The Mortal Kombat 8 we never got

[Uzumaki Goku]

MK: Armageddon was supposed to be the end of an era. The final Mortal Kombat game with every character that had been in the series up until then.It would wipe the slate clean for a whole new cast of characters with presumably Scorpion and Sub-Zero still returning. But that plan... didn't really take off. Instead we got a crossover with DC Universe and then an in-story reboot.

Does anyone have those old interviews where they talked about what MK8 was going to be?

 

[Pyro]

Ed Boon: We Scrapped Mortal Kombat 8

At last year's Midway Gamers Day, Mortal Kombat co-creator and series overlord Ed Boon talked up the then-unnamed eighth entry in the franchise. Boon described Mortal Kombat 8 at the time as "very dark, serious" and "gritty" take on the series, a back to basics reboot that was free of "vibrant...

kotaku.com

 

[Sign My Guestbook!]

a back to basics reboot that was free of "vibrant, saturated colors."

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I mean...

 

[Deleted member 23893]

Ed Boon: We Scrapped Mortal Kombat 8

At last year's Midway Gamers Day, Mortal Kombat co-creator and series overlord Ed Boon talked up the then-unnamed eighth entry in the franchise. Boon described Mortal Kombat 8 at the time as "very dark, serious" and "gritty" take on the series, a back to basics reboot that was free of "vibrant...

kotaku.com

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That's interesting. I had never seen that, and going into MK9 I had that quote about Gears inspiration in my head.

Then a week before the MK9 reveal, that super gritty short film appeared on YouTube. I was CONVINCED that that's what was about to be revealed in game form.

 

[microtransaction]

The (cancelled) reboot character sketches were super interesting...

 

[Gundam]

The (cancelled) reboot character sketches were super interesting...

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That Sonys design is pretty awful. I guess on the same tier as awful for the PS2 era and in some ways not as bad as MK9 Sonya, but oof. Is that a spike glove???

Raiden looks okay, definitely a weird take, and Scorpion more or less kinda looks the same? In hindsight stuff like his IJ costume is more outlandish.

Kano is kinda dumb here too.

 

[microtransaction]

That Sonys design is pretty awful. I guess on the same tier as awful for the PS2 era and in some ways not as bad as MK9 Sonya, but oof. Is that a spike glove???

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Sonya, the daughter of a Texas Ranger who's sex appeal weakens her opponents while her Special Forces training kicks their asses.

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Yeah, but check out Raiden's hat. Personally, I think Scorpin's looks are pretty neat. "...wearing the yellow blood of the demon that helped him resurrect[ed]" the artist claims.

 

[Deleted member 19533]

The (cancelled) reboot character sketches were super interesting...

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What's most interesting is that, in a clean slate reboot, they'd want to bring back Sonya and Kano. Those characters desperately need a break.

Yeah, but check out Raiden's hat. Personally, I think Scorpin's looks are pretty neat. "...wearing the yellow blood of the demon that helped him resurrect[ed]" the artist claims.

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It looks like it may be where they got the idea for the revenents from. I think that's really the most interesting thing here. So, it looks like some of this may have carried over into X and beyond in some form.

 

[Gigi A]

It's called MKvsDC :^)

 

[lazygecko]

I mean...

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Boy, am I glad that original pitch for the visuals never panned out. MK9 looks super vibrant, and came out at a time when "brown and gritty" was hitting its absolute peak in the industy. Ironically MKX did a hard pivot to that desaturated look in 2015 just when the industry was starting to get over that phase.

 

[SinkFla]

What's most interesting is that, in a clean slate reboot, they'd want to bring back Sonya and Kano. Those characters desperately need a break.
It looks like it may be where they got the idea for the revenents from. I think that's really the most interesting thing here. So, it looks like some of this may have carried over into X and beyond in some form.

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Man I agree with the break part. Personally in the next game I think they should both be left out. I also think it's stupid they introduced Kombat Kids and then in the next game they include neither the parent (Kenshi) or the child (Takeda). There's so much good shit you can do with Takeda and his backstory and they just completely abandoned him after giving him so much development X. I just don't get it and I always find myself disappointed in MK rosters these days. It's like they intentionally want them to be one step away from greatness lol.

 

[Khanimus]

The (cancelled) reboot character sketches were super interesting...

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Sonya has had a lot of terrible designs over the years, but this one takes the cake.

That Raiden and Scorpion are great though.

 

[Deleted member 19533]

Man I agree with the break part. Personally in the next game I think they should both be left out. I also think it's stupid they introduced Kombat Kids and then in the next game they include neither the parent (Kenshi) or the child (Takeda). There's so much good shit you can do with Takeda and his backstory and they just completely abandoned him after giving him so much development X. I just don't get it and I always find myself disappointed in MK rosters these days. It's like they intentionally want them to be one step away from greatness lol.

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You're not alone. I feel 11 is decent roster wise, but it was missing some major characters and included others I wasn't a fan of at all. X I felt had a fairly poor roster due to such focus on the special forces and introducing way too many new characters in general, with most being pretty bad. MK also has some underutilized characters that could make great additions if re-imagined. They shouldn't try to just pump out so many new characters when they have so many good ones they already don't use.

I'll admit they turned Cassie and Jacqui around though in 11. But Ferra/Torr should have never existed.

The Kombat Kids I thought were going to end up being replacing their parents, but seeing Jacquie and Cassie with their parents again was mind blowing to me. Takeda should have made the roster.

 

[lazygecko]

Sonya has had a lot of terrible designs over the years, but this one takes the cake.

That Raiden and Scorpion are great though.

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I think the MK9 one is actually worse. This is a pretty bog standard skimp design. The massive cleavage bra-less kevlar vest in MK9 looks so profoundly stupid I just roll my eyes every time I see it.