Early Thoughts On "Mortal Kombat 11"

There are very few things I can speak authoritatively on, "Mortal Kombat" happens to be one of them. Despite my disappointment with "Mortal Kombat X's" story mode (let's face it, it was just a rehash of "Mortal Kombat 4" with some new faces), I did say that it bridged the gap to between established continuity (ie, the original "Mortal Kombat" timeline and the current/new MK timeline) and timelines as we'll see is something that becomes very apparent in this game. Let's dive in and see where we go!

So for starters, the prologue picks up right where we left off...sort of...you see in the original end of "Mortal Kombat X", Raiden delivers Shinnok's head to Liu Kang & Kitana, in this prologue the head is left behind (does Raiden teleport the head to himself later?) only to be greeted by the game's new time stopping antagonist and new character Kronika, who's replacing Shao Kahn and Shinnok as the game's newest big bad booty daddy. While we haven't been properly introduced to Kronika, it appears that she's been in control of events previously (which means she's an Elder God) which means she's the only character aware of Raiden (our Raiden, that is, the original Raiden) screwing with the timeline. This means that the current timeline is a DIVERGENT reality, which means the previous events (Raiden losing to Shao Kahn atop Blaze's pyramid) both happened and didn't happen. If you're confused what I mean is, it had to have happened so that it couldn't happen. You follow?

This is what made this reboot so much fun in my eyes as it didn't exactly disown the previous games, it simply undid them and built a narrative as to why they were undone (which I think is brilliant). While Kronika is the alleged main antagonist she doesn't seem to be the only character capable of manipulating time as we were introduced to a new character named Geras. Geras may be an acolyte of Kronika as they have a similar appearance, however one Instagram post had this to say about the character;

And this got me thinking of another large Black Man who instead of dying is constantly reborn from another fighting game, namely Zasalmael from "Soul Calibur", whether the 2 will be similar is anyone's guess but I'm just pointing out the similarities between them. Geras seems to be catching some flack since a lot of people just see him as a Jax/Tremor mix, and while Jax is a legacy character (who may or may not be returning) Tremor was not and I really don't see the appeal in him. All this to say Geras is a welcomed addition as his move set and abilities is a welcomed change in "Mortal Kombat".

"I'm totally NOT Zasalamael!"

Moving on, storywise, Dark Raiden is taking the helm as the primary antagonist but how that will manifest its self is anyone's guess. At this point in the story, Raiden is fanatical in his protection of Earth Realm, which ultimately leads to him preemptively eliminating enemies before they become enemies. What enemies you might ask, well namely, Outworld (which is currently under Kotal Kahn's leadership) and The Netherworld (which is currently ruled by Liu Kang & Kitana)...BUT this could lead to the introduction of the other realms and some familiar faces we have yet to see, Hotaru & possibly even Havik as The Order Realm & The Chaos Realm have played roles in other character's Mortal Kombat endings (namely Johnny Cage & Noob Saibot's). How Raiden's rampage bodes for Earth Realm's warriors is another matter altogether, after all, they wouldn't exactly stop Raiden (they do benefit from not having to worry about other realms showing up on their doorstep) but Raiden meddling in other realms is almost certainly an act of war and well...Raiden's wrath might cause more harm than good.

So, confirmed returning is, of course, Sonya Blade, Scorpion & Sub-Zero, Baraka (for some reason) and my bloody beauty the lovely Skarlet. What role Skarlet will play in events is beyond me. You see she was a creation of Shao Kahn, a creature made purely of blood, who can manipulate blood and in consuming the blood of her enemies increases her strength. Skarlet is fiercely loyal to Shao Kahn, so exactly what her role in events to come will be is beyond me because I don't see her chumming it up with Kotal Kahn. Speaking of Kotal Kahn, I do have a feeling the Osh-Tek warrior will be a playable character (I'll make speculations on the roster at the end) and I have a feeling he'll have to ally with Earth Realm in order to keep Raiden from killing them completely.

What still remains a mystery is THE CHICK IN JADE'S ENDING! This CANNOT be Kronika, as you can see this character has hair and Kronika is bald. That isn't to say characters can't change in appearance but why jerk us around? Granted, this is a non-canonical appearance of a character and for the sake of argument let's say that this is Kronika, that would mean her first appearance was in a non-canon ending of Jade's tower ending (where she essentially posses Jade's body as Shoa Kahn's defeat was an outcome that needed to be reimagined). But seeing as how her reasoning for possessing Jade was to "re-imagine" Shoa Kahn's defeat (whatever that means) and Kronika appears to be seeking to undone what Raiden as done, I think we can say that either this is Kronika or one of her acolytes making an unofficial appearance. Either way, I'd like some answers.

EDIT: So as it turns out this is Kronika...go figure...the least they could have done is make her look the same...geez, guys.

Story-wise, I've heard rumblings that MK11's story mode was going to play like "Shaolin Monks" and if that's the case I'm over-joyed! "Shaolin Monks" was one of the better non-Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat games to come out and I really think a lot more could have been with that adventure style format. If any game needed an updating and a remastering it's "Shaolin Monks". Later releases of "Mortal Kombat" would feature modes similar, like "Konquest Mode" which was essentially the spine of the narrative and a way to introduce more characters into the mix and understand their motivations. Like "Deception" focusing on Shujinko and "Armageddon" focusing on Taven. From the brief glimpses we've seen, it looks like Liu Kang is once again taking center stage as a main character as Kronika appears to chastise him saying "Once again you've chosen the wrong path."

From the reveal, Ed Boon has stated that characters will meet younger versions of themselves and this opens up a whole slew of possibilities. In "Deadly Alliance" Liu Kang dies at the hands of Shang Tsung & Quan Chi, which means Liu Kang was always meant to die (if the original timeline is Kronika's plan), but in this timeline Liu Kang dies at the hands of Raiden (accidentally, of course) and becomes ruler of the Netherrealm. So having Liu Kang be the central focus makes sense as he has been the reigning champion and main character of "Mortal Kombat" since day one. But rumors have also speculated that Liu Kang may share the spotlight with a few others characters, namely Reiko who will have his own moment in the story mode if rumors prove to be correct. This is exciting for me because I absolutely love Reiko and I've been waiting for him to shine for a while.

Stepping back from story mode for a bit let's talk about gameplay and from the looks of it, the stage interaction is increased, it now looks like every loose bit of debris is available to thrash your opponent. Likewise, it looks like certain attacks (eg, the new Fatal Blow, replacing X-rays) deal damage consistently, like bleeding out, which is interesting. The new gear system (well, new to me since I didn't play "Injustice 2") looks interesting as well, however, I'm wondering if the gear is simply for aesthetics or if they offer stat increases. Because if they're for aesthetics then they're arbitrary and don't really do much except allow you to have your own unique looking Scorpion (more to say on that later) but if it's for stats then that'll eventually dwindle down to everyone having the same armor, and same x,y,z because they have the better stats.

The variant system introduced in "MKX" was great because the character's stats didn't increase but it altered the character's playstyle enough for each variant to feel like it's own thing. "Soul Calibur" had a similar system in their character customization but that only applied to weapons, where certain weapons would increase striking power, prevent ring outs, heal you slowly etc. etc. I doubt they'll be doing that here BUT there does seem to be a stats system where players can distribute attribute points to various abilities a character has, which in that case makes this similar to wrestling games more so than "Soul Calibur". If that's the case then this is a VERY different style of "Mortal Kombat" than we're used to.

I said I was going to get back to talking about aesthetics and we are now, given the new kustomizing (as that's how they'll no doubt spell it) it stands to reason that create-a-kombatant MIGHT be making a return, if not in this game then in the next as the groundwork has already been laid down for it in "Armageddon". People HATED "Armageddon" yes, but I think what people really hated was the generic fatalities. I don't think anyone would hate create-a-kombatant if the section was given some TLC and I think at this point in time it can be done. The kustomizing might be Netherrealm Studios testing the waters to see if they can make this mode work. The real question would be "What are they gonna do about fatalities?" and that's anyone's guess but if they do bring back created fighters best believe The Man Called "Wickerhat" will make his return.

The Defensive/Offensive meter I'm not sure what to make of it, it's one of those things we'll have to look at when we get our hands on the thing come April. Now let's talk about what I'd like to see. I'm really hoping The Krypt comes back, I don't see any reason why it wouldn't seeing as how it's been a mainstay since "Deadly Alliance", HOWEVER, I'm hoping that the unlockables in The Krypt isn't just artwork and music, I'm hoping it's different costumes, new stages, stage fatalities, ya know, cool stuff that adds to the game. I'm hoping we see the return of "Puzzle Kombat" easily THE BEST thing in "Mortal Kombat: Deception" and a nice mini-game break away from fighting. The Test Your "    " is always fun, I doubt those will be removed and finally I'm hoping EVERY STAGE HAS A STAGE FATALITY! My goodness, this has been a point for me for a LONG time, I love stage fatalities and I think they're unique and always fun. I think these days each stage having its own fatality should be pretty easy.

Anyways, I said I'd speculate on the roster and here it is; as returning characters we have:
Liu Kang, Kung Lao (despite the voice actor saying Kung Lao wasn't going to be a part of it), Johnny Cage (because he lived in "MKX" and if Sonya's there, Johnny should be too). Of course, all the new blood is coming back, they're not going to vanish after their first outing so Cassie Cage, Jaqui Briggs, Takaeda and Kung Jin are all coming back. Outworld's new commander in chief Kotal Kahn and his entourage Erron Black and Ferra/Tor should be making a come back, along with the treacherous D'Vorah, but if she doesn't return, I'm okay with that. Jax is a MAYBE because he's retired and it looks like Geras could take his place as the resident Black Man of "Mortal Kombat". Ermac is another maybe if Kenshi is coming back (and I'm 100% certain he is, the guy's been a mainstay since his introduction) I doubt they'll have 2 psychic characters (3, if you count Takaeda).

I've heard Reiko was coming back and again I'll believe it when I see it. Kabal has been confirmed as returning, not bad but not throw your legs over your head and pollute your trousers with delight fantastic. I'm really hoping Rain comes back, Rain is a character that doesn't get any justice and to see him have a role in things would be awesome. Likewise, I'm really hoping we see some returning characters as I've mentioned before Hotaru & Havik, or maybe someone else from the Chaosrealm...Havik really wasn't my favorite. Long story short, "MK11" looks to be the craziest "Mortal Kombat" game yet and I can't wait. Hopefully, by April I'll be re-employed and have my PS4 to play this alongside you guys but if not you can bet your bottom dollar I will have a full review of the story mode when it's available until next time, you know who's next!