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All franchises have their highs and lows, but Mortal Kombat’s ninth installment feels like the litmus test — the modern entry that converts the doubters or brings those who lost interest in the fighter back in from the cold. MK9, simply called Mortal Kombat or followed by the year of its release, 2011, may not be everyone’s choice for the series’ best game, but it is rarely left out of the conversation and tops plenty of lists as a return to form after a quite shaky period. There are several reasons this soft reboot was just what the IP needed. Years later, it’s still being praised, and fans hope it receives the remaster treatment.
The team at NetherRealm knew it was time for a course correction, and that path led back to the basics, taking the action in a more classic direction—or a dimension. Characters and environments are still displayed in 3D, while the camera stays in place, allowing the fighters to work on a 2.5D plane. This gives the visuals some depth and allows the stages to appear full, while letting players focus on the attacks and special moves and less on where they are going.
The most substantial change may have come in the form of its story mode, which has arguably helped revolutionize how the fighting game genre handles storytelling as a whole. This approach was first utilized in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, which is technically the eighth entry into the MK series, but MK9’s mode refined the techniques, brought it back to a much more mature and grim tone, and, of course, ramped up the blood and violence that made them famous. The story picks up at the end of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, in the heroes’ darkest moment, where they all lay dead or dying on the field of battle as Shao Kahn prepares to take out the last of his rivals, Raiden, who sends an incredibly obscure message to himself back in time, in hopes that they can do it all over again, but better.
This is why MK9 is considered to be more of a ‘soft’ reboot, almost a restructuring, while getting rid of some of the elements they weren’t fond of over the past several entries. This game doesn’t replace the original timeline; rather, it adds on top of it and still acknowledges that this has (mostly) all happened before. There are a lot of ‘all is lost’ moments, leading to a victory that is almost as damning as the original defeat. It set the path for a new narrative direction, more cinematic story modes, and created a foundation for MK to jump into the future. Sure, this form of single-player campaign was cheesy at times and had some ridiculous setups just so two characters could fight, but it was also like watching a brand new MK movie we could play, and more importantly, it left a big impression.
FULL REVIEW COMING IN ISSUE #1
