Highlights
- Mortal Kombat 1 has the best story mode in the franchise, with a narrative that has become integral to recent entries.
- While not every fighter from the franchise's 30-year history is included, Mortal Kombat 1 references and name-drops many of them.
- Characters like Jade, Cyrax, and Sektor get offhand mentions over the course of the story despite lacking screentime.
In the fighting video game genre, the story mode is often something that's always expected to be there, but not a top priority for players. When it comes to the Mortal Kombat franchise, this couldn't be further from the truth. While the Mortal Kombat series didn't have a dedicated story mode for a long time, with most of its narrative being told through voice-over at the end of a challenge tower, it's become an integral aspect of the last few Mortal Kombat entries, and Mortal Kombat 1 might just have the best story mode of the entire franchise.
Acting as both a sequel to the events of Mortal Kombat 11's Aftermath DLC, and as a reboot for the whole franchise, Mortal Kombat 1 centers around Fire God Liu Kang's new universe. Though Mortal Kombat 1's story mode is filled with familiar faces, they've all received a few little tweaks and alterations in this new universe, and some franchise staples have been swapped out for some lesser-known Kombatants. But while some fans might not be able to play as their favorite Mortal Kombat character, those Kombatants may still be referenced in Mortal Kombat 1's story mode.
Every Kombatant Referenced But Not Shown in Mortal Kombat 1's Story Mode
Over the last 30 years, the Mortal Kombat franchise has only continued to grow its roster of Kombatants, with every new entry bringing at least one or two new fighters to the arena. Mortal Kombat 1, however, is one of the few MK entries to not have any original characters, instead acting as a celebration of the franchise's 30-year-long history. Naturally, while Mortal Kombat 1's story mode couldn't include every fighter of the last 30 years, it tries its best to at least name-drop a good few.
One of the first big name-drops of Mortal Kombat 1 happens around an hour or so into the story mode. After Raiden is chosen as Earthrealm's champion and is taken to Outworld to compete in its not-so-mortal kombat tournament, he's tasked with facing off against the realm's strongest opponents. After beating Li Mei and Reiko, Raiden is given some rest and the tournament resumes a day later. At the start of this time-skip, Empress Sindel makes a quick reference to Sheeva, Kotal, and Motaro, who have all apparently just been defeated by Raiden off-screen. While Motaro is seen a few times in Mortal Kombat 1's story mode, neither Sheeva or Kotal are seen directly.
A few chapters later, Mortal Kombat 1's story mode sees players team up with Ashrah, the ex-demon who decided there was more to life than pain and suffering, and chose to abandon her demon sisters. While giving a quick overview of her backstory, Ashrah mentions that Jataaka and Kia -- assassins that were first introduced in the critically panned Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero -- were the first to come after Ashrah after she made her decision to smite the forces of evil, and presumably they've since been killed by her.
Though she isn't in the game yet, despite fan outcry, Jade is mentioned very briefly during Mortal Kombat 1's story mode in a throwaway comment towards the end of the game. Jade isn't seen in Liu Kang's new universe, but it is mentioned in some character intros that she's taken on the role of Countess, presumably in Edenia or a different Outworld province. Similarly, though Cyrax and Sektor aren't seen in Mortal Kombat 1's story, they are briefly mentioned, with Smoke and Scorpion confirming that they're remaining loyal to Bi-Han.
Mortal Kombat 1 is available now in early-access, and launches September 19 for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.
