Where MKXL did it better

There's always room for improvement and lessons to learn in innovation. MKX certainly took several liberties. In fact, I was thinking about how MK4 and the beloved classic Tekken 3 (the first Tekken game I actually enjoyed, the first two were BROKEN AF in today's standards). Mortal Kombat copied some stuff from Tekken. Mortal Kombat Deception gave us Onaga who's an obvious copy of True Ogre. Now, MKX gave us Kotal Kahn -- a blatant copy of Ancient Ogre! The difference is Kotal Kahn is more of a neutral character who becomes full hero in Mortal Kombat 11. The most obvious one has to be how Mortal Kombat changed its attack buttons to one button per limb together with the use of preset basic combos -- again pretty much like Tekken! That's why I said, "The fighting scheme kinda reminds you of Tekken.

Kombat Kids was an interesting concept

I'd say introducing the Kombat Kids was just one. I thought Cassie Cage and Takahashi Takeda were interesting characters. Kung Jin was introduced as a first cousin to Kung Lao. However, that was later retconned to NEPHEW in MK11. Kung Jin might just be well -- JUST THERE. Jacqui Briggs is also like that to me. I enjoyed using Cassie and Takeda from the Kombat Kids. I was disappointed when Takeda didn't make it into MK11. It would've been interesting if Takeda had dialogue with Past Hanzo. Come on, Takeda played a HUGE ROLE in Hanzo Scorpion's REDEMPTION too!

MKX takes place 20 years after MK9. It was good to give some focus on other characters. Liu Kang got overly used. Instead, we have Johnny Cage and Cassie Cage defeating Shinnok. I also love the more mature Johnny talking some sense into Sonya Blade's workaholic personality. Cassie was practically born out of a one-night stand. However, Cassie is pretty much what keeps both Johnny and Sonya to somehow reconcile. I've always had a thing for the Johnny x Sonya setup! It was too bad that the OG games never did anything with them!

Gameplay mechanics

MK4 trimmed down a lot of stuff presumably due to HARDWARE LIMITATIONS. MK4 only had two stage fatalities (instead of at least three) and no other finishing moves. However, MKX recreated the Brutality finisher to a mini-fatality. The new Brutality would kill the opponent BEFORE "Finish Him/Her" shows up if DONE RIGHT. It's a mechanic that I feel was best done in MKX but not as well-done in MK11. I was only hyped up for Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung in that game -- NOTHING MORE!

The game made a huge callback to MK4's pick-up objects. The round reset made it potentially broken. However, MKX's rounds followed the same way Marvel Super Heroes did it. That means CONTINUED FIGHTS meant that when the object is gone from the stage -- IT'S GONE! Just imagine almost spamming throwable objects like in MK4. That one allowed me to cheese Shinnok back in the day! However, that also meant the game would be D*MN BROKEN. Spoilers: Some objects could be used to KILL opponents like Shao Kahn's hammer or a fire torch from the Lin Kuei headquarters.

Hanzo Scorpion's REDEMPTION and Kuai Liang Sub-Zero's grandmaster role

Hanzo Scorpion was presented as an evil character with complex motivations. Hanzo Scorpion was more of the anti-villain -- manipulated by Quan Chi's machinations. There was much potential to redeem Hanzo but the OG timeline didn't do much. In fact, one had to wait until Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance to see it. After that, Hanzo Scorpion becomes a tragic villain (again) when his clain is brought back as undead characters. I felt like, "Can we give him a break?"

Kuai Liang Sub-Zero and Hanzo Scorpion have a complicated history. After all, Hanzo Scorpion DID murder Bi Han Sub-Zero in the first tournament in the first timeline and second timeline. MKX presented the newly reestablished Lin Kuei with Kuai Liang Sub-Zero. Kuai Liang Sub-Zero was restored to human flesh by Quan Chi -- all before his return to human form. Having Kuai Liang Sub-Zero reveal to Hanzo Scorpion the REAL KILLER -- was more satisfying than Hanzo Scorpion's canonical ending in MK4/Gold. 

Goro and Shinnok were done better (to a certain extent)

Shinnok was practically a LAZY SHANG TSUNG in MK4/Gold. The final fight was just MEH at its finest. It would've been better if Shinnok was made like Inferno in Soul Calibur. Well, MKX somewhat did that with Shinnok's unplayable corrupted form. However, Shinnok still had the ground sparks -- a blatant copy of Shang Tsung's ground fireballs. Shang Tsung's ground eruption move required to burn ONE METER though in MK9. Shinnok got his own moveset and I preferred using the Bone Shaper over Imposter and Necromancer. 

Shinnok may be easier than Shao Kahn. However, the AI was still programmed to be tougher when you fought regular Shinnok. After that, you get into a one-round fight with Corrupted Shinnok after defeating Shinnok for two rounds. Corrupted Shinnok can be cheesy as F***. Corrupted Shinnok's chest laser is one incredibly damaging move! The lack of sidestepping makes it a pain. However, the ease isn't ALL THAT MUCH. I still find Corrupted Shinnok's ONE ROUND ONLY fight to be annoying. That happens when I'm using a character I don't use that much! Shinnok also sounded more menacing in the new incarnation too. 

Goro in MKX has been improved somewhat. Goro is made a pre-order bonus and a SUB-BOSS. However, Goro has been toned down because of his status as PLAYABLE. MK4 Goro may be easier than previous incarnations. However, MK4 Goro managed to defeat me senseless the first time. I discovered spamming jump kicks was more effective than before. Back then, one had to time the spammed jump kicks. Perhaps my only complaint is that Goro is just fanservice here. 

MK4 was subjected to a lot of limitations. The CD technology had slow loading times for the fifth generation consoles. That would explain why the Nintendo 64 version allowed Goro vs. Goro while the PSX version didn't The PSX version used FMV videos for the character endings. Honestly, I still wish MK9 used FMV character endings! Right now, Goro vs. Goro isn't a technical limitation anymore. 

II.Where MKX did it WORSE than MK4

For whatever great the game did -- there are also some areas where I think MKX did worse than MK4. I would like to address them but they might be from the MINISCULE to those that may have affected the story.

Shinnok spent most of his time trapped in some sub-space -- like some RPG bosses

Shinnok is supposedly a fallen Elder God. One character from Chinese mythology that matches him is the Heavenly Grandmaster. A Singaporean TV series that came out in 1998 was called The Legend of the Eight Immortals. The fallen Elder God Tongtian Jiaozhu is the object of worship of the renegade Jie Sect of Taoism. Tongtian was responsible for several crimes against his fellow Elder Gods and was imprisoned in the Netherrealm. The Legend of the Eight Immortals also has one plot parallel to Mortal Kombat. Tongtian's right hand man Pangolin eventually betrays him! The sorcerer would be none other than Quan Chi! Shinnok was given more of a Loki vibe in MKX -- which wasn't a bad thing!

However, Shinnok remained so much time LOCKED IN THE AMULET. It could've worked IF he was manipulating everyone despite his lack of physical presence. Instead, there was NO INDICATION that he did. It could've been cooler if Shinnok was hinted to have controlled Mileena and D'Vorah. Instead, why in the world Shinnok absent for MOST OF THE STORY MODE?! Shinnok could've been cooler than Shao Kahn. 

I could accept Shinnok's locked away status IF he could still do limited control. Make Shinnok render headaches to any of his minions if they couldn't free him. Have Shinnok still speak through the amulet -- such as manipulating Mileena or the Outworld Civil War despite his body being absent. The Fallen Elder God could've been given that plot. Instead, Shinnok was practically given little screen time.

It doesn't help that Cassie and Johnny are given Plot Armor. The scene ended up like Hulk beating Loki to a pulp in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Strangely, DC Comics is with Warner Bros. and Marvel is owned by Disney now. Raiden later beheaded Shinnok the same way Thor beheaded Loki. 

Variation system CAN be jarring

I'd say that there are times I prefer MK9 while still enjoying MKX. I kinda enjoy burning people to a crisp using Liu Kang's Hot Mess Brutality. However, Liu Kang's Hot Mess Brutality is only available in his Dualist variation. Flame Fist could be the best variation for Liu Kang IMHO. This makes me think, "Should variations ever make a return?"

The idea of variations is almost taken from Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Capcom vs. SNK series. I played Capcom vs. SNK 2 and felt that selecting between CAPSNK groove was BLOATED. Characters can play differently between CAPSNK. Mercifully, MKX only makes you choose from three variations. It's kind of an advancement from Street Fighter Alpha 3's X-ISM, A-ISM, and V-ISM variations. These means certain moves are inaccesible in certain variations. I felt Raiden losing his teleport in other variations was just WTF.

Are variations really good or not? MK9's lack of variations can make gameplay more accessible in some way. MKX's variation system also gave us Tri-Borg which either variation accesses cyber ninja moves. The Xenomorph also had a what-if a Xenomorph was born from a Tarkatan. These are cool ideas and all. However, I felt that the game may overwhelm beginners here. 

MK4's lack of the variation sytem would be a plus for me.

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What are your thoughts?