Mortal Kombat 1 Log

So, here we are. Mortal Kombat 1… It’s been a really weird couple of months, but we are finally here.

This article will be a sort of liveblog/reaction to everything that goes down. Mostly me just putting down my thoughts as I play to try and document what I’m thinking as things are going along.
It’s not really intended to be a review, more just me processing and reacting to things. I may put some deeper thoughts at points that seem like reviews, but other than that, this isn’t really me trying to sway anyone either way on what it’s like.

WARNING
This log will not be free of spoilers, and will, in fact, be very heavy on the spoiler front!
If you have not played the game and wish to remain spoiler free, please do not continue reading this article.

Story Mode

Waiting For The Game To Actually Let Me Play It

09:32 - Alright, let’s see if I can actually play yet, or if I am indeed gonna have to wait til 6 lmfao.

09:33 - It looks like I can’t :(

09:44 - You know damn well I’m gonna be trying periodically through the day anyway lmfao.

09:54 - NGL I dunno what to do with myself now. I kinda set up my entire day on the grounds I was gonna be playing it all day :(

10:32 - *grumbles* shoulda gotten a physical copy *grumble grumble*

12:07 - Despite knowing it’s futile… I keep clicking on MK1 to see if I can play it yet (spoiler: I can not 😭)

12:44 - I don’t even know if I’ll be able to play the story to completion tonight, it’s about 4 hours long if the youtube vid is right and I don’t know if that accounts for the inclusion of the fights themselves, and doesn’t account for me trying to write notes here as I go :\

13:32 - Captains log: I am going insane and gonna start eating my own hands at this rate. I just wanna play this game :(

14:44 - I am genuinely just like… ready to crack and just watch the story on youtube at this point 😐 Like I won’t, but that fact I could do that is infuriating.

14:55 - Hopefully only just over an hour until I can start downloading the Day 1 Patch at least. :/

15:11 - I’ll probably wait a lil bit past 4 to wait and see if the Day 1 Patch will download, just to account for anything that may go wrong. I hope to god it actually starts downloading :/

15:13 - I love how so far this log is just me going “LET ME IN! LET ME IIIINNN!!!”

15:28 - Honestly I feel bad for anyone trying to avoid spoilers until the 19th, like you all have my fucking respect man. 🫡

16:02 - OH THE PATCH ACTUALLY STARTED AUTOMATICALLY UPDATING! I misjudged the time it was dropping by about 30 minutes lmfao.

16:14 - The question now is, that this patch has about 20 minutes left to download. Will I be able to play the game before 6, or will it still lock me out? Guess we’ll find out lol.

16:32 - 8 minutes until the download finishes, let’s go.

16:38 - 3 minutes, aaaaa will it let me play the game? We’ll see.

16:41 - 🙃

16:42 - Another hour’s wait it is then lmfao.

17:42 - Looks like I’m gonna have to wait until after dinner now. 😭 At least hopefully when I’m done eating, the game will be ready for me lol.

Story Mode

18:04 - *Hacker voice* I’m IN!

18:10 - Doing the tutorial more to make sure the gameplay runs alright.

18:18 - Game runs fine, and honestly? Doesn’t look that bad? Maybe it’s just cuz I’m on hand held mode. Gonna finish the basic tutorial and then hop into story mode :)

18:27 - Oh I just got this weird graphics glitch where Bi-Han’s clothes are attached to Johnny’s crotch LMFAO

18:28 - Story time :)

18:30 - Alan Lee is absolutely channeling Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and I’m living for it.

18:31 - Hate that I actually feel kinda sorry for Shang Tsung… And by hate I mean love lmfao.

18:32 - Yeah having my MK1 replay a week or so ago, I really appreciate Kronika’s design in this one now. She just looks so much better.

18:35 - Madame Bo :)

18:37 - Liu watching with his stupid hood on lmfao.

18:38 - But no really, the in game graphics really aren’t that bad from what I see? I think the day 1 patch must have fixed them.

18:40 - Smoke!!!

18:41 - Honestly watching this again, Smoke is really hamming up his performance at this bit lmfao. So overdramatic lol.

18:44 - Only gameplay complaint I have so far is I feel like the hitboxes could use some work? Sometime it feels like I’m right next to a character but my hits aren’t landing?

18:45 - Bi-Han and Kuai Liang’s entrances are pretty good lmfao.

18:46 - I am starting to notice more graphical glitches with clothes tho. Not so much it effects gameplay or anything so that’s good. Hopefully that’ll be something they can patch out in time :)

18:48 - *BONK*

18:52 - I love that Madame Bo just got up and started having a smoke lmfao.

18:53 - Lmao Bi-Han’s annoyed grunt when Lao was like “lol we beat you :)”

18:55 - LMAO Johnny as Indiana Jones

18:56 - This is gonna be a movie scene isn’t it?

19:09 - Nooooo Adam!!! My favourite Mortal Kombat Character! :’(

19:11 - GHSGIOHRDG BITCH I KNEW IT.

19:17 - Oh okay, Johnny tying Kenshi up lol. I see why people are shipping them lol

19:18 - Liu Kang arriving at Johnny’s house by ringing the doorbell is the fucking greatest way he could have appeared in this scene. I like to think Bi-Han was really pissed about this as well, with both Liu and Kuai insisting they try knocking while Bi-Han just wants to kick the door down.

19:21 - Awwww Kuai is so baby 🥺 “Was that necessary brother?”

19:23 - No I love Kuai He’s so cute omfg

19:26 - Raiden is also baby.

19:28 - LMAO Liu Kang rolling his eyes when Johnny is boasting. Me too Liu Kang, Me too.

19:30 - Omg the slowmo as Kenshi and Johnny pass each other, like holy shit.

19:40 - Man… Seeing Mileena almost happy is… Just… Nice 🥺 I’m gonna be so sad when her illness starts to take more effect.

19:46 - Oof, Sindel, that’s a bit catty don’t cha think? I mean granting Li Mei kinda failed at protecting your husbands life, so I get it, maybe lol.

19:49 - Oh I just noticed the announcer at this bit is Sindel! That’s really cool! Also time to beat up Reiko :)

19:55 - Man, Shao’s little tantrum is kinda funny lol.

19:56 - “The sorcerer’s prophecy”? SHANG WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW? lmao

19:58 - Nooooo stop being mean to Mileena :(

20:25 - yyyeeeaaahhh monster mouth Mileena lets goooooo!

20:26 - NGL… Kenshi kinda deserved that lmfao.

20:28 - YEEEESSSSSSSSS THE BASTARD HAS ARRIVED!!!! COME HERE QUAN CHI AND LET ME SMOOCH YOU 💕

20:29 - Oh wait, Quan Chi is the Sorcerer, lmao sorry Shang for throwing you under the bus on that one lol.

20:34 - Oh Okay, Johnny has a life debt to Kenshi now, yep, okay, that’s very gay lmfao.

20:35 - Ayyyyy Syzoth!!

20:36 - Johnny then proceeds to tenderly put Kenshi’s blindfold on him lmfao.

20:38 - Why’s no one helping Kenshi 😂 They just letting him get his ass kicked in the background!

20:42 - Omg I genuinely wasn’t sure then if that fight was meant to be going on that long lmfao 😂 I thought my game glitched!

20:45 - Honestly ngl it’s really cool to see Baraka get his own chapter after years of being a jobber :) Kinda makes me happy for him. Helps he’s also kinda fun to play as ngl haha

20:50 - ooof Shang is so evil i love him

20:51 - For a button masher I am bad at mashing buttons lmfao.

20:53 - ASHRAH!!!!!!!

20:58 - God she’s so hot I am going to die, you can’t do this to me Ed Boon.

20:59 - Ooof Reptile doing the thing with his tongue lol.

21:00 - Oooop there he is again 💕 I love this bastard.

21:01 - SAREENA!!!!

21:02 - … Man they really went hard on Johnny and Kenshi being as gay as possible didn’t they? Lol.

21:04 - I dunno how I feel about Megan Fox. Idk she’s a lil… flat :(

21:06 - oop it’s a soulnado.

21:07 - Fuck you Johnny I said it first!

21:08 - Jesus, Ermac OP as fuck!

21:13 - HAHHAHAHA Kenshi having build up to be the hero of the day only to immediately get his ass kicked. Sweetie I’m sorry, it’s really fun to dunk on you.

21:16 - Ooop, there it is, Quan Chi’s white skin. Nice.

21:19 - “I’ve never had a home. That would be wonderful.” ASHRAH BABY I’M GONNA FUCKING CRY 😭😭😭

21:22 - Oof, Mileena and Tanya. I love it.

21:24 - Syzoth: *goes invisible* Literally everyone: Whoa! Kenshi: … I have no idea what just happened...

21:35 - Johnny punching Goro for like no reason is so mean 😭

21:36 - Liu not being subtle about the alternate timelines thing 🙄

21:39 - Geras I swear, please don’t betray everyone I actually like you this game TT_TT

21:40 - Wow… Bi-Han stop being a dick to your brother, just cuz you got a weird inferiority complex.

21:41 - LIN KUEI ROAD TRIP TIME!!!

21:42 - “Does our father’s ghost possess you? All I hear is his voice.” BI-HAN STOP BEING A DICK TO KUAI LIANG HE’S YOUR BABY BROTHER.

21:44 - Yeeeaahhh. Sorry Megan Fox but… Your Nitara ain’t it, sis. :(

21:47 - Whoops, Bi-Han just got his arms ripped off 😅

21:48 - WTF why’s this so hard to do????

21:49 - What the hell I actually got it up but it didn’t work!

21:50 - I hate this bit… I’m taking a toilet break and coming back to it lol.

21:53 - Ayyy I did it! And Bi-Han only lost his arms like… 3 or 4 times! Lol

21:56 - Aw, Bi-Han actually showing some form of concern for his brothers 🥺 I know in my heart it’s gonna end badly, but at least I get some cute moments between them before it goes to shit.

22:01 - Oh no Kuai getting buried by a pile of gold 😂😭

22:04 - Oof not Kuai and Bi-Han on their knees with their hands tied behind their back, I’m pretty sure I’ve written this fanfic 😳

22:05 - :( I know Bi-Han’s gonna take it but I really don’t want him to lol.

22:06 - Okay, well… If Geras did turn out to be the villain after this, it’d be weird.

22:07 - Nooooo, stop being mean to Kuai Liang!!!

22:12 - Shang Tsung about Kuai Liang: He is a feisty one. Me: Hng… Hng… HHnnnnggg…

22:18 - Okay Kuai Liang being why Havik’s face is like that was not on my bingo card.

22:21 - Bi-Han ominously looming in the background of what one scene is way more sinister now lmfao.

22:22 - KUAI GOT HIS SCAR! KUAI GOT HIS SCAR ON SCREEN I AM FUCKING WINNING!!!!

22:23 - Y’know… For all Bi-Han’s faults and dickery… He does at the least seem to want Kuai by his side… Which… For Bi-Han, is rather sweet.

22:27 - “Her essence is not of this timeline” BITCH I KNEW IT IT’S FUCKIN’ TITAN SHANG FROM THE AFTERMATH ENDING! IT’S GOT TO BE!

22:28 - OH IT’S GOTTA BE! IT’S GOTTA BE IT HOLY SHIT!

22:44 - Oof, Li Mei and Sindel havin a moment there.

22:50 - Ooooh, Shinnok’s amulet hmm?

22:57 - Will I finish the story before I need to go sleepy? Idk, let’s find out lol

22:59 - Awwww, Sindel, Mileena and Kitana hug 🥺

23:00 - STOP THE PRESSES WE GOT A MILEENA CHAPTER! I GOT A MILEENA CHAPTER MY LIFE IS FUCKING COMPLETE, HOLY SHIT!

23:04 - “No Tanya, stay down. This time I protect you.” EEFBBSROGRBDOGBDO!!!!!!!!!

23:08 - Sindel’s face when she see’s Jerrod tho 🥺

23:10 - YES MILEENA WORK IT QUEEN!

23:14 - BITCH I FUCKING KNEW IT!!!!!! TITAN SHANG I FUCKING CALLED IT!

23:16 - Call me the queen of Mortal Kombat because I fucking called this shit!

23:22 - nooooo sindel!!!

23:25 - Sindel dying is sad, but man Mileena kinda winning for once is so nice, I’m so happy she’s actually been thrown a bone in this one.

23:28 - Good guy Geras 💕 I love to see it.

23:32 - oof, can I get Shang’s timelines Bi-Han’s outfit as a skin, cuz it’s looking fuckin fineeeee.

23:33 - Lmao, Shang still tryin’ to get in Kuai’s pants. Quan Chi too kinda lmao.

23:44 - “Size isn’t all that matters” I beg your pardon Shang Tsung????

23:45 - Mannn these dark skins are glitchy af, I hope they fix that.

23:46 - I think this is the final chapter :) I might actually finish this today lol

23:48 - Awwwww, this Liu and Kitana reunion is kinda sweet.

23:51 - Honestly, can I just say I really like the contrast of Kronika’s space where she kept the hourglass and Liu Kang/Geras? It’s a lot more homely now.

00:02 - I think my game glitched why can I hear fighting??? Lmfao.

00:03 - Oh okay it stopped lmfao.

00:04 - Anyway, let’s go Kuai! Let’s save the universe!!!

00:05 - SCORP LAO! 😭

00:07 - QUAN CHILL!?!?!?!

00:08 - Okay Imma have to write fanfic about Quan Chill lol

00:15 - NOT QUANTUM CHI AS WELL LMFAO

00:18 - Oooh was that a good Quan Chi and Shang Tsung 👀 It kinda looked like it.

00:19 - And they immediately died :( RIP.

00:27 - Mileena being the queen of outworld! Also good job on Kuai setting up the Shirai Ryu.

00:29 - Annnddd it’s the end!!! TT__TT I know there is another ending (maybe?) but that’ll be a task for tomorrow! As will everything else. I’ll wait see if there’s anything after the credits and then I’m off to bed ✌🏻

00:31 - fucking KNEW there would be an after credit scene!

00:33 - Oh. Holy shit. Lord Havik? … Alright. Lmao.

Tower Endings

Scorpion - Okay, Harumi as an actual warrior is everything I need in life lmfao. Nothing really too much to say tbh, it’s about what I expected. Seeing Harumi kicking ass after all these years is really good. I am the Harumi defence squad, and I need her as DLC or a Kameo or something!

Smoke - Hahahaha Kuai and Harumi doing a double face palm, I kinda love that they are both sharing a braincell. The child Hanzo stuff is still weird ngl (and that for me still stems from Harumi & Invasion Scorpion’s storyline more than anything else lol), but I’m pretty at peace with it at this point. It’s very… whatever to me lmao. Like honestly at this point I have a mild distaste for it, rather than any sort of major upset, and tbh this is exactly what fix-it fic is for so 👍🏻 My only major issue, is that if they go ahead with this as canon, I can see a very very obvious pathway forward into the next game (Hanzo grows up, Kuai Liang dies, Hanzo takes on the mantle of Scorpion to honour and avenge him). It’s like the most glaring pathway they could take, and Idk for a new era that’s meant to be mixing shit up, I don’t like that lmfao. Maybe I’m just salty my dream of a wandering nomad samurai Hanzo didn’t come true? Probably also helps that I wrote some SubScorp fic earlier this week and realised I feel absolutely no different over it, which has helped me realise this really is not a big deal to me.

Sub Zero - Okay. Not gonna lie, I am not as mad about this one as a lot of people seem to be either. Mostly because it seems despite Bi-Han going along with it, it seems the Cyber Initiative is still the brainchild of Sektor. I 100% expect Bi-Han to go ahead with this next game, and then for Sektor to pull the rug under him and wrestle control of the Lin Kuei from Bi-Han. Because Sektor. That bastard. Bi-Han is a bit of a dumbass for trusting him tbh, but he’s a bit of a dumbass in general so that’s nothing new. *pats Bi-Han’s head* There there, I still have hope you’ll get smarter and get redeemed somehow.

Kitana - Okay, I like the concept of General Kitana! Makes sense if she’s not gonna sit on the throne she runs the army for her sister! :) Not too much to say about this one, but seems like a somewhat happy end for Kitana for once :)

Mileena - *slams fist on the table* Mileena. Gets. A. Happy. Ending. For. Once! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! 😭 Oh my god, I adore how good this game has treated her. Her showing empathy for the Tartaken and revealing herself as having it so to get them better treatment. God, I am so fucking proud of her and her arc in this game 💕

Tanya - Alright, interesting. Does make me wonder if we’re gonna get an explanation of who murdered Jerrod tho. … Like who did murder Jerrod? Did I just black out at that bit? Anyway, yeah it’s a pretty standard ending, I don’t have much to say. Yay for Mileena making her in charge. :) Hope she stays this loyal lol.

Rain - HUH Rain regretting his actions and coming to the realisation that his ambition led him to do terrible things… Was not on my bindo card. Honestly? I like it. It’s a side of Rain we’ve never seen before. Like… it’s a shame he had to commit mass murder to realise this, but… Yeah. I like it. It’s interesting, gives a good angle for him to find redemption? I think his might be my favourite ending so far next to Mileenas?

Li Mei - Dunno what to think of this one. I suppose good on Li Mei realising she wasn’t cut out for the role and stepping down. Also the image of her looking at a book looking completely frazzled should absolutely be a reaction image lmfao.

Kenshi - SPECIAL AGENT JACKSON BRIGGS! I kinda dig the ending for that alone, Jax as like a suave and cool special agent is everything to me. This is one of those ones I don’t think will be canon, given Kenshi’s motives in the storymode, but… As a spin off what if? I kinda like the idea of like… the X-Files but with Jax as Scully and Kenshi as Mulder tbh. … *starts scribbling down fanfic ideas*

Baraka - I’m gonna say this here first: Baraka is OP. When even I can play him and do a ton of combo’s by accident you know a character is too powerful lmfao. ALSO GOOD GIRL MILEENA AGAIN lol. Love how this one ties into her ending. I do love Baraka’s arc this game too, just wanting what’s best for his kind. He’s a good boy. :) Honestly if nothing else, this game is allowing me to appreciate character’s I was very “meh” on before, like Baraka. :)

Geras - GERASSSSSS!!! 😭😭😭 Like I said above for Baraka, this game really has really allowed me to appreciate character’s I had no strong opinion on before. Geras is absolutely amongst them. He was a sweetheart in story mode, and his ending just shows what a good guy he is deep down. I’m actually so glad they gave him a second chance, they really did him right this time down. I love his deep respect and friendship with Liu Kang. You keep those other timelines at bay Geras! I believe in you 💕

Shang Tsung - Ooop, well, looks like Shang will continue to fuck shit up for the foreseeable future 😂 NGL, felt bad for him when he was about to drown, but Shang being Shang he managed to find a way to crawl away from death yet again. I love him, but wow. Lol.

General Shao - Oh my god Noooooo Shao don’t you dare hurt my baby Mileena! >:( like Shang tho, he is gonna just… continue to try fuck shit up isn’t he TT_TT

Sindel - Soooo, Sindel and Jerrod kicking ass together inside Ermac then? XD Honestly? It’s kinda nice to see Sindel love Jerrod again after what they did in MK11. I do like the fact she is a deeply flawed and imperfect queen, but I am glad they brought back her heart and her love for her family. 💕

Reiko - OOP THERE’S the tease for Onaga! I was beginning to wonder where it was! XD NGL, I was fully expecting Reiko to end up being a Jobber in his own ending… and like… I guess he kinda was since he full on goes “yeah I’m probably gonna die”. Like… Oh Reiko… You truly are the worlds punching bag aren’t you 😂 Why is this so funny? Also Reiko’s dedication to Shao has definitely passed the threshold for any sort of heterosexual explanation. Dude has it fucking down bad.

Raiden - While I’m a… little confused about Raiden’s motives here, I am so glad to see the “training” he did with Kuai Liang 👀 Yeah, training, alright boys if that’s what you wanna call it.

Liu Kang - FUUUUCCCCKKKK MAN! OH MY GOD I AM GONNA FUCKIN’ CRY 😭 oh my god. No. I’m sorry I’m not okay right now. The bond, the friendship, the trust between Liu Kang and Geras. The utter faith Liu Kang has in his faithful companion. Oh my god. That hit me so squarely in the heart. Like, holy shit I can not explain why the bond between these two suddenly means so much to me, but I swear to god it’s now the most important thing in the world. I don’t even know man. It’s just, the respect they have for one another is such a far cry from how Geras and Kronika’s relationship was. He’s found someone who truly cares deeply for him, and I don’t know, after eons of being treated as someones lesser, he’s finally found his equal. Good fucking god, well fucking played NRS. Well fucking played.

Johnny Cage - This ending was so god damn typical of a Johnny ending, like lmfao. Sure Johnny, this was allllll because Liu wanted you to make movies lol. But ALSO, ngl, the scene of them on the set is kinda cute, Mileena sitting on the chair, and then Tanya smiling while talking with Kenshi is so cute.

Kung Lao - Okay first of all, the idea of Shujinko being a threat to anything is kinda wild to me, but that’s only because of my love/hate relationship with him. Second, I’m sorry, the image of Raiden with his hands on his hips looking at Lao like a disappointed mother while Lao bows his head in shame is one of the funniest images from this game lmfao.

Reptile - Oof, so there’s some lizard conspiracy going on, that’s interesting :o … I’m curious if Khameleon or Chameleon (fucking god Mortal Kombat lmao) have something to do with this. 🤔 I mean we’ve seen Khameleon in the story mode and we’re not even sure she’s still Zaterran. Could be Chameleon? I mean, he was never much of a character anyway? Still, the plot thickens I guess.

Ashrah - Oooo, so Ashrah is responsible for Sareena’s redemption this time around. Interesting. I like it, they are cute together. I wonder if they’ll end up having a part in Bi-Han’s redemption. I mean, Bi-Han was an important part of Sareena’s redemption in previous timelines, it’d be kinda cute if the roles were flipped and we got Sareena being the reason for Bi-Han’s change of heart.

Nitara - First of all: oh Megan Fox, I actually had some hope for you. Granted her lines in her ending are probably her best delivered from what I’ve seen, but it’s still a bit on the monotone side. As for the ending itself, all I can say is YIKES. Nitara starting a human meat farm is… uncomfortable. Honestly sounds kinda like the start up to a fetish fanfic plot. ^^;;

Havik - Ah, I was kinda hoping for something more from this, it was basically just Rain’s ending again but from Havik’s POV and thus with less regret :( Honestly kinda a disappointing one to end on really lmfao 😭