I know you've all been patiently waiting to once again discover that Mortal Kombat is a terribly weak fighter, that basically devolves into button mashing and knowing finishing moves. Every time a new game in the series launches there seems to be this strange hope that it will turn into the great fighter that it never was. However, despite not being a great fighter, it's still hella fun to tear people into bloody pulps with ridiculous moves as Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe reminded us (sans blood).
So we'll stick to the rose tinted memories of MK and bring you this update of information on Mortal Kombat 9 that TRMK has put together. Through a variety of sources they have figured out that we will most likely be seeing a holiday release of Mortal Kombat 9, as almost every place has a Dec. 25 release date for the game. As we know this is the standard place holder date for a holiday release.
They've also confirmed some characters through casting calls for motion capture and voice actors. It looks like some people from MK vs. DC will be reprising their roles and this has confirmed that Sonya and Kitana are definitely in and Kano is a strong maybe.
Finally, we will most likely be hearing something about the game next month as one of the actors resume's stated that her next job for WB will be revealed in April. Only one months until we can start pretending that Mortal Kombat will become a great fighter this time around.
MK9 Update [NeoGAF, via TRMK]
Matthew Razak is Destructoid's Associate editor and co-founder of film site
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Contest:
12:00 AM on 03.07.2010
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But I love it either way. :D More can never hurt, except when it's bloodless like MKvsDC...
Ed Boon already confirmed it was going to be a reboot. That's why Armageddon happened just as MK Trilogy did. Sort of a "character clearinghouse" to give you one last fling before they go back.
@mrplow8,
Agreed. It's far too common to bash on MK without realizing there MUST be something redeeming about the franchise for it to stick around. And I've STILL yet to see a fighting game with a better story mode than MK vs DC. But no, it's the easy bash and the lazy way to commenting on the franchise as a whole. Which ultimately brings us to the inevitable conclusion, could Ed Boon REALLY do ANYTHING to please these people who refuse to acknowledge the series? And if not, why are these people so hell bent on WANTING the franchise to prove itself to them? It's partially circular. Ed Boon looks after his fans, and the non fans will continue to bitch about MK while fapping over a redrawn copy of Street Fighter II.
MKvDC had blood, guy..
Youze trollin!
People just love to hate it. Either it's developed by a non-Japanese company, or it's got too much over-the-top showmanship, or whatever. Honestly, I have no idea where this idea developed.
The facts are that it's fucking fun, technically sound (though not as technically diverse as other games [read: super-cancels, target-combos, roman cancels, etc]), and extremely demanding where dexterity and timing are concerned. Historically, it's the least problematic where exploitation becomes an issue with infinite combos, etc. I could go on.
Jack-asses who condemn the game without taking specific issue with any of its features or problems, citing simply and nondescriptly that "it's not a great fighter," are participating in the grandest form of bullshit.
Mortal Kombat was always more fun than Street Fighter.
It died with MK3 though.
The reason why this game deserves a 9th sequel is beyond me.
New MK coming out + New SF coming out, it is classic MK vs SF! :D (although we know the winner, the nostalgia is fun to think about :p )
unlike Jim Strrling, this writer simply lacks the ability to write decently, and cannot come across as witty or funny, no matter how desperately he obviously tries. I personally enjoy reading his posts because of how mundane both he and his writing is.
What I meant to say was no fighter feels as good as MK for sheer brawling. Since the first MK, every connected uppercut and sweep felt brutal. Every move has impact. The closest thing was the gut punch with the low-end "BBRRMP" that made you vomit in SF II. MK is good the way some pop music is good. It's not technically brilliant, but catchy and fun.
There were plenty of gory games before MK, but none of them looked like real life. Younger gamers may not remember, but MK's visuals were mind-blowing back in the day. They have to ditch the current art style and go back to lifelike character models if they want all that gratuitous gore to have an impact.
MK, as fun as it is, isn't balanced or particularly deep. Games like Tekken, Virtua Fighter, and Street Fighter have techniques that are difficult to master, and therefore lead to interesting matchups.
I'd compare MK to the likes of DOA. They both have a gimmick that makes them different.
The last one did poorly? Check your facts. Not only was MK vs DC a great, great game, but as of the Midway implosion, it has sold 2.5 million copies. Here is one of the reasons why it was brilliant. If you were just a DC comics fan, you could choose just to fight those characters in Arcade. Just a fan of MK? Go through the arcade mode with just those character. So in a way, it was the GOOD 3D MK remake we wanted (smaller roster, more balanced characters, focused on the classics) AND the good DC comics fighter we always wanted.
This isn't a japanphile thing, but MK and many other western attempts are just poor and don't really understand what the audince wants from them. I'm sure they'll try to reboot it, but its got a high rope to jump for what many expect from the genre. I don't think the devs of MK have really studied other games in the genre enough to see what makes them tick and players coming back. I'd love for this series to turn around its fortunes, and get the love other fighters do, but its going to take a lot of work.
What would make me invest in this series?
A name change to distance it from its arcade debacle roots.
Drop the lame story crap. There a reason why all fighters are light on story and MK digs too deep here.
Give me fighters from around the world I live in, as Joe Bloggs from Earth is just lazy. Can't like or connect with that. Better yet,more earth locations as no one cares about Outworld, because its too out there.
Design better characters from scratch and give them their own personality, individual animations etc. MK has been using cheap animations for years, the fighting stance being the most lame. This works or is passable in the arcades (here's looking at you Tekken) but not well at home. Capcom are great at always design good appealing characters beyond Ryu and Ken. MK need more down to earth characters as many in the series are too fantastic, that they should be off doing something better.
Speed settings. MK is in the slow lane, optional speed setting can raise a mundane series like this into something more. A good fighter should be able to move rapidly, with move responding accurately in time
Get the whole dev team to play real beat em ups. Last Blade 1 and 2, Rage of Dragons, Power Instinct, Martial Masters, KoF etc. Pay attention to characters and the levels they are in, combos etc.
Drop the fatalities but keep the blood. These fatalities were once a good idea, but now just feel like a bad side show waiting to be played out. They made sense in the 90's, but two decades on should be toned down a notch or lost altogether, as its not why players should be looking to play the game. This would also allow more focus on the core gameplay, combos etc.
If you want your game to be noticed, throw the door open for ideas from game fans. This is another reason why Capcom succeed, the cultivate their fanbase and reap the rewards from it.
There's probably more I can add, but when I feel and can see that the series is growing balls, I'll check it out. Surprise me, MK.
If you like Tekken, Street Fighter is just a button masher.
If you like Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter is just a button masher.
If you like Virtua Fighter, MK is just a button masher.
If you like MK, Tekken is just a button masher.
And on and on and on.
Not that his argument is valid but pretty much sums up the perceived problem with MK. The fact that those who care about MK don't WANT BlazBlue and those wanting BlazBlue don't want MK. And until MK becomes another fighter in the world of schoolgirls and and downright offensive stereotypes with shit exploding all over the screen looking like an illconceived episode of Bleach, they don't care.
SO DON'T CARE.
With 2D and 3D fighters on the rise from japanese developers, you are not being underserved. But if your desired end result to the MK revamp is making it like every other Japanese fighting game, then I pity you. I pity you because you cannot step out from your comfort zone. It's like you have a house you love. And rather than LEAVE that house on occassion, you'd rather keep expanding that house from the inside. Eventually this house hits something else and your reaction is to take over that house rather than respect it for what it is.
Seriously, if you don't like having your "tastes insulted" in a news post, don't come to Destructoid. Every writer here puts as much opinion into the post as possible, which keeps it from being a generic copy-pasted article. Why you childishly seek some kind of appraisal for your tastes from a blogger is beyond me.
tl;dr: STFUAJPG
BlazBlue is terrible. It's sluggish, uninspired, and Guilty Gear did a HELL of a lot more (and better) with what it had. There are a TON of other 2D fighters that you could've named. WTH did you choose this one?!
LOL
You know nothing, NOTHING, about fighting games, and should cease posting here:
You need to look before you leap, Shep. Just because I said MK needs a revamp and better designed characters, doesn't mean I want to become like japanese fighters in design. Saying that though, Tekken and SFIV are good examples to follow, as their desing aren't to heavily manga/anime in your face like Blaz Blue etc. The examples I give before are some of the best out there.
The most recent games, with some thought gone into stylised character designs though in 3D are Team Fortress 2, Battlefield Heroes and the upcoming action game Brink. Take a look at all three games, and you'll see that you can have 3D characters designed with some flare than just lame templates like MK has been doing for years.
Why can't MK take this same route? If it did, I might actually enjoy the chracters more. They do not have to go a anime/manga route to give their character some style, but something still needs to happen.
On the contrary, Shep, I step out of my comfort zone more than you know, and if you have ever played Rise of the Robots, you'd understand why many don't with beat em ups. The beat em up genre has never had a western champion, and if you think its MK, you have a lot to learn. MK could have been that champion, but lame design and gameplay have hampered it forever. Under Midway it was going nowhere fast. Now its in Warner hands, with more fresh vision and a reboot it might stand a chance. I await MK to wow me.
Maybe Warner need to here the japanese guy who created Vanguard Princess, ALL BY HIMSELF. MK could learn a thing or two from him.
Just go look at the general FAQ adapted from Lex's write-up on the game. There's so much stuff that it's really eye-opening in terms of how much it reveals about the game.
If you don't have an arcade stick, then EVERY fighter sucks on the 360 because of the d-pad. Try the PS3 version, it's a lot nicer just because of the controller.
You do your fellow game a disservice, Ped. There was a SF game pad launched at the same time as SFIV, Track on down for 360, if you don't have a PS3.
Actually I use the 360 game pad and get along fine with it, while I agree it could be better.
Sure sure whatever you say :P