Anyone Else Disappointed With the Story Mode?

[Commander]

For the next MK game, it'd be better if they do not repeat the same mistakes, or feel that they can be lazy with the storymode (and let the comics handle the gaps, or whatever).

Agreed with this part (and with everything else that you mentioned, but mostly this part).

This is 1 of the MAIN reasons that I didn't want any MKX comics, in the first place.
MK9 didn't have any comics, and the story was about 6 hours long, with everything that needed to be told being told in the story mode.
The comics essentially allowed for NRS to get lazy with the story and go the "Oh, it's explained in the comics, so we don't need to explain it in the game" route, and it did a bit of a disservice to the story mode, IMO.
That would have been fine, had the comics actually filled more of the gaps from the games story mode, but both the comics and game's story mode left so many questions unanswered and didn't do that.






Here are some of the gaps that I noticed in the game's story mode, despite also reading the comics:


- Ferra/Torr did absolutely nothing in the story despite being an interesting new addition.
We know VERY little (if much at all) about them.

- Erron Black did nothing and we learned nothing about him.
He is an even bigger bust (story-wise) than Ferra/Torr.
Lost potential.

- Jade was confirmed to be dead, and they can't even do as much as give a simple little BG cameo with her fighting people in the NetherRealm?
Really?

- Scorpion.... Or is it Hanzo? Or is it Scorpion?
Oh btw, he's still pissed.... for no reason.
He's mad as hell and is not going to take this anymore.
Oh? The white eyes?
They're yellow now.
He was a revenant the whole time.
Nevermind the fact he had control over his actions in MK9.
Nevermind that he was under control the whole time.
Now he's excusable from his actions for killing Bi-Han? Ok
The implications that Hanzo (or... is it Scorpion) wasn't under control which lead him to kill Bi-Han is bullshit.
He was under his own control, he was mad, he wanted revenge, he sought out Sub-Zero himself.
Quan Chi merely resurrected him, and empowered him with hellfire.
Quan Chi was never in control of Scorpion, but now, all of a sudden, he was the whole time?

- Bi-Han / Noob Saibot was a huge slap in the face, IMO, from NRS to his fans.
The guy gets kicked into a Soulnado in MK9, not being told if he's dead or alive, and not even a mention of where the hell he's at?
Huh?

- If characters that are not important to the story would have at least gotten a cameo, I would have been 100% fine with that.
Instead, Noob, Jade, Shang Tsung, Cyrax and Sheeva get no explanation.
Now, while I could give less than 2 turds for Sheeva, a nice cameo death or cameo telling of what happened to her would have been nice, for example.
Sektor at least got an explanation for his death.

- WTF is up with Cyrax?
Dude is missing and all we get is some lazy / half-assed Easter Egg with Ketchup and Mustard on Jax's farm? :|

- Fujin is THE BIGGEST middle finger from NRS, though, IMO.
Fujin appeared for Chapter 1, and then without explanation he disappeared for the rest of the game.
A HIGHLY cosmetically detailed and voice acted Fujin, mind you.
Nevermind the fact that Boon is being a complete dick about it in Cassie's "Selfie" Fatality and on Twitter, as well.
Fujin is nowhere to be seen on the main roster or as DLC, but Tanya, Liu Kang, Kitana and Kung Lao which all had 3 or 4 small lines in the story and no major part in the MKX story all get in?
I see where their priorities as far as the main roster goes, and I get WHY, but at the same time it's a bit annoying. :roll:

 

[Tarkatan Trash]

- Scorpion.... Or is it Hanzo? Or is it Scorpion?
Oh btw, he's still pissed.... for no reason.
He's mad as hell and is not going to take this anymore.
Oh? The white eyes?
They're yellow now.
He was a revenant the whole time.
Nevermind the fact he had control over his actions in MK9.
Nevermind that he was under control the whole time.
Now he's excusable from his actions for killing Bi-Han? Ok
The implications that Hanzo (or... is it Scorpion) wasn't under control which lead him to kill Bi-Han is bullshit.
He was under his own control, he was mad, he wanted revenge, he sought out Sub-Zero himself.
Quan Chi merely resurrected him, and empowered him with hellfire.
Quan Chi was never in control of Scorpion, but now, all of a sudden, he was the whole time?

Quan Chi did manipulate Scorpion into killing Bi-Han. It was as simple as convincing him that Bi-Han was personally responsible for killing his wife and son, even going as far as showing him a fake hologram of the events. There wasn't any magical control over his mind, just a simple Big Lie made to look true.

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[Bllake]

Re: Anyone else disappointed with the story?

I thought it was pretty good. Some parts I didn't understand like

Spoiler:

how Johnny Cage was surprised that he was glowing green and all

despite the fact he did it in MK9. And why isn't Sub Zero a cyborg anymore? Some things were left to be untouched.

In one of his intros he says Quan Chi's magic did it.

Anyways, I thought the story was great. Probably about 53 steps up, give or take, from MK9's. I felt more involved, and it felt like a movie. The last game didn't have that cinematic effect.

 

[Tarkatan Trash]

Re: Anyone else disappointed with the story?

Spoiler:

how Johnny Cage was surprised that he was glowing green and all

Spoiler:

Surely you'd do the same if a fallen Elder God tried to kill your girlfriend...

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[Commander]

Quan Chi did manipulate Scorpion into killing Bi-Han. It was as simple as convincing him that Bi-Han was personally responsible for killing his wife and son, even going as far as showing him a fake hologram of the events. There wasn't any magical control over his mind, just a simple Big Lie made to look true.

I'm not disagreeing with what happened in MK9.
Scorpion had control over his actions in MK9, and he just let his rage and Quan Chi's false images get the best of him, but in MKX they retconned that with Scorpion just being another mindless MKX revenant like Sub-Zero and Jax.
Thus, now he's suddenly excusable from his actions for killing Bi-Han, because according to MKX he was retconned as a mindless revenant.

 

[Tarkatan Trash]

I'm not disagreeing with what happened in MK9.
Scorpion had control over his actions in MK9, and he just let his rage and Quan Chi's false images get the best of him, but in MKX they retconned that with Scorpion just being another mindless MKX revenant like Sub-Zero and Jax.
Thus, now he's suddenly excusable from his actions for killing Bi-Han, because according to MKX he was retconned as a mindless revenant.

Even in the original timeline, he was duped into believing Bi-Han killed his family and clan. In fact, the original timeline took it a step further by having Kuai Liang framed of the massacre as well. To now all of a sudden say, "oh he was under Quan Chi's magical mind control the whole time" is a crock of shit if you ask me. He fell for a Big Lie, simple as that.

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[Commander]

To now all of a sudden say, "oh he was under Quan Chi's magical mind control the whole time" is a crock of shit if you ask me. He fell for a Big Lie, simple as that.

Agreed with you 100%.
I'm not disagreeing.
I'm just saying that MKX makes it look like "oh he was under Quan Chi's magical mind control the whole time," when we clearly know that wasn't the case.
He fell for Quan Chi's deception / lie.

 

[Imperatrix Sindel]

I'm not disagreeing with what happened in MK9.
Scorpion had control over his actions in MK9, and he just let his rage and Quan Chi's false images get the best of him, but in MKX they retconned that with Scorpion just being another mindless MKX revenant like Sub-Zero and Jax.
Thus, now he's suddenly excusable from his actions for killing Bi-Han, because according to MKX he was retconned as a mindless revenant.

When did MKX do this? I thought Hanzo was sort of shirking his own responsibility a bit, blaming Quan Chi 100%, but I didn't think the story backed up that perception.

Overall I really liked the story mode this game. Very few complaints. I think Fujin disappearing after chapter one is my only really 'what?' moment. Of all the scenes to delete for time, the scene of whatever the hell happened to him was probably not the best idea.

 

[Yellow Ledbetter]

I think the scene gives us this notion.

When Raiden causes the explosion on the revenant pit, that dark aura comes out of Scorpion.

But it's obvious he is not a revenant. Only his eyes go back to normal.

He was resurrected right on that time, while the others were freed.

But that scene and what Sonya says opens this interpretation, which is clearly a distortion, that he was controlled by Quan Chi and not deceived, something to discuss.

 

[goro15]

Also, why in the world have Kotal Kahn go after the amulet, only to be held down by a bunch of ninjas? They seriously could not come up with a way so Kotal Kahn would show up at the end, kind of cliffhanger that he might get some power from Shinnok or something along those lines..It's also not true that it's the rise and fall of Kotal Kahn since nobody even challenged him, he's still emperor of Outworld right? Funny how they claimed that it was like a movie, so many plotholes..

 

[Imperatrix Sindel]

I think the scene gives us this notion.

When Raiden causes the explosion on the revenant pit, that dark aura comes out of Scorpion.

But it's obvious he is not a revenant. Only his eyes go back to normal.

He was resurrected right on that time, while the others were freed.

But that scene and what Sonya says opens this interpretation, which is clearly a distortion, that he was controlled by Quan Chi and not deceived, something to discuss.

Eh, I mean he was undead in some manner or another. Perhaps not the same kind, but whatever rejuvenating spell brought Jax and Sub-Zero back works on that kind too. I didn't have a problem with that. I can see what you're saying, but I don't think the implication that Quan Chi controlled him the whole time is really what's being said.

 

[Darin Nikolov]

I beat the story mode in one sitting myself.

The only complaints I can really make is I still haven't been convinced by these new characters. I think its mostly their attitudes. Mostly Takeda and Kung Jin. As characters, I think their concepts are great. I just think Kung Jin should be more serious. He's dressed like a monk with a dragon bow but he talks like Johnny Cage, similar to how I feel with Takeda. The young confidense is fine but something bugs me about it. Kung Lao and Liu Kang were a bit stoic and more solemn in their prime. Obviously, though, Cassie has the right to be mouthy by birth.

Nothing major, I just still haven't warmed up to these new kids.

Even though I wanted nothing more than to see Quan Chi convicted by Scorpion, I found myself upset when Quan Chi died. Wasn't even a fight if I remember right. He just executes him. I also wanted to see Kuai Liang have more involvement with Quan Chi's death. He kind of deserved too but maybe Kuai had let go of that a long time ago.

Anyways, those are my minor nitpicking. The story was amazing regardless. I hope if the kids take the spotlight again, that they mature.. a lot. :laugh:

Gotta agree about Jin and Takaeda. Their jokes don't fit their background. A Shaolin talking like a spoiled swag kid is just sad and laughable. How old are Jin, Cassie, Takaeda and Jacquie btw? Have been wondering about this.

 

[Commander]

When did MKX do this? I thought Hanzo was sort of shirking his own responsibility a bit, blaming Quan Chi 100%, but I didn't think the story backed up that perception.

I think the scene gives us this notion.

When Raiden causes the explosion on the revenant pit, that dark aura comes out of Scorpion.

But it's obvious he is not a revenant. Only his eyes go back to normal.

He was resurrected right on that time, while the others were freed.

But that scene and what Sonya says opens this interpretation, which is clearly a distortion, that he was controlled by Quan Chi and not deceived, something to discuss.

Exactly.

1)
MKX did this when Scorpion and Sub-Zero mindlessly teamed up to knock down Sonya and Johnny Cage's helicopter (when they wouldn't have normally teamed up, otherwise), in which it was implied that Sub-Zero and Scorpion were BOTH mindlessly controlled by Quan Chi.

2)
MKX did this yet again in the scene where Raiden is trying to reverse the curse on Johnny and Sonya kicks Quan Chi square in the balls (knocking him out), allowing Sub-Zero, Jax AND Scorpion to be freed from Quan Chi.
You can CLEARLY see that NRS was implying in MKX that Scorpion was also a mindless revenant with the reddish / purple-ish aura leaving Scorpion, just the same way that that same aura left Sub-Zero and Jax.
That wasn't the case in MK9.
In MK9 Scorpion sure as hell knew what he was doing, just as Noob Saibot did, and they sure as hell weren't revenants.
They were fully resurrected and chose to serve Quan Chi out of being tricked / loyalty to him, but being tricked into doing something or being loyal under false implications =/= the same as being a mindless dead revenant, as MKX implied.
BIG difference.

 

[KilLa_Mad-Ness]

The fact that NRS tried to mix heartwarming family moments with bloody murders, demons and monsters made absolute no sense to me.

That lovey dovie s*** does not mix well with MK, to me. Cheesiness, yes. Loving family moments, no.

The only two things I did like is how they tided up loose-ends like Scorpion and Sub calling a truce and finally kiling off Quan-Chi's psycho a**(of course its MK, no one ever really dies). The other is how they kept Kotal alive.

Kotal Kahn will become a major character in the next game. Takeda, Cassie and Kotal are the only new PERSONALITIES I love from the new characters. The others, not so much.

That guy Kotal? .....Yea. Hes going to be somebody one day.

 

[Imperatrix Sindel]

Exactly.

1)
MKX did this when Scorpion and Sub-Zero mindlessly teamed up to knock down Sonya and Johnny Cage's helicopter (when they wouldn't have normally teamed up, otherwise), in which it was implied that Sub-Zero and Scorpion were BOTH mindlessly controlled by Quan Chi.

2)
MKX did this yet again in the scene where Raiden is trying to reverse the curse on Johnny and Sonya kicks Quan Chi square in the balls (knocking him out), allowing Sub-Zero, Jax AND Scorpion to be freed from Quan Chi.
You can CLEARLY see that NRS was implying in MKX that Scorpion was also a mindless revenant with the reddish / purple-ish aura leaving Scorpion, just the same way that that same aura left Sub-Zero and Jax.
That wasn't the case in MK9.
In MK9 Scorpion sure as hell knew what he was doing, just as Noob Saibot did, and they sure as hell weren't revenants.
They were fully resurrected and chose to serve Quan Chi out of being tricked / loyalty to him, but being tricked into doing something or being loyal under false implications =/= the same as being a mindless dead revenant, as MKX implied.
BIG difference.

View attachment 8415

Hmmm. I suppose I can see your point. I didn't think he seemed mindless in the plane attack, though. Just presumably acting under orders -- why wouldn't he work with Sub-Zero if Sub-Zero was dead and enslaved? Maybe he found it an amusing twist.

I saw the 'healing' sequence as just being about Quan Chi's magic getting disrupted generally, not about all three of them being the same. Scorpion was also revived by Quan Chi's magic, long ago, so this didn't bug me. They didn't give him eyes like the other revenants, or anything. The way I saw it was Raiden healed the revenants, and Scorpion as a bystander in the room also resurrected by Quan Chi's magic was also restored to life.

 

[Commander]

Hmmm. I suppose I can see your point. I didn't think he seemed mindless in the plane attack, though. Just presumably acting under orders -- why wouldn't he work with Sub-Zero if Sub-Zero was dead and enslaved? Maybe he found it an amusing twist.

I saw the 'healing' sequence as just being about Quan Chi's magic getting disrupted generally, not about all three of them being the same. Scorpion was also revived by Quan Chi's magic, long ago, so this didn't bug me. They didn't give him eyes like the other revenants, or anything. The way I saw it was Raiden healed the revenants, and Scorpion as a bystander in the room also resurrected by Quan Chi's magic was also restored to life.

Why would he accept working together with his arch nemesis, under those conditions, though?
To me, it only makes sense that NRS was implying them both being enslaved in the same way, by the same master and by the same conditions.
Thus, retconning Scorpion acting on his own in MK9.

If it was just about Quan Chi's magic getting disrupted generally, then why were Liu Kang, Kitana, Kung Lao, Sindel, Kabal, Nightwolf and Smoke still under the spell?
That makes no sense, imo.
Only the ones in that room got free from his magic, regardless of the spell supposedly being broken by Raiden in that scene?
While I liked the story of MKX, in general, these convenient plot-holes are a bit annoying.

 

[Imperatrix Sindel]

Why would he accept working together with his arch nemesis, under those conditions, though?
To me, it only makes sense that NRS was implying them both being enslaved in the same way, by the same master and by the same conditions. Thus, retconning Scorpion acting on his own in MK9.

Why wouldn't he? He's not 'working with' his arch-nemesis, because his arch-nemesis has no choice in the matter. I don't see any reason why Scorpion would have an issue working with a mindless, enslaved Sub-Zero. It doesn't logically follow that he is himself mindless.

If it was just about Quan Chi's magic getting disrupted generally, then why were Liu Kang, Kitana, Kung Lao, Sindel, Kabal, Nightwolf and Smoke still under the spell? That makes no sense, imo. Only the ones in that room got free from his magic, regardless of the spell supposedly being broken by Raiden in that scene? While I liked the story of MKX, in general, these convenient plot-holes are a bit annoying.

Vogel said that Raiden's overloading of Quan Chi's magic was range-limited. It affected the undead in the immediate area. I don't have a problem with that. The spell wasn't broken altogether because it's not just one 'spell', it's an individual resurrection of each soul. Raiden's supercharging Johnny had a limited radius of effect.

 

[Commander]

Why wouldn't he? He's not 'working with' his arch-nemesis, because his arch-nemesis has no choice in the matter. I don't see any reason why Scorpion would have an issue working with a mindless, enslaved Sub-Zero. It doesn't logically follow that he is himself mindless.



Vogel said that Raiden's overloading of Quan Chi's magic was range-limited. It affected the undead in the immediate area. I don't have a problem with that. The spell wasn't broken altogether because it's not just one 'spell', it's an individual resurrection of each soul. Raiden's supercharging Johnny had a limited radius of effect.

No one wants to work with their arch nemesis, regardless of the condition of said nemesis or brother of said nemesis.
Working with an arch nemesis or the brother of your arch nemesis is a no-no, by many people's standards.
Him being rewritten as a mindless revenant himself is the only logical explanation, imo, for him working with Sub-Zero.
Otherwise, it makes no sense.
Even when Kaui invited Hanzo to talk about the true treachery of Quan Chi via Sektor's equipment, Hanzo was very hesitant.
NRS acted like Scorpion and Sub-Zero were best buddies in that helicopter scene.
Not so.

Well then Vogel contradicted himself from MK9 to MKX, because the spell in which ALL of the dead warriors are under Quan Chi's control (according to MK9) is due to the pact that Quan Chi made with Shao Kahn for ALL of EarthRealm's souls, not on an individual soul by soul basis.
That explanation for MKX by Vogel just further proves the story retcon.
Also, if it was based on an individual resurrection spell for each soul, then why only Johnny get saved and why did Jax, Sub-Zero and Scorpion also get affected.
By that logic, then Jax, Sub-Zero and Scorpion should have all remained the same, given that there is an "individual" spell for each soul.
It's a convenient and lazy cop-out for NRS, regardless of it not making sense, though, because the fans demand that their characters are back and "Herp derp Jacqui needs to be in, Scorpion needs to train Takeda and Sub-Zero needs to be in as human again."

 

[Imperatrix Sindel]

No one wants to work with their arch nemesis, regardless of the condition of said nemesis or brother of said nemesis.
Working with an arch nemesis or the brother of your arch nemesis is a no-no, by many people's standards.
Him being rewritten as a mindless revenant himself is the only logical explanation, imo, for him working with Sub-Zero.
Otherwise, it makes no sense.
Even when Kaui invited Hanzo to talk about the true treachery of Quan Chi via Sektor's equipment, Hanzo was very hesitant.
NRS acted like Scorpion and Sub-Zero were best buddies in that helicopter scene.
Not so.

Well then Vogel contradicted himself from MK9 to MKX, because the spell in which ALL of the dead warriors are under Quan Chi's control (according to MK9) is due to the pact that Quan Chi made with Shao Kahn for ALL of EarthRealm's souls, not on an individual soul by soul basis.
That explanation for MKX by Vogel just further proves the story retcon.
Also, if it was based on an individual resurrection spell for each soul, then why only Johnny get saved and why did Jax, Sub-Zero and Scorpion also get affected.
By that logic, then Jax, Sub-Zero and Scorpion should have all remained the same, given that there is an "individual" spell for each soul.
It's a convenient and lazy cop-out for NRS, regardless of it not making sense, though, because the fans demand that their characters are back and "Herp derp Jacqui needs to be in, Scorpion needs to train Takeda and Sub-Zero needs to be in as human again."

We just don't quite see eye to eye on the working together bit, I guess, so that's fine.

But on the rejuvenation, I just disagree. Even if Quan Chi made one deal for all of the souls, he clearly makes each revenant individually. He cooks them up in his lab or whatever it is. If you dropped a bomb that cured cancer into a room full of cancer patients, it'd only cure the people in the room, it wouldn't cure everybody in the world with cancer. And whether or not they had lung cancer or breast cancer, it'd still cure cancer! Scorpion just has a different kind of cancer.

The fact that the people who happened to be in the room were exactly the people NRS needed to come back to life, yes, obviously that's extremely convenient. But a plot contrivance isn't a plot hole.

 

[Commander]

But on the rejuvenation, I just disagree. Even if Quan Chi made one deal for all of the souls, he clearly makes each revenant individually. He cooks them up in his lab or whatever it is.

A revenant = a reanimated corpse / reanimated ghost.
Essentially a zombie.
Revenant =/= a resurrected individual.
The only 2 who got resurrected out of all the revenants in MKX are Kuai and Hanzo, as per the comics and game.
Maaaaaaaaaaaybe Jax, as well.
The rest are dead / reanimated zombie corpses, and look exactly the same as they did in MK9.

If you dropped a bomb that cured cancer into a room full of cancer patients, it'd only cure the people in the room, it wouldn't cure everybody in the world with cancer. And whether or not they had lung cancer or breast cancer, it'd still cure cancer! Scorpion just has a different kind of cancer.

That contradicts everyone in that room being cured the same if each one had a different type of cancer on an individual basis, though or if in MKX everyone had a different type of spell for each of them, no?
Seems like an oxymoron (TO ME) that there are different spells for 3 different characters, but 1 spell from Raiden cures only those selected 3.

The fact that the people who happened to be in the room were exactly the people NRS needed to come back to life, yes, obviously that's extremely convenient. But a plot contrivance isn't a plot hole.

It's a plot hole when there are supposedly different spells for each individual, and 1 spell from Raiden ONLY cures those 3, and it's also a plot hole when 1 of those characters that NRS needed to come back to life (Scorpion) was supposedly "in control of his own actions" in MK9, and in MKX he wasn't in control of his own actions until he got freed.
The breaking of the spell on MKX Scorpion DOES imply Scorpion not being in control of his own self, regardless of what Vogel may have meant. The implication is there.