Summary
After four years without a NetherRealm Studios game, it feels good to have a newMortal Kombatmaking the rounds again.Mortal Kombat 1is the latest entry in the American fighting game franchise, and it marks the second soft reboot inMortal Kombat’s continuity. While this has changed a lot about the characters and setting, the experience of playingMortal Kombat 1feels similar to past entries. Competitive fans are still digging into the mechanics and Invasions mode is an interesting take on the Krypt, butMK1could have benefited from changing more than it did.
Evidence for this can be found inStreet Fighter 6, which only predatesMK1by a few months. The divisive era ofStreet Fighter 5spurred Capcom to develop something that would draw players back in, and by all accounts, it succeeded. Introducing major new features like a 3D online lobby, and even things that have appeared inMortal Kombatlike an open-world story modeand custom fighters,Street Fighter 6feels like what the aging franchise needed. However, likeSF6borrowed fromMK, the nextMortal Kombatcould seriously impress fans by honing in on one ofStreet Fighter’s own innovations.
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Modern Controls Could Be The Next Mortal Kombat’s Selling Point
Despite often outsellingStreet Fighter,Mortal Kombatstill finds itself in its senior’s shadow.MKserves a fanbase dominated by casual players more interested in the story, characters, andMK’s signature Fatalitiesthan competitive play. Among the wider fighting game community,Mortal Kombathas struggled to legitimize itself, even after the 2011Mortal Kombatreboot considerably upped its mechanical depth. However, there’s a better way to endear people toMortal Kombat’s gameplay than just adding new battle mechanics.
Enter Modern controls, one of threecontrol options available inStreet Fighter 6, and the only one besides Classic controls allowed in tournaments and online matches. While Modern reduces the number of tools characters have to work with, it also reduces the frustration many players have with performing special move motions and combo strings.Mortal Kombatalready does the latter, but not to such an extreme degree. A futureMortal Kombattitle could delight its fanbase with this feature, and the most it would need to change to accommodate it would be renaming it to “Modern Kontrols.”
Mortal Kombat Feels Made For Streamlined Controls
Not only isMortal Kombatprimed for modern controls, but it could adjust to them better thanStreet Fighter 6did.MKis a four-button fighting game instead of a six-button one, and because there are only three aerial normals, switching to Modern’s three attack buttons and special move shortcut button would be easy. The punch/kick split allowsMortal Kombatto go even farther, distilling its face buttons down to punch, kick, special, and whatever mechanic replacesMK1’s Kameo Fighters. With something likeStreet Fighter 6’s combo assist button allowing access to Enhanced specials, short combos, and even the missing attacks, everything should fall into place.
The benefits of doing this go beyond just giving iconic special moves to casual players. UnlikeStreet Fighter’s typical assortment of special motions applying to all three punch or kick buttons,Mortal Kombathas historically spread its command normals, built-in combos, and special inputs across its four buttons with a variety of different special inputs. Despite many characters sharing similar specials like projectiles, and even some universal inputs like uppercuts, readingMK’s move listsis necessary to quickly find everyone’s moves, and jumping between characters only became more difficult as they diverged. Modern controls would standardizeMortal Kombat’s cast, making them easier to pick up and play for everyone. For a fighting game with a predominantly casual audience, that’s the best possible outcome.
Mortal Kombat 1is available now on PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.
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