Mortal Kombat 12
As I'm sure you've all no doubt heard by now: MK12 was announced not with a banging cinematic trailer but a whimper via leaked earnings calls and will be out this year.
https://www.ign.com/articles/mortal-kombat-12-confirmed-for-2023-release
How's everyone feeling about another one after 11?
Is funny how Ed Boon and company expressed wanting to do something different after MK11, but when the state of WB became in disarray in more recent times, they had to go back to doing what makes the most profit; MK with NRS, and I dont think that many are mourning Injustice now, all things considered. It died with Kevin Conroy I guess.
After MK11 though and the state it left me in as a longtime fan of the series, all I can think about is how theyll muck up aspects of MK12 rather than how I could be potentially excited for it.
I guess they would have to try to actually have a worse villain boss than Kronika; Armageddon Blaze and Dark Kahn at least had the excuse of being in rushed games, but Kronika they took their time with and was still one of the worst antagonists.
As far as the writing I still dont even want to think of what kind of story they would have too with another timeline reset. Will have a long yawn if it is yet another retelling of MK1, 2, and 3.
Some better default skins for the characters like before would be nice. I think MK11 purposely had trash skins for the default characters in order to make you grind for the better ones. Sub-Zero, etc.
Or how about not bastardizing the Krypt with an RNGfest this time? Every little thing I can think about with 11 still makes me bemoan modern MK, and to top it off, NRS games are only supported for a year or two before WB just moves on to the next thing, while Capcom supports whatever latest entry of their flagship franchise for ages, leaving you with a roster twice as large as an NRS game by the end usually, making every little use out of their game engine.
Other fighting game franchises have spoiled me I guess, but MK fans literally have to fight for scraps between what long absent characters they want to see return most and only get one or two of those if lucky, apart from still having most of the ones that debuted in MK 1 through 3 to appeal to nostalgia there while also limiting roster variety and creativity, and then whatever 3rd party guests WB gets the rights for to draw in more casuals that dont usually get in to MK much to begin with. So much division to where you can only make certain subsets of the fanbase happy.
Will take any 3rd party over Cole Young though; one thing most fans of old and new seem to agree on at least.
Oh, and dont have Ronda Rousey as the voice for Sonya again, ever.
I'm expecting microtransactions to rival Suicide Squad's and more cringe plot. Liu Kylo Kang killing his past self has no consequences but gets his legs broken when Shao Kahn smashes the younger Liu Kang's still can't believe someone wrote.
And at the end of the day if I was still somehow wanting this and the roster turns out good, you know the standard priced Komplete Editions with all the DLCs are never that far away when it comes to NRS' games.
https://twitter.com/zhugeex/status/1419653436740616193?s=46&t=NvvvokY_NM2udMgu8BGKVQ
Just from a year or so ago, but amazing how MK managed to climb to the top of the fighting game series lifetime sales. Would be happier with the news if I was still a fan of the current direction of MK, but as it is.. Meh. After awhile it felt like they just dumbed down so many of their characters (Shao Kahn, etc) to appeal to a broader audience, aside from everything else said in my last post.
I would be ecstatic for another Konquest type mode again though, yeah. There is a reason Deception is still considered one of the GOATs despite the mixed reception of the 3D era and Shujinko.
The chapter based story system has overstayed its welcome and unless it would consistently have playable chapters for more of the bad guys (so they wouldnt be mostly all jobbers) like MK11 Aftermath started to do, am ready to see it go.
The fodder was actually the weakest part of MK 9, it sucked seeing virtually half the cast killed off by the end. Really it was all about the nostalgia, once the story went off in its own direction it became even worse then the timeline it replaced.
Kind of like what happened in the movie verse with 1995 movie being the definitive experience with an awesome cast, 1997 Annihilation being several steps down not least of all for Johnny Cage being unceremoniously killed off at the start, and the ridiculous modern movie turning the entire cast into supporting characters for an unnecessary bland as dry toast original character.
So yeah, the video games are keeping with the tradition.
I've really enjoyed the last few Mk games. The single player campaigns are fun and I love going throug the Krypt stuff. For someone who plays exclusively singler player content MK is probably the best fighting game series there is.
That said I'm surprised they're doing MK12 already. I expected a new Injustice or something and MK11 feels fairly new still. Also I seem to remember Boon saying that Mk11 was the last MK game that they'd make for quite a long time.
Either way, I'll probably happily play the new one and enjoy it.
Originally posted by cdtm
The fodder was actually the weakest part of MK 9, it sucked seeing virtually half the cast killed off by the end. Really it was all about the nostalgia, once the story went off in its own direction it became even worse then the timeline it replaced.Kind of like what happened in the movie verse with 1995 movie being the definitive experience with an awesome cast, 1997 Annihilation being several steps down not least of all for Johnny Cage being unceremoniously killed off at the start, and the ridiculous modern movie turning the entire cast into supporting characters for an unnecessary bland as dry toast original character.
So yeah, the video games are keeping with the tradition.
MK's storytelling had a certain nuance to it before, but only see it as mindless entertainment now aside from certain nostalgia bits. Nothing for me to really take or analyze seriously with any of the characters anymore, for the most part.
Originally posted by BackFire
I've really enjoyed the last few Mk games. The single player campaigns are fun and I love going throug the Krypt stuff. For someone who plays exclusively singler player content MK is probably the best fighting game series there is.That said I'm surprised they're doing MK12 already. I expected a new Injustice or something and MK11 feels fairly new still. Also I seem to remember Boon saying that Mk11 was the last MK game that they'd make for quite a long time.
Either way, I'll probably happily play the new one and enjoy it.
Like I said, Injustice may have just died with Kevin Conroy. Hard to say for sure, but after awhile I just didn't care much for Boon's edgy brand of DC, much as I enjoyed the first game. Sick of evil Superman takes and all that.
And yeah, Boon did say that MK11 was the last planned MK for awhile, but with the increased state of disarray WB got into in more recent times, they had to go back to doing what makes them the most profit and getting more investors again; MK in NRS's case.
Not sure what else Boon was wanting to do though; MK is mostly all he's known for, but he does appear to have a certain fatigue with running the series at this point. So I was curious as to what else he had planned, but here we are.
Originally posted by BackFire
I think he said at some point he'd like to do an adventure game or an RPG or something.Could be that's the reason he's doing 12 so soon. Maybe there was an agreement with WB that they'd let him do a passion project if he did MK12 as his next game or something.
I’m a huge fan of the MK lore and characters, but I’m not a big fighting game aficionado. If they did a good MK RPG, or adventure game I’d be all over that.
Fans had been wanting a Shaolin Monks sequel or spiritual successor of some kind for ages, so wouldn't get my hopes up there. MK can't even get MK 1-3 remasters/remakes without them getting cancelled. More on that here-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29pNd-i4ykM
Other genre experimentation for MK pretty much died with Midway, as WB only allows mainline competitive fighting game releases that they know will make the most money, along with said games being increasingly predatory with DLC, microtransactions, etc.
I actually liked the Sub-Zero Mythologies adventure game from back in the day, but can understand why it didn't do well or wasn't well received for the most part, and Special Forces afterward was the final nail in that coffin.
John Tobias was the main proponent for MK adventure spinoffs, while Ed Boon at the time just wanted to stick with the fighting games, and after Special Forces failed, the two OG creators of the series split and the MK team remained forever fractured.
That said, I'll be surprised if Boon actually has a change of heart about other genre takes on MK. If he does do some kind of adventure or RPG, it may not necessarily be related to MK.
Oh, there is that upcoming MK Onslaught mobile game, but it's a mobile game, so yeah.
Scorpion in a business suit: Get your money over here!
About what I would expect for the presentation of a current gen MK title. Is touted as a "new era" for the series too with a new timeline, clean slate, and all that, but seeing stuff like Shang Tsung as a pre-order character (who was just DLC in the previous game no less), I already question what has really changed. lol
Shang Tsung being part of this story feels like a given. Don't take the first trailers too seriously, like Scorpion killing Sub-Zero in the MKX trailer or Scorpion killing Sub and Raiden in the MK11 debut trailer. No more of that Scorpion wank I guess is refreshing with that said, though I hope Liu Kang's not some unstoppable protagonist again and someone out there can still be a threat to him.
As for Shao Kahn, I hope not. If not Shang, would prefer either a new villain or one that hasn't been used in awhile like Onaga.
Pretty mixed on the kameo fighter assist system. Still a better fate for anyone than being dialogue intro or arcade ending fodder though.
While 3D era fans are naturally most worried about seeing their requested characters as kameos, I'd say some of the MK1, 2, and 3 debuted characters aren't safe either. If they make Reptile a cameo again after MK11, I'll complement NRS for their boldness given his popularity (would prefer him being a full fighter though), but Ermac being a cameo again would sting for me admittedly.