Why did Mortal Kombat not pass the test of time?

[Cmtz]

Street Fighter will now be on xbox live and all I can think about is why did MK not make a lasting impression like the one SFII did? As a teen I would always play MK at the arcades and would love to compete against other people. What did SFII have that MKI or MKII did not have?

[njiska]

Well i for one beg to differ. MKII left a huge impression on a lot of people, the main reason that SFII trumps it is that SFII was first.

[Cmtz]

Well i for one beg to differ. MKII left a huge impression on a lot of people, the main reason that SFII trumps it is that SFII was first.

Well, yes but most of the impression was faded away, but people still feel giddy when they play SFII.

[njiska]

Well i for one beg to differ. MKII left a huge impression on a lot of people, the main reason that SFII trumps it is that SFII was first.

Well, yes but most of the impression was faded away, but people still feel giddy when they play SFII.

Well i agree with you that on a whole SFII tends to make more people giddy, it is relative. I can vouche that there is a large MKII crowd in serveral regions of Canada that i've visited. I myself still get giddy.

But what's really amazing about SFII isn't that it causes people to get giddy, but rather that even after 17 individual releases by Capcom it's still has that effect. I mean that series has been milked like an old heffer, but for some reason it still has some magic.

I largely attribute it to the fact that SFII was the first mainstream game of it's kind and you never forget your first.

[Dji]

I have been a huge fan of both series, for different reasons, since childhood. It is widely believed that Street Fighter II requires more skill to play, and I agree with that. It's quite fun to play against other fighting game fans with a game so deep that one can still learn much about it 15 years later. On the other hand, Mortal Kombat is often ridiculed as a button-mashing, cheap tactics-using, gimmick of a game. However, it is quite easy to learn, and as such, even (especially?) non-fighting game fans can enjoy it greatly. I play MKII with some of my friends, while they wouldn't touch SFII with a ten-foot pole. They never could do a Dragon Punch, ever. The opposite is also true: one of my friends despises MK, but loves SFII. The situation is quite similar nowadays with Virtua Fighter (SF) and Dead or Alive (MK), with fans of one series generally disliking the other one.

[nik]

They went 3D.

That's all it took for me, all the 3D mortal Kombats are crap! It would kick ass if they just made it more fluid, added tons of effects.

[Graham Mitchell]

I'm basically in agreement with Dji. The designers of SFII made the game very open ended. It's difficult to describe, but it comes down to the fact that there's no set way that you have to play the game in order to win. You don't need to memorize a ton of combos or come up with a way to keep your enemy from ever standing up in order to be successful. You can do that if you want, but you don't have to.

The gameplay in MKI is much more simplistic; there's only one or two combos that are worth bothering with, and the AI is pretty easily outsmarted. It's just not that deep of a game to begin with (although I used to think it was). Onthe other hand, I feel that the gameplay of MKII (and any MK games thereafter) is way too dependent on combos and memorizing thousands of moves. It's just complex, and not that much fun for a person who doesn't want to dedicate that much time to it.

I dig SFII still; it's the only fighting game I like because I feel like it's a different game every time I play it. It relies heavily on developing an instinct rather than planning routines ahead of time that border on cheating.

[EnzoSangiorgio]

I'm going to have to say quality won.
Mortal Kombat was always just a controversial gorefest, not a quality fighter.

[Ed Oscuro]

SF stayed 2D, and MK went 3D, but it never seemed to be one of the best 3D fighters.

[Jumpman Jr.]

I think Sothy could answer that with one word:
Gore

[Mr.FoodMonster]

If you havn't gone back and played any of the MK's pre-current gen, do so. After 3 minutes of play, you'll see why.

Go back and play SFII. Try to put it down after the first fight.

The original MK games SUCKED. Big time. They relyed totally on pre-set combo chains, or incredible cheap-ness (Scorpion "get over here!"uppercut, jump, airkick, "get over here!"upercut ect.) I think the main apeal was that it was the first widely recognized violent game. That game is the cause for a ratings system to begin. Thats probably why it was remembered so well. UMK3 was alright, but still not very good.

[gepeto]

These are my Thoughts.

While both were popular Mortal Kombat had a huge boost with its gimmicky Blood and fatalities. The fighters as well as the matches were very stiff and sometimes unplayable. The pallets were swapped between fighter so that cut down on originality and expandability. Ex scorpion /sub zero /smoke. The morphs gave it life the new characters gave it legs. To me even after hundred of hours of playing it was an overhyped and limited series.

Street fighter to me has always evolved sometimes good sometimes bad. The series was an intense chess match my move your counter move. Opps you messed up hello boom. The matches are lighting fast and over the top.

The characters most were throughly playable and each had a fluid style. I remember seeing dhalsim for the first time thinking you got to be kidding. The bosses from Bison to Akuma's raging demon are fierce.

I also remember sf held the number 1 spot at the arcade for over 2 years. at the times alot of games were trying to gore you out. Congress was all over the gaming industry definately put the heat and spotlight on mortal kombat. Rebel kids were all over it.

To me the pinnacle was mortal kombat 3 for the N64 due to cartridge format the load times were nonexsistent.

I think the thing that did the most damage to the streetfighter series was believe it or not the Marvel Vs Capcom series. Marvel Vs capcom took the series format and went super over the top and was wildy sucessful.

The street fighter series kinda lost its identity I personally believe the capcom team didn't know where to go. Do streetfighters now want extreme over the top insane combos etc. Plus repetitve compliations hurt. It is a shame because we were always and will still be here ready to hit xbox live when needed.

The Streetfighter series will alway be in my blood when I am sixty five I be throwing down. Mortal kombat will be with me as well but not as memorable.

I like the midway classic2 ps2 version of mortal kombat2/3
but the one included with the collectors edition to me was butt and unplayable.

[Yamazaki]

Like already said - SF2 is still a masterpiece when it comes to gameplay.
I mean there are still SF2T-tournaments in Europe, USA and japan.

I visited arcades in Japan where up to 5 SF2T cabs are crowded by dozens of people!

[njiska]

If you havn't gone back and played any of the MK's pre-current gen, do so. After 3 minutes of play, you'll see why.

Go back and play SFII. Try to put it down after the first fight.

The original MK games SUCKED. Big time. They relyed totally on pre-set combo chains, or incredible cheap-ness (Scorpion "get over here!"uppercut, jump, airkick, "get over here!"upercut ect.) I think the main apeal was that it was the first widely recognized violent game. That game is the cause for a ratings system to begin. Thats probably why it was remembered so well. UMK3 was alright, but still not very good.

HEY! How could you forget about Night Trap. lol

[Push Upstairs]

Night Trap

Now that is a game that didnt pass the test of time.



I can admit that SF2 was better in quality which i think helps it stand up over time.

And this means alot coming from someone who doesnt like SF2 or fighting games in general.

[Jorpho]

SF stayed 2D, and MK went 3D, but it never seemed to be one of the best 3D fighters.

SF went 3D just like MK did. Doesn't anyone remember Street Fighter EX? The difference, I suppose, is that SF went back.

The other difference is that for a very long time there has almost always been some sort of 2D SF game in arcades.

[Xizer]

MK3/UMK3/MK Trilogy are still some of the best fighting games ever. They even kick Street Fighter's ass.

[chrisbid]

capcom was more committed to fighting games than midway.

mk had a more casual appeal

digitized graphics look extremely dated now

i dont think either has "stood the test of time" in the mind of mainstream casual gamers. hardcore fans are going to go for the deeper game, which is sf.

[scooby105]

I always liked MKII a lot. I remember playing it in the arcade all the time, although not as much as SFII. You had to know what you were doing when playing MKII a bit more than SFII.

I remember the first time I played MKII some guy beat me while talking to his friend and not even looking at the screen. Once you got the hang of MKII and played against people of your ability level, it was a really fun game.

I think MKII would do very well on XBOX Live. There are tons of people that played it in the arcades that would love to play it again. I'm not really sure why we haven't seen it yet.

Are the Acclaim games still up for auction because of the bankruptcy thing or whatever the problem was? I found this link:
http://maltzauctions.com/acclaimip.htm
and some various articles talking about games being up for sale. Maybe that's a reason they haven't been re-released?

[retroman]

put MK2 online and sell it cheap. I would play it over SF2 online anyday.