Sean Akizuki's Fantasy Critic

  It's no secret that I don't want to play the first eight entries of Mortal Kombat anymore . Mortal Kombat (2011) or Mortal Kombat 9  had given a lot of stuff that defined the entry. Sure, I'm skeptical about Mortal Kombat 1 where I call it a BAD FANFICTION that feels like NetherRealm Studios hired me to write it UNSUPERVISED! Earlier, I wrote an entry on how Mortal Kombat X fixed Mortal Kombat 4 . It's highly possible that NetherRealm Studios revisited Mortal Kombat Trilogy and discovered ways that they could fix the game. One could consider that we had the fifth generation console (PSX), the sixth generation console (PS2 and I no longer long to replay the 3D era), and the seventh generation (PS3). The news that Mortal Kombat Trilogy might be included in the Mortal Kombat Legacy Collection (and I have no intention to replay the older games). Now, I'd like to write where Mortal Kombat 9 managed to fix Mortal Kombat Trilogy (given the leap of technology) while high...

  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 ...

I'm not the biggest of Mortal Kombat 11 . However, I still like the game to a certain extent -- despite feeling that Aftermath was plain HIGHWAY ROBBERY. The return of Friendships was something that made me say, "Shouldn't we have had those instead of Babalities in Mortal Kombat (2011) ?" It's time to look at the hit or miss! Mortal Kombat II up to Mortal Kombat Trilogy featured Friendships. Some of them were a hit. The others were pretty much a miss or just plain OOC. It's probably due to the time constraints as well as memory constraints. Some of them had a repeated friendship with a different variation. Who can remember the doll friendships in Mortal Kombat II by the palette swapped ninjas? They were followed up by Klassic Sub-Zero, Hanzo Scorpion, and Reptile doing a jack in the box -- their own versions! I found that rather dull and boring. Some Friendships didn't even match the character. Mortal Kombat 3 and its updates had some questionable ones. Ni...

  No video game franchise is without its flaws. I only played Mortal Kombat back then -- hoping that its violence could help me "man up". However, I ended up liking Liu Kang (my fave) even if he wasn't always the main character. Sure, I'm not impressed with how Mortal Kombat 1's timeline turns out -- especially since various reincarnations aren't working IMHO. I'd like to revisit a game that revived the franchise -- and a game that badly needs to be REMADE. I was so upset with Mortal Kombat 1's bloatedness that I became, "No PS5! I DON'T CARE!" However, I'd be lying to say that Tekken 8 isn't getting me tempted to get one! Tekken 8 looks much better and is getting better reviews. Mortal Kombat 1 is pretty much NOT a good reboot IMHO. Now, time to really talk about how Mortal Kombat (2011) made me forget the first eight games. The punch/attack scheme has been more charming (at least to me)  Mortal Kombat started out with the use of...

I remembered the frustration of fighting Motaro. He's a huge Centaur making him the most irregularly shaped fighter for the game. It was something new to have him as a non-playable character (except for Mortal Kombat Trilogy) and he was probably the hardest character to defeat. He couldn't be harmed by projectiles where they automatically bounce back at the opponent. He was an irregularly shaped fighter so by Armageddon, they turned him into a Minotaur. A lot of his attributes like immunity to throws and projectiles got removed for a reason. I guess they wanted fans the chance to have their revenge on him.  Mortal Kombat (2011) was a 2.5D fighting game, not a 3D fighting game. Motaro could have been integrated as a non-playable character in Arcade Mode. Why I think he wasn't included was because of his shape. The X-Ray moves were meant to hit humanoid characters and a lot of them were impossible to implement on him. They could have made him a special and unique boss ...

Above is a screenshot I got from Twitter . It was alleged that Raiden vaporized Kintaro but that was NEVER said in-game. What were the chances of those happening? Apparently, it was either canon or it was done AFTER the second tournament. Raiden wasn't allowed to compete since he still held his Thunder God status. Instead, it seems that Kintaro was tasked to lead the extermination forces. Instead, Raiden ended up killing Kintaro. It was also said Kintaro supposedly murdered Johnny Cage. This may have outraged Raiden AND he ended up killing Kintaro. I could imagine an enraged Raiden vaporizing Kintaro. It would be a violation of the tournament rules IF he did it during the tournament. The original timeline's Mortal Kombat II tournament was a false one -- one designed to serve as a distraction. That was heavily changed during the reboot. Shao Kahn's challenge was recognized as legitimate by the Elder Gods. Kintaro probably wanted to settle scores and ended up killing Johnny C...

  Mortal Kombat was a game was nearly crushed because of a lack of evolution. I looked into the history and pointed out the problems of the 3D games. One of them was the overly repetitive use of high and low attacks (and that's why I prefer the use of one button per limb like Tekken ), and the DAMN ANNOYING palette swap. Ed Boon gives this explanation himself : Boon continued to detail the history behind the so-called "palette swap ninjas" in a Twitter thread. Boon said, "As the most recognizable Mortal Kombat characters, the origin of "palette swap ninjas" came from both a fantastic story rivalry and a technical solution we needed to fit the game in the limited amount of space (memory) we had. One reason we made them ninjas was to get two fighters out of the same motion shoot & memory footprint. But we did have some unique frames made exclusively for one ninja. For example, we felt giving them different stances was worth the 7 extra frames of animation...

  People who grew up in the 1990s would know some of the technical limitations. Who can remember the SLOW LOADING times of fifth generation consoles? I only had the first PlayStation and I'm glad it broke. It's because I don't want to relive the slow loading times -- even when I do miss plenty of good games there! Mortal Kombat Trilogy was one such game that bit off more than it could chew. It tried to compile the previous three games into one monster game. How did it fare thee well? Well, let's dig into the technicalities and get back to the memory lane! On paper, Mortal Kombat Trilogy was a cool game . Having almost every character from the first three games was cool. However, the game relied too much on sprites and VERY LIMITED MEMORY. One may notice the following technical limitations with the CD version: Shang Tsung's morphs would cause the game to have slow loading times. (Better turn it off) MK2 Jax and MK2 Kung Lao only have ONE FATALITY. Midway could've...

The Pit has been one of the most iconic stages in Mortal Kombat . The first game introduced a narrow concrete wall. The design was simplistic. One could uppercut their enemy into the bottom BUT there was no Fatality bonus.  It wasn't until Mortal Kombat II that stage fatalities were fully implemented. Quite interestingly, the second game had a simplistic kill. Midway decided to brag their editing skills. A pseudo-3D effect was done. The enemy dropped down into the Pit II bottom (no such stage, SORRY IN ADVANCE) and hit the hard concrete floor. A pool of blood was there. Blood quickly vaporized back then in gameplay. However, the blood was left there. I feel there were graphical constraints!  Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks was a loose retelling of Mortal Kombat II . I prefer to consider it was a retcon of that old timeline. The adventure game featured Pit I on Shang Tsung's Island. A secret quest would allow one to access The Pit II. This time, both Blaze and the character dubbed...

According to Mortal Kombat (2011) , the living forest eats unsuspecting travelers who go too near to the trees. This place may have existed after Shao Kahn supposedly merged one realm with Outworld. It's possible that he lost his troops sending them there though in the Story Mode, it's seen that some characters were able to venture there without getting eaten alive. Smoke and Jade were seen in Mortal Kombat II where they hide behind one of the trees. Later, a hidden fight with an unplayable version of Smoke was possible in Mortal Kombat (2011) . Back in Mortal Kombat II , it was a rumored fatality that never came to be. I remember playing this game and wondering IF it was possible to feed the trees. It turns out that it was JUST A RUMOR. However, that didn't stop the whole concept from becoming a reality. It was the rumor one could uppercut the opponent into one of the trees. However, it was an April Fool's Joke of sorts. The stage evolved further in Mortal Kombat...