Mortal Kombat: 10 Craziest Features We STILL Can't Believe

Despite their multitudes of strengths, one of the generally accepted weaknesses attributed to fighting games is the story. Generally, this isn't a terrible critique: after all, the fighting games make their money with precise, innovative gameplay, rather than an intriguing narrative. Having flirted with the concept in Mortal Kombat: Deception, the reboot of the series went all-in on bringing story to the Mortal Kombat universe.

Boasting a complex story (that was, of course, riddled with plot-holes), the ninth iteration of the series sees a corrupted Raiden send a warning to his past self prior to the events of the first Mortal Kombat game. Armed with fragments of knowledge designed to prevent the events of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Raiden's flawed interpretation of these visions reshapes canonical events in a wholly new way.

Suddenly, Kung Lao defeats Goro, only to be killed by Shao Khan. Sub-Zero, rather than Smoke, is changed into a Cybernetic Lin-Kuei. Kintaro burns Kabal, leading him to be a hero rather than a villain.

All of this culminates with a horrible accident, in which Liu Kang is accidentally killed by Raiden.

No other franchise, not Street Fighter, nor Tekken, nor Soul Calibur, dared to even attempt to weave such an engrossing thread.

Supported by full animations, a robust, fully voice-acted cast and a barrage of twists and turns, Mortal Kombat suddenly became the fighting franchise to give players a reason to have their avatars compete in deadly battles.