Newbie here. What's the best place to start playing Mortal Kombat games?

[DetectiveLizard]

Hi this game looks sweet but are there any games in the series I should play beforehand or can I just jump into the newest instalment first without knowing anything? I mean this in both a gameplay and story perspective. Granted the story in fighting games don't usually matter much but I'd still like to know if there's anything I need to know? Maybe there is something worth sinking my teeth into? Any help would be much appreciated and I thank you in advance.

[Csumbi]

start with MK9, then MKX.
MK9 is the best MK game to date.

[Get Out]

Mortal Kombat 9 Rebooting 1-2-3
Mortal Kombat X Rebooting 4
Mortal Kombat 11 Continuation of the story

MK9 and MKX are reboots of the old stories , i highly recommend to play those two games to get a clearer vision of the lore , characters , and the entire plot.

I agree with the guy above me.

[ele]

MK2 will always be the best.

[algae]

You can easily Watch the MK9 and MKX stories on youtube. Theyre basically movies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jtu6z2tLdLA
Here's the MK9 story if you wanna sit and watch it. It's movie length so grab popcorn.

One thing to keep in mind, is that MK9 reboots the entire franchise, but it still mentions the old games by calling them the 'old timeline'. In MK9 (which is basically where the story starts), Raiden is tries to change history and ends up changing the timeline.

So you have the OLD TIMELINE, and now you have the NEW timeline MK9, MKX, MK11.

You only need to play (or watch the story on youtube) of MK9, MKX. You'll learn what happened in both timelines as you go.

Example: If you watch the latest MK11 trailer.. you'll see young LuiKang and Kung Lao, and then it shows other grey versions of them. The Grey versions are revenants (theyre dead and are now evil). They died in MK9. And the Young ones were brought from the old games (old timeline) to help with the fight.

Same with kano. The bald kano is from the past, and the Hairy kano is from the present. But yeah just start with MK9 and it'll explain everything.

[Darth Darth Binks]

Originally posted by ele:

MK2 will always be the best.

I half accept that the 9 have timline to mk 2 so also relevant to include

[CoolINaturrBoy]

MK9 was my first :)
so I think u should start with that ? Then MKX then 11 ? If your here for story . Or follow what “AlgaeEater” said :)

[Silenti7]

Gameplay wise, I recommend MK9 as MKX is more rushdown style than what the new game will focus on.

[Ouroboros]

There are a lot of youtubers who make videos summarizing the stories of the games. It's worth while to have a little bit of knowledge of the original games that came before MK9.

MK9 is a 'reboot'... but not in the purest sense. The games that came before 9 are still relevant because now the story is about time travel and alternate timelines and stuff like that (no spoilers, its the very first scene in MK9).

But that first scene in MK9 is the last moment of the previous game (armageddon), and all the events which lead through the original series up to that moment are still sort of relevant. History Behind The Warrior is one such channel.

Another option is to check out Mortal Kombat Legacy, they are a mini series from Machinima which is all on youtube. Episodes on Scorpion vs Sub Zero, and the episodes about Kitana and Mileena will help you understand more of those character backstories which will get left out in summaries of the series.

I would say, if you want a lot of lore, I would watch Mortal Kombat Legacy season 1 and 2, and then check out some game series summary videos from content creators like History Behind the Warrior. And then, pick your favourite characters, and the major villains, and watch videos about them too. (History of Shang Tsung, History of Shao Kahn, History of Quan Chi, and History of Shinnok).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK80-0Fj-DQ

[Ouroboros]

In terms of gameplay, if you are new to all things fighting games, and not just mortal kombat, its useful to learn about 'frame data' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vEn8x1TcDU

[ExplosiveBolts]

MK2

[DetectiveLizard]

Alright then. I shall start with MK9 then. It looks quite fun. Thanks for all of your answers.

[maskedlord76]

Originally posted by EvilDetectiveLizard:

Alright then. I shall start with MK9 then. It looks quite fun. Thanks for all of your answers.

MK9 is definitely the best, both for a starting point but also as a game

[Shaoh_Kahn]

MK11 is shaping up to be the easiest / shallowest entry the series. As such, you can start here -- even button mashing will give you "super mover" every round (@ 30% HP), and the gory finishers will have a "princess" input scheme (likely just one or two buttons) -- meaning, you can mash them out too. You won't even need to learn combinations... or create any new neural pathways whatsoever! 🎈

MK11 will be the Mortal Kombat that non-MK players will play. Maybe even SJW players with play it. MK12 will probably more resemble 'My Little Pony' than Mortal Kombat...

[Silenti7]

Originally posted by AutomaticRifleReborn:

Originally posted by Shaoh_Kahn:

MK11 is shaping up to be the easiest / shallowest entry the series.

Complete BS. You didn't play the beta. You have no ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ idea what you're talking about. If your troll arse is actually interested in this game and ends up buying it, you're up for a rude shock in that regard.

The rest of your post is the usual off-tangent waffle that isn't worth addressing.

This guy is out just trolling every MK topic. He is just a sad kid. Better to just ignore him.