Mortal Kombat circle of life spins on
This is the new era. This is a new day. Or is it? That’s just one of the questions that’s lurking in the background of Mortal Kombat One, the newest entry in the long-running series. And, given how beloved Mortal Kombat is around these parts, I was interested in just what that means for the average old Mortal Kombat head like myself.
To start things, Fire God Liu Kang was victorious against Kronika. Or that’s what the MK11 Aftermath canon ending says on the surface. Liu Kang was free to restart history and craft the realms as he saw fit, undoing the damage that Kronika caused with her time machinations. He creates realms of prosperity and peace, using what and who he knows to restart time with the Hourglass and time construct Geras by his side. Things are relatively quiet but through subterfuge and manipulation of this new era’s Shang Tsung, it is revealed that things aren’t always a singular event with a singular outcome. Someone with knowledge of the multi-timelines of MK has jumped into Fire God Liu Kang’s domain and is attempting to take it over with nearly predictable results.
Plot-wise, it’s nice to see that this is the direction of the franchise after MK11 Aftermath blew open the doors of a multiversal MK environment. I loved the storyline of MK11, and I thought it was the proper way to go, though I’m absolutely not fond of another reboot. This is the second reboot in nearly as many games, so the concept has gotten old at this point. While I’m not surprised based on the ending of MK11 with the Great Kung Lao, it is a bit annoying that yet again there’s another overall timeline to contend with so soon.
But as annoying as it is to refer to a third game as Mortal Kombat – quite literally we have to use years and numbers now to differentiate among OG MK 1992, MK9 and this game – it’s a fun ride. The game plays smoothly, relying on combos and combo extenders to make the most of the gameplay. It’s fast-paced brawling, which is exactly what Mortal Kombat should be. The addition of Kameos – mostly assists from MK characters past – is very nice and welcome. They add a lot to the gameplay, and it’s fun to see what signature moves they will do and how they can integrate into combos. They are a big contribution to the look of the game, too, because you’re either going to immediately know who they are or be curious about what part of the MK universe they spawned in.
Presentation-wise, MK One looks great. I wouldn’t say it looks better than MK11 but it’s fairly close. The character designs are absolutely beautiful, with some of my old favorites looking familiar but better. Same thing for the stages. There are some seriously stunning stages in the game, with beautiful color palettes and lifelike animation. And with that extolling of the graphics’ virtues, I will issue this caveat: As expected, do not buy the Nintendo Switch version of the game if you don’t want to see this as an unpolished mess. The Switch version is easily the worst of the bunch because it can’t handle the intensity of the Unreal 4 engine. Character models look weird, and there are obvious and numerous graphical glitches. I’m not sure why NetherRealm decided to release it for Switch when it was obvious that the console could barely handle its arguably better-looking predecessor. And that WB had the nerve, the gall, the gumption and the audacity to charge $70-plus for this version is ridiculous.
Foolishness with the varying graphical quality aside, there are other good things about the presentation, like the soundtrack. My favorite modern MK composer Will Roget shines here again with quite a few bangers from him and the sound crew that will grab your notice such as the main menu theme, Cage’s Mansion, and the Pyramid. This soundtrack’s got more of a Mortal Kombat feel to it than most of the more recent game soundtracks, and I especially appreciate the callbacks to other games in the series and even the 1995 movie (Editor’s note: Listen to the Pyramid track for a reference to the Art Lean-Goro fight ending track).
While I appreciate all of the nostalgia, I’m a little iffy on some of the new features. Invasions doesn’t seem all that fun, and the towers are basically a retread of the towers in MK11. Though I’ve stated before that I don’t want pointless mini-games and definitely don’t want adventure in my Mortal Kombat, NetherRealm has to give me something. It’s a bit barebones right now, and I’m not that confident there will be more things to come. And, as usual, I’m not a big fan of the guest characters slated for the DLC. The first pack is better than previous attempts with a healthy balance of guests versus established MK folks and the guests are better picks than guests in the past, but I stand on my previous business: Give me 100 percent MK guests, period.
Mortal Kombat One has a lot going for it. It manages to rectify some of the weird unnecessary changes of the last game, craft a better, more interesting narrative than the last three games combined and build a new world where new characters could potentially come in alongside veterans we haven’t seen in a minute, and it not be awkward at all. It also looks great and plays well, too. In this new era, the elder statesman of horror fighting games has earned a second wind and new life. We’re excited for its future and the redefining of what it means to shout “Mortal Kombat!”
Score: 4 out 5
Fave ways to die in Mortal Kombat
As a longtime Mortal Kombat enthusiast, I’ve seen the infancy of finishing moves to their present form. Ranging from goofy to deadly serious over the years, I’ve amassed some favorites that will either have me laughing or slack-jawed in awe at their creativity.
1. Multiple Takes – Johnny Cage – Mortal Kombat 11: Johnny Cage is the comic relief we all needed in Mortal Kombat 11 and Mortal Kombat One. His finisher, Multiple Takes, is absolutely hilarious and plays on a bit of MK trivia and history with its reference to multiple uppercuts needed to finish the fatality. Andrew Bowen nails the absurdity of Cage and of MK’s over-the-top all in one go unlike the finisher, ironically.
2. Scared to Death – Kabal – Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: Kabal literally scaring the soul out of your body is so out there it’s actually believable. Given the character’s visage is enough to scare someone to death, this is right on the nose. It makes its return in MK11 as a Brutality.
3. Kiss of Death – Kitana – Mortal Kombat II: The original poisonous killer kiss from our favorite MK female ninja is the best version. It’s also simple to do and was the first finisher that I successfully learned and can perform from memory.
4. Here’s Johnny – Johnny Cage – Mortal Kombat X: Johnny Cage makes the list again with another pop culture-riffic ender. It’s funny and instantly recognizable as a take on the ax-to-door scene from The Shining so it gets the reference across. It’s also just weird enough that it fits perfectly in Mortal Kombat as a whole.
5. I’m About to Head Out – Shao Kahn – Mortal Kombat 11: This finisher is a favorite because it quite literally riffs on one of my favorite sayings: Get your head out of your ass. Having big bad Shao Kahn incorporate his Wrath Hammer was nice, but the chef’s kiss is having him put your head through the other end. I trust Mortal Kombat and only Mortal Kombat to make these types of points.
6. Hell Beatdown – Scorpion – Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: The fatal beatdown that Scorpion gives is simple and effective yet somehow complex. This fatality really generates the hard-hitting questions of why so many Scorpion copies, when did Scorpion learn this ability, and what exactly do they do that is so gruesome that even UMK3 censors it? It’s nearly 30 years later and we still don’t have answers.
7. Cyber Initiative – Frost – Mortal Kombat 11: Frost’s turn as the leader of the cyberized Lin Kuei is an interesting take and one that finally answers some questions we had about the process. Between this fatality and the Cyber Lin Kuei Assembly facility stage, we can glean from this that all of the information needed to make a new robot Lin Kuei warrior is stored in the brain. So, Frost preserving it is paramount. I like this one mostly because I’ve asked the question of “how does this work?” since Mortal Kombat 3 introduced the cyberization concept.
8. Great Beyond – Nightwolf – Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: I expected that shaman Nightwolf would have cool finishers, and this fatality did not disappoint. The concept of being vaporized to the Great Beyond is fascinating. To see it utilized here and not in a super cartoonish fashion is nice. This is not used for laughs, thankfully, and it returns as an awesome Brutality in MK11.
9. Drag Them to Hell – Shang Tsung – Mortal Kombat 11: Shang Tsung tends to have obvious fatalities, so I wasn’t expecting this one to honest. His summoning undead monks from the Netherrealm to kill you in a horrifically gruesome fashion is a nice nod to MK history. It’s attention to lore like this that makes this a great finisher.
10. I <3 U – Cassie Cage – Mortal Kombat 11: In particularly gruesome fashion intentionally mimicking her father’s finisher (see entry No. 4), Cassie finds a way to sort of outdo him with a gaping hole and heart motion in the foe’s chest cavity. While slightly too similar to Johnny’s finisher in MKX, it’s a nice one-upmanship that makes sense given how arrogant the Cage family can be. It’s also cute in a weird Mortal Kombat kind of way.
11. Hair Spin – Sindel – Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: As a Sindel main from her introduction in MK3, her moveset is one of my favorites and is something I know in my sleep at this point. Hair Spin is my favorite of her original finishers because it’s funny and gruesome, on point for my favorite banshee queen of darkness.