The 10 BIGGEST Mortal Kombat Controversies
Stop N Swap N Never Again
Variant movesets have been a somewhat divisive mechanic in the franchise, most notably in MKX and MK11. The former gave players three different versions to play as in each fighter, although some variants would prove to be borderline broken such as the Xenomorphs Acidic variant. As for the latter, MK11 gave players the ability to customize their mains moveset with interchangeable moves. Unfortunately, this focus on diverse playstyle wound up being contentious among fans as it was widely seen as a meaningless feature. What else would you expect in a multiplayer game where players optimize the fun out of the game?
Quantifying Quantity With Questionable Quality
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is the game many fans love, but just as many fans hate. On the one hand, you have a game that features literally every single MK character in the franchises history. On the other hand, much of the roster was built on reused assets between each other with kits that were severely lacking anything unique. And when you can outfit a custom fighter with certain moves that cause them to break the game, Armageddon becomes a complete joke. At least the Motor Kombat side mode was kind of fun, right?
Its In Us All
Mortal Kombat has long had issues when it comes to government intervention. (Well get to that one case in due time.) But even in the 2000s, Midway ran into some turbulence during marketing for each new game. One instance was when Deadly Alliance was making the rounds in the UK. Midway wanted to run a commercial where normal people were making normal interactions only to reveal they had blood on their hands. Well, the Advertising Standards Authority took umbrage with the commercial, claiming that it condoned violence. It didnt help that the commercial displayed the tagline Its In Us All, referring to the need for violence and bloodthirst within humanitys most primal core. The ASA would go after Midway again during the marketing cycle for Shaolin Monks after a more explicitly violent commercial aired on UK television.
Some Say The Game is Still Finding a Match Today
Is it safe to call Mortal Kombat 1 the worst game in the franchise since Armageddon? Look, NRS, if you didnt want to do a proper Krypt, fine. If you really wanted Invasions to be the main game mode, fine. But the least you could have done was integrate a functioning netcode! One of MK1s biggest issues was just how long it would take to find a match. We arent just talking a minute or two of queue time - it was much more egregious than that! Notable fighting game streamers found themselves sitting on a Finding Match screen with nothing to do for ten to fifteen minutes at a time, sometimes longer than that. Considering Tekken 8, Street Fighter 6, and Guilty Gear Strive were finding games for players in less than a couple short seconds, MK1 had effectively killed any and all interest the public could have had if the game had met its competitors matchmaking times.
Krypt Konundrums
Speaking of Krypts, MK9 and MKX had really compelling iterations of this means of unlocking content. Whereas MK9 encouraged exploring for secrets, MKX made a whole mini-adventure game out of it where you used weapons and solved puzzles to access other areas for more unlockables. So, what happened with MK11? Well, for some reason, NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. Games decided the Krypt needed to be less fulfilling. Why else would you implement randomized rewards, integrate three different currencies, and make unlockables grindy as all hell? It wound up making MK11 a massive slog to sift through, especially if you just wanted cosmetics for your main. And what about MK1s Krypt? Oh, we didnt get one! We instead got a Shrine that you just burned money on for, once again, randomized rewards. What FUN.
Risque Risks
We will champion the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot for its story and wealth of game modes to enjoy. However, one criticism that comes up every once in a while are the designs of Kitana, Jade, Mileena, and Sonya Blade. All four MK ladies were given outfits that barely covered anything. For Mileena, it makes sense, but when you have Jade using her staff for a bit of pole dancing and Sonya wearing nothing else underneath her vest, many individuals began to ask about the logic behind some of their designs. Sexy is one thing, but at least try to make it make sense with the rest of the castwhich are dudes in full armor and gear, ready for combat. At least Sonyas alternate costume made more sense in an army woman in casual clothes sort of way.
A Celebrity is Amongst Us
When a celebrity makes their presence known in a video game, it can be an exciting thing to experience. We know these people for other things, but they have the same interest as we do? Theres something cool about that. Unfortunately, some really just phone it in, and Ronda Rousey and Megan Fox were definitely questionable casting decisions. In MK11, Rousey played as Sonya Blade, but lacked any meaningful delivery in her short amount of screentime. In MK1, Fox voiced Nitara for maybe a page or two worth of lines, and it was some of the worst, most monotone voice acting we had seen in recent years. Look, we wont make assumptions here, but if you were really jazzed about being a part of a new Mortal Kombat game, one would hope youd give your performance your all, and neither of them did. At least Chris Cox got better with his Arnie impression between MK11 and MK1.
Stereotypical Reinforcement
In the 90s, Mortal Kombat came under heavy scrutiny from politicians and activists not for the violence, but for its portrayal of Asians and women. (Well get to the bigger case soon - were getting there!) A handful of outspoken activists accused Mortal Kombat of perpetuating the stereotype that Asians knew martial arts, which then-publisher Acclaim Entertainment would argue against, saying This is a fantasy game, with all different characters. As for the feminists claiming that Mortal Kombat was some sick male fantasy, the movement went so far as to try and get the game banned in Indiana via a sexual discrimination case in 2000. Judge Richard Posner ultimately ruled against the plaintiff, stating that Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 featured women as fully capable of holding her own in violent combat with heavily armed men. It thus has a message, even an 'ideology' just as books and movies do." Since then, Mortal Kombat has been known within the FGC for having a more sizable female player base than most other fighting games tend to garner.
The Work Culture of NetherRealm Studios
Soon after the release of MK11, developer NetherRealm Studios came under fire by both current and former staff members of the company for an unhealthy work environment. Of course, almost all of them were anonymous. Even so, the allegations were of very serious matters, ranging from accusations of imposing crunch time to the lack of caring about the mental health of employees who were working on the more graphic portions of each game. One staff member claimed to have been suffering from PTSD and experienced lucid, violent dreams. A few years later, more staff members and contractors would reveal that NetherRealm Studios was frequently underpaying in lower level positions like Quality Assurance and Software Engineering, key positions that help ensure the game is working as intended. Neither NRS nor Warner Bros have spoken on the matter, and to this day, some alarming Glassdoor and Indeed reviews will gain traction here and there.
The Birth of ESRB
And were finally here! As many folks familiar with their gaming history are already aware of, Mortal Kombat played a heavy hand in the creation of the Electronic Software Ratings Board. As Mortal Kombat grew in popularity, parents, educators, activists, and politicians became more and more concerned about how the game was affecting kids. In 1993, United States Senators Herb Kohl and Joe Lieberman attempted to bring video game violence to Congresss attention, claiming games like Mortal Kombat, DOOM, and oddly enough, Night Trap could affect a childs behavior in a severely negative manner. Not only was then-MK publisher Acclaim Entertainment called in for hearings, but so were SEGA and Nintendo, console manufacturers who were known to have different censored versions of Mortal Kombat on their hardware. Congress gave the gaming industry an ultimatum: figure out a way to regulate itself and mitigate kids from playing violent games, or the United States government will regulate the industry themselves. And so, the ESRB was formed.
Which of these controversies shocked you the most? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!
