StarDestroyer.Net BBS

I've always heard that the characters and such in Mortal Kombat are supposed to have some kind of "rich backstory" to them, yet because I suck at fighting games in general, I've never been able to see if any of it is in the games. Is it? Does anyone know any of it? Are they any sites online that go into detail on it (my Google search was fairly fruitless vis-a-vis "official" material, though there's plenty of fanfic around)?

At least one inquiring mind wants to know!

I think the Mortal Kombat website used to have a backstory for the Tournament. But I'm not sure if it's still up.

I know of some of it...what is it you want to know?

Let's see, from what I remember... this is from the original MK.

All of the fighters were selected for some Tournament. They either went there willingly or something dragged them there (like a chase)

The eyepatch-guy is a criminal escaping justice.
Sonja is a cop who was looking for the patched-eye guy. (oh yeah she was to avenge her partner)
Scorpion is a member of some ninja clan but got murdered by sub-zero and now he's an undead seeking revenge.
Sub-zero is a member of some other ninja clan. He's not a very nice guy.
Raiden is the god of thunder or something, he's in the tournament because he wants, or whatever.
Johnny Cage is a superstar, who's pissed off because people think his moves are just flash and sfx. He likes to punch people in the balls (that's all I know about him)

Maybe you can find the whole deal in GameFAQs. I think this is a decent document. There is another one but it's really verbose.

In the "moves" files you probably can find each character's descriptions.

In MK3 if you left it at the start menu then between demos it would flash up the back story of one of the characters. I think i can remember most of the characters backstories up to MK3, and the genreal story as well. IIRC it was printed in the manuals.

http:// db.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/file/mortal_kombat_history.txt

Mortal Kombat Backstory FAQ

Gamefaqs doesn't allow direct linking. ~GR

Ok, now here's a question (BTW, thanks for the help!):

How does one know who's endings are going to count, and who's don't? For example, since Kitana's endings tend to have her reclaim the Outworld, they obviously aren't happening (at least not for very long...). And then there are the endings in the same game that contradict one another basically (look at Cyrax's ending vs Sektor's ending in MK Gold). How do we know who's takes effect? Just gonna have to wait for the next game to come out and try and figure it out from there?

Is there any "official" storyline posted anywhere, or do you just have to try and piece it together via the most recent games and what they have to say on the matter?

Oh, and possible spoiler:

Did Liu Kang die? Some of Kitana's most recent bios seem to suggest this...

http:// db.gamefaqs.com/coinop/arcade/file/mortal_kombat_plot.txt

This one has, I think, what would be the "canon" storyline, based on the sequels. So in the first MK, Liu Kang was the victor. Sonja and Kane were trapped in the island, and so on.

Liu Kang's ending counts, generally.

It's like a Tekken game, where the 'real' ending will be one of the assorted Mishimas