A couple of months ago, Chris texted out of the blue that he wanted to try recording again. We are both at different phases in our life that will allow us to take an hour or so every month to sit down and dedicate that hour to simply talking about video games. Fittingly enough, this year both Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat decided to release new games. Perfect. What’s old is new again.
We settle the ages old debate, at least in our eyes, of which is better this time around.
I thought we might start over the summer because I have more time then. That didn’t happen and then I thought we might be doomed to the dust bin of history once again. Well, things happen fast sometimes and we picked up the conversation again last month, picked a date, logged into Zoom, and recorded.
For the first one, I never tested the audio, so it might be a little off this time around. But, I’m actually testing different set ups and apps to make sure that it comes out better for future recordings. We talked about it and we have ideas at least through December. So, 4 episodes are bound to happen with more to come once we talk about next year.
In the meantime enjoy us talking about “What’s Old Is New Again” and come back next month for a discussion of our favorite spooky pop culture; movies, TV shows, and games. Last year, I started coming up with themes for each month and October (long planned and finally realized) became Spooktober, so it just made sense to follow that theme for the podcast.
Those who follow the page regularly recognize the gimmick. I started writing NFL profiles every whenever I remembered and got around to it. Because I don’t follow football nearly as closely as I once did, I got the idea for the gimmick. Because I wrote an article about the Street Fighter 6 Demo (and uploaded a short game play video) and Mortal Kombat has no such demo, I am left writing the completely ignorant Mortal Kombat 1 preview.
Of course, part of the gimmick is that I’m not completely ignorant. I spent a good 5 minutes skimming a game play video that I found on YouTube. The video clocks in at 19 minutes. I found maybe 30 seconds that I consider relevant to my discussion of the game. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a perfectly good video, but there’s a lot of repetition of the Kameo fatal blow moves. The first time, you say, “Wow!” or “Ew!” or both. By the third time, you find yourself skipping ahead to find the words, “Finish Him!” for some fatality fun.
Fatality Fun
I saw a Kenshi and a Kitana fatality. I clicked through twice to see a Johnny Cage one. Either they haven’t programmed it into the game yet or they told the individual in the video not to give too much away. Seeing as how Johnny Cage somehow became one of the faces of the franchise, I understand their reticence around the finer points of his move set.
I mean, I always liked Cage, but understand how he grated on some fans.
As for the fatalities, they don’t disappoint. Rarely since the conversion to 3D has a fatality failed disappointed me. Some of the ones in MK3 were just awful. Then, in MK4, we got perhaps the greatest fatality ever envisioned with the Quan Chi leg rip. I still laugh hysterically every time I see that one. From what I saw in the video, MK1 brings the pain and maybe some laughs with the fatalities.
Mortal Kombat Mario Party
Sometimes I love living in the future. Don’t get it twisted. Sometimes living in the future absolutely blows, too. But I remember seeing an article with the tagline, “Mortal Kombat’s new play mode is like Mario Party with blood.” So, when I couldn’t remember that they actually called it “Invasions”, I searched Mortal Kombat Mario Party in Google to find a video showing off the mode.
From what I understand, it replaces the Krypt. If they made this choice after Mortal Kombat X, I might like it more. However, I liked the Krypt mode in Mortal Kombat 11 a lot. I played that mode until I unlocked every single thing available and then I played it more because I refused to search a Wiki to see what the secrets were until I was convinced there was nothing left to find.
The Verdict
You will have to wait for my thoughts on actual game play, fatalities, and story until after I buy the game. Unlike Street Fighter 6, I wanted to play Mortal Kombat 1 from the beginning. For whatever reason, I’m more of a Mortal Kombat fan, so I will probably end up buying this one for full price. Hell, I considered buying a PS5 just for this and the new Spider-Man game. So, look for an completely ignorant Mortal Kombat 1 preview update in the coming months.
If you read this page for longer than a couple of articles, you know that I identify as an old man. Those who fear the reaper always say, “No way, you’re young!” While certainly true by modern standards, my aching back, expanding belly, and distinct memory of the first Mortal Kombat 1 release says otherwise.
My friend Kevin and I took the summer after our senior year of high school and traveled to live with his father. The trip started as a week, then expanded to two weeks, and may have been a month, possibly two by the time all was said and done. Well, we spent the summer more or less the same ways we would have at home. We went to the comic book store (it was the summer of the “Death of Superman”!) and visited at least one arcade.
Humble Beginnings
I always use that as all of my introductions to new things. Because, honestly, as the Noob of All Trades, they truly classify as Humble Beginnings. This one, especially, warrants the title. Surveying the games in the arcade, we laid eyes on a most peculiar sight. A man, who sort of looks like Jean Claude Van Damme, executes a leaping kick on the side of the cabinet. On the front, in the marquee, Mortal Kombat. Yes, with a K.
And, honestly, to this day, I struggle to spell Combat correctly.
We both put quarters into the machine, maybe about 5 bucks each, but probably less, and button mashed our way to the occasional mistake move when we stumbled upon something that resembled the motions in Street Fighter 2. Otherwise, we marveled at the blood and the mysterious “Finish Him” that ended every fight. Remember kids, this is before phones. Hell, this is before I even knew the internet existed. And, so, we needed to find a copy of EGM or some other such magazine that gave us the fighter’s moves. But, that came after some MK sensei rolled up to the cabinet and blew our minds with Sub-Zero’s fatality.
We absolutely lost our shit.
The Golden (?) Age of Reboots
It all started with Star Wars. Well, at least that’s when I noticed that a certain movie looked and felt very much like another certain movie released 40 years before. I even wrote an article that mentioned the similarities between the movie. Well, none of it really clicked until the Scream movie released in 2022. As far as I know, true to form, they coined the term “Requel”.
So, armed with that, I took a more critical look at some of the new movies. I recognized the story from Creed. I heard echoes of the past in the Jurassic World series that came to a logical conclusion in the most recent movie. Then, I saw an article for the newest Mortal Kombat game.
The last two Mortal Kombat games I played were called Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat 11. Therefore, logically, the new one in the series is named Mortal Kombat 1. Wait, is that right? That can’t be right.
Mortal Kombat 1
I searched to make sure that I read right. Because all of the old games get released over and over on every single new system, I needed to make sure that it wasn’t just a new release of the original game. Heck, they might have even updated the graphics for the game. But, nope, they named the new game MK1.
During my text conversation with Chris, I said, “I can’t tell if this is an actual reboot or just a joke by Ed Boon at the expense of all the recent reboots.” He said that he thought the former. In the end, I agreed. Then, the trailer hit and left no doubt.
The Verdict
Speaking of the trailer, look for a reaction video from me regarding that trailer. Then, after the game releases, look for my first impressions and then the final review of the game. Finally, Chris and I talked about getting back together to record and my idea for the first show back is this game and the new Street Fighter. Hope we can get it done before Germany, but more likely next month.
