Summary
The story ofMortal Kombat 1continues on Jun 19, 2025, with theKhaos Reignsexpansion, beginning Year Two of the game’s life cycle. The story has become a large part of Mortal Kombat mythology, from the backstories of many characters to the twists and turns said stories take to the lore featured across mystical realms.
While fighting is always going to be the main selling point in anyMortal Kombatgame, some come for the epic storylines and characters. Some stories have become iconic, rivaling some of the best movie universes, while the community has rightfully forgotten some.
10Mortal Kombat: Special Forces
Behind The Scenes Issues Resulted In A Dull Spin-Off
Due to budget cuts and developers leaving the project, including the series' co-creator John Tobias,Mortal Kombat: Special Forceswas reduced to a lackluster spin-off which most fans disown. The story was also affected, as it was originally going to focus on Jax Briggs and Sonya Blade on their own adventure in Earthrealm, but Sonya was cut entirely from the game.
The final product ofMortal Kombat: Special Forcesisa bare-bones beat-em-upand the story is equally lacking. It boils down to Jax taking down criminals one by one until he defeats the entire Black Dragon gang, and the story ends. If the game overall was fun to play, it would be excusable, but it is considered one of the worst Mortal Kombat games ever made.
Using FMV cutscenes,Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zerowas technically the first game in the series to have an actual narrative, focused on Sub-Zero. Sadly, it is almost one of the more maligned games due to its poorly executed controls and infuriating difficulty that often forces players to cheat for unlimited lives to progress.
As for the story itself, it is clear that the developers at Midway at the time were ambitious and put a lot of effort into their work.The full-motion video cutscenesfeatured lore and new characters that became commonplace in future games such as Quan Chi. However, less than stellar voice acting, green screen, and script combined with vexing gameplay hold backMortal Kombat Mythologies.
DespiteMortal Kombat: Armageddonbeing intended to be theAvengers: Endgameof Mortal Kombat games, featuring every playable character in the franchise up to that point, the story did not focus on any of them. Instead, the main protagonist ofArmageddonis Taven, an original character who interacts with multipleMortal Kombatcharacters as he traverses the realms.
There is fun to be had, from exploring different locations to fighting hordes of enemies, but theArmageddonstory mode known as Konquest is often criticized. Taven is considered a dull protagonist and the story has little-to-no surprises for the player other than certain iconic characters appearing for only one chapter.
Technically,Mortal Kombat: Deceptionis the first mainline game to feature a fully fleshed-out story mode. It also focuses on an original character named Shujinko. Unlike Taven, Shujinko’s story is better woven into the fabric of theMortal Kombatuniverse, since he spends his life working with and being trained by famous characters.
Deception also featured semi-open worlds with a day and night cycle, where certain side missions can be obtained or completed at certain times of the day. Not only did it make the realms more engaging to explore, but it was vital to unlock skins and characters. Sadly,even for a PS2-era game, the voice acting is some of the worst in theMortal Kombatfranchise.
Despite gameplay that is far from the best in the franchise,Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universeestablished multiple aspects that would become mainstays in future games. For example, chapters focusing on certain characters began with this eighth game and have been the standard ever since, and it was the gamethat led to theInjusticegamesby DC.
With all that said, the story, which is split into two campaigns: one withMortal Kombatcharacters and the other with DC characters, is ambitious yet undercooked at the same time.Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universesuffers from rapid tonal shifts that don’t always clash well, and the crossover is unintentionally silly, but sometimes that leads to enjoyable cheesy moments.
It was a bold move to swap from a traditional fighting gameto a hack-and-slash clone ofGod Of War, but it allowedMortal Kombat: Shaolin Monksto experiment with something different. It was the first spin-off to be well-received and has gone on to be a beloved entry in the franchise, not just because of its gameplay, but also its story.
With one or two players able to control Liu Kang and Kung Lao, Shaolin Monkstakes place between the first two games and then tells the story ofMortal Kombat IIfrom the perspective of the titular character. Cheesy line delivery aside, the story was mostly effective in fleshing out bridging the two games.
AfterMortal Kombat 9altered the timeline forever,Mortal Kombat Xhad free rein to go in any direction, and it did just that, jumping ahead twenty years. This allowed for the inclusion of multiple new characters, like Cassie Cage, Takeda Takahashi, Kotal Kahn, and D’Vorah, with many legacy characters still around.
The mix of new and old characters allowedMortal Kombat Xto shine, as character allegiances were constantly in flux. It made the individual subplots for each chapter thrilling to experience, with constant twists and turns. However, the main plot about the return of Lord Shinnok as the main villain is the least impressive part of what is considered a top-tierMortal Kombatgame.
The first game made under Netherrealm Studios went in a direction that was necessary after fans were less than thrilled withArmageddon. Thanks to time travel,Mortal Kombat, AKAMortal Kombat 9went back to the beginning of the timeline and retold the story of the first three Mortal Kombat games, with new twists and turns to create an altered timeline.
Mortal Kombat 9 is a prime example of less is more, with a smallerroster filled with iconic characters, a simpler story, and a return to classic 2D fighting after the previous games tried 3D movement. It was the first time the Mortal Kombat story mode felt like an interactive movie, with the chapters focusing on different characters. It was praised for developing characters and immersing the player in the universe.
With Liu Kang being the new Keeper Of Time inMortal Kombat 1, he restarts everything back to the very dawn of time, allowing him to craft an entirely new lore and timeline. There is a healthy balance of what fans loved, includingJohnny Cage being the show-stealing comic reliefand the mysticism of Outworld and Earth combined with plenty of new.
WhileMortal Kombat 1does have its critics, the story is mostly praised for taking bold steps, whether it is Scorpion and Sub-Zero being brothers or bringing undeveloped characters into the spotlight.Mortal Kombat 1also taps into the overused trope of including a multiverse concept, but it’s executed better than other franchises, with effective twists and turns that homage over thirty years ofMortal Kombatgames and even the movies.
Combined with itsAftermathexpansion,Mortal Kombat 11goes even further with time travel to have the past and future collide. This results in more traditional characters, new characters, and altered legacy characters meeting and fighting, sometimes with or against each other, for a spectacular finale of the trilogy.
AsMortal Kombat 9andMortal Kombat Xdid, the eleventh entry continues to add new lore and characters. Along with some fun nostalgia bait, including the return of Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa as Shang Tsung,Mortal Kombat 11was the culmination of two timelines that resulted in a massive climax that mixes action, drama, fantasy, sci-fi, and many other genres.
