honestly, I have seen this thread many times in my time as a user, and i must say, yes, I think that was the point of Armageddon, kill off most of the characters to start with a fresh lineup.

I agree about returning to MK's roots.

Start at the beginning; study the creative process of MK1.

Watch Big Trouble in Little China and some early Van Damme films.

Review some early MK concepts:

Tundra,
Minamoto Yoshitsune,
Rokuro the barbarian,
Michael Grimm,
Curtis Stryker/Jackson Briggs (his original story),
a sword-wielding Shang Tsung,
a bald Shaolin monk
and etcetera

Next, do the same with MK2.

Review some early concepts:

A female kick-boxer (cut due to time constraints),
A brightly clad, masked fighter with hook-swords (?Kabal precursor?),
Tanya (name in MK2 screen),
Kintaro as a warrior (instead of a Goro klone)
and etcetera

IMHO, there were a lot of good ideas cut for reasons that would not exist today. These ideas are not anachronisms; they were present at the genesis of MK. I think this approach is better than most “new” ideas that would emerge today.

Then, expand on koncepts and kharacters:

Ermac (ERROR MACRO) inserted himself in MK. Perhaps he should be an early malfunctioning android.

Sonya Blade needs her own story instead of Curtis/Jax’s story.

Limited palette swaps; all kharacters should be fairly distinctive in appearance and especially distinct in special moves.

Secret kharacters are distinct kharacters and not simple palette swaps i.e. Reptile, Jade, Smoke and etcetera.

I think a 2d fighting game based on this will be good and satisfying to players.

A Double Dragon type game would be neat. Or MKM/SM. I've seen some neat concepts in the MUGEN community.

- Instead of the turn button, implement a target lock button. E1, E2, Off, etc...



Ka-Tra

I agree that Mortal Kombat needs a reboot, start with new and some old characters. Don't bring back Shao Kahn and then you can have Shang Tsung be the Emperor like his ending from Armageddon, Then have the last of the Elder Gods form another Mortal Kombat tournament.

My Idea for Future MK Game
New characters
Belokk - A demon that was able to escaped the Netherrealm.
Lee Banner - Former kickboxing champion.
Thunderfoot - Native American Apache.
Wang Wei - Shaolin Monk student learning from Kung Lao.
Nikita - A high-ranking member of the Cobra an international group of mercenaries.
Fujiko - Female ninja who serves Shang Tsung.
Skull Crusher - Leader of a clan of Savages.
Viper - Viper is a member of the Cobra Organization, Viper is freed from a high-security prison by his partner Nikita.
Captain Leon Page - U.S. Green Beret captain who enters the tournament to find out what Cobra is up to.
X - X is an expert swordswoman and ninja master who's family was murdered by the hands of Skull Crusher.
Tiger Claw - Tiger Claw is a lone warrior who alone watches out for himself.
Mortis - Mortis is Rain's protector and he hunted those to come for Lord Rain's throne.
Glacier - Former Lin Kuei member, Glacier was a student under Sub-Zero's older brother, Noob. Glacier is on a mission to take the title of Grandmaster from Sub Zero.

Returning characters
Sektor - Grandmaster of the Tekunin clan.
Kano - A Black Dragon thug who pledges his loyalty to Shang Tsung.
Scorpion - Undead spectre who returns to the tournament to once again assassinate Shang Tsung.
Sub-Zero (Unmasked) - The legendary Lin Kuei who is reformed the Lin Kuei clan after Armageddon.
Fujin - After the death of Raiden, the God of Wind Fujin becomes the new Protector of Earthrealm.
Kung Lao - Shaolin monk who seeks to stop what Shang Tsung is planning.
Smoke - Cyber assassin and newest member of the Tekunin.
Rain - Rain is now the King of Edenia and has formed an alliance with Shang Tsung.
Jade - Jade is meet up with Kung Lao and Fujin in Earthrealm to get ready for the tournament.
Chameleon - A general in Shang Tsung's army of darkness, Chameleon is a dangerous ally to the Emperor.


Sub Boss/Main Boss
Gorak - Motaro general of the Shang Tsung army, Motaro and his Centaurs are honored to serve Shang Tsung. (Sub-Boss)

Shang Tsung - Now Emperor of Outworld. Shang Tsung has started his conquest of Earth, Shang Tsung is planning to do what none have ever done conquer Earth but first he must win Mortal Kombat tournament.

Returning to the roots? Yeah, I think that I've probably even posted a thread about this at some point, but I agree wholeheartedly... MK should return to the tournament format.

Looking at movies like Enter the Dragon, Bloodsport, The Quest... Heck, look at the original Mortal Kombat movie for inspiration!

I would personally like to see the Shaolin get the tournament back. They could hold it in a sort of "Forbidden City" type of place. I think that this could give the game sort of an old martial arts type of style to it that's reminiscent of both MK1 and a more traditional martial arts movie.

But at the same time, there would be mysterious characters, intrigue, evil emerging or acting behind the scenes, darkness, etc.

I'd also prefer to see no monsters in the game. No tarkatans, no shokans, no demons or any of that kind of junk. Keep it humans only, or at worst, have something that's not human but looks human.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I am DEFINITELY in favor of seeing MK return to it's roots. Return to the time when this series was arguably at it's best for inspiration, while bringining in new ideas to improve upon what once worked so well.