#I NEED takeda in mk1 now

[icedlava1]

Kombat Kid sketches [mainly Takeda lol]

[running-with-the-feels]

okay, yall, the existence of MK1 is pissing me off again, not bc it's bad necessarily, bc it does introduce a lot of interesting concepts and character dynamics, but bc I don't think there was really a need for another re-boot and NRS imploding their continuity (again) makes it really hard to get invested in their characters bc I know they're just gonna get reset after a handful of games that don't even really give them satisfying character arcs and it annoys me that MK11 was used pretty much solely to set that up rather than paying off the character arcs and conflicts I was invested in (like the revenants)

That being said, here are my ideas fr what MK11 could have been that didn't end in a reboot

Another tournament, Havik is the main antagonist of the MKX blood ties comics and all he wands is endless and eternal chaos so have him declare Mortal Kombat between Earthrealm and Chaosrealm. This lets us see the kombat kids face what their parents did and also lets us see how characters react to the idea of another thousand year war. Bc Havik is Havik, you can even have him get impatient and do a rule change like Shao Khan did if you want to avoid having to carry that story into the next game. Plus, Kuai Liang, Takeda, and Hanzo have beef (and some trauma) related to Havik so you can play around with that. You can use this to bring back a lot of old characters too, and even add some new ones (not Kronika she was annoying and pointless and could have been replaced by a necklace without really affecting the story all that much, she's only just Barely not whatever the non sexy version of a sexy lamp is)

Or, if you're really attached to the idea of characters interacting with their past selves (Fair, its a really cool idea) Have the elder gods sense some looming threat on the horizon and declare a trial for Earthrrealm's defenders to ensure that they are ready. Maybe Raiden protests, bc the trial used to train champions until he saw too many die to it so he abandoned it which gives us a reason to like him. But the the defenders have to go through various challenges, one of which is facing down and coming to terms with their past selves, which lets us see this concept used more and with more characters (which is good, bc it was a Good Idea!) and creates the interesting possibility of having a trial ending as well as a tower ending so you can have other characters who aren't in story mode do this too. To add stakes, you could have the gods offer a boon (heh) to whoever completes the trial where they will do them one favor, so then you can have Hanzo want to resurrect his family and clan, Kuai Liang want to resurrect his brother and then they work together to do it only to find out that the boon only goes to whoever completed the trial first so they fight about it, each trying to offer it to the other out of guilt, which helps solidify how close the two are now and how far their friendship has become

Or, if you really wanna do timeline fuckery, just have a handful of characters get tossed into another timeline bc of the revenants and need to find their way home. You can have them meet their alt selves and you can introduce new concepts and character dynamics, without destroying the ones we know and love as the characters will eventually go home in the end. You could even have the characters get tossed into different timelines, so Subscorp in one, Cageblade in another, the kombat kids somewhere else, and watch them each navigate that and try to find one another to get home. Maybe each timeline has a piece of whatever artifact sent them to the different timeline and they all need to find the pieces and their alt selves either help or hinder.

DARK RAIDEN, why go through all the effort to set that up (especially when it makes So Much Sense for his character) only to do nothing with it? Have the amulet corrupt him beyond what the defenders can tolerate so they all make a plan in secret to recover something that will fix him and then trap him so they can use it on him, maybe leading to the revenants getting fixed and revived or even just allying with Earthrealm temporarily in order to get revenge on the god. Then, once they've fixed Raiden the revenants could try to kill him leading to a battle between them and the defenders.

Or, again, if timeline fuckery is your jam, send a handful of characters back into the past, either to MK9 (which might not work as NRS technically already did that) or before, or hell even mkx. Then you have the characters trying to navigate getting back to their time only to come into conflict bc some of them (Kuai Liang, Hanzo, probs Kung Jin) want to change things so their loved ones live or better choices are made and others (Johnny, Sonya, maybe even Cassie) want to keep them the same so that their lives take the same path, AND you can have them interacting with their past selves in some really interesting ways

Similarly, that same idea, but instead of the present selves getting knocked back to Meet their past selves, they just get tossed back into their past self's bodies with no idea what's going on. So then they're all separated and trying to figure out how they got here and what to do next with each getting different pieces of the puzzle. This lends itself to some really interesting character moments bc can you imagine Kuai Liang waking up in the Old Lin Kuei again? Can you imagine how terrifying and triggering that would be for him? Or Hanzo waking up in the Shirai Ryu before the attack, able to actual save his family (whether he succeeds or not both have interesting potential)? Or Kung Lao at MK9 suddenly remembering dying in the arena (in a truly stupid way like you're telling me Raiden saw SHAO FUCKING KHAN walk up behind the guy who just beat some of his best warriors and is gloating about it and just decided not to say anything? Just assumed the LITERAL TYRANT had innocent intentions? Come on. Either I'm supposed to like Raiden, in which case GIVE ME A FUCKING REASON TOO, or I'm not in which case stop pretending he's a saint.) and being a revenant and having to navigate that?

Idk, this is probably just rambling nonsense but I needed to get the ideas out so here ya go. I might think of more later and add them, so apologies in advance

[blackraged]

MORTAL KOMBAT 1 Thoughts Pt3.

[❌❌xontains SPOILERS ❌❌]

The final thoughts on the game as it's coming to an end. This was a ride!

Chapter 11

You go king. Show Sindel horrors beyond comprehension

Oohh, I love the incorporated acknowledgement of the plot from MK11 here.

Liu Kang is so humble, it makes him such a good character?? I was so scared he'd become too nice to handle, but they managed to balance him so well.

This existential anomalies concept is giving ATSV vibes.

D-did Nitara just straight up hiss at Sindel,, LOL

It literally warms my heart to see Sindel, Kitana and Mileena being a loving family. So far honestly the best decision by NRS.

Chapter 12

Lesbians

I'm in tears about this family reunion. I wonder if Jerrod is now fully in charge of the created Ermac body, or if this will be a "fight for the control of the mind and body" kinda trope.

Sindel dies after all, what???? That's not fair,, we had just gotten good Empress Sindel😭😭😭 at least she is within Jerrod now

Where did they leave Kung Lao, Raiden, Johnny, Kenshi and Syzoth in all of this?? Homeboys are literally missing out on all the drama.

This really is turning into ATSV, does that mean we get to see other reoccurring characters too??

Chapter 13

I know I said this before, but Liu Kang Geras' friendship means so much to me. He really be looking out for his friend qwq

"Dark doubles" now this one is a little confusing. Are those the dark doubles from MK11 which means Scorpion would still be Hanzo Hasashi, or did Shang Tsung recreate the Universe to the exact same as Liu Kang has, except made everyone follow him?

Was that an Armageddon reference 👀👀

Never in a lifetime would I have thought that Raiden, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi would become a fun trio.

Shang is way too baby girl, it's making me low-key uncomfortable. It feels so wrong.

Dark Shao Khan looks so silly, while Dark Reiko is serving c0nt

Chapter 14

I don't like how this chapter is called Time of Death and it starts with Liu Kang in the scene.

KITANA????? KITANA WAS A TITAN???? So ALL of the Tower Endings were real?? AND canon???

"You were my Liu Kang" btch I'm bawling

Yo, everyone's Dark Timeline look is absolutely stunning.

I'm such a fan of Liu Kang kicking Nitara.

These fights are so cool but visually so confusing. I never know where to look.

Chapter 15

THERE IS A FEMALE JOHNNY LMAO

Ohno, I don't like this "select your final warrior" option.

Not Quan Chi waking down like a Hell Priest

Wait BLACK DRAGON SONYA??

John Kahner......I would have loved you see that timeline.

I appreciate the various Easter Eggs put into game, but I hate (I'm being dramatic) the character mashups like Scorp Lao, John Kahner, Stung Lao, Frostbite, Quantum Chi,

The various Johnny's are killing me. Especially Mime Johnny. We need a spin off with all the Johnnys.

HOLD ON A FREAKING SECOND. CASSIE, JACQUI, TAKEDA AND KUNG JIN??? AYOO??

I think the new Era Shang Tsung is pretty redeemable.

These final fights are a little stressful ngl.

I-what....what just happened. Is it like just over over l. Was this a snap shot to another time line? Am I missing something? Is it over just like that?

I called it. I knew it was the damn Shirai Ryu.

Weird thought, but is Madame Bo the alt version to Bo Rai Cho by chance?

"Changed the Arcs of our lives" very sweet double meaning, but I feel like it has a secret third meaning, and I'm unsure if I like it. I'm sure there is something coming to sting.

Conclusion of the game;

THAT'S IT?? THAT'S FCKING ALL?? Why does this feel like the end of the entire franchise??? I know the title being MK1 implies that there WILL be future installments. But this very much felt like the end of a Saga, and it is really pulling the strings of my heart.

I have so many questions still. What's next to come? What does the end of this now mean for the entire MK universe? What will they do to Shang Tsung? Will Titan Kitana be back? What about all other Characters that have become Titans? Will we see other returning characters from previous games in the future? Is there even room for new conflicts??

But overall, I loved it so much. It was absolutely worth the wait, I sincerely hope that there will be more in the future and that we didn't have to say goodbye.

NRS have really outdone themselves. Each MK game just kept becoming cooler and cooler, with MK1 now completely putting me in awe with the story, animation, designs, effects etc I am honestly not sure how they're gonna top that for the next games.

I do have to say though, that while I don't agree with some of the changes done to the story and characters, I think my favourite thing in this "reboot" is that they made Kitana and Mileena ACTUAL twin sisters.

Some characters seem also a lot more interesting now too. I'm specifically thinking Kung Lao, Raiden, Smoke and Mileena (Please don't come at me. I know how everyone was literally all over her, but I simply wasn't a fan. That has changed now obviously).

Though while I really really REALLY adored Reptile in this game, I do wish they would have kept the original Saurian Lore, - or at least part of it. In my mind it would have made more sense for the Human look.

This game was intense, interesting, captivating, funny, and tearjerking. I am still so amazed, but also feel now that void in my chest. I'm not sure how things will go from now on, but MK will continue to remain one of my fave games ever.

This really was a ride y'all.