Top 10 Biggest Moments from Mortal Kombat 11

We were only thirty minutes into the story, and MK11 already killed off a character. In order to dismantle the Nether Realm’s army, Raiden creates a diversion for Special Forces to infiltrate and destroy Liu Kang’s fortress. However, when a massive fight causes debris to fall, Cassie Cage finds out her mother is buried in the rubble, and she wasn’t going to make it out alive. The Cage family has managed to escape death several times, but with Sonya gone, it made us fear for Cassie and Johnny’s future. We’re not crying, YOU’RE crying!!

In the first few chapters, we see Kronika is accompanied by Geras and a mysterious hooded figure. We find out, in Chapter 4, that this person is Frost, Sub-Zero’s former apprentice from MKX (as well as a few titles before). While Frost was revealed hours before MK11 launched, it was her role in the story that caught us off guard. Frustrated with Sub-Zero’s teachings, Frost began fighting for Kronika when she anointed Frost as commander of the Cyber Lin Kuei. You know, in hindsight, she would be the one to backstab Subs; she seemed to have a pretty aggressive personality in MKX.

If seeing Johnny Cage cringe at his younger self wasn’t enough for you, Chapter Six must have been an adrenaline rush! When the Cyber Lin Kuei are about to escape with Cassie, Sonya, and Young Johnny as hostages. Old Johnny takes control of a massive tank and engages in a firefight against Sektor and a fighter jet. Shortly after, he finds a younger Kano prepared to shoot him before pulling off the best nut punch in gaming history. Johnny’s always been treated as the idiot of the MK cast, but damn, he sure knows how to make a fight entertaining!

When the eras merge in Chapter Two, we did not expect Kotal Kahn to have such an important history. Turns out the former Outworld general had the hots for Jade back in the day, and oh my gawd, they are great together. Throughout the story, we see the full potential of their relationship; not only do they make each feel loved and happy, but they work very well as a team...most of the time. Romance isn’t exactly what we’d expect in a “Mortal Kombat” game, but Jade and Kotal showed that even in a world bathed in blood, there is still some love.

We often ponder what we’d say to our younger selves, and Scorpion is one of the few fictional characters who has been given that chance. In a confrontation with his younger self, Grandmaster Hasashi calls out his younger self, revealing his true reasons behind his hellish fury. Things take a turn for the worst when they are ambushed by D’Vorah, who succeeds in poisoning Hasashi. When she retreats, Scorpion finds his future self dying in his own hands. Hasashi asks him to abandon Kronika and fight on his behalf before saying, (“The Shirai Ryu are worthy. It’s heart, not blood, that makes them warriors.”) It’s a touching, yet depressing moment that shows Scorpion is much more human than the ball of rage he typically is.

As one would expect, things got weird between Cassie and the younger Sonya Blade. When Sonya reads up on the report of her older self being KIA, she assumed Cassie intentionally left her behind. Luckily, things got better between the two at the end of Chapter Eight. After killing Kano (in the most badass way possible, too), Sonya admits she didn’t read the file completely and comes to accept her inevitable fate. Sonya didn’t get a lot of time to say her last words to Cassie before she died. So, seeing this felt like Cassie had finally been given some closure and can move on. Well, once the timeline is fixed, of course.

Oh, it’s time to talk about Chapter Seven? Well, here’s the short end of it: BEST. CHAPTER. EVER!! Previous games have shown Princess Kitana has a competent fighter, but she’s been a damsel in distress a few times too many. However, MK11 has solidified her as a bonafide badass! She successfully ambushes Skarlet alongside Liu Kang and Kung Lao, she manages to get Baraka and his Tarkatans to ally with her, AND she kills Shao Kahn, thus saving Kotal Kahn’s life. Kitana proves she’s not just a pretty princess; she’s a cunning, vicious, and noble warrior. Outworld is finally in good hands.

Just when it seems like Raiden was going to save the day, Chapter Twelve goes and throws a curveball at us! Upon his defeat by the Thunder God, our corrupted Liu Kang taunts Raiden into killing him, to which Raiden responds with, (“I would rather save you.”) We weren’t sure what was going on at first, but when the light dimmed, our jaws dropped - Fire God Liu Kang is here to whoop ass!! We had seen this version of Liu Kang before, though. In “Mortal Kombat 2011”, Liu Kang became a Fire God and Earthrealm’s new protector in his arcade ending, but that wasn’t canon yet. Now, it is, and he looks so cool!

For the first time in the series, “Mortal Kombat 11” has multiple endings in its story mode, and it all depends on your fight against Kronika. Obviously, if you lose, she resets time. Although, the biggest takeaway from the other two endings is that Raiden is giving up the mantle and allows Liu Kang to remain a god. He tells Liu Kang that he is now protector of all the realms and must rebuild history. If Kronika won one round against you, Liu Kang rebuilds with Raiden. If Kronika lost both rounds, you get the best ending and see Liu Kang begin to reform history alongside Kitana. #RelationshipGoals!

After a fight with Liu Kang, Raiden suddenly begins seeing alternate versions of themselves fighting each other. Most importably, it shows their pre-reboot fight atop the Pyramid of Argus from “Mortal Kombat Armageddon”, and their fight in the merged ruins of Outworld and Apokolips from “Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe”. What were these visions? (“memories...memories not only from this timeline, but from timelines that have come before.” “Wait a sec, timelines? Plural?!”) Raiden says that Kronika has reset the timeline more than once, which means some “Mortal Kombat” games may have been set in different eras. Like “Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe” since it’s officially recognised as MK8, as well as why certain characters, like Kotal Kahn, have never appeared in previous games, yet are referenced in history. This completely changes the lore of “Mortal Kombat”, and it’s probably NetherRealm’s way of allowing future developers of the studio to create their own story...in a few years, of course.