Also, a Sub-Zero MK movie skin would be amusing. Just have him be mute since he had no lines in the movie.
I'd have to look and it's in storage, but I swear sub zero had lines in the first draft of the script and they went into the back story more. Then again they totally changed the goro fight, my favorite part of the script. Cage plays dead and shang tsung is all finish him! He goes from playing dead to using his nunchucks, breaking goros wrist , and throwing him off the side of the pot, goro caught and being held for the nunchucks. Maybe this is where shang tsung says the line, I cane remember but I think it was before cage came back to life.
Anyways cage and goro have a conversation about honor, and cage releases goro to his death.
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kaceypwe stayed bright as lightningwe sang loud as thunderRegistered Userregular
Ok, so as some of you may know I got MK11 Ultimate as a Christmas present and have been very into it. I was a huge fan of the original trilogy as a kid, though I remember also getting frustrated by the time of MK3/MK Trilogy with what felt like both increasingly unforgiving difficulty and increasingly long and complicated button combinations.
So I kind of fell off the series after that. I think I played a little bit of MK4 but that's it. My little brother had at least one of the "mid-series" games (either Deception or Deadly Alliance I think), so I saw a little bit of that but mostly only noted that Liu Kang was a zombie. I did play MKvDC but ultimately found it frustrating and dropped it.
I don't remember exactly why, other than possibly reading good things about it on here, but I picked up MK XL after it came out and had a good time with it. As someone with very little knowledge of the series past the original trilogy (I hadn't played the reboot), it was definitely a surprise in a lot of ways. I would've picked up MK11 sooner but had decided to wait for whatever DLC it had to drop and then pick up whatever the "Komplete Edition" was. But I couldn't pass up getting it for Christmas so here we are!
I love how they've increasingly focused so much more on story and character stuff. I love how a series that started off with each game's story being a few lines of text now has this complex history and devotes hours of cutscenes to unfolding narratives. Even if the story is often ridiculous and messy, I love how much it's been pushed to the forefront. And it's not at the expense of gameplay, which might be better in MK11 than ever?
I love how a bunch of ninjas who were basically just palette swaps have evolved into their own distinct characters, visually and narratively. To say nothing of the changes with characters like Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, Liu Kang, and Raiden. And I love the pre-fight banter, which not only helps flesh out characters but I have to say helps to make going through fight after fight tremendously more enjoyable. I wanna know what these people have to say to each other!
TL;DR MKX and especially MK11 have gotten be super back into Mortal Kombat and I still have a bunch of things to say.
Mortal Kombat 11 confirmed for me that I want a fully fledged 3rd person action mk game, with like scorpion and sub zero or something. Like Shaolin monks, but with the nemesis system and Arkham style stealth/combat from shadow of Mordor since those guys work with netherrealm occasionally and as far as we know have no project they’re working on right now
But yes give me all the lore, the art, the costumes and over the top but still well crafted dialogue and personalities. The series gets that just because you’re cheesy doesn’t mean you just get lazy with dialogue and story. Instead you write at the same quality you would if you were doing a more serious setting or story. It’s high cheese, and while the plot is all over the place and only occasionally makes sense, the smaller character moments that happen throughout are pitch perfect.
Also the character models, costumes and equipment are jaw dropping in their quality and detail. It’s the high watermark for me
I loved aftermath too, Shang tsung having such a deliciously EEEEEvil time, and shao khan and sindel being a wonderful loving married couple who support and compliment one another, but are also deliciously EEEEEEEvil, was just wonderful
MK11 made me like the villains a lot more, especially Kano. His ending shows that he’s still a terrible guy but I kind of respect the revelation he had.
Mortal Kombat 11 confirmed for me that I want a fully fledged 3rd person action mk game, with like scorpion and sub zero or something. Like Shaolin monks, but with the nemesis system and Arkham style stealth/combat from shadow of Mordor since those guys work with netherrealm occasionally and as far as we know have no project they’re working on right now
Mortal Kombat 11 confirmed for me that I want a fully fledged 3rd person action mk game, with like scorpion and sub zero or something. Like Shaolin monks, but with the nemesis system and Arkham style stealth/combat from shadow of Mordor since those guys work with netherrealm occasionally and as far as we know have no project they’re working on right now
This, but Reptile and Khameleon.
Honestly I’d be happy with any combination of characters or all of them, maybe regions or acts with different combinations
Prohass on
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kaceypwe stayed bright as lightningwe sang loud as thunderRegistered Userregular
I loved aftermath too, Shang tsung having such a deliciously EEEEEvil time, and shao khan and sindel being a wonderful loving married couple who support and compliment one another, but are also deliciously EEEEEEEvil, was just wonderful
I really enjoyed Aftermath and have a lot of comments about it, but re: Sindel...welllllll
In her tower ending
she says something to the effect of “outgrowing” him and we see him at her feet fanning her like a servant. I don’t think Sindel, as she’s presented here, is capable of actual love. She’s a next-level narcissist.
I loved aftermath too, Shang tsung having such a deliciously EEEEEvil time, and shao khan and sindel being a wonderful loving married couple who support and compliment one another, but are also deliciously EEEEEEEvil, was just wonderful
I really enjoyed Aftermath and have a lot of comments about it, but re: Sindel...welllllll
In her tower ending
she says something to the effect of “outgrowing” him and we see him at her feet fanning her like a servant. I don’t think Sindel, as she’s presented here, is capable of actual love. She’s a next-level narcissist.
Well, each tower ending needs to come up with an explanation for why they'd fight everyone else and take over time for themselves, so anyone being genuinely loyal to another character would be a stretch and remove a lot of their agency.
And I can easily buy either of them ditching the other if they thought they couldn't be any use to them anymore.
Nobody remembers the singer. The song remains.
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kaceypwe stayed bright as lightningwe sang loud as thunderRegistered Userregular
General (spoilery) Aftermath thoughts
Initially I felt really weird during Sindel’s chapter, playing as the bad guy. Then I thought about it and decided that it’s pretty smart. The writers needed the bad guys to win during this part, and this way avoids the dreaded Cutscene Incompetence. Felt weird again when you switch to Shang Tsung just because it felt strange to spend most of the second half playing as the bad guys, but the reasoning stands.
I initially chose Liu Kang but afterwards went back and played the end again immediately so that I could see the Shang Tsung ending.
Initially I felt really weird during Sindel’s chapter, playing as the bad guy. Then I thought about it and decided that it’s pretty smart. The writers needed the bad guys to win during this part, and this way avoids the dreaded Cutscene Incompetence. Felt weird again when you switch to Shang Tsung just because it felt strange to spend most of the second half playing as the bad guys, but the reasoning stands.
I initially chose Liu Kang but afterwards went back and played the end again immediately so that I could see the Shang Tsung ending.
The thing is, you absolutely know that Shang Tsung was going to betray everyone, so playing him at the end is definitely not straying from the bad guy side.
Also it definitely felt hella weird to go through take the definitive victory achieved in MK11 and systematically destroy it in Aftermath.
kaceypwe stayed bright as lightningwe sang loud as thunderRegistered Userregular
The interesting thing is that for such a long-running series, it feels like it’s only the last game or two where they’ve really nailed a lot of the characters. I know it’s partly because it’s a bigger focus now, but still.
Like Shang Tsung. I just played through MK 2011 and he is...honestly really dull. But in Aftermath it feels like they know exactly who he is and what they want him to be. And he’s perfect.
The interesting thing is that for such a long-running series, it feels like it’s only the last game or two where they’ve really nailed a lot of the characters. I know it’s partly because it’s a bigger focus now, but still.
Like Shang Tsung. I just played through MK 2011 and he is...honestly really dull. But in Aftermath it feels like they know exactly who he is and what they want him to be. And he’s perfect.
I feel like they just wrote a bunch of stuff for Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa to go ham on. Dude is just reveling in the role.
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kaceypwe stayed bright as lightningwe sang loud as thunderRegistered Userregular
Ok, so story stuff. When I first started Aftermath it seemed like they had quietly retconned Kitana's position at the end of the game, but then I found out there are two variations on the ending.
To be clear, I got the ending where Kitana joins Liu Kang at the Hourglass, but Aftermath seems to have gone with the one where Raiden stays with him instead. I'm actually fine with that because honestly I didn't really like that aspect of the ending. Kitana becoming ruler of Outworld was a great development -- something that was a long time coming for the character and built on her personal story and actions. So when the end of the game turned right around and said "okay but now she's gonna shuffle off to the Hourglass to be at Liu Kang's side" I was somewhat put off.
Ok, so story stuff. When I first started Aftermath it seemed like they had quietly retconned Kitana's position at the end of the game, but then I found out there are two variations on the ending.
To be clear, I got the ending where Kitana joins Liu Kang at the Hourglass, but Aftermath seems to have gone with the one where Raiden stays with him instead. I'm actually fine with that because honestly I didn't really like that aspect of the ending. Kitana becoming ruler of Outworld was a great development -- something that was a long time coming for the character and built on her personal story and actions. So when the end of the game turned right around and said "okay but now she's gonna shuffle off to the Hourglass to be at Liu Kang's side" I was somewhat put off.
In the original ending she wasn't the ruler of Outworld anymore because Outworld, and all the worlds, were destroyed when Kronika rewound time back to the beginning. It probably wasn't even the same Kitana we know since she would've been erased as well, it was just some kind of recreation.
But then Aftermath happened and now all of time wasn't erased, even though just earlier it was and Liu Kang had to start recreating everything from scratch, because timey wimey hinky dinkies.
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kaceypwe stayed bright as lightningwe sang loud as thunderRegistered Userregular
Yeah, I have a feeling we're not really supposed to think to much about that. Speaking of, I have to admit that I'm insanely curious about where the story goes from here. The ending pretty much gives them the ability to do literally whatever they want.
Before the ending, I found myself really wondering whether some of the big events would actually stick (stuff like the death of Kano(s) and Present-Day Sonya). Not to mention Kotal Kahn in Aftermath, among others.
With Liu Kang creating a new timeline they can pretty much do whatever they want, but I'm still curious whether they might keep any of those things for the sake of changing the cast up a bit while maintaining some continuity threads from this game. But I'd say I expect that most of the deaths will be undone, except the revenants who are probably done now. And I think they'll probably keep Kitana as Kahn (and of course Liu Kang as a god and Raiden as a mortal). Beyond that? Who knows!
It's going to be a good universe (as created by Lightning Fire God Lui Kang) vs an evil universe (As created by Shang Tsung). Basically both endings of aftermath are canon, but alternate timelines. So we get corrupted versions of the heroes and empowered villains (though I guess they JUST did this witht he revenants) vs whatever Lui Kang set up in his universe.
Basically Crisis on Inifinite Earthrealms.
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kaceypwe stayed bright as lightningwe sang loud as thunderRegistered Userregular
That was definitely one of the big possibilities that crossed my mind. Alternately
they could probably make a very cool story DLC out of the Shang Tsung ending.
I find it odd they took it upon themselves to create a new main character just for the movie when the games already have a zillion established and well loved protagonists and antagonists to choose from. I'm skeptical fans are going to want to follow around "Cole" instead of an existing MK character. We'll see, I guess.
Nah man you can say the quite part out loud what the shit is this?!
I am not against a new MC for your new Mortal Kombat movie.
I am however, staunchly against said protagonist essentially being, “WHITE MCINSERT, PRACTITIONER OF DUDEBRO....with a SPECIAL DESTINY.”.
You might want to google Lewis Tan before writing him off as White McInsert.
He is half Singaporean, and has played some notable rolls according to a quick googling.
He is known for his roles as Zhou Cheng in Netflix's Iron Fist, Gaius Chau in the AMC series Into the Badlands, Lu Xin Lee in the Netflix's Wu Assassins and Shatterstar in Deadpool 2.
Nah man you can say the quite part out loud what the shit is this?!
I am not against a new MC for your new Mortal Kombat movie.
I am however, staunchly against said protagonist essentially being, “WHITE MCINSERT, PRACTITIONER OF DUDEBRO....with a SPECIAL DESTINY.”.
You might want to google Lewis Tan before writing him off as White McInsert.
He is half Singaporean, and has played some notable rolls according to a quick googling.
He is known for his roles as Zhou Cheng in Netflix's Iron Fist, Gaius Chau in the AMC series Into the Badlands, Lu Xin Lee in the Netflix's Wu Assassins and Shatterstar in Deadpool 2.
No shade on Lewis Tan, he’s good people and got the brunt of my shade cannon inadvertently.
But when the character that is written is “COLE YOUNG, MMA PRACTITIONER.” You’re really, REALLY relying on the actor you cast to convince me it’s not just some white dude writer/producer/director’s direct wish fulfillment self insert.
They're obviously trying to do an audience view character and an MMA fighter is probably the closest they'll get to that. Even Johnny Cage is a bigshot hollywood dude.
I think Stryker is the closest the series gets to an ordinary dude, and they're not going to center a movie on Stryker. They got this washed up MMA actor so they can also do a redemption story.
Also, I have a feeling.
Dude probably a 50/50 chance of not making it through the movie
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kaceypwe stayed bright as lightningwe sang loud as thunderRegistered Userregular
Playing some MK11
Liu Kang: Give up and I will show you mercy. D'Vorah: Your Revenant shows none. Liu Kang: Whatever he is, he's not me.
Speaking of the revenants, I really don’t like them. They’re not particularly interesting and I especially don’t like that they’re the defaults of a lot of characters. Evil versions are cool enough but these just look like the same characters in desperate need of moisturizer.
I think their armours often look cool. I’m not super into them but I also don’t mind them. I feel like they’ve also had their run and won’t miss them if they disappear.
just any other skin colour would have gone a long way
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reVerseAttack and Dethrone GodRegistered Userregular
I think they worked fine in MKX, but they do get old.
Also that movie looks terrible. Even the logo is shit.
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kaceypwe stayed bright as lightningwe sang loud as thunderRegistered Userregular
So a few times while playing on PS5 lately, I've heard what sounded like the PS5 making two quick beeps. I was pretty sure that it was only happening while playing MK11 but beyond that had trouble tracking when it was happening, except I was pretty sure it was at least mainly during fights. Doing a google search ("ps5 two beeps" etc) did not help.
"Is something getting overworked in there? Is my PS5 started to overheat? Surely nothing in this game is that taxing! Is my PS5 defective and getting tripped up some simple thing?" I got worried Friday night because it did the beeps twice within maybe an hour and decided I'd try to limit the amount of time I kept the console on until/unless I figured it out.
I decided to go ahead and google it again, this time specifically with Mortal Kombat.
AbsoluteZeroThe new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered Userregular
So I finally got around to playing Aftermath and it was so stupid schlocky good fun I finished it in one sitting. Shang Tsung is so perfectly eeeeevil. They nail the fuck out of most these characters. It's to the point where I think maybe Netherrealm should be in charge of the movies.
So the ending...
If Liu Kang wins (which I have to assume will be the canon ending) it's pretty much back to where we were at the end of MK11 to start with. Liu Kang in charge of the hourglass and literally rebooting history (so get ready for a MK reboot!).
So is that supposed to be The Great Kung Lao that Liu Kang appears to at the very end? If so that would be an interesting place to start a new story with a fresh roster.
If they do indeed want to reboot MK for the next game I couldn't blame them. The story has gotten so bugfuck crazy and with so many characters and storylines to keep straight it must be a bit of a nightmare to write new stories.
Anyhoo... now to get everyone's arcade ladder endings!
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kaceypwe stayed bright as lightningwe sang loud as thunderRegistered Userregular
In response to your spoiler question
from what I can tell (and everything I’ve read) yes that is meant to be the Great Kung Lao, 500 years or whatever ago.
It would definitely be interesting to have a game set then but I also can’t imagine that they would ditch virtually the entire cast. Maybe they’ll do sort of like MKX and have some playable flashbacks to that era, which shed light on the main story stuff happening in present day?
kaceypwe stayed bright as lightningwe sang loud as thunderRegistered Userregular
So after finishing Aftermath I played through MKX again, and through 2/3 of MK9 for the first time. When I first played MKX a few years ago, since it was the first game I’d played or even really paid attention to since MK3/MK4 (other than MKvDC) I don’t think I really got just how much it pushes the series forward.
Not just with the time skip and making Johnny/Sonya/Jax parents etc, but it introduces EIGHT new characters (not counting DLC).
Though I’m playing through the ladder endings and it sure seems like a lot of them are just random short stories with mysterious questions left hanging. It kind of makes me appreciate the more unified theme of MK11’s character endings, ie what would this character do if they took control of the Hourglass?
reVerseAttack and Dethrone GodRegistered Userregular
edited February 2021
MKX isn't particularly impressive in how many new characters it introduces. Up until Armageddon, every new game in the series has had somewhere between 30% to 50% of the roster be new characters. MKX is actually on the lower end of that.
reVerse on
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kaceypwe stayed bright as lightningwe sang loud as thunderRegistered Userregular
Hmm, maybe I’m thinking of it that way because it stands out more in the context of the Netherrealm games. MK9 I don’t think introduced any new characters (which makes sense being mostly a retelling) and MK11 had 3 (4 with Kronika).
Though, did the new characters feature as heavily in the actual story of the other games? A full half of MKX’s story chapters are centered on new characters, with Jacqui and Cassie getting the final two.
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I'd have to look and it's in storage, but I swear sub zero had lines in the first draft of the script and they went into the back story more. Then again they totally changed the goro fight, my favorite part of the script. Cage plays dead and shang tsung is all finish him! He goes from playing dead to using his nunchucks, breaking goros wrist , and throwing him off the side of the pot, goro caught and being held for the nunchucks. Maybe this is where shang tsung says the line, I cane remember but I think it was before cage came back to life.
Anyways cage and goro have a conversation about honor, and cage releases goro to his death.
So I kind of fell off the series after that. I think I played a little bit of MK4 but that's it. My little brother had at least one of the "mid-series" games (either Deception or Deadly Alliance I think), so I saw a little bit of that but mostly only noted that Liu Kang was a zombie. I did play MKvDC but ultimately found it frustrating and dropped it.
I don't remember exactly why, other than possibly reading good things about it on here, but I picked up MK XL after it came out and had a good time with it. As someone with very little knowledge of the series past the original trilogy (I hadn't played the reboot), it was definitely a surprise in a lot of ways. I would've picked up MK11 sooner but had decided to wait for whatever DLC it had to drop and then pick up whatever the "Komplete Edition" was. But I couldn't pass up getting it for Christmas so here we are!
I love how they've increasingly focused so much more on story and character stuff. I love how a series that started off with each game's story being a few lines of text now has this complex history and devotes hours of cutscenes to unfolding narratives. Even if the story is often ridiculous and messy, I love how much it's been pushed to the forefront. And it's not at the expense of gameplay, which might be better in MK11 than ever?
I love how a bunch of ninjas who were basically just palette swaps have evolved into their own distinct characters, visually and narratively. To say nothing of the changes with characters like Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, Liu Kang, and Raiden. And I love the pre-fight banter, which not only helps flesh out characters but I have to say helps to make going through fight after fight tremendously more enjoyable. I wanna know what these people have to say to each other!
TL;DR MKX and especially MK11 have gotten be super back into Mortal Kombat and I still have a bunch of things to say.
But yes give me all the lore, the art, the costumes and over the top but still well crafted dialogue and personalities. The series gets that just because you’re cheesy doesn’t mean you just get lazy with dialogue and story. Instead you write at the same quality you would if you were doing a more serious setting or story. It’s high cheese, and while the plot is all over the place and only occasionally makes sense, the smaller character moments that happen throughout are pitch perfect.
Also the character models, costumes and equipment are jaw dropping in their quality and detail. It’s the high watermark for me
I loved aftermath too, Shang tsung having such a deliciously EEEEEvil time, and shao khan and sindel being a wonderful loving married couple who support and compliment one another, but are also deliciously EEEEEEEvil, was just wonderful
This, but Reptile and Khameleon.
Honestly I’d be happy with any combination of characters or all of them, maybe regions or acts with different combinations
I really enjoyed Aftermath and have a lot of comments about it, but re: Sindel...welllllll
In her tower ending
And I can easily buy either of them ditching the other if they thought they couldn't be any use to them anymore.
I initially chose Liu Kang but afterwards went back and played the end again immediately so that I could see the Shang Tsung ending.
Also it definitely felt hella weird to go through take the definitive victory achieved in MK11 and systematically destroy it in Aftermath.
Like Shang Tsung. I just played through MK 2011 and he is...honestly really dull. But in Aftermath it feels like they know exactly who he is and what they want him to be. And he’s perfect.
I feel like they just wrote a bunch of stuff for Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa to go ham on. Dude is just reveling in the role.
But then Aftermath happened and now all of time wasn't erased, even though just earlier it was and Liu Kang had to start recreating everything from scratch, because timey wimey hinky dinkies.
With Liu Kang creating a new timeline they can pretty much do whatever they want, but I'm still curious whether they might keep any of those things for the sake of changing the cast up a bit while maintaining some continuity threads from this game. But I'd say I expect that most of the deaths will be undone, except the revenants who are probably done now. And I think they'll probably keep Kitana as Kahn (and of course Liu Kang as a god and Raiden as a mortal). Beyond that? Who knows!
Basically Crisis on Inifinite Earthrealms.
https://collider.com/mortal-kombat-2021-movie-images/
I find it odd they took it upon themselves to create a new main character just for the movie when the games already have a zillion established and well loved protagonists and antagonists to choose from. I'm skeptical fans are going to want to follow around "Cole" instead of an existing MK character. We'll see, I guess.
I am not against a new MC for your new Mortal Kombat movie.
I am however, staunchly against said protagonist essentially being, “WHITE MCINSERT, PRACTITIONER OF DUDEBRO....with a SPECIAL DESTINY.”.
You might want to google Lewis Tan before writing him off as White McInsert.
He is half Singaporean, and has played some notable rolls according to a quick googling.
No shade on Lewis Tan, he’s good people and got the brunt of my shade cannon inadvertently.
But when the character that is written is “COLE YOUNG, MMA PRACTITIONER.” You’re really, REALLY relying on the actor you cast to convince me it’s not just some white dude writer/producer/director’s direct wish fulfillment self insert.
I think Stryker is the closest the series gets to an ordinary dude, and they're not going to center a movie on Stryker. They got this washed up MMA actor so they can also do a redemption story.
Also, I have a feeling.
Liu Kang: Give up and I will show you mercy.
D'Vorah: Your Revenant shows none.
Liu Kang: Whatever he is, he's not me.
Seems a bit sus
Also that movie looks terrible. Even the logo is shit.
"Is something getting overworked in there? Is my PS5 started to overheat? Surely nothing in this game is that taxing! Is my PS5 defective and getting tripped up some simple thing?" I got worried Friday night because it did the beeps twice within maybe an hour and decided I'd try to limit the amount of time I kept the console on until/unless I figured it out.
I decided to go ahead and google it again, this time specifically with Mortal Kombat.
So the ending...
So is that supposed to be The Great Kung Lao that Liu Kang appears to at the very end? If so that would be an interesting place to start a new story with a fresh roster.
If they do indeed want to reboot MK for the next game I couldn't blame them. The story has gotten so bugfuck crazy and with so many characters and storylines to keep straight it must be a bit of a nightmare to write new stories.
Anyhoo... now to get everyone's arcade ladder endings!
It would definitely be interesting to have a game set then but I also can’t imagine that they would ditch virtually the entire cast. Maybe they’ll do sort of like MKX and have some playable flashbacks to that era, which shed light on the main story stuff happening in present day?
Not just with the time skip and making Johnny/Sonya/Jax parents etc, but it introduces EIGHT new characters (not counting DLC).
Though I’m playing through the ladder endings and it sure seems like a lot of them are just random short stories with mysterious questions left hanging. It kind of makes me appreciate the more unified theme of MK11’s character endings, ie what would this character do if they took control of the Hourglass?
Though, did the new characters feature as heavily in the actual story of the other games? A full half of MKX’s story chapters are centered on new characters, with Jacqui and Cassie getting the final two.