The 10 BIGGEST Changes in Mortal Kombat 1

Script written by Ty Richardson

10 Biggest Changes in Mortal Kombat 1

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at the 10 most drastic changes in “Mortal Kombat 1”!

Liu Kang & Raiden

For decades, we saw the Elder God and monk hold a beautiful and respectful relationship as mentor and apprentice. Though Raiden does relinquish his powers to Liu Kang at the end of MK11, it left us wondering what would become of Raiden. Well, in Liu Kang’s new timeline, we see a simple reverse of the roles; the monk is now the mentor while the Elder God is now the apprentice. Interestingly enough, both exchange their character traits and attitudes, too. On top of that, Raiden proves his strength and becomes the winner of the tournament. Speaking of which…

The Rules of Mortal Kombat

Previous timelines depicted the tournament as a test for survival. Warriors from across six realms - Earthrealm, Outworld, Chaosrealm, Orderrealm, Netherrealm, and Edenia - would fight for their realm’s protection. Those defeated would not only lose their lives, but also risk their realms in getting conquered. In Liu Kang’s timeline in MK1, the tournament is completely rewritten. Rather than a fight for survival, the tournament is now a fun joust between Earthrealm and Outworld, formed by Liu Kang and former Outworld ruler King Jerrod. And despite the game’s title, Liu Kang quickly assures Raiden that no one has died in a tournament.

The Tarkatan

In MK1, we learn that Outworld is having a bit of a crisis: Tarkat has begun spreading, turning people into cannibalistic, bloodthirsty monsters. If you never played previous MK games or didn’t pay attention to the story, Tarkat was never a thing. Instead, Baraka and his folks were Tarkatan, Outworlders who served as soldiers for Shao Kahn and were fused from Outworld and Netherrealm races. But after the first timeline reset in MKX, Baraka implies that Shao Kahn had conquered his realm. Whether that means he and his people are from one of the aforementioned realms or a completely different realm was never clarified prior to MK1’s reset.

Shao Kahn

While we’re on the subject of Shao Kahn, MK1 provides an interesting window into the Outworld emperor in a life where he never held the throne. Honestly, we were surprised Liu Kang even allowed him in the new era at all. This time, he is simply a general, serving under Sindel with Reiko as his right-hand man. Of course, we quickly learn that just because he’s had a change in job title, that does not mean he is completely purged of any evil intent.

Sindel

We have always known Sindel as the wife of King Jerrod, mother of Kitana, and the queen that would marry Shao Kahn against her will, get killed, revived, and then, brainwashed into being evil. MK1 gives her a slightly better life as the ruler of Outworld, and she has shown to be a just and fair queen. As we mentioned earlier, though, not all is right as the Tarkat disease runs rampant and Shao Kahn is conspiring against her.

Havik

We honestly weren’t expecting Havik to get such a massive rewrite let alone allowed into Liu Kang’s new timeline. This dude was almost pure evil during his time as a Chaosrealm resident. Everywhere he went, he wanted madness to take over, send people into a frenzy and begin attacking anything and everything around. But in MK1…that’s all done away. Well, at least until the next game if that mid-credits scene is anything to go by. Havik is no longer a denizen of Chaosrealm, but a disgruntled citizen of Seido, aka Orderrealm.

Li Mei

The older MK games gave Li Mei drastically different roles before MK1. Before the first reset, she and her people were captured and forced to build Shang Tsung’s palace. Li Mei had entered the tournament in hopes of freeing her people before getting killed off in the events of “Armageddon”. She would appear in the second timeline in MKX and give intel to Special Forces as to the power Mileena held with Shinnok’s amulet. MK1 makes her role more significant as she leads the royal guard of Outworld, the Umgadi. Unfortunately, one mistake that resulted in King Jerrod’s death has painted a target on her back.

Johnny Cage

Johnny Cage - action movie superstar from Hollywood! That’s the Johnny we’ve known for decades, the same smarmy, smack-talking ass-kicker since 1992. Well, the Johnny we see in MK1 is almost nothing like the original. Yes, he does spit quips and dumb movie references and views himself as the best actor in Hollywood. However, he is washed-up, having lived his golden years and refusing to accept that he is in a financial crisis. Also, he’s Jean-Claude Van Damme.

The 3D Era Storylines

Now, it was interesting to see the second timeline completely ignore the events of “Deadly Alliance”, “Deception”, and “Armageddon” (well, for the most part). Not only does MK1 bring back a ton of favorites from those games like Nitara, Li Mei, Havik, and Reiko, it does attempt to mash all three into a single story. You have the “Deadly Alliance” between Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, the “Deception” of a mysterious benefactor known only as Damashi, and a climactic battle on a massive pyramid. But does this all lead to yet another timeline reset?

Timeline Rules

Yes and no. Rather than give us a brand new, original story with characters in completely different roles with different motives, MK1 wedged in a whole new set of rules to its world. (This is why you just don’t do time-travel.) Apparently, Kronika’s defeat in MK11 rippled what was once a single timeline into a litany of timelines, each one seeing a different character taking Kronika’s place and birthing new mash-ups of various characters. In other words, everyone is a Titan, everyone can time-travel, no one truly dies, and the story will never end.

Which change surprised you the most? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more Mortal Kombat videos!