History Videogame / MortalKombat9

* From ''VideoGame/MortalKombat2'': Sub-Zero II, Baraka, Jade, Jax, Kitana, Kung Lao, Mileena, Noob Saibot, and Smoke.

* From ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatMythologiesSubZero Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero]]'': Quan Chi.

* From ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'': Goro (MidBoss).
* From ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat2 Mortal Kombat II]]'': Kintaro (MidBoss), Shao Kahn (FinalBoss).

** From ''VideoGame/MortalKombat2'': The Armory, Dead Pool, The Evil Tower, Shao Kahn's Colosseum, Living Forest, The Wastelands.

* OnlyAFleshWound: The X-Ray attacks make surviving a battle in this game more unfathomable than in any other game in the 'Mortal Kombat'' franchise. Characters getting broken spines, eyes stabbed out or destroyed internal organs are a slap on the wrist.
** The most notable one probably being Baraka's X-Ray, in which he impales his opponent through the neck and spine with his arm-blade, and then again through the eye and straight through the skull and brain, before simply kicking them off his blade. Assuming they have health left, they'll get up as if nothing particularly injurious happened. Freddy Krueger's is also certainly fatal, but slightly less obvious, as his first attack during it jams his blades in-between his opponent's ribs and impales their internal organs; his second attack, which would typically be unnecessary at that point, is literally nothing more than a slap to the face with his right glove, but does identical damage.

* FlexibleTourneyRules: More like Non-Existent Tourney Rules. There seem to be no set brackets, Shang Tsung decides who will fight next and who'll they'll face pretty much on a whim, and several times when fighters just begin a verbal argument, he declares it a challenge and orders them to fight. He also has no problem arranging 2 on 1 fights when he decides he wants one to happen. This is particularly egregious when he says Liu Kang is the only Earthrealm warrior to progress to "this stage" of the tournament, and orders him to fight Ermac -- neither Liu Kang nor Ermac fought prior to Chapter 5, so it's unclear how they can be considered to be in the late stages of the tournament. This also ignores that Sonya is still undefeated in the tournament, so Liu Kang isn't the final Earthrealm warrior left anyway.

* AdultFear: Stryker, Jade and Kenshi's Babalities tread rather close to this line, as Stryker's involves playing with a loaded gun, Jade gets smacked on the head by her sharp-edged boomerang, and Kenshi getting repeatedly hit on the back of the head with the hilt of his katana (considering that Kenshi could as well lose his concentration and stab himself instead).

* HotterAndSexier: You could say [=NetherRealm=] Studios took (ahem) ''advantage'' of the more powerful graphics engines on 7th generation consoles, as more boobage and less clothing was the order of the day for all the female characters. Basically, every female fighter combines AbsoluteCleavage, BareYourMidriff, ShesGotLegs, and WhoWearsShortShorts. Not to mention a majority of the male characters saw major musculature increase and are {{Walking Shirtless Scene}}s. Tellingly, it was the first game in the series for which the [=ESRB=] justified the traditional M rating by also adding a nudity descriptor.

''[[RecycledTitle Mortal Kombat]]'' is the eighth canonical installment, and ninth overall, of the ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' [[FightingGame fighting game]] series.[[note]]The discrepancy comes from ''VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'', which is non-canonical.[[/note]] It was released in 2011 for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 and UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}}; a port for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita was released in 2012, and a PC port of the ''Komplete Edition'' (the game and its associated DLC) was released on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} in 2013. It is the first ''Mortal Kombat'' game developed by Creator/NetherrealmStudios, a WB Games subsidiary that picked up the franchise after the closure of Creator/MidwayGames.

* HotterAndSexier: You could say Netherealm Studios took (ahem) ''advantage'' of the more powerful graphics engines on 7th generation consoles, as more boobage and less clothing was the order of the day for all the female characters. Basically, every female fighter combines AbsoluteCleavage, BareYourMidriff, ShesGotLegs, and WhoWearsShortShorts. Not to mention a majority of the male characters saw major musculature increase and are [[WalkingShirtlessScene Walking Shirtless Scenes]]. Tellingly, it was the first game in the series for which the [=ESRB=] justified the traditional M rating by also adding a nudity descriptor.

* WolverinePublicity: Scorpion and Sub-Zero are both in the game cover, title screen and most commercials with the former even being part of Netherealm's logo even though they are supporting characters in the story mode.

* ArcWords: "He must win."

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Shao Kahn's [[spoiler:casual killing of Kung Lao]] completely incenses Liu Kang and he tackles the Outworld dictator with absolutely no compunction. Shao Kahn attempts to intimidate his challenger by establishing domain in the realm but Liu Kang has none of it and is completely fearless in the face of Kahn, only seeing him as a remorseless murderer and nothing more.

** The tournaments don't seem to actually have brackets. Or rather, they exist when the plot wants them to, or not. Shang Tsung declares Liu Kang to be the only Earthrealmer to reach a late stage of the first tournament, and sets him against Ermac... who hasn't been competing and ergo shouldn't be at Liu Kang's stage yet.

* FlexibleTourneyRules:
** Not only can Shang Tsung declare a fight is 2 v. 1 on a whim, he can call a challenge as soon as fighters say harsh words to each other, and when the MKII part rolls around, he can declare that there will be another tournament.

* DummiedOut: Goro and Kintaro both have data for their arcade endings in the code, but neither is a playable character in the finished game.

''[[RecycledTitle Mortal Kombat]]'' is the eighth canonical installment of the ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' [[FightingGame fighting game]] series.[[note]]Although it is counted as the ninth game by [=NetherRealm=] Studios, due to the inclusion of ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe]]''.[[/note]] It was released in 2011 for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 and UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}}; a port for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita was released in 2012, and a PC port of the ''Komplete Edition'' (the game and its associated DLC) was released on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} in 2013. It is the first ''Mortal Kombat'' game developed by Creator/NetherrealmStudios, a WB Games subsidiary that picked up the franchise after the closure of Creator/MidwayGames.

* FaceDeathWithDignity: Of a sorts. Kratos' reactions to certain fatalities are different from others in that he doesn't panic or he tries to futilely fight back. According to an interview with Ed Boon, this was requested by Sony Computer Entertainment America in order to retain Kratos' tough, Spartan personality (he certainly takes fatal injuries in [[VideoGame/GodOfWar in his own home series]] with little reaction at least).

* TheBadGuyWins: Zig-zagged. Toward the end of the game, [[Raiden realizes that the message his future self sent is referring to '''Shao Kahn'''. He lets Kahn merge Earthrealm with Outworld, only for the Elder Gods to punish Kahn, since he broke the rules of Mortal Kombat. Played straight since all of this was planned by Shinnok and Quan Chi (and, thanks to retcons, Kronika) from the start to make Earth Realm and Outworld vulnerable to invasion from the Nether Realm]].

** In spite of all the detail put into the characters' models, X-Ray Moves take this approach to the pelvic region.

The game's story begins at the end of ''VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon'': Shao Kahn, who now rules over all realms, prepares to kill Raiden, the only other survivor of the apocalyptic battle. Before Kahn lands the final blow, Raiden manages to send a cryptic message--"[[ArcWords He must win]]"--to [[VideoGame/MortalKombat his past self]], who is now responsible for [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong preventing Shao Kahn's ultimate victory]]. However, when so few words are used to convey something so critical, there is much room for alternate interpretations...

* ShootTheShaggyDog: Every other game in the franchise (barring ''VideoGame/MortalKombatMythologiesSubZero'' and, possibly, ''VideoGame/MortalKombatSpecialForces'', for being prequels to [[VideoGame/MortalKombat the first game]]) compose the ShaggyDogStory being [[BoomHeadshot shot in the head]] by this game.

* From ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'': Johnny Cage, Kano, Liu Kang, Raiden, Reptile, Scorpion, Shang Tsung, Sonya Blade, Sub-Zero I[[note]]As an alternate skin for Sub Zero II[[/note]].

* From ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'': Goro (MidBoss).

* JerkAssGods: The Elder Gods. Raiden goes to them for help begging them to stop Shao Kahn's illegal invasion. They claim Shao Kahn has not broken any rules since only merge is forbidden not invasion... which is contrary to they very reason the tournament was created ''and'' the understanding of the rules in every medium since the beginning. It was created specifically to give weaker realms a fighting chance against the overpowering might of Outworld. Raiden calls them out on their callousness by pointing out invasion and merge is a DistinctionWithoutADifference.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Averted with on Kitana's battle-damaged models. The concept art showed, among the usual lacerations and bruises, a bloody handprint on her rear. Apparently, that was too much, as said handprint doesn't appear in-game.

* AdaptationalBadass: [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]]. He was a powerful RealityWarper in the movies, but only in dreams, and pretty much powerless in the real world; Here, however, he no longer has that limitation, and can use all of his power outside dreams... and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking has two bladed gloves instead of one.]]

* AffablyEvil: Quan Chi.
* AmbidextrousSprite: Due to how the button mapping works in this game (each of the character's limbs gets a button, similar to ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'', except they aren't fixed to left/right but rather front and back), the characters can stand with either arm out in front and have all their attacks function exactly the same (with the player being able to force a stance switch by pressing both kicks). Because of this function, [[SerendipityWritesThePlot Freddy Kreuger to has to wear two claws]] instead of just one.

* BarbieDollAnatomy: In spite of all the detail put into the characters' models, X-Ray Moves take this approach to the pelvic region.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: All of the DLC characters have their own Arcade Ladder endings, but aren't actually involved in the story. A few of them cameo at best.

* ShownTheirWork: A subtle example comes up late in the game's story: [[spoiler:As the Earthrealm warriors discuss the veracity of Raiden's visions, Jax wonders if he was ever supposed to lose his limbs. Indeed, in the previous timeline, Jax never lost his arms: he simply had cybernetic enhancements added to them.]]

** [[{{Squick}} And the puke stays on his leg.]]

* AnyoneCanDie: If a sequel is made, it'll be an achievement to fill up the character select screen.

* [[spoiler:TheBadGuyWins: Played with. Toward the end of the game, Raiden realizes that the message his future self sent is referring to '''Shao Kahn'''. He lets Kahn merge Earthrealm with Outworld, only for the Elder Gods to punish Kahn, since he broke the rules of Mortal Kombat. Played straight since all of this was planned by Shinnok and Quan Chi from the start to make Earth Realm and Outworld vulnerable to invasion from the Nether Realm.]]

* ContinuityNod: After Scorpion kills Bi-Han, Raiden mentions to Cyrax how Sub-Zero once [[VideoGame/MortalKombatMythologiesSubZero saved the world from Shinnok and Quan Chi.]]

* CutscenePowerToTheMax: Happens with [[spoiler:Sindel's mass slaughter of the heroes]] at the end of Chapter 15.
** Also, [[spoiler:Kabal is permanently scarred and needs a respirator mask after getting hit with Kintaro's fire breath]], which usually just takes off a chunk of your life meter.

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler: Near the end of Chapter 11, Shao Kahn just walks behind Kung Lao and snaps his neck with no effort at all]].
** [[spoiler:Chapter 15 has ''nearly every hero'' getting killed by Sindel in a very abrupt and annoying way. It's actually pathetic to see someone like ''Cyber Sub-Zero'' die because he got punched in the face three times]]. Overall, virtually every character who dies in Story mode dies unceremoniously.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: As mentioned elsewhere, the broken bones and destroyed organs detailed in various X-Ray moves don't seem to impair anyone at all. This is particularly interesting in that there's not even a FadeToBlack or {{Wipe}} between rounds; the defeated [[InsistentTerminology kombatant]] just gets right back up, the life bars refill, and we're back at it.
** To a lesser extent, Kenshi lost his invulnerability to Sonya's Kiss of Death move which he had in ''Deadly Alliance'' onwards. Likewise, he's affected by Stryker's X-Ray, which can only be {{handwave}}d by assuming the flashlight is physically burning him by being a very high wattage bulb.

* GodzillaThreshold: Essentially the crux of [[spoiler:Raiden]]'s plan at the end of the game; letting the BigBad win finally caused [[spoiler:the Elder Gods]] to get off their asses and help.

* IJustShotMarvinInTheFace: Subverted at the last second; Baraka almost gets a faceful of buckshot from an overeager minion, but quickly snatches the gun out of the minion's hand.

* JerkAssGods: The Elder Gods. Raiden goes to them for help begging them to stop Shao Kahn's illegal invasion. They claim Shao Kahn has not broken any rules since only merge is forbidden not invasion...which is contrary to they very reason the tournament was created AND the understanding of the rules in every medium since the beginning. It was created specifically to give weaker realms a fighting chance against the overpowering might of Outworld. Raiden calls them out on their callousness by pointing out invasion and merge is a ''distinction without a difference.''
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Sure, Shao Kahn bites it in the end, but some of the bad guys under his employ leave the story unscathed once they're no longer relevant to the plot. Namely: Kano, Reptile, Mileena, Baraka, Sheeva, Ermac, Goro and Kintaro.]]
** [[spoiler:Cyrax and Sektor are also nowhere to be seen after Sindel comes in to slaughter the heroes.]]

** '''The entire story''', thanks to [[spoiler:Shinnok and Quan Chi]]'s machinations. With most of Earthrealm and Outworld's warriors [[spoiler:dead]], [[spoiler:the Netherrealm]] is now in perfect position to conquer both.
* [[spoiler:MauveShirt]]: Nearly ''every'' hero is turned into this by endgame.
* [[spoiler:MutualKill]]: The aftermath of [[spoiler:Nightwolf]] vs. [[spoiler:Sindel]].

* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Shinnok is next.]]

** [[spoiler: Honestly, a large amount of the endings of the characters who weren't confirmed to die at any point in [=MK9=]'s story mode have at least one part of them that can be followed up on in future game. Johnny Cage's ending has him train in Seido after his powers get out of control. Sektor's ending has him kill his father, take the Dragon Medallion, and seize control of the Lin Kuei (something that happened in the original timeline as well, minus having the Dragon Medallion). And so on.]]

* ShootTheShaggyDog: Every other game in the franchise (barring ''VideoGame/MortalKombatMythologiesSubZero'' and, possibly, ''VideoGame/MortalKombatSpecialForces'', for being prequels to [[VideoGame/MortalKombat the first game]]) compose the ShaggyDogStory [[BoomHeadshot shot in the head]] by this game.

* TemptingFate: Jax's [[spoiler: last words]] were [[LeeroyJenkins "Let's Do This"]]

** Rain and Kenshi double as {{Early-Bird Cameo}}s, as they were later added to the roster as DLC.

** Bo Rai Cho from Deadly Alliance and Deception, and Havik from Deception, apppear in endings.

* FlexibleTourneyRules: Not only can Shang Tsung declare a fight is 2 v. 1 on a whim, he can call a challenge as soon as fighters say harsh words to each other, and when the MKII part rolls around, he can declare that there will be another tournament.