History YMMV / MortalKombat9

** Cyber Sub-Zero's ending has him [[spoiler: get possessed by Shao Kahn's soul after killing him. There is no indication Shao Kahn could do this, especially since he never does this in any other ending save for Skarlet, and even she simply took his power after absorbing his blood. Not even the other Cyber Lin Kuei get this ending,]] so it comes off as an out-of-nowhere DiobolusExNihilo.

** Cyber Sub-Zero's ending has him [[spoiler: get possessed by Shao Kahn's soul after killing him. There is no indication Shao Kahn could do this, especially since he never does this in any other ending save for Skarlet, and even she simply took his power after absorbing his blood. Not even the other Cyber Lin Kuei get this ending,]] so it comes off as an out-of-nowhere DioblusExNihilo.

* IdiotPlot: Due to Raiden's many WhatAnIdiot moments. Raiden's attempts to understand the message and accompanying visions from his future self cause him to repeatedly make foolish decisions, and he even acknowledges at points that he's really not sure what he's doing and just trying to make sense of things he doesn't understand. But then, this stems from his future self sending his past self such a vague message in the first place, and if he had said something more specific, then the past Raiden probably could have figured things out much better.

* [[EnsembleDarkhorse/MortalKombat Ensemble Darkhorse]]

* {{Narm}}: This game's (main) outfit for Sonya is the source of a lot of mockery online. Since she's from Earthrealm she doesn't get the type of fansetvice-y outfit characters like Jade or Kitana get. However, instead of giving her a sporty outfit as is common for her character, she instead wears a military vest that's too small for her to close due to her [[BuxomIsBetter large tracks of land]], and no shirt (or bra) underneath, causing her to have a case of BareYourMidriff and ImpossiblyLowNeckline at the same time. This, combined with her CombatStilettos and the strong implication that this was her work outfit that she was wearing on official business made more than a few players cringe over the bad design. For some players it verges close to FanDisservice due to how tacky it looks. Meanwhile, the vast majority of players look at it as an example of WTHCostumingDepartment.

** [[spoiler:Sindel suddenly slaughtering the heroes near the end of the story feels like a rather rushed way to kill off several of the cast members for the sake of the storyline, which made a point about heroes making "unthinkable sacrifices."]]

** Quan Chi. He's either a {{troll}}ish MagnificentBastard, or a boring InvincibleVillain and a spotlight hog due to being {{retcon}}ned into the events of the first few games. For some of his detractors, him being [[HumiliationConga knocked down a peg]] in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' seems to have balanced his oversaturation in this game.

* GenreTurningPoint: While it first appeared in its [[VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse predecessor]], the critical success of ''[=MK9=]'' seemingly convinced other developers to incorporate a chapter-based story mode where players switched between characters throughout the narrative into [[VideoGame/StreetFighterV their]] [[VideoGame/Tekken7 own]] [[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite fighting]] [[VideoGame/DragonBallFighterZ games]].

* CatharsisFactor: Some enjoy the idea of having Freddy Krueger as a DLC fighter as this means they can finally deliver torture upon him with Fatalities and make him suffer as much as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqIBK0VO4NE his]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rkSuWVZTHo victims]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOpKKsQVbTI did]].

* {{Narm}}: This game's outfit for Sonya is the source of a lot of mockery online. Since she's from Earthrealm she doesn't get the type of fansetvice-y outfit characters like Jade or Kitana get. However, instead of giving her a sporty outfit as is common for her character, she instead wears a military vest that's too small for her to close due to her [[BuxomIsBetter large tracks of land]], and no shirt (or bra) underneath, causing her to have a case of BareYourMidriff and ImpossiblyLowNeckline at the same time. This, combined with her CombatStilettos and the strong implication that this was her work outfit that she was wearing on official business made more than a few players cringe over the bad design. For some players it verges close to FanDisservice due to how tacky it looks. Meanwhile, the vast majority of players look at it as an example of WTHCostumingDepartment.

* {{Narm}}: This game's outfit for Sonya is the source of a lot of mockery online. Since she's from Earthrealm she doesn't get the type of fansetvice-y outfit characters like Jade or Kitana get. However, instead of giving her a sporty outfit as is common for her character, she instead wears a military vest that's two small for her to close due to her [[BuxomIsBetter large tracks of land]], and no shirt underneath, causing her to have a case of BareYourMidriff and ImpossiblyLowNeckline at the same time. This, combined with her CombatStilettos and the strong implication that this was her work outfit that she was wearing on official business made more than a few players cringe over the bad design. For some players it verges close to FanDisservice due to how tacky it looks. Meanwhile, the vast majority of players look at it as an example of WTHCostumingDepartment.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Nearly all of the music of the original games gets a remix, including several very well done orchestral remixes.

* AwesomeEgo: [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Joh]][[DeadpanSnarker nny]] [[TheFightingNarcissist Ca]][[JerkWithAHeartOfGold ge]], of course.

** Quan Chi. He's either a {{troll}}ish MagnificentBastard, or a boring Villain Sue and a spotlight hog due to being {{retcon}}ned into the events of the first few games.
** [[VideoGame/GodOfWar Kra]][[GuestFighter tos]]. You've got the fans who think he's a great addition to the roster, the fans who are vehemently against his presence in the game, the fans pestering [=NetherRealm=] Studios to add a Xbox 360 exclusive character, and the fans who just don't care about him being in the game.
** Cyber Sub-Zero is one among the fans thanks to being seen as not only unnecessary, but a rather cheap way to change the timeline as well. It doesn't help that the narrator has no voice clip for his name and that his ending is just a cutscene with absolutely no voice acting at all. Many fans dislike fan-favorite Sub-Zero being cyberized then uncerimoniously killed off, while others like the change and find Cyber Sub-Zero's moves and playstyle sufficiently different to make him an engaging character in his own right. Then others contest that his moveset makes him ''too'' good, verging on a GameBreaker.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
** Scorpion has been getting some of this sort of reaction from those who were introduced to the franchise via ''[=MK9=]''. Granted, it is unfortunate that he lost his clan, and especially his wife and infant child, in a brutal massacre and is intended to be a tragic figure. However it doesn't justify him aligning with the likes of Quan Chi and by extension [[OmnicidalManiac Shinnok]] and instead makes Scorpion look more like an [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk angry asshole]] [[NinetiesAntiHero who jumped out of a Dark-Age, Liefeld-inspired comic book]]. To the credit of the creators, this is somewhat acknowledged at the beginning of Chapter 16 when Raiden [[WhatTheHellHero chews him out for his continued service to Quan Chi]] which will do nothing at all to revive the Shirai Ryu or at the very least [[VisionaryVillain do something]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist with some sort of good intention]].
** To some degree for some fans, Liu Kang, while he is right about Raiden in the end to an extent, he loses trust in Raiden because of Raiden's changes of time. This is in spite of the fact Raiden has to juggle the responsibility of protecting the heroes and change the timeline for the better, which is not an easy task. However, Liu Kang is justified as he did not actually see the visions.
** Kitana's disgusted reaction to Mileena, who she calls an abomination and refuses to acknowledge as family. Keep in mind Mileena has just woken up and hasn't actually done anything yet. Kitana's outrage comes across as FantasticRacism.

** Challenge #269 requires [=KOing=] 3 Shao Kahns as Stryker, with no health restore. It practically forces you into a tedious HitScan spam.

** Freddy Krueger. While his moveset takes inspirations from the [=NoESt.=] franchise as a whole, his appearance is based on [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet2010 the remake's]] Creator/JackieEarleHaley (aka the ReplacementScrappy ) instead of the original film's iconic and beloved Creator/RobertEnglund and is TheVoiceless in contrast to his usual penchant for one-liners.
** Skarlet is quite possibly the most liked female character to come out of franchise since the classic trilogy of games [[UpdatedRerelease (more or less)]] with an impressive move set and unique fatalities, interesting storyline with a lot of potential to grow and being a FanPreferredCouple with Ermac. Unfortunately, she's a new DLC character who isn't worked into the plot outside of a background cameo.

** The protagonist of ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'', Kratos, appears as a playable character in a ''Mortal Kombat'' game. Though he had already been a GuestFighter for ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny]]'' for the [=PlayStation=] Portable (and played completely differently).
** [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] was completely unexpected by everyone, as he comes from a horror films series and not a video game.

** HE MUST WIN[[note]Raiden's message to the past leads to the tragic conssequences, and so people use it to point out that something has to go the exact way it should, otherwise there will be more tragedy to come.[[/note]]

** [[Sindel is powered up by Shao Kahn in the story and slaughters most of Earthrealm's heroes, presenting a radical change to the timeline.]]

* SignatureScene: [[WhamEpisode But of course]], [[spoiler:a powered-up Sindel killing most of the Earthrealm heroes]].

** Skarlet is quite possibly the most liked female character to come out of franchise since the classic trilogy of games [[UpdatedRerelease (more or less)]] with an impressive move set and unique fatalities, interesting storyline with a lot of potential to grow and being a FanPreferredCouple with Ermac. Unfortunately, she's a new DLC character that can't be worked into the plot without derailing it.

** [[spoiler:Kung Lao]] was probably unwise in not keeping his head on a swivel in Shao Kahn's arena. As a result, Shao Kahn turned his head ''into'' a swivel.
** [[spoiler:Raiden really shouldn't have brought out his lightning against the fiery Liu Kang when trying to stop him from rushing against Shao Kahn. As a result, Liu Kang gets fried. Inversely, Liu Kang was given multiple warning shots by Raiden before he gets his block knocked off before attempting to go all "TOASTY!" on Raiden, though he was in a highly emotional state during the fight and couldn't be reasoned with by that point.]]

** [[spoiler:Shao Kahn paying the Quan Chi's services with the souls of Earthrealm's warriors. Aside from the game never showing such a deal took place, Shao Kahn shouldn't have any jurisdiction over Earthrealm's souls, and the Netherrealm's rules state that it only accepts souls that are evil or tainted.]]

* MemeticLoser:
** Scorpion, a.k.a. [[BadassDecay "Quan Chi's bitch"]], due to his utmost complacency to Quan Chi and being fooled by him at one point. Thankfully averted in [[VideoGame/MortalKombatX the next game]].
--> '''Raiden:''' ''Is this why you chose not to save your family and clan? To maintain your place at his feet?''
** Raiden thanks to his WhatAnIdiot moments derailing the timeline and negatively affecting the heroes.