Tomas Flores
Contributing Writer
“Mortal Kombat” is a video game turned billion-dollar franchise, created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, that took the world by storm in 1992 with the release of its first title. It quickly grew popular in arcades, featuring the most realistic graphics at the time and gameplay that took violence to a whole new level with spine-ripping, head-crushing, flesh-burning “Fatalities.”
More than 30 years later, the franchise has a designated development studio (NetherRealm Studios), which has spawned multiple sequels, spin-offs, films, merchandising, and reboots. The latest attempt at a reboot is “Mortal Kombat 1.”
“Mortal Kombat 1” was released on Sept. 19, 2023, as a direct sequel to “Mortal Kombat 11,” in which the main character Liu Kang has gained godly control over the realms, allowing him to shape a new reality to his liking.
It is through this concept that we find the start of many problems for “Mortal Kombat 1.”
The Problem
With a reboot comes ideas for what can be done differently and what should be kept the same. “Mortal Kombat 1” made a bold change to the core gameplay by adding a new system called “Kameos.”
In short, this new system was almost like an assist fighter that would enter under certain conditions to help you in your fight. The problem is that it involves learning more than just one fighter. In addition to the main fighter, players now had to learn how the “Kameo” fighters worked, which is not very beginner-friendly.
Another issue came from the sloppy and lazy reboots of old characters. One example can be seen in the fan favorite characters “Sektor” and “Cyrax,” who were not only blocked behind an expensive DLC but also gender-swapped and changed to the point where they were just a shell of what the original characters were known and loved for.
This change was defended by Ed Boon as a way to bring back fan favorites while doing something different. However, it wasn’t well received by some fans, who would have preferred the return of established female characters like Jade or Sonya Blade, instead of a pair of gender-swapped characters.
But gameplay and character choices were just the beginning of the problems for players. What hurt most was having the creator, Ed Boon, praise the game and tell players that it would be filled with content for “years to come,” according to Event Hub. But on May 14, less than two years after “Mortal Kombat 1’s” release, it was announced that they were releasing a “Definitive Edition” for $69.99.
Seeing as definitive means “the conclusion of,” many are taking this as the obvious sign that the game is over and will no longer be receiving content, despite what creator Ed Boon previously claimed.
Leaving a sour taste in the mouth of many loyal “Mortal Kombat” fans, this decision begs the question: What is next for the billion-dollar franchise?
What’s next?
NetherRealm Studios hasn’t only made “Mortal Kombat” title games. In 2011, they released another groundbreaking fighting game that included beloved DC Comics characters titled “Injustice: Gods Among Us.”
With a sequel releasing in 2017, between the release of “Mortal Kombat X” and “Mortal Kombat 11,” it leads many to believe that the next best thing the franchise can do is give “Mortal Kombat” a break and release a new “Injustice” game.
Many expected “Mortal Kombat 1” to be “Injustice 3” as NetherRealm Studios typically switches between “Mortal Kombat” and “Injustice” when releasing new games. That streak was broken, however, with the release of “Mortal Kombat 1.”
So, with “Mortal Kombat 1’s” lifetime seemingly being cut short with little to no communication from the gaming company, we may just have to wait a couple of years for them to formally announce what is next.
All we can hope is that they take “Mortal Kombat 1” and use it as a learning opportunity to make their next game bigger and better than ever. If their next title fails, I don’t know how much longer this franchise will survive.