I wasnt really a fan of weapons after MK4 but it was nice to see them branch out for some variations in MKX then carrying over to MK11 til the point pretty much everyone has a weapon in their default movelist
@@redjaguar6883 Pretty sure he also has those brass knuckles that transfer over from MKX to MK11 as part of his kit, but I always find that he was the only character in MK11 that dosen't have a weapon...much.
I always liked the fact that in MK4 you could drop your weapon and that it could be used be the other player. Pretty unique and ambitious feature although it was too easy to drop your weapon imho.
In reality, you could say that weapons were always there. Scorpion with his "Spear" (a Kunai) and Kano with his Knife Throw on MK1, granted, only as special moves, but they were there nonetheless.
According to Daniel Pesina when I met him at a con earlier this year, him and John Tobias had weapons as one of the more ambitious ideas for MK1, but of course, tech and memory at the time.
Surprised you didn't mention MK3 Kabal when you were going over the classic games, as he most definitely showed his hookswords quite prominently in that game, using them in his various combos and in his win pose.
Weapons are just another reason why I love Mortal Kombat so much. The way that so many characters in the series have used weapons in so many ways was so intriguing to me, and then mixing weapons with hand-to-hand Kombat (see what I did there?) was always done perfectly. That's also one of the reasons why I always preferred Soul Calibur over Tekken, I always preferred the weapon fighting in that series over the hand-to-hand fighting in Tekken.
I always loved the weapon variations in X. Always mained Cutthroat Kano, Bone Shaper Shinnok, Cryomancer Sub Zero (until they changed the one combo ender into a command grab. And I fucking despise the command grab inputs NRS loves so much) even if they weren't the best. They just felt right.
shameless 3d era fan boy chiming in, but one of my favorite features of that era was the tactics/strategy involved with knowing when to use weapons, and how some characters weapons were like their signature fighting stance (ie baraka)
I think that sub zero ice scepter (Or some variation) was in MK armageddon's konquest mode, when you're fighting people in the lin kuei temple. Wouldn't mind seeing it brought back for MK12
I love how MK4 was the first MK to introduce weapons with throwing them picking them up you could even use your opponents weapon if blocked it landed on the floor. This no doubt inspired MKX and MK 11s grabbing stuff and interacting with the environment 👌
@@davidhero1000 Yeah or N64 which was the best version of MK4 due to the 3d element. Mk 4 gets a bad rap honestly it can be played competitively too but alot of people don't know about that. Alot of those south American mk players love it like MKhanzo for example.
@@davidhero1000 haha oh nice. I didn't know you could play it on your phone? That must be fun. I know for a while there people were addicted to MKX mobile haha
Mk4 killed the arcade mk scene.. to actual players it was garbage.. nrs players will always be seen as those not talented enough to play sf… sorry but it is the truth
Weapons will always Be a Part of Mortal Kombat and I Love that they Evolve Over the Years that I Hope and Pray that the Next Game Upgrade Them Even Further as Long as it Fits the Characters.
I wish the weapons dealt more damage and effected strategy further. There's some really cool weapons animations that do the same damage as a 1-1-1 punch combo. That feels kinda off
It was more like that in MK4 and the 3D MK games. In MKX and MK11 this is reserved for the Intractables (although MK4 and the 3D games had Intractables as well, just used differently than the more recent games)
This was a pretty interesting concept for a video. Personally a Soul Calibur-like MK game sounds pretty good but that's essentially the 3D games again, at least on the surface. I think a fun gimmick for a future fighter could be the weapon equip system from the 3D games.
Curiously enough the ice staff sorta returns in mk armaggedon as one of the temporary weapons you can get, it shows up a few times in the lin kuei temple chapter
Well, the only two actual fights in the last live action movie were Hanzo vs Bi Han and Scorpion vs Sub-Zero and both were so "samuraish" that taken out of context no one will ever guess that they were MK fights. In fact, if you put both characters among samurais or other sword based martial artists, kind of like "Where's Waldo?", they both would be indistinguishable. I don't know what were they thinking. Hope next time they hire a martial art choreagrapher and some cosplayer to design the costumes.
You didn’t bring up how in MK:DA you can impale your weapons with some characters and it would sacrifice the weapon for a round but the opponent would slowly bleed out
Though they were only special moves at the time, I’d argue that MK’s weapons origins actually go as far back as Scorpion’s spear and Kano’s throwing knives in Mortal Kombat 1.
Yeah, MK2 had weapons more visible, while in MK1 it was only with Scorpion and Kano and with only 1 special each. So while it technically started with MK1, MK2 was the game that really gave the signs of things to come for the series.
And a weapon here and there was pretty common at the time in other fist-fight games. One of the “boss” fighters of _Street Fighter II,_ later playable, not only had a weapon but could be disarmed in a match.
@@PNDKM It makes me wonder about how certain special moves that involve weapons like the smg used by Jax and Stryker during the 3d era couldn't be considered as actual weapons.
The idea that those projectiles are a weapon showed up way, way later. Mundane-seeming fighters had mystical projectiles throughout the early 2D games.
For me I would've liked to have seen some of the weapons in MK11 taken further. Some characters just don't seem to use them much, where others have them as a core component. Like Shao Kahn, he uses the hammer for almost every normal and string that isn't a kick, even if it's just the butt of the hammer for a quick punch. Liu's nunchucks are in one string (b2d3) and one normal (f2) as a base, the rest is martial arts - which is fine since I've always seen him as more about hand to hand anyway. I guess I just think some of the characters don't use their weapon enough for it to feel like it's part of their fighting style.
The later Mortal Kombat games are unusual in the series overall in how often they use anything but mundane kicks/punches (even including weapon styles). Rain’s “normals” in MK1, for example.
I remember when I played MK9 as a kid the first time, I was so disappointed there were no weapon stances and then I saw the way they were integrated into the moves and I thought it was really cool
My favorite weapon system is actually from the GBA ports of Deadly Alliance, where characters have special moves that are weapon attacks which you can combo into,I Iike it when a characters have one well defined weapon attached to their personality but I'd like to be able to use it whenever I want.
Would throwing projectiles in MK 2 count as when weapons were used in MK? Or would also Scorpions Spear "and idk if Kano had the throwing knife in MK 1 also count as a "weapon" type thing/weapon projectile?"
Weapons are a main stay in Mortal Kombat, tho there are some exceptions of characters that don't often use weapons to their main core, such as Shang Tsung who uses his sorcery or Repitle with his invisibilty and acid spit even Johnny Cage who barely uses his brass knuckles that were added for him in MKX & MK11 still fights hand to hand(and his green power).
MK Armageddon is my favorite tbh. I liked the weapon variation, performing hand to hand combos and switching to the sword mid combo, air combat was awesome, CAK was fucking amazing albeit OP online.. Onaga was in it.
Soul Calibur 2 and 3 are always going to be the best of the series.. Wish they would do a full on remaster of Soul Calibur 3 it had so many game modes and introduced Zaslamel/Abyss
Extremely jealous i wasn’t around for the OG Mortal Kombat games. I go to arcade places nowadays just to try and get a better idea of the origins though.
That's funny, the gradual development of something, usually from simple to more complex, is also on my mind this week. I wonder why! Edit - really cool video! I never thought about the weapons in mk11 except when I was obsessing over customizing every character... But this is a really interesting point and exciting for the future
Hey, this video was great, but there is a whole lot more depth to cover on this topic. How about making this topic a series? Or a longer video essay? Please? Lol
I've always hated how they used weapons in MK, because they have a tendency to just make them disposable. They'll appear out of nowhere for an attack, then disappear. Kung Lao throws his hat, only for it to magically and unceremoniously reappear on his head, for example. I remember first playing the variation of Erron Black in MKX that used the sword and pulling off the move where he stabs the opponent for damage over time, wondering if it worked like the stabbing mechanic in DA (or was it Deception?) that had the opponent stabbed for the rest of the round, only to see it vanish, yet I still didn't have it back, only for it to then magically reappear another second later. In MK4, once a weapon was out you could drop it and anyone could pick it up so it was always in play from that point, but that begs the questions of where they were keeping those giant swords, and you lost it after taking a single hit. They've started doing better with Scorpion showing the swords on his back, at least. Lao is still magically regenerating hats, however. The point of a weapon-based fighter is to always have the weapon active. You don't see Nightmare throwing his sword like a projectile, or Haohmaru barehanded until he presses C.
Bro didn't mentioned how you can stab your weapon (sword) into the opponent in Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance. It was my favorite thing to do on that Game and unfortunately they took it off on Deception and Armageddon.
i think mk in 11 is pretty comparable to soul calibur bc you do have punches and kicks in those games albeit not as many as more standard fighters(barring the 2 tekken guests obv) which is kind of what mk11 does with having a lot of weapons in the moves of everyone despite the buttons still being labeled punches and kicks
If they bring back the weapon system they should make each character 2 variations that can switch just like Deadly Alliance started, The normal fighting stance AND it swiches to the Weapon stance! Therefore they don't have to worry about giving everyone 3 fighting stance AND a Fatality switch
LMAO only Cassie, Erron Black and the guests use guns. That's 7 chars out of 37, and some of them use guns in only one move. You need to get a head exam ASAP #FACTS
I dont understand why they gave shao kahn the hammer all the time as a real weapon in mk11 he did not have a hammer before just as special moves or a weapon variation in the 3d games and raiden that would make it better if he had a staff in mk 11 but he has no staff only a Special move why he looks like holding one in this game 😅
Probably for the same reason that the entirety of the later games have a lot more non-“normal” “normals” that aren’t mundane kicks and punches. It’s sort of a given you take when playing them.
I wasnt really a fan of weapons after MK4 but it was nice to see them branch out for some variations in MKX then carrying over to MK11 til the point pretty much everyone has a weapon in their default movelist
Not Johnny
@@FoolishNerve His Sunglasses lol. He throws them and it's a brutality.
@@redjaguar6883 Pretty sure he also has those brass knuckles that transfer over from MKX to MK11 as part of his kit, but I always find that he was the only character in MK11 that dosen't have a weapon...much.
@@akilcharles3473 Oh yea, brass knuckles is definitely a weapon. He also beats you with his trophy lol as a finisher.
I always liked the fact that in MK4 you could drop your weapon and that it could be used be the other player. Pretty unique and ambitious feature although it was too easy to drop your weapon imho.
In reality, you could say that weapons were always there. Scorpion with his "Spear" (a Kunai) and Kano with his Knife Throw on MK1, granted, only as special moves, but they were there nonetheless.
And MK1 Shang Tsung's sword was there at one point :)
@@dedkmk when did he have a sword throw
that's what the whole video was about, kind of a moot point
Kitana's fan, Jade's staff, Shao Khan's hammer, even Baraka's blades... granted all of these weren't in the classic
@@canevas1017 It wasn't a ranged option; in MK1, Tsung's Fatality was to decapitate the player with a sword.
According to Daniel Pesina when I met him at a con earlier this year, him and John Tobias had weapons as one of the more ambitious ideas for MK1, but of course, tech and memory at the time.
Hellyeah!
Love the Soulcalibur music used for this, weird hearing it with MK gameplay!
When it comes to weapons, man do I miss Takeda and his spiny whips and psiblades.
16:38 that glorious soul caliber theme , LOVE IT
I really liked the weapons in MK. Sub Zero, Skarlet & Sheeva from MK11 are my favorites.
Surprised you didn't mention MK3 Kabal when you were going over the classic games, as he most definitely showed his hookswords quite prominently in that game, using them in his various combos and in his win pose.
Weapons are just another reason why I love Mortal Kombat so much. The way that so many characters in the series have used weapons in so many ways was so intriguing to me, and then mixing weapons with hand-to-hand Kombat (see what I did there?) was always done perfectly. That's also one of the reasons why I always preferred Soul Calibur over Tekken, I always preferred the weapon fighting in that series over the hand-to-hand fighting in Tekken.
...Did you seriously just pat yourself on the back for spelling Kombat correctly? Please tell me you use "Kombatant" and not "Kharacter."
I always loved the weapon variations in X. Always mained Cutthroat Kano, Bone Shaper Shinnok, Cryomancer Sub Zero (until they changed the one combo ender into a command grab. And I fucking despise the command grab inputs NRS loves so much) even if they weren't the best. They just felt right.
Playing MK9, I did notice the characters using their weapons more. It was a really cool touch to add character to them all
@Kite403 “More” might be an odd choice of words maybe, but yeah, otherwise I agree
shameless 3d era fan boy chiming in, but one of my favorite features of that era was the tactics/strategy involved with knowing when to use weapons, and how some characters weapons were like their signature fighting stance (ie baraka)
Oh yeah boys!!! New PNDKM Video!!!! Let’s go!!
I think that sub zero ice scepter (Or some variation) was in MK armageddon's konquest mode, when you're fighting people in the lin kuei temple. Wouldn't mind seeing it brought back for MK12
I love how MK4 was the first MK to introduce weapons with throwing them picking them up you could even use your opponents weapon if blocked it landed on the floor. This no doubt inspired MKX and MK 11s grabbing stuff and interacting with the environment 👌
Yeah people hate mk4 but it was revolutionary when it came out no other fg had those mechanics in ps1
@@davidhero1000 Yeah or N64 which was the best version of MK4 due to the 3d element. Mk 4 gets a bad rap honestly it can be played competitively too but alot of people don't know about that. Alot of those south American mk players love it like MKhanzo for example.
@@MKF30 yeah facts i still love it playin on my phone lol
@@davidhero1000 haha oh nice. I didn't know you could play it on your phone? That must be fun. I know for a while there people were addicted to MKX mobile haha
Mk4 killed the arcade mk scene.. to actual players it was garbage.. nrs players will always be seen as those not talented enough to play sf… sorry but it is the truth
Subzero in Armageddon’s Konquest had a similar weapon to his mk4 one and you had to play with it as Taven
Weapons will always Be a Part of Mortal Kombat and I Love that they Evolve Over the Years that I Hope and Pray that the Next Game Upgrade Them Even Further as Long as it Fits the Characters.
Great video. I think the combos transitioning from melee to weapon in the 3d era were some of the cooler combos in MK.
I wish the weapons dealt more damage and effected strategy further.
There's some really cool weapons animations that do the same damage as a 1-1-1 punch combo. That feels kinda off
It was more like that in MK4 and the 3D MK games. In MKX and MK11 this is reserved for the Intractables (although MK4 and the 3D games had Intractables as well, just used differently than the more recent games)
@@RoyArkon yeah I agree.
Something like a refined version of the MK4 weapons system could be really interesting mixed with modern NRS play style
i just started watching you I love ur content hopefully they’re making another game for mk
This was a pretty interesting concept for a video. Personally a Soul Calibur-like MK game sounds pretty good but that's essentially the 3D games again, at least on the surface.
I think a fun gimmick for a future fighter could be the weapon equip system from the 3D games.
Curiously enough the ice staff sorta returns in mk armaggedon as one of the temporary weapons you can get, it shows up a few times in the lin kuei temple chapter
Bushido blade is absolutely amazing.
I am surprised you didn't mention that in MK vs DC, Baraka and Deathstroke had weapon styles like in the 3D MK games.
Ah, yes, Cooking with Scorpion, the guide for the modern wraith.
Well, the only two actual fights in the last live action movie were Hanzo vs Bi Han and Scorpion vs Sub-Zero and both were so "samuraish" that taken out of context no one will ever guess that they were MK fights. In fact, if you put both characters among samurais or other sword based martial artists, kind of like "Where's Waldo?", they both would be indistinguishable. I don't know what were they thinking. Hope next time they hire a martial art choreagrapher and some cosplayer to design the costumes.
I hope to see competitive history of Shang Tsung some day.
You didn’t bring up how in MK:DA you can impale your weapons with some characters and it would sacrifice the weapon for a round but the opponent would slowly bleed out
Absolutely love how there’s Soul Calibur music playing throughout the video
Though they were only special moves at the time, I’d argue that MK’s weapons origins actually go as far back as Scorpion’s spear and Kano’s throwing knives in Mortal Kombat 1.
Yeah, MK2 had weapons more visible, while in MK1 it was only with Scorpion and Kano and with only 1 special each. So while it technically started with MK1, MK2 was the game that really gave the signs of things to come for the series.
And a weapon here and there was pretty common at the time in other fist-fight games. One of the “boss” fighters of _Street Fighter II,_ later playable, not only had a weapon but could be disarmed in a match.
When ketchup mention Soulcalibur, I had a fanboy explosion. Favorite UA-camr mentions my favorite game, what are the odds? Cervantes for life!
Isn't scorpion's spear considered a weapon in the past mk games.🤔🤔
Correct, i just wasnt 100% sure including it because up until 2019 it was only ever a single special move.
@@PNDKM It makes me wonder about how certain special moves that involve weapons like the smg used by Jax and Stryker during the 3d era couldn't be considered as actual weapons.
MK 1 had Scorpion's spear, Kano's knives and, maybe Sonya's pink rings projetiles since they seem to be technological in nature.
The idea that those projectiles are a weapon showed up way, way later. Mundane-seeming fighters had mystical projectiles throughout the early 2D games.
I prefer weapons over guns. I hope K&M make a top five guns in MK!
For me I would've liked to have seen some of the weapons in MK11 taken further. Some characters just don't seem to use them much, where others have them as a core component. Like Shao Kahn, he uses the hammer for almost every normal and string that isn't a kick, even if it's just the butt of the hammer for a quick punch. Liu's nunchucks are in one string (b2d3) and one normal (f2) as a base, the rest is martial arts - which is fine since I've always seen him as more about hand to hand anyway. I guess I just think some of the characters don't use their weapon enough for it to feel like it's part of their fighting style.
The later Mortal Kombat games are unusual in the series overall in how often they use anything but mundane kicks/punches (even including weapon styles). Rain’s “normals” in MK1, for example.
That fighters destiny ost near the end 👌
I remember when I played MK9 as a kid the first time, I was so disappointed there were no weapon stances and then I saw the way they were integrated into the moves and I thought it was really cool
MK4 crossbow is still the best weapon in the series
My favorite weapon system is actually from the GBA ports of Deadly Alliance, where characters have special moves that are weapon attacks which you can combo into,I Iike it when a characters have one well defined weapon attached to their personality but I'd like to be able to use it whenever I want.
I always thought sub zeros ice weapons were really cool.
Strika's machine gun was my favorite MK3
WAIT
Was the freezing mace in Armageddon a MK4 reference?
Weapon Lord was ahead of it's time also
Would throwing projectiles in MK 2 count as when weapons were used in MK? Or would also Scorpions Spear "and idk if Kano had the throwing knife in MK 1 also count as a "weapon" type thing/weapon projectile?"
Mk4 fujin's weapon was insane 🤣
Weapons are a main stay in Mortal Kombat, tho there are some exceptions of characters that don't often use weapons to their main core, such as Shang Tsung who uses his sorcery or Repitle with his invisibilty and acid spit even Johnny Cage who barely uses his brass knuckles that were added for him in MKX & MK11 still fights hand to hand(and his green power).
My favorite had always been sub zero. I loved his kori blade. I wish they didn't switch to axe in 11. It doesn't suit him
MK Armageddon is my favorite tbh. I liked the weapon variation, performing hand to hand combos and switching to the sword mid combo, air combat was awesome, CAK was fucking amazing albeit OP online.. Onaga was in it.
Still waiting for the MK Deception meta video
Dont forget the weapon stances that Baraka and Deathstroke had in MK vs. DC
I was waiting for you to mention drahmins club arm lol
How about Stryker and his gun/grenades in UMK3?
Soul Calibur 2 and 3 are always going to be the best of the series.. Wish they would do a full on remaster of Soul Calibur 3 it had so many game modes and introduced Zaslamel/Abyss
"raidens staff is a huge part of him" OwO
Most iconic will probably be Scorpion's spear.
Extremely jealous i wasn’t around for the OG Mortal Kombat games. I go to arcade places nowadays just to try and get a better idea of the origins though.
I loved the use of soul calibur music there lol
That's funny, the gradual development of something, usually from simple to more complex, is also on my mind this week. I wonder why!
Edit - really cool video! I never thought about the weapons in mk11 except when I was obsessing over customizing every character... But this is a really interesting point and exciting for the future
The juggles in mk Armageddon was crucial
I genuinely really like Rain with the katar. I dunno, just feels like it fits his aesthetic and character.
I feel like the staff in mk1 fits way better
Hey, this video was great, but there is a whole lot more depth to cover on this topic. How about making this topic a series? Or a longer video essay? Please? Lol
I've always hated how they used weapons in MK, because they have a tendency to just make them disposable. They'll appear out of nowhere for an attack, then disappear. Kung Lao throws his hat, only for it to magically and unceremoniously reappear on his head, for example. I remember first playing the variation of Erron Black in MKX that used the sword and pulling off the move where he stabs the opponent for damage over time, wondering if it worked like the stabbing mechanic in DA (or was it Deception?) that had the opponent stabbed for the rest of the round, only to see it vanish, yet I still didn't have it back, only for it to then magically reappear another second later. In MK4, once a weapon was out you could drop it and anyone could pick it up so it was always in play from that point, but that begs the questions of where they were keeping those giant swords, and you lost it after taking a single hit. They've started doing better with Scorpion showing the swords on his back, at least. Lao is still magically regenerating hats, however. The point of a weapon-based fighter is to always have the weapon active. You don't see Nightmare throwing his sword like a projectile, or Haohmaru barehanded until he presses C.
Bro didn't mentioned how you can stab your weapon (sword) into the opponent in Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance. It was my favorite thing to do on that Game and unfortunately they took it off on Deception and Armageddon.
Wasnt really necesarry because its just another attack, like the other stance moves in DA.
i think mk in 11 is pretty comparable to soul calibur bc you do have punches and kicks in those games albeit not as many as more standard fighters(barring the 2 tekken guests obv) which is kind of what mk11 does with having a lot of weapons in the moves of everyone despite the buttons still being labeled punches and kicks
Bad Custard is a euphemism.
MK9 Sub was so badass
If they bring back the weapon system they should make each character 2 variations that can switch just like Deadly Alliance started, The normal fighting stance AND it swiches to the Weapon stance! Therefore they don't have to worry about giving everyone 3 fighting stance AND a Fatality switch
That's what MK Armageddon did, 1 hand to hand fighting style and 1 weapon style for every character.
I forgot that Tanya had kama.
Bothers me how bushido blade is so forgotten
I don’t think it is. It was mentioned in the video you’re commenting on
HE DID IT, HE SAID BUSHIDO BLADE
I always though that Scorpion's "ax" in Mk3 was a different angle of his throwing harpoon.
Best weapon is hsu hao knife
I heard that soul calibur background music.
Survival Arts is the best weapon fighter
That game is pure chaos
Could you talk about projectiles next.
When are we gonna see a kung lao kompetitive history?
Fighting styles were okay. Weapons I'm not too sure about even to this day.
Kano had a knife too.
Still prefer MKX variations it was like having 3 different characters with same name and if you prefer weapon base type you pick variation...
in mk11 Johnny has brass knuckles
This looks like a scam
TEHRUPAPAGEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
And, MK1's Kano's knives and Scorpion's spear?
I really hope MK12 will have fast combo heavy gameplay, no variations like the old games, fucking bots are everywhere
Yeet
ya'll need to stop teasing me with SC2, that's like the best fighting game ever made and i'd love to see you guys do a video on it
Nobody really had any in the first one. Second one, the two ladies had weapons and Baraka had his arm blades. By MK3 it was out of control.
We kinda said the same thing.
Two fighters used weapons in the first Mortal Kombat by my count.
MK11 is known for guns. Lots of guns.
LMAO only Cassie, Erron Black and the guests use guns. That's 7 chars out of 37, and some of them use guns in only one move. You need to get a head exam ASAP #FACTS
@@RoyArkon YES! exactly, guns. Lots of guns. #FACTS
@@DroBONILLA1 LMAO that's not a lot at all. If you call this a lot than you indeed got issues #FACTS
@@RoyArkon you're right! That IS alot! LMAO #FACTS
@@DroBONILLA1 Except I didn't call this a lot. Now you're just trolling LOL. Outta here #FACTS
I dont understand why they gave shao kahn the hammer all the time as a real weapon in mk11 he did not have a hammer before just as special moves or a weapon variation in the 3d games and raiden that would make it better if he had a staff in mk 11 but he has no staff only a Special move why he looks like holding one in this game 😅
Probably for the same reason that the entirety of the later games have a lot more non-“normal” “normals” that aren’t mundane kicks and punches. It’s sort of a given you take when playing them.
What about BlazBlue
11:02 sus
Mk4 = bring out your weapon and immediately drop it.
The Chicago MK2 players are still the most talented MK players of all time
Weapons werent dope until MKX. Those doofy gen 6 fighters were the absolute worst in the series
first boiiii
You were second though lol
The naginata was eventually given to hotaru in MK:D